No worries there, its what I've spent most of my free time on this year and my interest has not diminished. But I set myself the challenge of creating a near production ready CAD model, which has required A LOT of learning to get my skills to the required level and the final V4 iteration is in the works now (pics).
For the topic of this discussion though, getting a carbon frame made from scratch is EXPENSIVE. I'm sure Sakizashi can tell you just what the challenges of getting your own carbon fiber product mass produced overseas are. Never mind the logistics of actually getting it out into people's hands.
The economics are hard. The investment is not insignificant, as it requires both testing and alterations. Reliably getting product is hard too. Recouping the investment is hard if you can't get enough product, on time, to sell. There are many ways to fail.
Then there is the relationship with the factory. I recently went through the design process with a manufacturer for an expensive component. We talked for a while under the very clear assumption of the 20-unit MOQ. They did the sample; it was freaking awesome. When it came time to arrange production, the MOQ was 50 units. After I pointed this out, they were like We can do 20 the first time. 100% red flag to not go forward; it's a five-figure USD investment, and the supplier feels like I'll be cool with terms that might change again. No thanks.
I understand why these things happen, but at the end of the day, is it worth it at the scale of a frame? Probably not unless you have a plan to make a viable business out of it, at which point its probably a $2500+ frameset.
