Neovin
100 mW
Hi all, is there anyone close to me that can cut my parts? its 12mm aluminium with press fit bearing holes.
laser/waterjet cutting
- Thread starter Neovin
- Start date
adrian_sm
1 MW
Sorry can't help you on where to get them done, but... 12mm aluminium is too thick for laser cutting.
Waterjet can do it, but the press fit holes will need to be machined as the waterjet cut will not be accurate enough.
Cheers, Adrian
Waterjet can do it, but the press fit holes will need to be machined as the waterjet cut will not be accurate enough.
Cheers, Adrian
E-racer
1 kW
I'll second Adrian water or laser at 12mm thick you will have to machine press fit holes.
rodgah
10 kW
well it 'can' be done on a laser, but requires top of the line highest KW machine. And even then it will be far cheaper and the finished product will probably be nicer on a water jet anyway. Depending on the use you might be able to simply get it cut at the right size for the bearing then use epoxy to hold it in place. Or machine it, some water jets and HD plasmas have a rotory head on the machine so they can drill/tap holes so it will likely not cost much more if that is the case.
Rodger
Rodger
Kin
10 kW
bigbluesaw.com has had the cheapest prices I've been able to find for waterjet cutting. Automatic quotes (after you upload your file and their computer analyzes it).
All of what was said above still applies.
All of what was said above still applies.
Byte
1 kW
Kin said:
I was browsing through this site and asked for a quote for a 50mm*50mm 0.5inch thick alu 6061 part.
Quantity 1-4 5-9 10-49
Price $100.50 $23.98 $19.37
So 1 piece costs $100.50 and 5 pieces $119,90. Wtf? $100 seems expensive for me too, for such a small part.
nieles
10 kW
Byte said:
this has to do with the fact that preparing the file for cutting and preparing the machine is the biggest cost factor,
machine time(depending on cutting time) and material are relatively cheap.
making one part or 10 takes almost the same setup time. above 10 items the material and cutting time will be a bigger part of the total cost, so that explanes the big cost difference beteween 1 and 2. and the relative small difference beteween 9 and 10
liveforphysics
100 TW
When I setup to machine something, getting code and fixturing and a tool path that works right generally takes about 5-10hrs of dicking around and maybe 4 wasted pieces of material ruined in the setup process. Once I get something that works, the exact same parts being copied is maybe 30mins if easy work.
If its just one copy of a small piece, you might be amazed what a few hours with a hacksaw and file and drill can do, or a diamond grit wire saw blade in a hacksaw if you have lots of thin curved slits or something.
If its just one copy of a small piece, you might be amazed what a few hours with a hacksaw and file and drill can do, or a diamond grit wire saw blade in a hacksaw if you have lots of thin curved slits or something.
Neovin
100 mW
Cheers guys, I'm still deciding what to do. Just trying to get a design in inventor, what i'm thinking is just to get pilot holes
where the bearings and bolts are needed then use an industrial drill press to get the best fit.
I am going to go with waterjet because i'm going to get cutouts for weightsaving and cooling plus i'm going to encase it in polycarbonate so its gotta look good
where the bearings and bolts are needed then use an industrial drill press to get the best fit.
I am going to go with waterjet because i'm going to get cutouts for weightsaving and cooling plus i'm going to encase it in polycarbonate so its gotta look good
adrian_sm
1 MW
Byte said:
That is expensive. I got ~50 parts cut from 10mm 5083, ~90x55mm with 11 internal holes medium finish for ~AU$8 each, and that was a bit more than I was expecting based on previous parts with a few less internal holes, being around the $5 mark.
Neovin said:Cheers guys, I'm still deciding what to do. Just trying to get a design in inventor, what i'm thinking is just to get pilot holes
where the bearings and bolts are needed then use an industrial drill press to get the best fit.
I am going to go with waterjet because i'm going to get cutouts for weightsaving and cooling plus i'm going to encase it in polycarbonate so its gotta look good
Make sure you discuss with them the finish required for each edge. If they can do a rough cut, since you will do a finishing machine operation, you can save yourself a quite bit. But if you are only doing a handle full of parts, setup/programming etc will still be the major cost. If you are just doing a single parts, I agree with Luke you might be better off money wise to have a more DIY approach.
- Adrian
Neovin
100 mW
If I get them cut by jet its going to be side plates with cutouts for weight, frame clamps with cutouts, and a bash plate with a logo cut into it as well as a few lightweight "spacer bars".
I shall get the design formatted in whatever code is needed for the machine, as i am no longer asking of the tight tolerances for the bearings the down tube clamps can be +-2mm, I'm planning on using the lower bottle holder bolt as well as rubber sheet and a torque arm
to keep a good line for the chain.
Cheers guys your all more help than anything i have found out with months of reading material.
,Neo
I shall get the design formatted in whatever code is needed for the machine, as i am no longer asking of the tight tolerances for the bearings the down tube clamps can be +-2mm, I'm planning on using the lower bottle holder bolt as well as rubber sheet and a torque arm
to keep a good line for the chain.
Cheers guys your all more help than anything i have found out with months of reading material.
,Neo
Kin
10 kW
You might look into the tips section of that site. It is the best place I've found, but maybe there is someone with a cheaper option *somewhere*. One reason why every other waterjet cutter place I've found it more expensive is because you send them your files and they have an individual technician "analyze" the file to determine the costs. Bigbluesaw has just automated the process.
That said, you can really tweak your file to bring down the prices. The tips section details the kind of things that are expensive- sharp turns, intricate cutouts, etc. They're expensive because they take more time.
I assume you uploaded DXF file right?
But other posters have a great point- unless there's a particular reason you *need* computer aided machining, it'll be much cheaper to machine things by hand, if possible. That said, it might not be worth the potentially excruciatingly long time (because with the tools I've used, you have to go slow to cut metal).
That said, you can really tweak your file to bring down the prices. The tips section details the kind of things that are expensive- sharp turns, intricate cutouts, etc. They're expensive because they take more time.
I assume you uploaded DXF file right?
But other posters have a great point- unless there's a particular reason you *need* computer aided machining, it'll be much cheaper to machine things by hand, if possible. That said, it might not be worth the potentially excruciatingly long time (because with the tools I've used, you have to go slow to cut metal).
Neovin
100 mW
this is what i'm wanting to be made, one side and one bracket anyway keeps getting tweaked so still no final
Pretty sweet eh
Pretty sweet eh
Kin
10 kW
That is pretty sweet ^_^.
I wish I could offer more specific and knowledgeable advice about what you should do to get it. While you could curve a bit some of the letters, and maybe the part on the left, I don't know how much that will drop their price. The cost for 1 piece might also relate to the fact these parts are pretty small, and there's probably a much larger stock piece that they make things out of. So it might be that there is less waste when making more of them. (when I was pricing, my parts were much larger).
I wish I could offer more specific and knowledgeable advice about what you should do to get it. While you could curve a bit some of the letters, and maybe the part on the left, I don't know how much that will drop their price. The cost for 1 piece might also relate to the fact these parts are pretty small, and there's probably a much larger stock piece that they make things out of. So it might be that there is less waste when making more of them. (when I was pricing, my parts were much larger).
adrian_sm
1 MW
Are you making that big one out of 12mm AL? That will weight a fair bit. Do you need that much strength?
The other part looks more like a machining job to me. You could make that with a band saw and a drill press pretty easy with a slight tweak to the design to make the parting line straight.
The other part looks more like a machining job to me. You could make that with a band saw and a drill press pretty easy with a slight tweak to the design to make the parting line straight.
Neovin
100 mW
yeah 12mm it is, the bearings for the shafts are 12mm as well. I shall cut out some more material where i can, if i'm going to get parts cut
i will get other stuff to make sure its worth the money eg, lighting mounts, quick release battery box mounts, disk mounts for 200mm disks.
all in i think it will be worth it durability wise, plus everything being a square fit will save a lot of headaches, its gunna look cool too
i will get other stuff to make sure its worth the money eg, lighting mounts, quick release battery box mounts, disk mounts for 200mm disks.
all in i think it will be worth it durability wise, plus everything being a square fit will save a lot of headaches, its gunna look cool too
Hillhater
100 TW
Miles said:
I wouldnt ever mention that in the presence of a carpenter/cabinet maker ! :wink:
bigmoose
1 MW
Osage orange wood did 100 times more damage to my jointer blades than a fair number of feet of 1/8 inch aluminum sheet being edge planed.
Neovin
100 mW
to be honest I've used a circular saw with a wood wheel and it cut 10mm fine but i want it to look pretty, i could do this in a couple of hours on a bandsaw and pillar drill, but i want something i can show people that looks like it came from production.
I have an all or nothing attitude if its not right i'll be pissed if i didn't do it right
I have an all or nothing attitude if its not right i'll be pissed if i didn't do it right
adrian_sm
1 MW
The edges are not perfectly square. I find they are generally slightly convex.
They also have to start/stop somewhere which leaves some evidence. Best if you tell them where a good spot is to start from so this is not in a critical location that will cause you grief.
Here is a pic of one of my parts so you know what I am talking about.
10mm plate stock, medium finish cut.
They also have to start/stop somewhere which leaves some evidence. Best if you tell them where a good spot is to start from so this is not in a critical location that will cause you grief.
Here is a pic of one of my parts so you know what I am talking about.
10mm plate stock, medium finish cut.
Attachments
Neovin
100 mW
What is the medium cut like for accuracy, I think now i'm going to use collar bearings and grub screws to stop rotation
adrian_sm
1 MW
I personally don't rely on the raw cut surface for any real tolerance. The profile size on my parts is not important to me, and all internal holes I post machine to the size I require using the waterjet hole for position only.
E-racer
1 kW
Hillhater said:Miles said:
I'm guilty of ripping 1/2" 6061 on a table saw. It is amazing how well it actually works.
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