On 2020-01-08 4:09 PM, Gedas wrote:
It then goes down the line for heat shrinking and labeling etc.
Anyway, no way you or I can do things like that at home but for a
company that can invest $1000 in the dies and jigs etc for a
dedicated station they can make a huge profit.
Yes, there is some benefit to volume. However, the cost for custom
tooling (dies, etc.), pneumatic presses, automatic cutters/strippers,
etc. still needs to be amortized (depreciated to the accountants)
and still impacts overall cost/profit.
There is still a limit to the number of cables that can be built
by a given number of production workers with a given set of tools
and *sold or used internally* in a given time period. That balancing
act along with the overhead and minimum acceptable profit sets a
(hopefully reasonable) market price.
For the amateur who might need a couple dozen cables of various types
a year over 5 or 10 years, a one time expenditure of a couple hundred
dollars of hand tools (hand crimpers, dies, prep tools) probably
makes the most sense.
73,
... Joe, W4TV
On 2020-01-08 4:09 PM, Gedas wrote:
In an efficient industrial setting you would not believe how many RF
jumpers a worker or two can churn out in an hour. Our engineering
facility also had a HUGE production area (where we made all the SINCGARS
radios for the ARMY) and several dedicated stations out of several
hundred would be just for making jumpers etc.
It's all pneumatic powered and so "pre-programmed" that an operator can
start with a pre-cut length of RG-142 or RG-174 etc and in less then 1
minute have a pair of SMA or other connectors crimped on both ends.
Another operators job would be just to make pre-cut lengths of coax.
That operator would just cram in the coax into a die, push a foot-switch
and have it lop off all the non-needed braids, overcoat, & dielectric
parts exactly to length in one pass....That operator could several
cables every minute and require zero measuring or thinking.
It then goes down the line for heat shrinking and labeling etc. Anyway,
no way you or I can do things like that at home but for a company that
can invest $1000 in the dies and jigs etc for a dedicated station they
can make a huge profit. Having us build our own everything rather then
outsourcing meant way more profit in the end esp when I was told we
ended up selling over 1/2 million of those radios.
Gedas, W8BYA
Gallery at http://w8bya.com
Light travels faster than sound....
This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
On 1/8/2020 3:49 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
On 2020-01-08 3:13 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
So materials cost for a 6 ft jumper is about $25.
If materials is 50% of the selling price, a company is not making
much profit!
How many jumpers can a competent production worker make and test
in an hour? If that worker is making $10/hour, he/she is costing
the employer at least $15/hour with local/state/federal payroll
taxes *without* any other benefits. Add benefits, the cost of
supervision, the cost of packing, cost of storage/carry, cost of
sale (credit card fees, commercial terms for direct sales or discounts
to retailers), cost of commercial overhead (buildings, electricity,
interest/depreciation for equipment) accounting, advertising, etc.
and that "50% over the cost of materials" is likely to produce
considerably less than 10% net profit before corporate taxes.
When all is included, the producer of commercial cable assemblies
who prices at twice the cost of materials is likely to make $1 - $2
per cable assembly in real (spendable) profit.
73,
... Joe, W4TV
On 2020-01-08 3:13 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
On 1/8/2020 7:24 AM, Keith Dutson wrote:
While the cost may seem excessive, keep in mind these are made from
the best
RG-400 cable available to ABR, and normally shipped to commercial
communications customers.
It's at least 50% labor. First quality RG400 (Harbour Industries)
costs about $2.50/ft from good ebay vendors. Don' know cost of the
crimps, but 83-1SP with silver reducer is about $4.50 if you buy in
quantity. So materials cost for a 6 ft jumper is about $25. I'm long
retired, so my time comes pretty cheap. :)
73, Jim K9YC
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