Topic: http://www.emachineshop.com

[chrisfranklin]

Now, I know there's a ton of other options for parts besides new: going to a local junkyard, ordering from online junkyards that have their inventory categorized online, checking a certain auction site.  And, besides, you can probably go to a local machine shop to have parts made or have modfied versions created, etc.  Saw this http://www.emachineshop.com link in a wired.com writeup.

Probably expensive work (didn't check prices, estimates) and not certain of the applications for 4bangerjp  but sounds potentially interesting for some[/url]

[chrisfranklin]

Looked at this emachineshop site some more. Sounds like what the Ebay $35 TBS guy are using.  If I am reading correctly, a thousand units punched from a 1 inch thick material go for .58 cents a unit.  Not a bad  :roll: potential profit margin even after including all your costs of doing business.  If I didn't have a $70 spacer already (can't believe I paid that much!), I would have bought the auction $35 one too (not knocking yah if you did  :wink:  

Some really interesting potential uses for a site like this.  Press summarizes at http://www.emachineshop.com/press/full-launch.htm

Apparently, the place has only been around for the last couple of years.

[chrisfranklin]

emachineshop is very exciting to me...

I never had to execute orders for the manufacture of a part through a machine shop before.  But, I've dealt with similar-type businesses designing/producing volume items from scratch and the turn around time is forever (which is a good and bad thing; ie. "good" in that you have time to hit the brakes if you discover something you don't like; "bad," in that it can be prohibitively time expensive)

Emachineshop is something that wouldn't have flown as well in the 1990s, where the push was for pure electric commerce.  But, when you have a hybrid type business that makes old-school, real-world processes more easily/efficiently performed using a electronic interface with buyers, then its a winner.  

The emachineshop people have their own software and have the patents etc, thereby essentially "owning" this type of fast-remote-consumer-design-manufacturing process for the forseeable future.

(You don't need it? ...Hey, I never used to think I'd need say, one of those auction sites, either  

You could literally see where the world's machine shop operators kind of turn in to "we sell it for you on Ebay" stores and basically advise customers on what kind of orders they are going to place with Emachineshop.  Beat that idea down, if you you want  

[shotgun]

I tried a very simple part on  emachineshop. It was a boomerang shackle plate. I could get the price per peice reasonable if I went to 100 pieces or more. at 100 pieces it was $13.00 a piece. But for prototyping it was more like $25 a piece this was laser or waterjet cutting as anything else didn't make sense.

I think if you have something you can really sell, you could do it this way. But if you know enough, I think you could work deals with local shops for less.

[chrisfranklin]

Did I tell you guys I am working a licensing deal with DC so that I can mass-produce YJ grills on emachineshop for super cheap?

That way, all you TJ and upcoming JK guys can get with the program, do the right thing and install YJ grills without breaking the bank.  And, a DC rep. already told me that they are anticipating across-the-board YJ nostalgia as beginning to occurr around 2014, so the follow-up to the JK will be the modern, rectangular-headlight-wearing "YK."  

I just want to put you TJ/JK guys ahead of the game, so you can get your YJ grills early and be trend-setters  

[chrisfranklin]

shotgun, yeah that's badnews on the price there.  figured that it was going to be a little costly doing low volume stuff.




But, here's the thing:  The local machines shops can probably do a better price on the low volume stuff.  It's just that they are generally in the business of doing high volume work (that's what keeps their people busy and keeps everyone at the shop paid).  I would think that they'd want to do high volume work because more examples of their product will be out in the world where the shop can say, "look, we did that."   Low volume stuff just disappears for them, so to speak, unless they are putting it on high exposure items like race-cars etc.  

The emachineshop company looks like they are going to start knawwing at the high-volume orders for shop work.  And, I don't think machine shops are going to really want what's left over after that.  Local shops could increase prices for low volume orders, but then they'd get in to price competition problems with emachineshop.  Frankly, machine shops need to embrace emachineshop, kind of like brokers have embraced online trading and med doctors have embraced the public getting drugs online without a prescription.  The machine shops that can do it will still be strong in 20 years