Larry,
Alright you have several very good points but that is based on today. I expect
the speed of RP/RM to increase with time. The capital cost and resin/materials
cost should decrease with time. In five years the math may work.
Actually, I was trying to be a futurist and talk about how things would be.
The numbers I used in my example should make it perfectly clear that I feel
more comfortable with my grasp of the future than the present.
Anyways, the economies of assembly may always favor the large company as you
point out but human desire for uniqueness may become a big factor if the price
difference between cars is a factor less than two instead of 8-10 as in your
example.
Small companies producing unique, even custom, automobiles may compete in the
$25,000-$35,000 price range. People would pay to be unique. Large companies,
producing commodity priced cars, may not be capable or desirous of working in
small batches. Witness my success, albeit limited, in selling higher priced
custom jewelry in a world flooded by commodity priced jewelry. The more I can
leveredge technology to bring my prices in line with theirs, the more market
share I can gain through uniqueness. Or alternatively, the more they will have
to operate like me producing smaller, more unique, batches.
Isn't content king in a commodity saturated environment?
Steve
lblasch@opw-fc.com wrote:
> Steve,
>
> You forgot a few small factors in your equation, the cost of molding the
> components used in the high volume production method is substantially
> lower than the cost of RP-ing the same components due to the high
> tooling investment. The same mass of plastic even at 1/4 the cost of the
> current RP materials would still be more than the proposed selling price
> of the vehicle and that doesen't include the metal and glass.
>
> Take the same automobile scenario:
>
> Estimate 180-250Kg Plastic/Rubber components in an automobile; divide
> that into 20 groups of materials needing unique properties; and you now
> need 20 of your 30 sets of machines just to make the required parts in
> the appropriate materials.
>
> Of course you could run some parts and change resins, but that will
> incease the labor costs and lead time. The cost to produce the
> equivalent part in RP as compared to most molding processes is much
> greater due to the hand work necessary as well as the material costs.
>
> What you save by not having tooling investments, you more than offset
> with the increased cost and time required by freeform manufacture.
>
> Next, the assembly of the vehicle is complex, in a high volume production
> plant, hondreds of millions of dollars are spent on fixtures and
> positioning equipment to reduce the assembly time. If you are building more
> than one vehicle at a time, you need to factor that into the equation as
> well. It takes a lot longer to build it without the proper tools.
>
> By my estimate, the low volume manufacturer, even with high speed RP
> capability would be producing an equivalent product at 8 to 10 times the
> cost of high volume production.
>
> Will you pay $120,000 for the $15,000 car?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Larry Blasch
> System Administrator for Engineering Services
>
> OPW Fueling Components Voice: (513) 870-3356
> P.O. Box 405003 Fax: (513) 870-3338
> Cincinnati, OH 45240-5003 USA
> *********************************************************************
>
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