Hi guys,

In my serching, I've stumbled across this site, and WOW!!!.

I need some RC chassis made, at a reasonable price. I want to keep production costs down so that I can sell it for $45-$50 . It's a very small part and is only 10" squared for one unit. I would like it to be made of 1.5mm thick CF, but if that is too expensive, aluminum will have to do. I have drawn the chassis and partially dimentioned it in rhino3D. I'm not very good at CAD programs but I knew enough to get what I want drawn.

Honestly, I really don't want to spend alo of money. I'd like to have 10 made for the dry run. And if they are selling well, I'll definately comeback for more.

Here is a pic of the partially dimentioned chassis. If anyone is interested, I'd like some quotes please :wave:

Thank you
Maxx

So...You want someone to make ten of these for less than $450 to $500 out oF carcon fiber?
Good luck with that

I must be missing something, that seems like a large part for radio control if those are inches

So...You want someone to make ten of these for less than $450 to $500 out oF carcon fiber?
Good luck with that

No, he wants to sell them for that price. If retail is 3-5 times manufacturing costs. His purchase price would need to be around 10-20 bucks each. I'd venture a guess that micro cutters alone would sink the deal. Maybe waterjet or laser, but the run time on them does not go cheap.

It could be wiser to spend the prototype costs on purchasing a small CNC router that will cut them, At least you get to keep the router when the parts are completed.

Luck has been proven not very dependable........

DC

A lot of those geometries are impossible to mill, EDM is out of the question for cost. Waterjet would be the best way to make a few.
I don't get what the picture of to the side is?
If you wanted to mass produce these I would have them extruded out of aluminum and then cut to the proper thickness.
To meet the target cost would probably take 1000 pcs minimum if it is even possible.
This is all on the assumption that this is a 2D part as well.

try to find someone who has a 2D mill for making proto circuit boards. that machine can handle 1-2mm glassfiber so it should be able to do CF also.

Thank you SOOO much for the quick responses guys, I'm being swamped with offers :D. I never expected such an overwhelming response. Please hold all further offers until I get chance to contact the ones who have made contact already.

Thanx
Maxx

concidering that your primary matr'l of choice is carbon fiber then it may be wiser to ask for a heated, pressure mold made so you could cast your own cf units in what ever quantity you desire although the mold would be spendy the rest would be resin, catalyst, and time on your part to make your product ! just a thought !

Hi maxx, I might be able to help you.cf is expensive you may want to use a material called g10.it's strong and rigid and machines descent.i currently make rc chassis out of it and it works great.e-mail me your drawing in dxf format and ill review it.i could make the part for arond $20 or so if you order them in quantities of 25 or more.thanks shawn
e-mail bikedreamer1@aol.com

Your part looks like a pan chassis for a race car of some type.

There was a place in FLorida called Aerospace Composites who did R/C chassis in laminated graphite. Don't know if they are still in business. They would do specials if you talked to them right and showed that you weren't too flakey and knew what you were doing and why.

If you can mill with a router and have not done graphite, be forewarned, graphite composites EATS carbide cutters alive and is a PITA mess to cut besides.

G10 fiberglass is great for prototyping and can be made almost as strong/rigid by laminating pre=preg graphit tape to top and bottom.

Jetting might work but precision stuff needs diamond or coated carbide, especially for sharp corners or tight radii. The glass fiber is also tough on cutters. Somebody like conceptmachine who has experience would be the way to go for doing G10 - anybody who does circuit boards could do so as well as they know how to machine the product - that is IF they want to mess around with R/C prototyping (we weren't successful in finding anybody who'd do it at the time).

We were paying WAY more than $20/chassis in onesy twosy for graphite almost 10 years ago. WE were scoring production stuff that wasn't finished (no suspension holes and rough blank as we moved our suspension points around and cut our own "flex holes").

We cut our own proto's out of G10 with dremels and/or hand die grinders before we did graphite. Cheaper to do trial evaluations before cutting the "good stuff".

Come to think of it, the mess and itching was one of the reasons why we quit doing the R/C race stuff. Another and the more effective reason was that it got to be too expensive to try to compete with "factory drivers" who got parts deals that we couldn't get close to scoring.

We ultimately learned that although you could out-tech the factory guys, you couldn't outspend them.....

Have fun.....

Thank you for all your responses, I have assigned the job.

Thank you very much
Maxx

Our company are specialize in cutting Carbon Fiber panel on High end CNC machine.
Just send a CAD draw or I make you design for you.
I can custom cut any parts you want in Carbon Fiber.
If you have any small part need to be made on a CNC lathe our company are able too.

QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE are the priority of our company

www.bfcarbon.com

Hey guys,
Just some added info, H2o cutting delaminates the Carbon fiber. The best way for this app is profiling with special bur cutter made for this work.
We've been down this path a few times and found that the places to do this are far and few because of carbon dust containment. Word of caution, don't do this kind of work unlees you're preparred.

Seven posts, Seven commercial sales pitches.

Hmmmm, I'm thinking your days of welcome here are growing thin!

DC

What are you talking about 'One of many' ?

The post before his that was deleted.

What are you talking about 'One of many' ?

Sorry Maxx,

There was a spammer pushing his wares on several different forums here. He never offered any help other than a link to his site for motors and such.

Gerry deleted his post, but maybe should have taken my comments too.

Much appreciated Gerry!

Another site I used to moderate on, we would sometime get 10 a day for the same type of numbskull. Most sellers are not so inconsiderate of board policies. Otherwise they will run rampant.

DC

I too will be needing some 1mm thick parts, for an RC car chassis... I am curious about other materials to use, and ways to cut it, that would allow 2mm holes and 1mm groves (small cutting point). I was pondering 1mm alum at one time... but thats too heavy and pricey lol... I need something that stays stiff... open to anything that can look relatively decent... I also have a 1mm thick plate that needs to have tappered holes for micro flat head screws... I might even be able to get away with 1mm plastic in were these parts are going... but I would rather it be stronger.

I will need like 500 to 2000 parts about the size of a thumb or smaller depending on how many chassis I make.

( 1:28 scale car based on the Kyosho Mini-Z, http://www.QuantumRC.com )

Hey Draconious,
A few questions: do you mean tapered holes? Or do you mean counter sunk holes for flat heads?
Is the part flat or is the 1mm nominal with machined features that make it thicker in places?
Considering the size I can't think of anything more appropriate that aluminum. Price will determine a lot. Carbon fiber is too costly considering the features you're putting in it. And the weight differential will be negligable to cost.

You can get the best performance/machinability/cost ratio from 2024, 7075 grade Aluminum, anodizing and or finishing can give a wide variety of results.

Please PM me if you want to discuss in private.

HI

If you would like to have a small part I can cut it for you in carbon fiber at a very good price ????

Send me a drawing of what you will need ??

Best Regards
Steeve
www.bfcarbon.com

I am going to make a new thread for my own project with a list of parts I will need... basicly asking were I can get this or that cheap for a prototype.. and eventualy in 500-1000 qty...

As for the plates, one has to be alum, cuz of the flat head screws (angled hole for head so its flush)... and it also should have a "cup" hole... for a ball screw. its just a plate to hold the ball in the hole. But the other plates are just flat with a few holes.. simple, but alum will work better due to small pieces.. the carbon threads would be too weak in some areas.

HI Draconious

Like I tell you I can cut it for Carbon fiber a little bit more thicker than you ask to avoid weak point of the carbon ???

Or

I can make it from aluminium too if you want from 1mm thick ???

Send us a drawing and I will quote you this job done

Best Regards<
Steeve
www.bfcarbon.com

The 1mm is used numericaly to line parts up so it has to be 1mm... I have some 1mm carbon that would be strong enough for some of the parts, but I think the holes would be too close to gether, alum would be better, even plastic would work for some parts... its just going to be a prototype for now... I am still changing parts as I type this... or I would have posted the thread I was going to by now. In some cases the holes almost touch each other, to the point im just gona open it up as one opening... so alum is definatly needed... bad design practice I know but its nessessary for now...

Anyone interested in cutting me some plates give me a ball park figure if the plate is 1mm and a few holes and about the size of a finger/thumb... aprox 10 different parts... unsure right now since I am still changing things :)

Guess I should start typeing that post... with the other parts I need etc...

Hi Draconious,
I think you should iron out the details in your design, and provide a drawing before you can expect many quotes. I know it seems simple enough to throw out a "ballpark figure" based on general size and some holes. However there isn't anything you've descibed in enough detail to allow a vendor to provide a realistic Estimate.
I think you'll be in a better place to ask for competitive prices once you've got bona fide drawing posted.

all I need to know is like how many didgets per part... if each part is going to be $100 ill just make it myself ;) And my post will simply be a request for ideas, and asking for places i can get quantities made... in hopes I find cheaper places than what i have found already.

And the idea is basicly done just had a few changes... like i said I will make another post for me to aquire ideas.. etc.

I've started the thread I was gona start... here:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=166494#post166494