Hi to all.
To Calebarchie : it is legitimate to suspect a scam and I have no problem with that. There is, on the web, the best like the worst. I dont have any experience in design and manufacture. I'm learning everyday, and its hard. This said, I have drawn the plans of a house that is now built and I have rebuilt a 1960 Land Rover. And I have worked on a wide range of projects, going from website/ecommerce to market studies in rail transport (rguertin.com). And I have done a few projects in photography (CD covers, book cover, fashion).
This project is also part of a course for my master in business administration (MBA). So I am going through market study (the survey is the next step; using Drupal), part prices, financial data, operation costs, scenarios, etc. This is *the* step : if the business plan is not viable, than the project will stop right there.
If the business plan is promissing, the next step will be the prototype. I am already preparing this step, meeting with a student in engineering next week. Eventually, there will be a kickstarter, but that is far away for now. First, a viable business plan. And this will be done with the end of school (May).
The 500$ target was a starting point to force myself in finding the "best" solutions in building an affordable film processor. Now I am more around 600$. But things look good as I have found most of my parts, including the computer, the touch screen, the waterbath (probably in stainless steel), the heater and so on.
But my real concern for now is the programming of the computer. Since the machine will work on a step by step approach, the programming might cost a lot.
To Nodda Duma : I know... the injection matrix... That was not fun to learn! But then, it is 10$ per waterbath for the first 1000 units. I am investigating the prices for a waterbath in stainless steel (I know... shipping costs!). I need to have different options for the business plan. I using a software that helps me to make scenarios, including prototypes, salaries, part prices, etc. Pretty cool, helps a lot.
To CatLabs : I find amusing the way you try to dissuade me ("...one or two companies in the whole world", etc.). I guess you want to sell that Stark processor. I am aware of how hard the road ahead is going to be. On thing I can tell you is that there will be no middleman, I will sell directly to the photographers in an effort to keep costs down and to have a constant contac with my clients : feedback is essential for me.
I did get numbers from Ilford and other smaller film companies. And dont worry, I am fullly aware that the film market is a "niche" market. But now I know the countries where the market is strong. Moreover, my market study (that is not over yet), includes a more "anthropological" approach to the market and the reasons why film is still popular (for once, my Ph.D. in Human Geography paid off). Knowing some of the reasons behind the "film revival" helps me understand for how long I can hope to be in business.
But thanks for worring... That was cute.
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The Stark processor... It seems to work with one of those chinese PID that only have +/- 1°C in precision, which is not enough for some C-41 (+/- 0.5°C). The other thing is : where do you put your chemistry to get it to temperature? And considering the depth of the machine, the waterbath might not hold very well the temperature of your tank, specially in push process (20 minutes + of processing). But it is hard to tell just from a picture.
And it still works with buttons... In my project, this is getting out of the way. Simplified controls to reduce the costs. I guess the ebay thing is a way for them to test their market and to see how much people are willing to pay for it. If the Stark processor goes out under 500$ my project is busted... But maybe not since I am targeting precise water temperature, speed control of the motor and saving / sharing your development parameters. But again... I need to complete my business plan and my survey.
By the way, my survey is about to be ready (I've got Drupal, a .com and a list of questions; all I need is to put that all together). Your help will be much appreciated, at least for me to succeed my course... School... never thought I went back after a Ph.D.
R.