What is a fair price to charge to rack a few modules for someone?

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mpc3000limited

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Joined
Aug 14, 2009
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Location
Connecticut
I am going to be racking up 4 PM1000 modules, 2 modules per rack starting from raw channels. I am asking for all the materials first obviously Par-metal racks, power supplies from Owel etc... so its just my time really.  ;D I have a rough idea of what i would charge an hour but am wanting some input what people think is fair or at least going rate for a skilled electronic tech doing "side work" might also be worth just charging a flat fee per rack/rack module. Any input is appreciated!
 
Estimate hours, and add 50%, because your estimate is probably optimistic.   Expect to feel like you've lost money, if you ever consider your estimate to be meaningful with regards to an hourly rate.  If you've never racked the modules in question, do not underestimate the large amount of thinking time it will take to plan; this is what they are paying you for.    Charge at least as much a plumber, but less than a lawyer.   Sounds like a 24 to 40 hour project, all said and done.   One you've built about a half dozen sets, then you'll be in a position to establish a set rate.  Even then, every buyer will want a different set of features, all requiring thinking time. 
 
Thank you Doug! good advise! I don't plan on slapping them together hurriedly but just wanting to make sure I am not overcharging either!~ In construction sometimes the rough estimate would be double the cost of materials and that equals close to your labor cost, but i amnot sure if that applies the same way here!  ;D Regardless thanks for the info as I am sure you have done more than your fair share of racking!
 
Metalwork is the big *unknown* here for you, since you don't have ready front panel templates.

Measuring, drilling, and all that manual labor is time and labor intensive. Don't underestimate your time here.

If you have CNC files for the front and rear panels, you can outsource that work but know that a one-off panel job will be  expensive and will eat into your profits (unless you have a CNC machine and can do all the work in-house.)
 
Thanks Owel, I will be getting ahold of you or at least sending the customer over to you for your Power supply setups... makes my job all that much easier!  ;D

The guy actually only wants the preamp portion with Pad, HPF & 48v switches without the EQ. I guess he has a few of these racked up already and isn't crazy about the EQ, If that is too much of a pain he wasn't opposed to having the EQ if i can make it switchable in and out (i need to look at the schematic again for this) I have a drill press no CNC but I am good with my caliper and measuring as well as drafting so even if he wants to get fancy with Front panel Express fronts i am ok. But again going back to what has been clear here wrapping my head around the project is what i am going to get paid for!

Again thanks for the input from you guys It makes it easier to to understand how long it might possibly take!
 
If I were going to do 4 modules without EQ, I'd probably start from scratch and design a new small PCB for the project.  The metalwork for racking the PM1000 is a big PIA.  You could also probably fit all 4 pres in a 1U rack chassis with a new board design.  It might not seem like doing a new layout would save time, but I bet it would, especially if you use the existing layout as a guide.  If your customer is a stickler for a real PM1000, then I'd just pull the critical components from the channel strips and reuse them in the new ones.

-Chris
 
For me, I think $300/finished unit is fair and I'd forbid myself from calculating what I actually made per hour.  It's enough money to do something with but not so much that a customer might feel like "well maybe I'll just buy something from guitar center". 

Since it's side work, and there's no way you're going to lose money I'd just look at it as more of a learning experience.
 

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