Buying My First Machine

[Emcintyre14]

I am a military spouse that moves every 3-4 years and I am looking into Investing into a new cnc machine to start my own small business. However, even after asking many Etsy business owners that make items I wish to produce I feel as tho I have no idea how to research the right machine for me. I plan on making door hangers as large as 24"X24" wooden and/OR metal door hangers, it would also have to be a machine that I can produce items from home without needing a forklift to load materials.

[tcaudle]

So you very first criteria will be a mixed mode (Plasma/router) type machine. I think second on your list should be support and possibly training since this is all new to you. The dirty little secret on these tables is that the software and design side have a pretty steep learning curve.

The use of heavy equipment is a function o the material size and thickness. You can get sheets of material cut down to 4 x4 that make them easy to handle up to about 3/16" I will caution you to not get to limiting a setup unless you are already having designs made and you know they will sell (and it will change as you move around) You YOU think will sell may not. There are a lot of people on here that run decorative cutting businesses and you can look at the gallery and get some ideas. Will ti work in your area? Maybe, Maybe not. Being in the military communities you may find that theme works better for you than say pretty hummingbird hangers . Its tempting to look at a "tiny" plasma table like a 2 x 2 or 2 x 4 because it would be more movable but you will pay almost as much as for a 4 x4 and you are limited to only small jobs. The best money is in doing custom or personalized designs. Flea market general designs have to sell at prices you won't make enough to pay for material.

Good luck on the new venture. There are some brands to avoid and a little research will bring them to light.

[steel 35]

This may be a good thread/machine for you, although it does not have water table or ventilation "yet" it's nasty not so easy as it appear's stuff, many people on this site sell on etsy as well, And i am sure there are people in your area that would be more then willing to cut things for you.
Thank you both for your service.

http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=23821

[Bobkovacs]

One thing to consider- if you're moving every 3-4 years, I'm assuming you're renting housing? If so, will your landlord be OK with you running the high-amperage wiring you'll need for most any decent plasma cutter? You'll also need power for a fairly large air compressor, and a way to exhaust the smoke/dust that's produced by cutting (even with a water table).