For most of my adult life I have dreamed of manufacturing steam engines. Why? Because I like steam engines. I want to do actual batch production, so a lot of machinery is required. Two years ago I was able to buy a fiber laser cutter for cutting metal and these days I actually make my living from laser cutting. This week I managed to acquire a used CNC lathe. Only piece of equipment missing now is a VMC (Vertical Machining Center = a mill with tool changer). Hopefully I will be able to buy one in 2021. I'm soooooo excited.
That sure is a cool piece of equipment Michael, congratulations !
Good to hear from you again , very happy that you are now doing what you love ,congratulations on the new machine ,may it serve you well.
I can well understand your excitement, and look forward to your being able to apply it to fulfill your dreams!
Thanks guys. Still many challenges ahead. Although I have some experience with Mazatrol controls it's been a while since I programmed one. I also need to buy a lot of tools for the lathe, not a trivial expense. However I should be starting to churn out various parts during Q1 2021 as this is normally a quiet period for my business. Certain machining operations need to be done by hand. Then I need to design and make various jigs and forming tools.
Great to hear from you.
Looking forward to hearing more about your business venture and I look forward to being a customer!
Great to hear from you.
Looking forward to hearing more about your business venture and I look forward to being a customer!
Thanks, but don't hold your breath. It will be a long time before I actually have a product to sell. I'm currently mulling over whether I should buy a VMC now. I can get it on a leasing contract with zero down payment at the moment. It won't be able to pay for itself short term though so that money needs to come from my existing business which is laser cutting.
Any ideas of what type of engines you are going to make for sale?
Any ideas of what type of engines you are going to make for sale?
Single cylinder double acting oscillator to start with because those engines are needed for the Cracker and Edith locos I have in the works.
My eventual products are not likely to be sold in USA and Canada initially. My product liability insurance does not cover those two countries. Adding them is very expensive so I would need to be sure of selling a lot of engines to make it worthwhile. Product relaterd lawasuits are more common in those countries and cost of litigation is very high so insurers always want a much higher premium.
Congrats on achieving another step towards your dream!
Consider selling to the USA with a disclaimer like Ian sent along with his MF Twins.
They were wonderfully well constructed little engines that run great yet he sold them with the claim of use for display only or not for live steam or similar.
I know there are some here who would be happy to buy a really nice piece that had paperwork that said to not fire it (even when it comes with a burner (for a more realistic display) (big GRIN !)
Unfortunately a disclaimer offers no protection from lawsuits.
Getting very close now. Just ordered a VMC which will probably arrive in April 2021.
Bonjour Michael,
I don't know where you are from but it seems you are not in America or Canada.
As there are less and less French manufacturers, you could find in France a possible market, even if smaller thant in UK or Germany.
Do you plan to build in metric measures ?
I'm in Denmark. Yes, metric only - that is what I was brought up on. Language seems to be an issue when it comes to selling to France and Germany.
Germany and France are quite significant markets for model steam engines, in my opinion. Especially Germany has a large live steam train community. You could perhaps find local dealers?