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Finding Work For CNC Plasma Cutting

Joined
Jan 27, 2023
I am Tring to get a new business up and running. I would Like to Hear What things other members do to find and generate work? I have a CNC plasma Cutter, CNC knee mill, welding Equipment, And all necessary hand tools. I am making cold calls which has been the most effective way so far to get work. I am building a website ExpressiveDoor.com but I have had trouble getting websites to generate work in the past. Should I look into Trade shows? What businesses need plasma cutting? Have you had luck Hiring a website designer/ marketer? my website
 
Um, besides somewhat questioning a hy def plasma as pictured only able to do 3/4 i really question:
“CNC plasma cutting is a type of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining technology that uses a high-velocity stream of ionized gas (plasma) that is directed at the material to be cut. This makes it possible to cut complex shapes out of metal, wood, plastic, and other materials with a high level of precision. “

Wood, plastic? Presicion?

Do you design, or just do clip art? No fab shop work, window guards and ac covers?
 
Talk to the local farmers and concrete plants. You’ll need to be able to help out people like that. You’ll need to add a bunch of value to your parts.

I use a big laser shop for all of my cut sheet, they charge me less for cut parts than I could buy the material for.
 
I'll be blunt. Your website sucks and there's no way, looking at it, I would use you as a fab shop. It's primarily made up of bad photoshops showing fake signs on top of stock photos. The text is overly verbose and reads as one of those fake, auto-generated websites. Scrap the whole thing and start over. Make a website showing YOUR work with text and photos that actually make sense.
 
Oh, I see what you're doing.
You're going for the Instagram mom market, a bold choice my friend!

Not a terrible idea but it will be rough going, slogging your way through the trenches with Etsy sellers.

Social media, antique flea markets and such will be your best bet. Or find some TikTok vlog mom's and Andrew Tate them into marketing for you 😉.

Youtube ads are another great option. Valentines day is coming up, it would be worth dumping some cash into a marketing campaign for that very very soon!

You could also create another site as well and make steel targets. (Insta moms would be pissed if you used the same site)

There are quite a few options out there. Just make sure you are efficient at cad, cutting, powder coat and on to the next.
 
"Our team of experienced craftsmen use one-off fabrication techniques to create custom metal signs. One-off fabrication is the process of creating a one-off, custom product by hand. This allows us to create intricate, detailed designs that would otherwise be impossible to create. We use a variety of techniques, such as welding, milling, drilling, and tapping, to create each sign. This ensures that each sign is unique and one-of-a-kind."

This sounds amazing!!!!!

But what if I need two or more signs that match?
 
Unfortunately it is very hard to make money with plasma and laser cutting.

There is a shop local to me that has dozens of them, with pallet changers and vacuum lifters to move sheets.

They buy material in bulk.

They do work for about the same price I can buy material for.

But they don't do any design services. You must give them a .dxf

The only way to compete is to provide design services also.

Making etsy signs won't make you any money. That market is flooded.

Try offering custom metal signs for local businesses.

Offroad and 4x4 community also needs plasma cutting services

Plus farmers and agricultural repair.
 
Send some ,dxf files to some plasma cutting suppliers, and look at the quotes.
Don't forget the online places like sendcutsend.

Can you compete on price ?
Where he may do okay is with more personal service than online can provide. Things like general advice, design assistance, installation and so on.

A friend had some architectural work plasma cut, accent details along the top of an expensive wood fence and gate. Way more expensive than online. The local guys advised on thickness of material to accent depth, mountings, scaling the design a bit. All things a novice wouldn't have thought about.

Agreed, on "standard" designs like his cat wall hanging online will eat him up.
 
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