Man! You are growing and expanding!!! I'd love to hear about your order taking and fulfillment software / system. We aren't that organized that way yet, but we have enough SKUs that we need to get it under control.
Hey Greg, how is it going! Thanks, yeah the past year has been something for sure. That's a great idea, I have been thinking about making some videos on the business end of things. In the beginning I invested way too much is products that didn't move fast enough. An inventory system that compares historic sales to inventory levels is pretty critical for us. We use Inventory Planner with Big Commerce. We started with Amazon which required UPCs so we just bought the UPCs 100 at a time from websites like SpeedyBarcodes I think. We just print out the barcode labels for our bins with a Dymo 450. The barcode scanners are cheep on Amazon. Let me know if there is anything specific you need info on.
@@craigsmachineshop2040 We sell on Amazon too and use barcodes for that, but we don't use them in-house to track... Since I sell in 2 places (amazon and website) it's hard to track some items. I'll look into Inventory Planner. It looks like you have WAY more SKUs than we do. I think we've got 80 or so. My goal is to add a new product every other month. We are finally getting to that critical mass point where production, inventory and timelines are starting to become critical items to track. So far I've just done it by hand.
Yeah, I tried using plugins that listed products directly from my website to Amazon and Ebay but they never really worked right. They were supposed to keep the inventory synced. I mostly sell on my website now and list just one popular item on Ebay. I just have to keep a large quantity in stock so we never run low and sell more than we have. I hate having to contact a customer to tell them them we are out of stock. My sales didn't hit a viable level till I listened to a guy on TH-cam called Sam Ovens talking about a Flywheel. You can search TH-cam for Sam Ovens Flywheel. So I increased my selection a lot and sales went up.
@@craigsmachineshop2040 Good to know I'm not alone in my frustration! We try to keep plenty of stock, but some of our items are expensive. I try to keep 6 months worth of everything on-hand... The expensive items are hard to finance 6 months at a time... our anodizer is usually the weak link in the schedule. Sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 4-6.
@@GregsGarage Yeah, I know the feeling. Powder coating is my weak link. I have 2 pretty good ones now but it took me years to find them. I have a large volume company that takes about a week and a small outfit that will do a few parts within a couple of days. 4 to 6 weeks seems extreme. I don't put up with that, I move on to the next company to try.
Great to see the progress! It would definitely be cool to see work-in-progress updates on the automated line. About 3d printers - the Creality printers are not fit for production work without heavy modifications, which take time and money. I have a small print farm and had 3 creality printers, and I hated them, they print at first, but then everything breaks down. In its price segment the Prusa seems to be the only printer that "just works", others are printers that you need to fiddle with. I can't say anything about Bambu Lab printers.
Thanks Phil! Yeah, I will definitely be making videos on the automated line. Thanks for sharing your experience with 3D printers! Yeah, when you are running a business, there isn't much time for fiddling. I think I will just stay with Prusa. Maybe get the XL when its available.
Hey! Thank! Yeah, I have been meaning to make some videos on the business side. Maybe different aspects like developing products, getting the business, production and fulfillment.
Thanks Roy! I think I have figured out a way to make videos on a regular basis despite being busy. But it requires leaving in my umms, lol. Maybe I will practice speaking without them.
Nice to see you back! Those 3 D printed parts look supper good. Prusa do make a larger format printer too. Regarding the automation - have you considered a multi stage die set, say first stage punch the hole, second stage do the bend, third stage cut off? Might be a bit complicated to design the die set, probably require some ejector pins as well. and you might require a bigger or more cylinders and a matching pump. The hole from the first stage would be the index for the second and third stage. Depending on the material, this idea might not be a practical idea for the size cylinder you have.
Thanks Chris! Yeah, switching to a satin sheet and using an enclosure has helped a lot. Yeah, I am seriously considering the Prusa XL when its available. I thought about progressive dies but I would need a pretty big press which is kind of out of the question in my backyard in the suburbs. lol If I had a commercial shop or lived in a rural area I would definitely consider it. Learning about PLCs is fun though. I will have to make some videos on them.
Wow, that's awesome how you pack so much into such small space! Kudos my friend! One question - I was about to purchase the Edwards Shear (the one you posted about time back) for $1,700 (YIKES) when I found what appears to be almost identical, the Kaka product for under $600 dollars on Amazon Prime. Kaka seems to have some pretty good products though I can't seem to find many reviews on them. But the 6" shear looks so similar to the Edwards for so much less I'm ready to order that for use on my Redline 50ton press. Do you have any advice for me? I don't want to buy an entire ironworker, I really don't have the need for that much machinery ($$$$) at 72 years old! LOL! But I do have a need for shearing metal plates 6" or less - mostly 11 gauge or thinner. Thanks for any response - you are my 'go to' expert on these matters! mikey
Hey Mikey! Thanks my friend! I can’t tell you how many times I have rearranged the shop. Lol. I went with the Edwards because it was I afraid the cheaper one would be poor quality but they might be fine. I guess it depends on how you use it. The one on the metal pro had trouble with thinner gauge stuff like 14 gauge and 11 gauge. It would leave a really big burr. I had to order a shim kit to push the fixed and moving blades closer together. It’s like it was made mostly for thicker material. With the Edwards, it was too loud cutting 1/4” stock on the harbor freight press. The Redline 50 ton might be better since it’s a lot heavier. If you get a multi-shear, I would tell the manufacturer what you will be cutting to ensure it will work as expected and ensure you can return it you have issues.
Man! You are growing and expanding!!! I'd love to hear about your order taking and fulfillment software / system. We aren't that organized that way yet, but we have enough SKUs that we need to get it under control.
Hey Greg, how is it going! Thanks, yeah the past year has been something for sure. That's a great idea, I have been thinking about making some videos on the business end of things. In the beginning I invested way too much is products that didn't move fast enough. An inventory system that compares historic sales to inventory levels is pretty critical for us. We use Inventory Planner with Big Commerce. We started with Amazon which required UPCs so we just bought the UPCs 100 at a time from websites like SpeedyBarcodes I think. We just print out the barcode labels for our bins with a Dymo 450. The barcode scanners are cheep on Amazon. Let me know if there is anything specific you need info on.
@@craigsmachineshop2040 We sell on Amazon too and use barcodes for that, but we don't use them in-house to track... Since I sell in 2 places (amazon and website) it's hard to track some items. I'll look into Inventory Planner. It looks like you have WAY more SKUs than we do. I think we've got 80 or so. My goal is to add a new product every other month. We are finally getting to that critical mass point where production, inventory and timelines are starting to become critical items to track. So far I've just done it by hand.
Yeah, I tried using plugins that listed products directly from my website to Amazon and Ebay but they never really worked right. They were supposed to keep the inventory synced. I mostly sell on my website now and list just one popular item on Ebay. I just have to keep a large quantity in stock so we never run low and sell more than we have. I hate having to contact a customer to tell them them we are out of stock. My sales didn't hit a viable level till I listened to a guy on TH-cam called Sam Ovens talking about a Flywheel. You can search TH-cam for Sam Ovens Flywheel. So I increased my selection a lot and sales went up.
@@craigsmachineshop2040 Good to know I'm not alone in my frustration! We try to keep plenty of stock, but some of our items are expensive. I try to keep 6 months worth of everything on-hand... The expensive items are hard to finance 6 months at a time... our anodizer is usually the weak link in the schedule. Sometimes 2 weeks, sometimes 4-6.
@@GregsGarage Yeah, I know the feeling. Powder coating is my weak link. I have 2 pretty good ones now but it took me years to find them. I have a large volume company that takes about a week and a small outfit that will do a few parts within a couple of days. 4 to 6 weeks seems extreme. I don't put up with that, I move on to the next company to try.
Great update, you've been busy. Looking forward to the automated production line updates.
Thanks! Looking forward to making the series.
Great to see you again :)
Thanks!
Great to see the progress! It would definitely be cool to see work-in-progress updates on the automated line. About 3d printers - the Creality printers are not fit for production work without heavy modifications, which take time and money. I have a small print farm and had 3 creality printers, and I hated them, they print at first, but then everything breaks down. In its price segment the Prusa seems to be the only printer that "just works", others are printers that you need to fiddle with. I can't say anything about Bambu Lab printers.
Thanks Phil! Yeah, I will definitely be making videos on the automated line. Thanks for sharing your experience with 3D printers! Yeah, when you are running a business, there isn't much time for fiddling. I think I will just stay with Prusa. Maybe get the XL when its available.
Good to see your progression! It would be nice to hear your opinions of the business side and how to grow an operation such as yours.
Hey! Thank! Yeah, I have been meaning to make some videos on the business side. Maybe different aspects like developing products, getting the business, production and fulfillment.
Good to see you again. Yes, you have been busy.
Thanks Roy! I think I have figured out a way to make videos on a regular basis despite being busy. But it requires leaving in my umms, lol. Maybe I will practice speaking without them.
Nice to see you back! Those 3 D printed parts look supper good. Prusa do make a larger format printer too. Regarding the automation - have you considered a multi stage die set, say first stage punch the hole, second stage do the bend, third stage cut off? Might be a bit complicated to design the die set, probably require some ejector pins as well. and you might require a bigger or more cylinders and a matching pump. The hole from the first stage would be the index for the second and third stage. Depending on the material, this idea might not be a practical idea for the size cylinder you have.
Thanks Chris! Yeah, switching to a satin sheet and using an enclosure has helped a lot. Yeah, I am seriously considering the Prusa XL when its available. I thought about progressive dies but I would need a pretty big press which is kind of out of the question in my backyard in the suburbs. lol If I had a commercial shop or lived in a rural area I would definitely consider it. Learning about PLCs is fun though. I will have to make some videos on them.
Glad to see you back!
Did you check out Kama saws?
Hey, thanks! I haven't heard of that brand. Took a quick look and they look pretty nice. The larger one looks kind of like a Hydmech I looked at once.
Wow, that's awesome how you pack so much into such small space! Kudos my friend! One question - I was about to purchase the Edwards Shear (the one you posted about time back) for $1,700 (YIKES) when I found what appears to be almost identical, the Kaka product for under $600 dollars on Amazon Prime. Kaka seems to have some pretty good products though I can't seem to find many reviews on them. But the 6" shear looks so similar to the Edwards for so much less I'm ready to order that for use on my Redline 50ton press. Do you have any advice for me? I don't want to buy an entire ironworker, I really don't have the need for that much machinery ($$$$) at 72 years old! LOL! But I do have a need for shearing metal plates 6" or less - mostly 11 gauge or thinner. Thanks for any response - you are my 'go to' expert on these matters! mikey
Hey Mikey! Thanks my friend! I can’t tell you how many times I have rearranged the shop. Lol. I went with the Edwards because it was I afraid the cheaper one would be poor quality but they might be fine. I guess it depends on how you use it. The one on the metal pro had trouble with thinner gauge stuff like 14 gauge and 11 gauge. It would leave a really big burr. I had to order a shim kit to push the fixed and moving blades closer together. It’s like it was made mostly for thicker material. With the Edwards, it was too loud cutting 1/4” stock on the harbor freight press. The Redline 50 ton might be better since it’s a lot heavier. If you get a multi-shear, I would tell the manufacturer what you will be cutting to ensure it will work as expected and ensure you can return it you have issues.
Yeah, ironworker are pretty pricey and often need 3 phase. Not sure how much of an expert I am. Lol. But I like to help with what I know.