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Avatar User Offline ScaleAero
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Posted: May/13/2023 at 10:14pm  Quote
 
Dan and I have been friends well over twenty five years. Its painful to accept change will be forced upon Dan due to change in potential customer skills, and distribution sales Wms. Bros. requires to exist.

Dan's business depends on volumes of each item sold. Such is not the case with demand printed items. Aside from requiring considerable time to print in ABS or UV hardened resin...raw materials for these processes are infinately more expensive due to their exclusive market focus vs. millions of items produced with traditional injection molding...every day.

Changing the molding process to printed high temp plugs for creation of metal molds via lost wax process vs. CNC milled aluminum...will modernize Wms Bros. I do not see anyone being interested at the startup investment level required to do this in kind to sales made at the piece instead of by the pallet lot. This is not to say there is a replacement for traditional plastic airplane model kits...which constitutes a good portion of Dan's business. These kits are sold in case lots to traditional retailers with brick and mortar as well as online sales.

Dan's business model (pun intended) can make a right or left turn easily if he can "once again" beat his Pacific Rim injection equipment into submission and function appropriately to permit development of new plastic models for a much greater number of scale modeling consumers who do not try to negotiate the price everytime a single item sale occurs.

Dan's heart is in the right place. The fork in Williams Bros. road can lead to greater modeling experiences for the traditional plastic airplane hobbist... They buy and shelf fly models at something like 5 years until steady hands and clear vision fail. It is a real fact that the major plastic model manufacturer's minimum production "requirements" are their nemisis. Dan's current position with a HUGE IC manufacturer can definately put food on the table...and his modeling obsession may return to provide enjoyment to new generations...being introduced to scale aviation...at the H.O. scale level.



On the other hand... given the current and potentially future constraint of Chinese manufactured imports... Lost wax molds may be more than practical considering the number of 10 year olds who have excellent CAD skills. 



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Avatar User Offline Alan
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Posted: May/13/2023 at 10:45pm  Quote
 
Ed,
 I too know Dan quite well  .We first met at a Dinner at one of the Rhinebeck RC fly-ins.
When I lived in Austin, I would often stop by his warehouse to pick up part and stay for a chat
He told me that many of his machines needed to be upgraded, and that was an expensive and time consuming operation.

 I don't disagree with anything you said, but I do think that when today you compare 3D printed parts with Injection molding it
is like comparing a Typewriter to Computer.

Very useful in their time, but now outdated..
Sad, but I am afraid true.


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Avatar User Offline jharkin
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Posted: March/19/2024 at 8:44am  Quote
 
Quote: Alan
 I don't disagree with anything you said, but I do think that when today you compare 3D printed parts with Injection molding it
is like comparing a Typewriter to Computer.


Yes and no. 3D printing is not the magic solve all its often made to be.  Yes it does allow you to make a much wider variety of shapes, and more complicated shapes - with a fraction of the lead time.

But when it comes to big volume production 3DP really falls behind, and unless you are paying up for high end materials and resolution the finished product is not nearly as refined.  I have used both Williams molded and Ifly Tailiies 3D guns and it takes a LOT of work to make hte 3D guns look as good and not be distracted by the layer cake effect.


And the biggest issue of all - NONE of these alternative suppliers have filled hte void for WWI wheels with proper scale profiles.  The DuBros are just comically misproportioned/too fat.






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