The Hidden Costs of CNC's!

CNC's cost a lot of money. But what about the hidden costs associated with buying them? There are a lot of other costs you need to factor in when buying a CNC and I go over those in this video!

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[mountainlightwoodcraft]

Excellent video, bro. I thought when I spent ninety grand on my large format CNC that it would come with everything necessary other than bits. OMG, talk about naive!

First of all, my machine weighs over 9, 000 pounds, so I was advised to replace a large section of the shop floor with six inch reinforced concrete...four grand.

The 230v three phase wiring required cost almost five grand. The onboard tool changer holds twelve tools and with collets and holders, cost a grand to populate, excluding the carbide bits.

The dedicated compressor and electronic air dryer added another four grand, plus another grand for larger air distribution.

My original dust collection system was instantly overwhelmed and cost seven grand to upgrade.

So, at the end of the day, what I thought was going to be $90, 000 ended up being $112, 000... and that's still doesn't include any bits. I probably have three grand in bits alone and, yes, they are a consumable.

That said, my system paid for itself within the first year of use. I am able to cut and assemble twenty cabinets in a single day in a one-man shop, with an average UV1 4x8 sheet yield of 95% and an accuracy factor that is off the chart.

A very expensive but totally sound investment in my case.

[fredygump]

It's true. I took out a $25k loan when buying a "desktop" CNC router (30"x40") that was advertised as costing $6, 495! I added options like an HSD spindle, phenolic top, vacuum pump, T- slots, etc, for a grand total of just over $14k. Then add $5k for electrical upgrades, $5k for a good dust collector (NOT harbor freight!), and my money was all gone! And soon after I discovered how inadequate VCarve Pro is, so I embarked on the odyssey of finding a good CAM solution. Total cost is all of my money! I'm using it to make tooling for a product I hope to launch soon. And while I haven't made a penny off of it yet, the cost of having someone else do all of the machining for me would cost much more than what I paid for the router. So I'm calling it a win.

[tfoorju]

*I work as a machine shop mechanic.* I've had several hobbyists asking me advice, stating that they had seen videos of vacuum hold down, so they were planning to do that.
I explained what that actually entails. It's great, but not for tiny pieces and not for cheap. I'd say minimum of about $5, 000 - which is more than any of the hobbyists asking were planning to pay for their entire setup, cnc machine included. That's initial purchase, not including power or ongoing costs.

Similarly but *even more extreme on the ongoing costs would be a waterjet.* Ours runs usually at 55, 000psi. Every part is thick SS and every part is a wearing part with a definite fail life.
Because every connection has to be machined in SS to a particular angle and smooth so it seals 55, 000psi, that means even *the most simple straight 6" high pressure tube is $150.* There are 19 high pressure lines and 5 of those have 1 or more bends.
The high pressure swivels are $850-1200ea. There are 6 of those.
The diamond orifice that makes the cutting beam is $1, 200 and, in addition to being a wearing part, can sometimes crack and fail prematurely.
We are just below the incoming water temperature limit, where we would need to buy chiller for incoming water.
Despite having a solids removal system, every once in a while, the tank will get too stanky, and we will have a septic service suck all the muck out, then they fill 3-5 apple bins full of the waste muck, but now also contaminated with 'leftovers' from the septic truck tank. That's our problem to deal with.
And that machine is the most needy machine in our shop. We _expect_ to work on it 1-2 times a week, and there is no promise that it won't need more than that at any particular time.

*Haas machines **_seem_** cheap, but their gotcha is expensive parts with proprietary labels to keep you trapped to their service.* Let's say you buy a machine for $30-60k... and *have to pay $800 every 2-3 years for them to **_solder_** new batteries onto the board - or the machine software corrupts* and you still have to pay that but also for half a day of a tech reprograming a machine.
That's right. Cheap desktop computers 10years old and cheap $150 cell phones are fine when they run out of battery, but the manufacturer of your expensive machine that your livelihood depends on *cheaped out and didn't spend $30 on a micro SSD so it could survive a battery loss unharmed.* That should give you a good idea of hidden costs on 'bargain' industrial machines.

[judelarkin]

I appreciate videos talking about cost. So many makers on YouTube are just like it’s super easy. You just buy this machine with your trust fund money. Who cares what it costs.

[alexkonietzka]

Great video!
I’m in CNC machining 14 years now. Used to run 12m bed mills with 9 axes and tools so ridiculous expensive…

I think you grow with your preferences as customers etc.

I’m starting slow, but really great to know about the costs I’ve never thought about.

Thanks for the lesson mate!

I’ll use it 👍

[MurraydeLues]

I ran a industrial size machine that cost $200k. Had many very expensive tool holders and tooling. That cost was around 100k. We needed 2 of each tool, so one could be away getting sharpened. Some of the were over $600 each. Tooling is very expensive. I used to replace collets every 1 - 2 years, as they wear. Trust me you don't want a 20mm solid carbide tool doing 15000 coming out. Destroys the work and ruins your day. Good video with a honest assessment of costs.

[Zynn]

I am no longer looking to buy a CNC machine!!! Im not sure i want to go thru all of this right now. Maybe I'll take another look at getting one once i retire and have time to deal with all of this!!! Thanks for sharing this TRUTH with us!!

[GOAP]

I’ve a metal CNC that had most of the same “hidden” cost. Two not mentioned are 1) service calls. These aren’t small devices you can easily take in for service or repair. Service call for me is $1, 000 just to show up due to a 4 hour round trip from the nearest service shop. 2) metrology instruments. These machines can be very accurate and repeatable. But you need tools that can measure to those accuracy to be able to dial them in and maintain the repeatability. Probably not as critical with wood, but something better than a (2) for $20 25’ Kobalt tape measure from Lowe’s is needed.

[noelle]

We’ve been throwing the idea of adding a cnc to our woodworking shop at our boss, he’s hesitant. If we showed him this video, his hesitancy would quickly turn into “screw that noise!” 😂

[InspiredCraftsman]

Very cool! Keep in mind that moving the vacuum pump outside the room will put your shop under vacuum. Makeup air will come in from wherever it can affecting the conditioned space.

[YTDumpsterBaby]

You could have just stopped at "Look at my shop, My shop is amazing!" Money well spent. Your place looks fantastic and clean. Congrats on your success.!

[davidthompson]

Great video. I've saved this in my CNC folder so I can watch it when I finish my AVID CNC build that's been on hold for a year due to Solar electrical install damages causing shorts for almost a year. Once I get my wife's chicken coop and run built I can get back into building my CNC/workshop in the

[ArcticSeaCamel]

Great breakdown.
I designed and built diy CNC while back and total cost was still 11K€. And that’s excluding my own work.
As I’m not making business with it (not yet at least) just wanted to take it easy. But every time you need to use someone else’s services it will cost you.

[jeremiahjohnson]

Tip I got from another makerspace was having a plastic brad nailer and plastic brad nails to nail down your workpiece to the MDF board. Works great, plastic brads don't damage your bits (if you accidentally go through them and you can just pop off your piece using a flexible metal paint scraper. Of course pneumatic nail gun, brads, air compressor (we have an ATC anyway) are an expense.

[myfourbits]

So, I have gone through the video.. AND IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME. i AM NOT THERE YET. But hopefully soon..THANK YOU !

[calvarycustomsllc]

Mike, this is fantastic information that isn't really talked about! We all needed the video and you stepped up and knocked it out of the park. Well done Sir! You gave me a ton of insight for me to prepare for whenever the time comes for me to dive into a large CNC machine like yours. Even though these hidden costs means more money for operation, this certainly makes me more confident when it's time to buy. Thanks Dude! Keep it up!

[surewhatever]

Thank you! I was just working to identify and cost out all the necessary “extras” and it was turning into a headache project.

[woodworkingandautomation]

Nice summary Mike! Large CNCs have hidden costs, that's why I made a small one with automatic loading system. Enjoy!

[myfourbits]

This is the first time I have been to this site. . And 3 minutes in I am loving it Well see.

[AlmondCreekWoodshop]

Good stuff. All these things are keeping me from a CNC. Power and dust collection are the biggest hurdles right now. The good thing is I have a large shop close to me that I can sub any cnc work I need.