Rich,
I am not a machinist by trade, I fell into it in 04 when one of my customers wanted me to knock off $500 dollars from his bill in exchange for a tabletop MaxNC mill, times were better back then in the US, we were getting over the 9/11 crash, so I said yes...
I am a Plastic Product and Injection Mold Designer, a couple years back I couldn't find any work and quoted doing some prototypes with my MaxNC, since then the Design Business has been paying less and work has been hard to find, and the Machining Business has been steadily been picking up. Hell, I can almost make a living again!
Now you know my background...
Regards,
Kendall Miller
Fun Dimensional, Inc.
Leander, Texas