Manufacturing fluorescent light fixtures

[union]

Dear all , I want to start a workshop of manufacturing fluorescent light fixtures , e.g., 1x36w 1.2m channels , 2x36w 1.2m channels , 1x58w 1.5m channels , 2x58w 1.5m channels etc . I have a limited budget . Please advice me what machines and tools initially I need and what will be the cost ? Thanks in advance .

 

[grantr37]

will have a think and get back to you

 

[Plonker 3]

How the hell can youbset up a business when you have no idea about costs and materials?

 

[telectrix]

dilb, have you clocked his location? it's south of the trent.

 

[kingeri]

You'll need a hammer, screwdriver, and possibly a bit of wire and some connector blocks. Should be able to get everything you need from Wilkinsons.

 

[Marvo]

All depends on manufacturing volume. Contact some local automation and machine suppliers in Botswana who can give after sales support.

 

[Darkwood]

Set up machinery etc would be in the millions if your making the glass tubing, even if you buy in the glass ytubes ready drawn you will have to invest large amounts on cash in toxic chemical storage systems and also vacuum filling and sealing machines, these use high heat generation to melt the glass and nip it closed so energy costs will be high too requiring an industrial gas supply or similar, its not impossible to set an home made lab up and carefully hand craft them but youll be only pumping out several units a day and added delights of long term damage from mercury and phosphorous exposure..........

 

[snowhead]

Set up machinery etc would be in the millions if your making the glass tubing,
.

O.P says fittings, not Lamps.

It's a bit late for Flu fittings, he might as well go straight into L.E.D

 

[Darkwood]

My bad misread it ...was just coing round from a night on the pop :dizzy2:

 

[union]

How the hell can youbset up a business when you have no idea about costs and materials?

I have pretty much idea about the costing locally , as I am in electrical business for a looong time . I was thinking of importing machinery from UK . Hence I was asking the question , have I done a mistake ?

 

[union]

Thanks ..

 

[amlu]

if you know what you doing may have a look on ebay sometimes interesting machines appear there.
for fluorescent fixtures you dont need much, only a sheet metal cutter/bender if you go for the metal ones.

 

[Marvo]

You're not giving too much info here. What kind of volumes are you looking to produce? Are you looking at supplying your local market or exporting?

I'm guessing in Botswana you'd be utilising local and relatively cheap labour so full mechanization wouldn't be cost effective for relatively small output numbers your domestic market would warrant.

Why would you be considering importing your machinery from the UK? Unless you're going with a state of the art high output setup it won't be cost effective, standard sheet metalwork machinery is available locally and the components such as tube holders and ballasts would be easily imported from the far East.

 

[grantr37]

Dear all , I want to start a workshop of manufacturing fluorescent light fixtures , e.g., 1x36w 1.2m channels , 2x36w 1.2m channels , 1x58w 1.5m channels , 2x58w 1.5m channels etc . I have a limited budget . Please advice me what machines and tools initially I need and what will be the cost ? Thanks in advance .

you would need a CNC plasma cutter machine which cuts thin sheet metal from big rolls (this would be Aluminium), a high quality Powder coating Machine and a computer Server, as well as 3 Desktop PC computers, 3 Laptop computers, PRO-Engineer Software, AutoCad Software,proteus PCB Software, a Hand Plasma Metal cutter, 3 spot welders (3 Phase power- they use 2 phases out of the 3 and are water pump cooled) you will also need a high flow ventilation extractor system and Air conditioner, a gas wire welder and a full workshop with the following tools: 230V Hand Drill x 5 (Bosch or Makita) 24V cordless Drill x 5(Bosch or Makita) Bench Drill x 3 (230V) Hand Spray paint machine (Airless) x 3 Electric sheet metal forming machine (folding machine) x 1 High speed Hand Riverters Drill x 2 compressed Air powered Rivet machine x 1 Cordless 24V Rivet machine x 2 UV Paint Curing Enclosure x 1 Infra red paint oven x 1 Zebra Label Printing machine x 2 (+ several rolls of labels and Ink Ribbons) Hand Wire Stripper x 12 + several Full sets of screwdrivers (Irazola, WERA Brand) 230V Reciprocating bench saw x 1 Gas Brazing Torch x 3 Soldering Iron x 12 + Good Quality Solder, Flux pens, Solder cleaner spray. Temperature Controlled soldering station x 2 Hundreds of Metal Drill Bits Dozens of 15mm, 20mm,25mm,30mm Holesaws An LED Tester Box Calibration Card (Calcard) x 6 Calibration Checkbox x 3 Clamp Meter x 3 Good Multimeter x 6 Benchtop Multimeter x 3 Benchtop Oscilloscope x 3 Hand Held Oscilloscope (Scopemeter) x1 Full Socket Handtool set x 3 Hacksaws +Hacksaw Blades Metal Marker pens Metal Scribes High Quality Vernier Calipers (Calibrated) x 4 Paint cavitation meter x 2 Multi function Tester (for insulation and earth Bonding tests) x 1 to start Metal Rules (Box of) Scribe Blue Ink (for metal marking) Stick welding machine x 1 Light Tube tester (Milwaukee Tester) Safety Glasses x 50 Pairs Safety Gloves x 200 Pairs Ear Plugs x 3 Large Boxes Welding Mask (Dark Glass) x 6 Workshop Lab coat x 24 Dust Masks x 300 Fume Masks x 24 + 48 spare filters to start.. Knee pads x 24 sets (for working on workshop floor) PCB Bench Drill x 2 Hand tools which you will find easily locally such as Hammers etc.. Floor Safety Mats 2m x 20m to start with. When you have your metal work equipment, you will be able to build your own workshop ventilation ducting and also your workbenches from Aluminium and steel.. Fire Extinguisher CO2 10KG x 6 Fire Extinguisher Foam 5Litre x 6 Fire Extinguisher CO2 5KGx 6 Fire Extinguisher Water 10 Litre x 6 Fire Extinguisher Powder 5Kg x 6 Large First Aid Kit x 6 Burns First Aid Kit x 12 (good company in South Africa manufactures these called Burn Shield) Plastic Pallet x 24 Plastic waste Bin x 4 for broken tubes, there is a company in Germany and 2 in the UK that can take these from Africa to recycle….there is one in South Africa as well Plastic waste bin for old circuit boards/components, this can go to the UK ,South Africa or Japan for Recycling. Aplastic waste bin (trash can) for Batteries x 2, these can go to Belgium for recycling… You will need to get lamp holders and clips from China or Thailand, Ballasts and Electronic Ballasts are available from Germany, Poland or the UK….terminal block connectors are available from manufacturers in the UK… Powder Coating materials and tools are available from Germany… Welding wire is available from the UK, the best place to buy welding machines from is the UK or Germany and the Spot welders you are looking for are made in Italy… Electronic Starters for lights are available from the UK and you can re-sell these all over Africa (google Multi Pulse- Tabelec England) You will need to work on LED Lighting Circuits, if you can produce these you will get a reseller in the UK, if you want further information just ask me on here… You should be able to get your old metal cuttings recycled locally or sold to an export scrap company, you will be able to get old plastic recycled in Europe somewhere or it could go to Japan or South Africa… Can you get 2 x 30 Foot long shipping containers to use as storage? And maybe have some kind of place with a kettle, microwave, fridge and wash area for staff….? You may be able to get working insurance from a company in South Africa or Europe and also to do online internet training courses for you and your staff… Another insurance to look for is product liability insurance, after a while if you travel to Europe you may be able to go for CE marking and ISO 9001...and you will need to get a Logo for your products and company that you can print which will represent your local area, you can get this done on the internet… I would look into getting certification in South Africa and the EU.. If you are buying Light tubes to fit into the lights or supply with them then you may want to look into 2 companies in Europe , OSRAM and SYLVANIA … Printing manuals in a number of languages is a good idea and you will need a good website with information and product pictures on it…. There are good markets for you to sell into in the Middle east which may prefer your products, and you will be able to try the UK market and many European countries… You will need to spend about £30,000 UK pounds to set up everything that you need, then you will be able to add more equipment and get more test instruments and Electronic components over time, eventually moving into printed circuit board design and manufacture… Set up a Facebook Page and a Skype right away and look at getting Fax numbers and voicemail from Efax which can have UK, USA and European numbers but you collect them via the internet… If you can manage then a Blackberry Mobile Phone and an Iridium Satellite phone would be handy for when you are out of the Office… You can get Bubble Wrap from China and very good quality packaging boxes from the UK or Italy… Then find out about getting a deal on LCL (Less than container Load) and FCL (Full container Load) shipping on 20 foot and 30 foot containers to different destinations with a few shipping companies… Anything you need to ask just let me know…

 

[kingeri]

you would need a CNC plasma cutter machine which cuts thin sheet metal from big rolls (this would be Aluminium), a high quality Powder coating Machine and a computer Server, as well as 3 Desktop PC computers, 3 Laptop computers, PRO-Engineer Software, AutoCad Software,proteus PCB Software, a Hand Plasma Metal cutter, 3 spot welders (3 Phase power- they use 2 phases out of the 3 and are water pump cooled) you will also need a high flow ventilation extractor system and Air conditioner, a gas wire welder and a full workshop with the following tools: 230V Hand Drill x 5 (Bosch or Makita) 24V cordless Drill x 5(Bosch or Makita) Bench Drill x 3 (230V) Hand Spray paint machine (Airless) x 3 Electric sheet metal forming machine (folding machine) x 1 High speed Hand Riverters Drill x 2 compressed Air powered Rivet machine x 1 Cordless 24V Rivet machine x 2 UV Paint Curing Enclosure x 1 Infra red paint oven x 1 Zebra Label Printing machine x 2 (+ several rolls of labels and Ink Ribbons) Hand Wire Stripper x 12 + several Full sets of screwdrivers (Irazola, WERA Brand) 230V Reciprocating bench saw x 1 Gas Brazing Torch x 3 Soldering Iron x 12 + Good Quality Solder, Flux pens, Solder cleaner spray. Temperature Controlled soldering station x 2 Hundreds of Metal Drill Bits Dozens of 15mm, 20mm,25mm,30mm Holesaws An LED Tester Box Calibration Card (Calcard) x 6 Calibration Checkbox x 3 Clamp Meter x 3 Good Multimeter x 6 Benchtop Multimeter x 3 Benchtop Oscilloscope x 3 Hand Held Oscilloscope (Scopemeter) x1 Full Socket Handtool set x 3 Hacksaws +Hacksaw Blades Metal Marker pens Metal Scribes High Quality Vernier Calipers (Calibrated) x 4 Paint cavitation meter x 2 Multi function Tester (for insulation and earth Bonding tests) x 1 to start Metal Rules (Box of) Scribe Blue Ink (for metal marking) Stick welding machine x 1 Light Tube tester (Milwaukee Tester) Safety Glasses x 50 Pairs Safety Gloves x 200 Pairs Ear Plugs x 3 Large Boxes Welding Mask (Dark Glass) x 6 Workshop Lab coat x 24 Dust Masks x 300 Fume Masks x 24 + 48 spare filters to start.. Knee pads x 24 sets (for working on workshop floor) PCB Bench Drill x 2 Hand tools which you will find easily locally such as Hammers etc.. Floor Safety Mats 2m x 20m to start with. When you have your metal work equipment, you will be able to build your own workshop ventilation ducting and also your workbenches from Aluminium and steel.. Fire Extinguisher CO2 10KG x 6 Fire Extinguisher Foam 5Litre x 6 Fire Extinguisher CO2 5KGx 6 Fire Extinguisher Water 10 Litre x 6 Fire Extinguisher Powder 5Kg x 6 Large First Aid Kit x 6 Burns First Aid Kit x 12 (good company in South Africa manufactures these called Burn Shield) Plastic Pallet x 24 Plastic waste Bin x 4 for broken tubes, there is a company in Germany and 2 in the UK that can take these from Africa to recycle….there is one in South Africa as well Plastic waste bin for old circuit boards/components, this can go to the UK ,South Africa or Japan for Recycling. Aplastic waste bin (trash can) for Batteries x 2, these can go to Belgium for recycling… You will need to get lamp holders and clips from China or Thailand, Ballasts and Electronic Ballasts are available from Germany, Poland or the UK….terminal block connectors are available from manufacturers in the UK… Powder Coating materials and tools are available from Germany… Welding wire is available from the UK, the best place to buy welding machines from is the UK or Germany and the Spot welders you are looking for are made in Italy… Electronic Starters for lights are available from the UK and you can re-sell these all over Africa (google Multi Pulse- Tabelec England) You will need to work on LED Lighting Circuits, if you can produce these you will get a reseller in the UK, if you want further information just ask me on here… You should be able to get your old metal cuttings recycled locally or sold to an export scrap company, you will be able to get old plastic recycled in Europe somewhere or it could go to Japan or South Africa… Can you get 2 x 30 Foot long shipping containers to use as storage? And maybe have some kind of place with a kettle, microwave, fridge and wash area for staff….? You may be able to get working insurance from a company in South Africa or Europe and also to do online internet training courses for you and your staff… Another insurance to look for is product liability insurance, after a while if you travel to Europe you may be able to go for CE marking and ISO 9001...and you will need to get a Logo for your products and company that you can print which will represent your local area, you can get this done on the internet… I would look into getting certification in South Africa and the EU.. If you are buying Light tubes to fit into the lights or supply with them then you may want to look into 2 companies in Europe , OSRAM and SYLVANIA … Printing manuals in a number of languages is a good idea and you will need a good website with information and product pictures on it…. There are good markets for you to sell into in the Middle east which may prefer your products, and you will be able to try the UK market and many European countries… You will need to spend about £30,000 UK pounds to set up everything that you need, then you will be able to add more equipment and get more test instruments and Electronic components over time, eventually moving into printed circuit board design and manufacture… Set up a Facebook Page and a Skype right away and look at getting Fax numbers and voicemail from Efax which can have UK, USA and European numbers but you collect them via the internet… If you can manage then a Blackberry Mobile Phone and an Iridium Satellite phone would be handy for when you are out of the Office… You can get Bubble Wrap from China and very good quality packaging boxes from the UK or Italy… Then find out about getting a deal on LCL (Less than container Load) and FCL (Full container Load) shipping on 20 foot and 30 foot containers to different destinations with a few shipping companies… Anything you need to ask just let me know…

What he said..........