Reply #16: the machine doesn't make the parts, the machinist does. [View All]

[uncle ray]

you DO NOT need a million dollar machine to make high dollar parts! i do it every day on a 20 year old Fadal, that i have to change tools by hand. parts for medical and aerospace etc. more work than i know what to do with, and the machine runs flawlessly, and could be picked up used for probably five grand. no i don't do the parts these guys do, but it apparently would shock you the amount of work there is for such a simple machine, run by an experienced operator.

my point is, it is still very possible to get into this field, at the entry level, and if you have the knack for it, the move up to that level of equipment is very easy. there are many relationships started at the lowest levels. employee Joe works for Fabco, a sub contractor for a multi billion dollar Chimp Aerospace company. Joe is the guy making the parts, and has frequent contact with the engineers, etc. at the aerospace company, if he has an issue with a part he is making, he calls someone direct, so he is well known. well he eventually leaves Fabco, and of course his replacement is not near as quality minded as Joe was. Joe left to start his own shop, because he was sick of making money for the Suits at Fabco that he had to bypass anyway, because they got nothing done. so the work follows Joe. Chimp Aerospace appreciates the work they get from Joe, and will invest almost anything to get more of his work.

meanwhile, Fabco is watching their work go to Joe, the guy who started out with a modest investment, and they hear of his new million dollar machine, so they come to the conclusion that that million dollar machine made him a success, so they go out and buy their own machine, but why stop at the one million dollar machine? the two million one is so much more productive! problem is, they have no "Joe". nobody is willing/capable to run it properly, so it actually costs the company money, eating up what was a fair profit from their older paid for equipment. soon Fabco folds. and they can't figure out why.

stuff like this happens everyday. on all levels. there is much more to it that buy expensive machine, get contract, get rich. i haven't been in this field long, i'm only 30, but i've seen shops come and go, and i've seen many good men take good customers with them when the go out on their own.

i guess you see this article as a sign that all manufacturing takes big dollars, i see the current times as about the best in many years for a small time machinist to make a go at it, IF he knows what he's doing! as you mentioned, excellent high dollar machines can be had for a fraction of their new price, at auctions.

not all companies are looking for the cheapest part, some are willing to PAY for quality, there is still a market for quality American manufacturing, it just has largely gone underground. yes, it's been a tough time for BAD businesses, but new ones are popping up, but keeping a lower profile. i used to work in a midwest job shop, that fought for the bottom dollar work, i can understand how you can see the article as being unrealistic, that shop i was in failed. not for a lack of quality product, they just out cheaped themselves. i moved cross country, expecting to change fields the job situation sounded so bleak, only to kind of luck into a specialized field that is doing very well. find a niche other than the cheapest and you will thrive. we've been licked in the cheapest labor market, time to move on. i guess i see this article more of a success story, proving that the corporate model of manufacturing doesn't always work. what's the better answer?