Would Car Enthusiasts Pay $50 for Custom CNC-Machined Emblems?

[david90]

I'm thinking of starting a custom emblem business. I will have predefined emblem designs with user definable text. The emblem can have any text or symbol you want. The emblems will be cnc machined from aluminum/stainless and the finish could be brushed/polished. Would you buy this service for $50 per emblem?

 

[kev1829]

I wouldn't. But then again, I wouldn't turn our CNC mills on for $50. I would need to produce at least four per hour to cover all of the overhead expenses involved in custom machining small parts.

 

[david90]

What kind of overhead do you have? I will run the mill out of my garage. The machine I will buy will cost about $5k.

 

[TVP45]

Are you thinking of using the auto companies' symbols?

 

[Danger]

Good point TVP. There might be copyright issues.
Even if those are resolved, you might want to consider casting rather than machining if you're going to be doing a volume business. You'd probably get a 10-50 fold increase in productivity, depending upon your mould set-up.
I, personally, would not buy one... but that's only because I could make one myself if I wanted it badly enough. Being a car freak, I might if I didn't have that capability.

 

[kev1829]

What kind of overhead do you have? I will run the mill out of my garage. The machine I will buy will cost about $5k.

You need to take an order. Process that order. Produce a program. Purchase raw material. Process the raw material into an emblem that doesn't look like anybody elses emblem. Copyright any emblem shape/design that you produce. Purchase tooling (granted with aluminum this is minimal, but with stainless it won't be). Machine designs into your emblem. Clean, debur, finish, package, ship, etc.. Create a legal business. Since you will need to promote your product there are sales and advertising expenses. Paperwork associated with legitimate business operations.

I don't mean to discourage, but unless you can produce a large quantity, you will need a high price.

 

[TVP45]

You need to take an order. Process that order. Produce a program. Purchase raw material. Process the raw material into an emblem that doesn't look like anybody elses emblem. Copyright any emblem shape/design that you produce. Purchase tooling (granted with aluminum this is minimal, but with stainless it won't be). Machine designs into your emblem. Clean, debur, finish, package, ship, etc.. Create a legal business. Since you will need to promote your product there are sales and advertising expenses. Paperwork associated with legitimate business operations.

I don't mean to discourage, but unless you can produce a large quantity, you will need a high price.

.

I would guess he needs to keep LOM somewhere around $8 for this to work.

But, what I really, really, really want to know is where you bought a CNC machine for 5 grand and do they have any more?

 

[david90]

Are you thinking of using the auto companies' symbols?

No I'm not. The main concept the business is customization.

There are plenty of cnc mill for 5k. They are table top size though.

what is lom?

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Personally, I don't think custom emblems would sell particurally well. What might have a chance of catching on would be custom components such as gear shifts, exhaust tips, grills, windshield washer arms, gas fill doors, little things that could be used to customize a car's look. These would have to be made on a vehicle/model specific basis.

Most people tend to REMOVE the emblems if they want a custom look... not add or replace them. That being said, a sleek looking "Supercharged," "special edition," or similar things in cursive lettering might be appealing.

 

[Danger]

If your machining is flexible enough, you might also consider going 'off the car'... things like belt buckles, wall plaques, etc.. I, personally, would love to have a nice Mopar emblem on the silencer for my .45...

 

[TVP45]

So peel the potato and press it into the hood emblem of a Plymouth Valiant. I thought you folks up there had given up packing. I always used to get a hard time at our Calgary plant.

 

[binzing]

If you know how to use a cnc mill, and are getting one, then you could make a lot more than just car emblems.

 

[Danger]

So peel the potato and press it into the hood emblem of a Plymouth Valiant.

Amateurs...
All that you'd get out of that is raw mashed potatoes.

I thought you folks up there had given up packing. I always used to get a hard time at our Calgary plant.

Hmmm... well... they actually took all of my guns away a few years ago, but I'm eligible for a new FAC now. I'm thinking either a Fire Star or ParaOrdnance P10. Gotta be in .45... 9mm's are a joke, same as the .40 Short & Weak.

 

[mgb_phys]

Would these parts need anodising?
One-off anodising in reasonable turn around time always seems expensive - and it's not the sort of thing you want to do at home!

 

[Danger]

I'm a bit confused by the OP, but didn't mention it before. Aluminum/stainless? Is it even possible to alloy those, or are they two separate runs? Anyhow, Al shouldn't need anodizing unless for a colour coat. Stainless should remain stainless; if it needs to be coloured, might as well powder-coat regular steel.

 

[Mech_Engineer]

[Off Topic]

I'm thinking either a Fire Star or ParaOrdnance P10. Gotta be in .45... 9mm's are a joke, same as the .40 Short & Weak.

While .45's are formidable firearms, the .40S&W cannot be ruled out based solely on the "small and weak" myth ;) It's the most popular law enforcement round in the U.S. today for a reason...

Ballistic Performance
--------------------
.40S&W 155 gr (10.0 g) JHP - Muzzle Velocity 1200 ft/s - Energy 447 ft-lbf

.45ACP 230 gr (15 g) Hydra-Shok JHP - Muzzle Velocity 900 ft/s - Energy 414 ft-lbf

[/Off Topic]

 

[Danger]

True for the figures, but it doesn't apply to reality. The 9mm is formidible by the charts, but it has a very serious tendency to over-penetrate without expending its energy in the target. That's very bad for both the shooter and anyone behind the target. Same for the .40, which exists only because the FBI didn't want to carry full-charge 10mm's. I'm a firm believer in cross-sectional density for knock-down effectiveness. I'm also a firm believer in Glazer Safetly-Slugs or my home-made equivalent because there's almost zero chance of either over-penetration or ricochet.
Firearms are an absolute last resort. I'll walk away, run away, or crawl away if I have to; if there's no way out, then I want everything that I've got going into the antagonist with minimal hazard to bystanders. The reason that my charges (resulting in the confiscation of my guns) were reduced to having a restricted weapon in a place other than where I was legally allowed to have it (ie: at home in a gun safe) was that the prosecution and the RCMP knew that I'm a very responsible gun handler and that I'm on the same side as the cops. The gun itself (Llama XV .45) had 4 built-in safeties, and I incorporated a 5th into the holster that I made for it. There is absolutely no way in the world that it could be discharged by accident.

 

[TVP45]

Back to the potato. I never actually tried that, but it looks like it wouldn't really work very well. Can a .45 be silenced? A friend was in the OSS during WWII and they used .22 semis in order to get effective silencing. I suspect technology has changed a bit.

Along that line, I was at a gun range not long ago and had my usual foam plugs with muffs over them (I've lost much of my hearing and am paranoid about damaging what's left). A guy 4 bays down was shooting a .454 and it came close to hurting. I think I saw the backstop quivering.

 

[binzing]

Danger, why, exactly, did you have charges against you, resulting in those measures?

 

[chroot]

$50 is probably quite reasonable for a milled emblem. Many people already spend upwards of $35 on simpler emblem replacements. For example,

http://www.ricks2k.com/products/badge.php

- Warren

 

[kev1829]

Rick also sells aluminum shifter knobs for $40 (simply produced on bar feed CNC lathe in about a minute). If you want it engraved (milled) with a six speed shift pattern he will only charge an additional $40. Only $70 for custom designs.

Fifty dollars each is not profitable.

 

[Danger]

Back to the potato. I never actually tried that, but it looks like it wouldn't really work very well. Can a .45 be silenced?

Nothing can be silenced. I was being lazy; the proper term is 'suppressor'. An effective one for a .45 is about the size of a kitchen rolling-pin. Two advantages to a .45 are that the ammo is already subsonic (essential) and that you can incorporate a slide lock to keep the mechanism closed upon firing. That minimizes gas escape and eliminates all mechanical noise other than the hammer-fall.
A (subsonic) .22 can be made very quiet, maybe about the same sound as snapping the lid closed on your cell phone.

Binzing, it was just a matter of someone being concerned about my carrying a concealed weapon and calling the cops to check it out. There was never any sort of confrontation involved.

 

[TVP45]

Yeah, I'm always amused when, on TV, they screw a silencer onto a .357 revolver and it makes a little sound like a pneumatic valve.

 

[binzing]

KK, that's what I figured. In New Mexico you can legally carry a sidearm, but it must be visible.