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Hi,
Try Rimer Manufacturing in Waterville, Ohio. They make some very nice lost wax castings in just about any steel alloy that you want.
If you want, I will get their contact info for you.
Ernie
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I'm looking for someone to make raw cast parts in small quantities at a reasonable price.
I'm in the Tampa/St Petersburg area of Florida and would like to find someone local but will take whomever is willing to work with me.
I would like to make the parts in cast steel so I don't have to weld the pieces together and believe the strength is sufficient for the intended use but if it is cheaper to do it in cast iron I have no issues provided I don't sacrifice any strength.
If you're good at making cast parts and interested in some work contact me so we can discuss my project but please understand, this is a personal project and not something being done by a business so things like engineering costs aren't available and the only way to make money is to produce a quality part I will make repetitive orders for.
Hi,
Try Rimer Manufacturing in Waterville, Ohio. They make some very nice lost wax castings in just about any steel alloy that you want.
If you want, I will get their contact info for you.
Ernie
As a company I would expect engineering fees and setup costs and in most cases an MOQ which far exceeds the numbers I'm starting out with.Originally Posted by ErnieD
If they'll do a one or two off at a cheap price I'm game.
Check your PM.
Ernie
You will be very hard pressed to find a hobbyist that can make iron castings. The furnace needed to heat iron to melting FAR exceeds what is needed for aluminum...
Ernie, clear out some of the PM's, can't respond cause your full.
$2500.00 USD engineering and setup cost, MOQ 500 pcs, typical of business/business, not good for someone trying to do something on a budget or in small quantities.
I have made room in my PM inbox.
Ernie
Steel takes less than Iron, Aluminum takes less than steel.
I'm convinced aluminum isn't strong enough for a vertical mill frame.
Basically it's a mini version of a Fadal Bridgeport machine which surprised me because the prototype I made has extremely high accuracy.
I picked up a HarborFreight 48in x 32in x 28in sand blast cabinet and set the machine inside so it has the same general appearance, a window to look in at the work, a door to insert/remove the work material, a 35psi tool lubricant/cooling pump, work area is 32in x 16in x 23in, table is 40in x 16in.
The 23in Z travel was to allow space for ATC capabilities, I believe 6 inches is sufficient for tool changing since the tools and holder assemblies I've measured don't exceed 4.75in.
My next step is to try and get the base, column and spindle mount into a cad program so I can see about having the pieces made in small quantity.
I'm also working on a lead for a 3HP ATC spindle with an ISO 20 (with ER20 collet) tool holder that should wholesale for around $1700.00 USD if I can get them to commit to it.
I do custom iron castings up to 500#. Ductile iron has properties that approach that of cast steel and is lower priced. It can be welded with a nickle based electrode or wire. What kind and size of casting do you have in mind?
Andrew Abrams
Marcellus Metalcasters, Inc.
I'm thinking of starting with the base as this is the main component that would be good to reduce to machining surfaces making the amount of work I need to spend on it less.
The base is currently 3in x 8in x 32in but will reduce this to 3in x 8in x 28in.
Think of it as an 8in x 8in square steel tube cut in half lengthwise with a notch for the 4in x 4in square tube centered in one end (to mount the vertical column - my proto was based on square tube material cause I don't/can't do cast).
I made some 1/4in thick ribs for the base and mig'd them as well as the mounting flanges in the notch (these were 3/8in x 4in x 12in pieces of tool steel I had on hand) for the vertical column so I could bolt it together and have some rigidity.
I'm contemplating making a wood based copy with working y-axis for reference purposes and shipping to people working on it so they can get a better understanding of what I am doing cause it seems difficult to picture what I am describing because I'm not a machinist but I can make the machine do what I need manually.
Since you do iron, can you do steel or is it your opinion that iron is just as good, weighs a little more but cost less???
Overall weight concerns me and I'd like to reduce it anywhere I can so changes in design that reduce weight without sacrificing strength are always welcome.
Current base weighs 31 lbs and I'd like to keep weight down as much as possible because the assembled machine currently weighs 187lbs and the cast table alone is 79 lbs of it so picking it up or moving it is already getting difficult.
The 8in x 8in square tube is supposed to be 0.355in thick but when I measured it I got 0.337in +/- 0.003in thick and the 4in x 4in square tube is supposed to be 0.250in thick but when I measured it I got 0.234in +/- 0.004in thick (Mitutoyo digital caliper - properly zero'd) and these seem to offer good rigidity.
A final question, where are you in the world?
Well, I started drawing the parts in AutoCAD 14, new to the drafting scene and couldn't figure out how to resize some circles, currently they are 0.200in DIA which is incorrect for 10-32 tap , the 0.3125 should be OK for 3/8-24 tap (I believe).
I've attached a DWG and PDF of what I've got entered so far which should be good enough to do any cost guesstimating.
Last edited by dwalsh62; 11-28-2010 at 07:30 PM. Reason: fixed holes and re-uploaded drawings
See my drawing of base and quote me a price please.
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