Ask HN: How feasible are manufacturing startups?

I have a harebrained idea about a heavy construction startup utilizing electric engines as opposed to diesel, along with some other differences to the heavy hitters of CAT & Komatsu.

I however am a software engineer who knows little to nothing about manufacturing at scale and the details that go along with it. It seems like everyday I hear about a startup that is purely software, and the ones that involve hardware of some sort are usually in the IoT space. Is this because manufacturing startups are simply not feasible due to cost? What other factors limit makers and tinkerers from bringing their ideas to market?