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View Full Version : Laser Cutting job that is very profitable



Keith Outten
10-13-2012, 1:35 AM
Recently I was contacted by a guy that runs a small electrical business, he specializes in changing out light bulbs in parking lots. He needs to have new lenses made periodically for lamp fixtures that are no longer available from the manufacturer.

The first set of lenses I made for him are simple 5" by 5" and 5" by 6" pieces made from 3/8" thick clear acrylic. These were cut on my laser engraver. There is a step to machine along two edges of each piece that is 1/2" wide by about 1/4" deep. This can be done on a router table using a fence. That's about all there is to the job.

I priced the lenses at $48.00 per set of four pieces. Material cost for a 24" by 48" piece of acrylic was $76.00 delivered to my shop door. I have made four sets of lenses and still have a fair size piece of material left over. Based on my numbers so far I can order a half sheet of acrylic and make ten sets of lenses this size for $150.00 with a billing cost of $480.00 in less than one hour of labor. Add a couple bucks for router bits and this ends up being very profitable, about $280.00 for less than an hours work.

Since there are parking lots at shopping malls and other large businesses everywhere there has to be electrical companies that do this type of work who would be more than happy to save a lot of money dealing with a local shop that can fabricate these lenses. My customer was concerned about the low price I gave him, he wanted to make sure that it was profitable for me to continue so I know he is saving serious money over his previous supplier.

Check your phone books for companies in your area that provide this type of service. I suspect that this could end up being a very lucrative monthly recurring type of job. I hope the next order is for 50 to 100 sets of lenses :)

I will post some pictures as soon as I can.......I'm working on a sign sample for a hospital that has to be delivered on Monday morning.
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AL Ursich
10-13-2012, 1:45 PM
Great Idea...

AL

Martin Boekers
10-13-2012, 4:37 PM
I did a custom job for a local business a while back for lighting of a sidewalk. He wanted something different than the standard
pieces that came with the fixtures. There was a concrete wall that held the fixtures that gave lighting for the walkway. We designed
a nice oval and etched a pattern into it. Came out nice. Another happy customer! Plus a good profit for the shop! There is work all
around if you can talk with the right person.

George Carlson
10-13-2012, 8:29 PM
I'm a little suprised that you can make these from acrylic. Acrylic is flamable, much like wood, and is not allowed by UL for use in many electrical devices. Polycarbonate is allowed. Something to keep in mind when you are doing projects where your device may cause a fire.

Martin Boekers
10-14-2012, 1:21 AM
The pieces that were provided with the fixtures where acrylic, as I tested them with the laser. These are outdoor usage with flouresence lights. But you do bring up a good point about liability and codes.

Keith Outten
10-14-2012, 9:18 AM
I inquired about the material type right up front because I was concerned about the heat. I was told the manufacturers lenses were acrylic and the light fixture had plenty of air circulation vents built-in to take care of the heat. Since I had to order the material anyway it didn't matter to me what they preferred as long as it was a material that I could vector cut.

As a point of interest I found out a few weeks ago the cast acrylic is much more heat resistant than extruded acrylic. I often use acrylic for routing jigs for ADA signs and the extruded acrylic has a tendency to melt against the router bearing. I discussed this with a Pro and found out that cast would work much better and it definitely does, in fact we haven't had a piece of cast fail yet.
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Kim Vellore
10-14-2012, 4:09 PM
Keith,
I am curious did you find out why they needed replacement? that might give some insight on the failure.

Kim

Keith Outten
10-14-2012, 5:07 PM
Kim,

Over time acrylic used in an exterior application will start to frost and get brittle. Honestly I think the manufacturer should have designed the light fixtures for glass.
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