Beyond 3D Printing: The 3 Horsemen of Small Manufacturing at Maker Faire

Maker News
Beyond 3D Printing: The 3 Horsemen of Small Manufacturing at Maker Faire
epilog-kids
Kids surround an Epilog laser cutter in the Makerspace at Maker Faire.

The bland-looking machines that lined the east wall of the Makerspace at Maker Faire did a good job of being entertaining throughout Maker Faire. They were constantly surrounded by kids watching them do all sorts of etching and inscribing tricks.

But the three machines — from ShopBot, Epilog, and Tormach — were there for another reason: they are the stalwart, entry-level tools that are helping to power the new industrial revolution: CNC routers and laser cutters.

Although the bulk of media attention has been grabbed by 3D printing, a huge percentage of the products that are manufactured and sold by small manufacturers are actually created using serious CNC milling machines and laser cutters. These are the unsung workhorse machines in hackerspaces around the world.

“The MakerBot is cute, but you can’t really sell many of the things that you create with it,” said Andy Grevstad, of  Tormach, a firm that makes a line of  powerful “personal CNC” machine that can mill metal. “At this point most of the consumer 3D printers are  hobbyist machines.”

The guy who buys a Tormach unit, on the other hand, which sells for just under $7,000, “is ‘I’m going to quit my job’ serious,” said Andy Grevstad. “He, or she, is generally buying with the intent of doing a business.”

One aspect of these machines that makes them hard to understand: they are surprisingly versatile. Asked what one of these machines is best at, the usual response from a normally voluble company rep is: “That depends…”  on what the new owner needs, or has thought up.

Many of the buyers of a Tormach CNC machine use it to create after-market parts for specialty markets: for owners of classic Jaguars and Vespas, for examples. A serious CNC machine is also good for robot parts.

Significantly, all three machines are used by 3D printer companies to create the housings and extruder heads that they need to manufacture their units.

According to Grevstad, “Our typical customer is the guy who does everything: he’s the designer, the manufacturer, and the sweeping-the-floor guy.”

tormach-bits
A collection of bits for the Tormach CNC milling machine

All three machines also sell to schools, which is why they were in Maker Faire’s Hackerspace.

But the multiple uses of the machines were always hovering under the surface.

That was certainly the case at the ShopBot station. Kids were eagerly watching the creation of personalized woodcuts with robot images; many adults were apparently impressed by the sheer industrial power.

“The kids are interested in the personalized woodcuts,” said Randy Johnson, who was manning the ShopBot tool booth. “But often the moms and dads are saying, ‘I think there’s a business opportunity here.'”

4 thoughts on “Beyond 3D Printing: The 3 Horsemen of Small Manufacturing at Maker Faire

  1. tinman says:

    It says “Kids surround an Epilog laser scanner,” scanner or engraver/cutter? Just curious if Epilog machines can scan now?

  2. Beyond 3D Printing: The 3 Horsemen of Small Manufacturing at Maker Faire D.C. Denison says:

    Whoops. Should be “cutter.” Changing it now. Thank you!

Comments are closed.

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

DC Denison is the co-editor of The Maker Pro Newsletter, which covers the intersection of makers and business. That means hardware startups, new products, and market trends.

DC manages customer stories at Acquia, the digital experience company.

View more articles by DC Denison

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK