Whether or no you can make money w/ a Shapeoko is a more a matter of your abilities at marketing and product development and how well those things synch up with the local market, or your ability to sell on the internet. Marketing is hard/difficult.
That said, a CNC can be a game changer in terms of enabling one to do fast/accurate/repetitive work — it’s an employee you don’t have to pay, or provide insurance or benefits for.
Bits are known as endmills — one of the neat things about CNC is that rather than the multiplicity of bits which routers require, one can do most work w/ just one or two or three basic types. This is discussed here: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
One of the goals of the Shapeoko project was to define a CNC design / system which removed the need to understand stepper drivers, and G-code at a low-level. You’re exactly the sort of person a Shapeoko is intended for, and really, the only skills needed are the ability to follow directions (and to be patient with the current state of the directions) and turn a bolt/screw, and to use some simple software — for 2.5D projects we’ve reduced that to just two pieces of software:
- Carbide Create — this is our CAD/CAM app: http://carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/userguide
- Carbide Motion — this is our communication / control program: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
Both are programs which you install locally and which are not (quite) copy-protected (we use the machine control board as a dongle) — you can try them out in advance of purchasing a machine: Downloads (but Carbide Motion won’t do much until you have a machine — still a good idea to make sure that it installs and loads before committing)
You may want to consider a full 3D workflow if that suits the sort of projects which you wish to do and it’s something which you can wrap your mind around. My son uses SolidWorks, but it just gives me a headache, so I do my 3D modeling in OpenSCAD (which gives him a headache) — but that’s another level of complexity and may not be necessary — one can do a surprising range of work with 2.5D.
I will guarantee that Carbide 3D (I’m part-time support staff) will work with you to ensure that the machine is working to your satisfaction and its specifications. If you’re willing, I’d love to collaborate with you remotely (or on-site if you’re willing and local to south-central Pa.) to improve the assembly instructions (I’d be doing this on my own time reverting to the volunteer status which I used when doing the Shapeoko 2 instructions — I believe that they give one an idea of exactly what’s involved in assembling and using a CNC machine as a true kit: Project Shapeoko (but note that the SO3 now comes pre-assembled in just a couple of components (see Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable. ) — let me know).
Rather than the wiki which many people complain of, you may find a book to be a useful overview:
Since you’re willing to watch videos, you may find our video tutorials of interest: http://carbide3d.com/docs/tutorials/ — even the Nomad ones apply in a general sort of way (esp. if you’re willing to do 3D by buying MeshCAM, or to add a touch plate/probe to the machine).
If any of the terminology is confusing, see Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
There were a couple of other threads like to this, see: