posted
If you have a CNC router, do you track the power consumption? Is it necessary to consider this part of the hourly rate that the router runs? Or would the cost be negligable? Curious, since I'm running my table more and more.
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Tim, I really don't see a huge difference in the electric bill when the router is really busy mabye $50.00 per month. You should have your rate set high enough so that power is not a big concern.
-------------------- Dennis Raap Raap Signs Posts: 839 | From: Coopersville, MI | Registered: Feb 2003
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Turn the CNC OFF for thirty days then compare the electric bill to the previous month. It will give you a good indication of the power consumption for the router.
Course it {might} effect your income somewhat also.
Regards Vinylman®
-------------------- Bob Cole American Sign Company 14163 Akron Canfield Rd. Berlin Center, Ohio 44401
A.K.A. Vinylman® Posts: 575 | From: Berlin Center, Ohio, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I consider $50.00 a month considerable. That's half a grocery bill! If your selling $4000.00 a month with the table and your profit margin is 25%, that's 5% of your net profit. Isn't there a way to put an inexpensive meter on the thing to track power usage? I think it would be important to figure this into my hourly rate for table time. Maybe I'm being anal, and should just add a few % to my current rate..... Hmmm... My business advisor brought this up. Maybe I should fire him.
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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I might be frivolous but $50 a month to run a router seems to me to be pretty negligible compared to the overall profits generated by it's use.
Sheesh...I wonder how much power my vinyl cutter uses to generate what it does in profits?
But then again..now that I think about it...a case of beer here in Canada costs $35.50...
A decent restaurant meal for two/with cocktails costs $35.00...
It costs around $75 to fill up the shop van....
Nawww..NOT gonna sweat the electrical costs to run a machine that actually earns me money!!!
[edited to say]
Geez..$4000 a month isn't too bad I guess, but when you say a 25% profit margin do you mean you are only realizing $1000 a month from it?
Is that actual "profit" above and beyond your labour costs? Or is that what you end up with in your pocket?
Many folks equate "profit" with "labour earnings".
[ April 01, 2005, 12:31 AM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
Dave, That's in the pocket, taxable income. The $4000.00 figure was just an example, though. I don't think a plotter uses quite near the power a cnc router does. Probably $10.00 a month, which is negligable.
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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Tim I'm sorry if I sound like a PR here but if you can afford a cnc router you shouldn't have to worry about a little 50 bucks.If you don't have enough business for this router get the Marketing moving.
-------------------- Randall Campbell Randy's Graphics, 420 Fairfield N. Hamilton Ontario Canada Posts: 2857 | From: Hamilton Ontario Canada | Registered: Jan 2002
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Break out the stopwatch and time how long the router runs. Keep tabs for a month (maybe two three or four to get a good average) then using the power consumption listed in the router documentation and the time tally, calculate the kW-hours and multiple that by the electric rate on your bill - you'll have your electricity costs.
It never hurts to have every cost accounted for and you may as well track it if you can. If you ever come up short at the end of the month, you'll wonder why if you don't keep track. "Hey, I thought I had another $XX in here, where'd it go??"
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Box that thang up, ship it to Carrollton, Texas, and I will do all the power consumption tests you wish. I'll even be nice enough to pay for the electricity used while testing.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5089 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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As a way of estimating, you can add up the max horsepowers of the router and the vacuum. That will be the max power consumption. The control is neglibible.
Let's say the total is eight horsepower. That's 5,968 watts or about 6 kilowatts.
If your electric rate is 13 cents per kilowatt per hour, that works out to 78 cents per hour.
You rarely if ever work at full power, especially if you cut PVC and HDU, so that should give you a high side estimate of router power cost.
-------------------- Victor Georgiou Danville, CA , USA Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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Thanks, Victor. I guess there isn't too much concern about power usage with a router table. It seems like it would be more. Now, how about my air conditioner.........
-------------------- Tim Whitcher Adrian, MI Posts: 1546 | From: Adrian, MI | Registered: Mar 1999
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