There are all of these new wonderful machines that run on the same amount of electricity as a lightbulb that can be used for household manufacturing. They can be expensive, but often they are cheaper than a car. My dream is to slowly accumulate some of these machines to produce my board games, and eventually to help these machines diffuse to help others start small scale manufacturing as well.
Depending on how well the kickstarter goes, I may be able to get some of these machines which I currently rent at TechShop Pittsburgh.
A CNC milling machine to make my 3d wooden boards $5,000 for a small, $20,000 for a large. Could probably get one of these if I can sell 400 copies. To the right you can see a small machine I am considering. On the bottom you can see the kind of work I do on a similar machine. There is a hardwood milled board for Railroads sitting on the machine.
A laser cutter for making my pieces
$5,000 for a small, up to $40,000 for large. I could get a small one of these around 400 copies, would have to weigh it against the milling machine though. To the right you can see one of the more high end machines in the upper price range. Below you can see some of the hardwood pieces for Railroads that I create with the laser cutter.
A Letterpress machine for high end paper components. Highly variable cost, mostly used machines floating around in a niche market. I'm more likely to source the paper components from somewhere else. I could probably get my own, considering all other costs and priorities, at around 2,000 copies of railroads sold.
A sweet piece of real estate with decorative abandoned car add on. HAHA, Yeah..... In my dreams. I would consider finding a shop at between 2,000-4,000 copies of railroads sold. Of course, I'll count my lucky stars if I can sell 200-400 copies.
