FETT Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Hello Everyone, right now i've started a Kickstarter Project to bring back the Monorail Straight. If you are intrested, feel free to support us. You have now the chance to get Monorail Straight Tracks for you're projects for an affordable Price. It is also possible to make the Monorail Straight in different colours for you're diorama I hope you are all intrested and support us! This is the chance! Feel free to ask questions... Edit: Don't know why the pictures are not showing!? I can see it in the Editor, but not in the post... Edited January 30, 2016 by FETT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlmightyArjen Posted January 25, 2016 Pledged! My first Kickstarter pledge ever :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchiedoughnut Posted January 26, 2016 All the best! But I dont have a monorail running, so Im not backing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1974 Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Feel free to ask questions... Edit: Don't know why the pictures are not showing!? I can see it in the Editor, but not in the post... This seem like a halfbaked idea. Please read this thread, there are several important issues being discussed : http://www.bricklink...e.asp?ID=965813 Pics are not showing as EB is not a file hosting site. Use flickr etc Let's look at some numbers then : The average price sold on BL is in the last six months is 22EUR and 250 was sold in six months, about 40 each month. That is not a lot. There's ebay too but I reckon most spare tracks are bought at BL Even if you can sell them at 5EUR each and you'd reach every monorail buying person on the planet (and they'd be willing to use non-LEGO parts) it will still take many years to see a dime This does not sound like a good plan Much better to 3D it and make a file you can use at shapeways etc. Might still be pricy but it will get cheaper in the future Then you can also do new interesting tracks, like the never released cross track :) Cheers, Ole Edited January 26, 2016 by 1974 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperballpark Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) I agree. I suspect a lot of people these days are trying to use kickstarter in place of a proper business plan. I'm not saying all do, just some of them. This is definitely true for this one. You're basically asking people to fund the setting up of your own business. Not just a project that you can't quite afford to finance, but an actual whole business. You're even wanting to use the funds to pay your taxes! Still, we'll see. $40k is a lot to get in a month. It'd be interesting to see if it gets anywhere near that. I suspect not, and probably rightly so. EDIT: Other things have occurred to me. Things such as: - You're offering the straights in different colours. As LEGO only produced curves in one colour, why would people buy the straights in yellow, if they can't get curves in yellow? Sure, you have it a s 'further goal', but I suspect you're getting ahead of yourself. - Although you mention that it will pay for the costs of setting up your whole business, as well as paying your taxes and shipping. Oh and paying for the mould. But what about buying the actual material to make them? You don't mention that at all. What material would you use? The kickstarter says you could have trans wheels, but as far as I know, you'd need to use a different material for that. Edited January 26, 2016 by Paperballpark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FETT Posted January 26, 2016 Sorry but Shapeways want 24€ per Track... that is not really a alternative... And Kickstarter is to use it in that way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FETT Posted January 30, 2016 Update #1: Some Legal Facts... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchiedoughnut Posted January 30, 2016 I get the feeling that certain aspects of running a business are being overlooked. From looking at your reward system, you value a straight piece of monorail at 3 dollars retail. Versus 25 dollars as sold on Bricklink. That'll mean that if everything goes perfectly, your turnover will meet the Kickstarter budget years from now. Even if your Kickstarter project is succesful, you will have saturated your market. And I need to raise serious concerns about that price. At those few dollars you will need to factor in the cost of a mould, price of materials, shipping, and so on. Do not forget you need to make a little profit to deal with contingencies. I cant see that for a 3$ product where the market is about 100 units each month. You also need to factor in prototyping. Most likely the first mould will have fitment issues and you'll need another mould. And so on. The best advice is to talk to someone that knows your market and the difficulties in dealing with Kickstarter. I'd talk to ME Models. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FETT Posted January 30, 2016 I don't need that much Molds. I have a manufacturer which designs the mold for me. He get paid when the mold is perfect. He only gets a deposit to start to manufacturing the mold. This manufacturer is doing this for industry with molds that are more complicated like this one. He said its not really a problem. He scans the track with 3D laser measurement that put it in a 3D model in a cad system which programs a CNC machine wich creates the mold. It's a high tech manufacturer in south Germany. He already done the scanning to calculate the costs for the mold. I don't know how other do they're things. And i know how we do our things and this will work! The costs of the track in production are more less than you ever think... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperballpark Posted January 30, 2016 Sadly, I suspect the OP may have purchased some of these: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bricks n bolts Posted January 30, 2016 I don't need that much Molds. I have a manufacturer which designs the mold for me. He get paid when the mold is perfect. He only gets a deposit to start to manufacturing the mold. This manufacturer is doing this for industry with molds that are more complicated like this one. He said its not really a problem. He scans the track with 3D laser measurement that put it in a 3D model in a cad system which programs a CNC machine wich creates the mold. It's a high tech manufacturer in south Germany. He already done the scanning to calculate the costs for the mold. I don't know how other do they're things. And i know how we do our things and this will work! The costs of the track in production are more less than you ever think... If it's not a problem, can he also do train track molds in multiple diameter curves and colours? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FETT Posted January 30, 2016 No i don't.... But its one thing if you copy something or you invent something new... If it's not a problem, can he also do train track molds in multiple diameter curves and colours? Caution, two different things!! Only copy a track its a complete different attempt, because with the scanning the track you have all informations. But inventing something new, you have to create a 3D model of it. Or do it with molds, which is not the way you should do. I work at a valve manufacturer and the product designers and engineers explained me that all work first is done in 3D models. And not with the metal its more expensive then 3D modeling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coaster Posted January 31, 2016 I'm fine about the Kickstarter bit to get going. I'll likely do one myself for the different 9V track geometries once I have everything buttoned up. It takes capital to start a business. and I agree, that is the purpose of Kickstarter. No one expects you to be a charitable organization making monorail track out of goodwill. I do have some concerns about the manufacturing though. First, it sounds like you have a good contact for doing the molds, but you're going to have to have side action for the studs, no? I noticed in your picture you don't have the small holes in the studs, which concerns me for 1) shrinkage, and 2) that you're going to clamshell along the stud, thus having a parting line there. Stud tolerance is very tight, and I find it unlikely you'll be able to hold it properly here. Adding side-action to a mold is not a trivial cost either, and I'm not sure you've taken it into account. Additionally, maybe you guys have a great digitizer, but the ones I've used (albeit very few) have had crap for resolution/accuracy. Best I could get was around ±2mm, which for the studs and toothed rail is horrendous. I'd reconsider simply dimensioning the part and modeling it up separately, then use the model to fab the molds. The part's not that complicated, it shouldn't be difficult to pull dimensions off it. Good Luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FETT Posted January 31, 2016 The original stud is hollow, we do a close stud. Because of the costs and thats why you see it in the picture closed. Here you have some Answers: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/154046175/monorail-brick-straight-project/posts/1478464 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coaster Posted February 1, 2016 While I understand the hollow stud is more money, there's a good reason Lego did it. It cost them more money as well, so they wouldn't have done it if it weren't functionally necessary. Without it, you're going to have some serious sink marks in the stud, and not just the face, the sides as well. The shrinkage is not going to be even either, so you can't just say, "well, we'll mold it at 5mm and let it shrink to size." It's not a controlled deformation, and I suspect your mold maker doesn't realize the stud diameter needs to be held to ±.01mm. Even aside from that, you'll still have a parting line along horizontally across the stud, which will also mess with the fit size. If you're serious about this, I'd strongly suggest you reconsider the side-action for the tooling. If nothing else, ask him. Unless he's also an attorney, conversations are free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cookiedent Posted February 1, 2016 Just go for it! :) Your goal looks a bit challenging, but it is doable. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Legotom Posted February 4, 2016 Good on you Fett, go for it. I was intending to do something like this myself one day, but you are much further advanced than me and have much better contacts. I wish you well and have pledged myself. Really hope it happens. My three year old son and I have the monorail out at the moment and could really do with a lot more straights. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteveB Posted February 4, 2016 "Just Go For It" is the most irresponsible thing in the world to say. Taking tens of thousands of dollars from people on the internet is very serious business, certainly ethically if not legally. Your KS supporters expect to get what they support. And a mold is VERY expensive to get wrong... there is no "reset" / "do over" button. A mold is typically $12,000.00 to $20,000.00 USD and that's a very expensive paper-weight. Fett the best advice is to listen to "coaster". All his advice is exactly correct. You cannot scan and copy, you must have a 3D CAD drawing made. You cannot make a side stud without a slide-out mold, consider creating a slight modification to the design. This is possible because you can make the assumption that a 1x4 is the only element attached, imagine a vertically slotted stud. SteveB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
