Update: Over 2 years now. Business is good!

[mattgatten]

After having my HS-1 for over 2 years, I'm finally making a little money with my machine. It was my goal all along. That is to, at least, have the machine pay for itself. ;D

I've been cutting parts for multicopters. I got partnered with another guy who is an awesome CAD professional and we teamed up to put these out on the market at a price that is competitive with the currently available multicopter frames.

I'm cutting 1/16 garolite/G10 in 12X12 sheets. I'm using PreciseBits.com .0625 and .050 diamond cutters (router burrs) at around 16,500 rpm and 20 ipm. I can go up to 1/8th think in a single pass.

I can't get the parts cut fast enough. Since Feb 22, we've sold 142 sets. When I crunch the numbers, and figure in the labor of releasing the parts, sanding, rinsing off dust, packing and shipping, I'm getting right at $75.00/hour.

I guess I posted this to brag a little bit but also if any potential buyers are reading this, maybe Ron sells a couple more machines.

You can make money with even a small (high quality!) CNC machine. My HS-1 has never missed a single beat. I believe the PC router will wear out way before the Romaxx. The trick is finding something you can make with it that several folks want, crunch the numbers and make sure it will be profitible, and optimizing/simplifying everything. That has got to be the single best revenue generator, once things are up and running.

I'm including a link to my site to show what I'm making. Ron, feel free to use our site, its imagery, or my comments here for anything you need.

x468 Multirotor Resource

In fact, with your permission, I would like to include a Romaxx logo on our site with a link back to yours. Maybe a small piece of text like 'Powered by Romaxx' or 'X468 by Romaxx'. Please let me know if it's ok.

Thanks for a great machine Ron!
Matt
St. Louis

[romaxxcnc]

Hi Matt,

It's good to hear from you.

Looks like a great product, happy you're doing well with it.

Sure on the logo, and link back, by all means, feel free to do that.

Thanks, Ron

[mattgatten]

Another update on X468.

Just like that the new year is here and things are still rolling. We have a few distributors that want to pick up our models. Sales are still trending up. It looks like we will finish out the year well over $30,000 and looking at the pace of the last 3 months, we are pacing for a $50,000-$60,000 second year. We have two more designs that were created based on feedback we have received and those haven't even 'dropped' yet.

With that, I have been living in the shop running the HS-1 that has performed flawlessly. So much time is getting spent out there, we've contacted Ron to acquire the second HS-1! Some have asked why we didn't go with the bigger machine. Well, the nature of what we are cutting and the cutters we are using, we are prevented from upping the feeds to save time. They will break or wear out too soon. We figured the only way to save time or increase capacity is to double the number of cutters that are running. This will also let us task each machine differently, at time. We have 6 different products to deliver. We are even thinking about a 3rd HS-1 or a CNC mill to open up our product line.

Anyway, just wanted to drop in, yes, brag, and give an update. You can make money with these things. You can offset the cost of getting one for 'personal use', with just a little research and finding something you can sell here and there. If anyone wants to chat about it or ask questions about what I'm doing, drop a post here or send me a message.

As soon as #2 arrives, #1 is coming down for a day to get t thorough cleaning. She's looking a bit rough!

Thanks Ron for providing a great 'little machine with a lot of heart! Now get to milling!

Take care,
Matt