"after initial design", and "one off run" is key here.

When you are a doing it as a hobby, you may not count the cost of that design element. For a manufacturer, it means a lot more that getting a part in-hand. Engineering prototypes are one thing, getting a product out for production sales is entirely a different matter.

If you are a manufacturer, there is a big difference. You have to count the cost of Engineering Change Orders, vendor negotiations, re-designs to meet the requirements of the particular vendor you are dealing with, and finally creating a Bill of Materials and stocking and inventorying the product, and creating sales data (even if it is a re-vamped product). In other words, all the relevant pieces of your organization have to have the information needed to work in lockstep with each other. And most of that effort is in-house and takes up much of the staff resources.

A one or 2 person shop can do it more quickly and easily, but in a manufacturing evironment, all the "T"s must be crossed and the "i"s dotted if you are going to succeed with a product that is only a small piece of your product line.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 12/23/2018 11:19 AM, W2xj wrote:
Times have changed. 3D printing permits one off runs with little effort after 
the initial design.

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 23, 2018, at 8:00 AM, Edward R Cole <[email protected]> wrote:

Have to agree, in principle, with Don.

Many of you may never had done a small volume production.  I have.
I cannot afford to purchase CNC tooling, metal brakes, etc. for a project of 
twelve copies.  Vendors are all out of state with added shipping costs.

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