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Thread: Cost of prototyping

  1. #1

    Cost of prototyping

    Two questions.

    What is an average cost to prototype a bolt design and what is the average cost to prototype a full marker (electronics would come from other markers)?

    Just wanted to know to plan ahead for a project.

    Thanks for the help!

  2. #2
    I am not sure there really are average costs for any of those. It depends on how you make it happen. More details on type of part or gun and processes used would be needed. Are you farming it all out or doing it in house?

  3. #3
    Insider bronc's Avatar
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    A lot and a whole lot.

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    Insider TierOneJeff's Avatar
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    "The best way to make a small fortune in paintball is to start with a large one" - Tom Kaye

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  6. #6
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    A couple of people on here, too.

    - - - Updated - - -

    But to answer the question, there is no answer. How long is a piece of string.

  7. #7
    Insider TierOneJeff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    There are many people who have done well out of paintball, Tom Kaye included.
    He certainly has, it was just a funny response he gave once at a conference.

    Also much like Jack's answer it was an answer that wasn't an answer. You don't know until you know.

  8. #8
    Insider Ydna's Avatar
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    I'll bite on the simple stuff. For typical lathe components, figure a couple hundred dollars per component, as a general maximum amount. It depends on the complexity of the parts but that's usually the number I throw out for a hand-sized one off component.
    Different shops have different operating procedures but I can tell you what I follow, basically a 1.5-2 hour upfront cost to program/setup the parts, which is where most of the cost is used. The parts don't take long to make once everything is set, but getting there takes the time. Shop rate multiplied by amount of time equals the final cost.

    Now, that number might move around depending on the complexity, the accuracy required, and the level of intricacy of any secondary milling operations like ports or whatever. Making ports or slots is easy to do, but a couple variables will be used to determine how they're fabricated (mainly how easy they will be to create and how accurate they must be). For instance if you need ultra precise parts with multiple intricate milling around the outside, using a very complex lathe component that will be tricky to hold, then a much more expensive upfront process might be used to get the job done. The opposite end of the coin is if you have a simple bolt that gets cross-ported on a drill press in 2 minutes. (or whatever)

    The price-per-component drops significantly if you get more than one item made. If it's only one then all the upfront is dumped into that single part; but if you get, say, 3 parts then the price-per-component is decreased by nearly a third. (less the amount of time it takes to make it, but is small in comparison to the setup costs).

    Talking numbers for an entire marker is much more subjective to the level of detail and whatnot. Definitely no real answer there. Start with parts made in other guns or modifications from other guns makes things easier for sure.

  9. #9
    Thanks so much for the advice. I would definitely have to have the machining farmed out. I'm in the process of teaching myself CAD now.

    I have been working on a bolt and once the design is finalized I would like to get just that prototyped. I designed it to fit into a dm4 body with a little bit of modification to keep the initial costs down.

    If all goes smoothly, I'd like to do a simple gun body down the road with a gas through trigger frame.

    I'm not really interested in making profit or selling anything, just building something of my own and learning more about the engineering behind paintball guns.

  10. #10
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    Now, I have have a big variance on parts being made, for both small single parts and for a simple gun.

    On the gun side I have had one built for $1500 by hand (with no electronics), and seen $7000 for a complete electro (well, 2, done at a CNC shop etc.) But that was a production gun.

    For something as simple as the bolt a machinist with hand machines might make a better option for the wallet than a CNC shop. And even for the gun, if you do not need a full blown setup. Unfortunately the small airsmiths who can do the work are getting rarer.

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