- Mar. 15
- Richard Parker
Homemade: Can You Manufacture from Home?
Since the dawn of the digital age, manufacturing has gone through a lot of evolutions. Over the space of a couple of decades, the methods and techniques used by those making products have changed dramatically, with precision and accuracy being the key areas which have improved. Of course, though, along with getting better at making intricate goods, machines have also gotten a lot smaller, more affordable, and easier to use. With this in mind, starting your own home-based factory shouldn’t be too hard, right?
The Law
There are a lot of strict laws which surrounding a field like manufacturing. The materials and methods you use to make your goods can vary wildly, with some companies using options which are completely safe, like 3D Printers, and others using examples which can be very dangerous, like metal casting. Whatever you’re making, it will be worth making sure that you can do it from home without breaking the law, as it can be easy for an operation to be shut down once it has broken a rule or two.
The Space
Trying to handle something like this from one of the rooms inside your home will probably be too difficult. Not only will making products create a big mess, but it could also produce smells and sounds which won’t be very good for your living space. Instead, a shed or garage can be the perfect place for your factory. They have to be secure, but this shouldn’t be too hard to achieve with a little bit of work to the outside of your place.
The Machines
The machines your business uses will be essential to your work, and will need to have the right space, infrastructure, and foundations to work properly. For example, a wind tunnel isn’t going to fit into a lot of sheds, but will be essential if you want to make anything which has to travel at a high speed. Companies making tools like CNC machines will always be happy to offer advice in this area. If they say that you shouldn’t use their device at home, then you should probably look at another route.
The Designs
Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about how you’re going to design your product. Modern CAD software makes it possible for even those with no art skills whatsoever to make designs for complicated products, and the knowledge you’ll gain along the way has loads of additional applications. It might be worth taking an online course before you get started with this, though, as CAD software isn’t simple, and will often take people a very long time to get to grips with.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of manufacturing a product from home. This sort of effort is something which a lot of people think about, but won’t push through and finish. In reality, though, this can be surprisingly simple, as long as you’re willing to put the time into researching it along the way.