NEED A QUOTE - small aluminum prototype 3.5" long Drawings attachment

[Greg Koziol]

I need to machine a prototype out of aluminum 6061. And if I can find customers and I like the price possibly someone to do some light production.

It's a small part, I have more detailed CAD drawing on CAD if necessary

So far here is the best quotes I got:

$1,202 from Firstcut.com

$850 from tool tek inc. a local machinist near my house

I was hoping I could find someone who can machine this for signifianctly cheaper than both of those

Holes need to be threaded and the giant u-shaped tunnel needs to be tapered... althought not shown in the picture it will need a .6 degree taper in it

Dimensions are rough dimensions just to give an idea of the size of it

those rails have groove and the groove need to be exactly .206" wide and .394" center to center. The cross section of the rail also needs exact measurments with close tolerances.

[Matt@RFR]

Exactly where is your pain threshold on the prototype? The quotes you've got so far are not that far off. They are a little bit high, but not much. This is a 4th axis part, minimum 2 setups with some deep 3D machining...it will take some time, and that aint free.

And you mention 'light production'. What kind of quantities do you have in mind? Nobody can quote a production price unless you give a little more info. I know quantity will probably be driven by price, but are we talking a production run of 10 pieces, 100 pieces or 10,000 pieces? Your best bet is to request a quantity spread, Eg: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 parts.

[Edit to your edit] Does your drawing have a ton more detail? Simply saying 'close tolerances' or 'exactly' means absolutely nothing. Help us out here. If you are going to call out +/-.0002" on something, that will have a MASSIVE impact on pricing.

[Greg Koziol]

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR Exactly where is your pain threshold on the prototype? The quotes you've got so far are not that far off. They are a little bit high, but not much. This is a 4th axis part, minimum 2 setups with some deep 3D machining...it will take some time, and that aint free. And you mention 'light production'. What kind of quantities do you have in mind? Nobody can quote a production price unless you give a little more info. I know quantity will probably be driven by price, but are we talking a production run of 10 pieces, 100 pieces or 10,000 pieces? Your best bet is to request a quantity spread, Eg: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 parts.

Well I think 1000 is too high, I'd like to get something under $800.

light production for now would mean 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pieces. but more immediate focus is getting a good prototype so I can market it and see if it fits and works the way I intend

[Greg Koziol]

i'm not sure what 4th axis means. I know what CNC machining is but have no idea any specifics. But one of the biggest problems the local guy told me that would cost the most is the curves on the outside in between the rails. He said because he doesn't have a tool for that curve it would cost the most to do that. He said that the cost of "fixturing" would be roughly $200 because of that special tool he would need for those curves.

[Greg Koziol]

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR Exactly where is your pain threshold on the prototype? The quotes you've got so far are not that far off. They are a little bit high, but not much. This is a 4th axis part, minimum 2 setups with some deep 3D machining...it will take some time, and that aint free. And you mention 'light production'. What kind of quantities do you have in mind? Nobody can quote a production price unless you give a little more info. I know quantity will probably be driven by price, but are we talking a production run of 10 pieces, 100 pieces or 10,000 pieces? Your best bet is to request a quantity spread, Eg: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 parts. [Edit to your edit] Does your drawing have a ton more detail? Simply saying 'close tolerances' or 'exactly' means absolutely nothing. Help us out here. If you are going to call out +/-.0002" on something, that will have a MASSIVE impact on pricing.

well I have this drawing of what the specs need to be of the rails, the cross section and the grooves, it must be the exact specs given on these drawings or else my prototype will be useless. To be more specific it is a mil-standard 1913 "picatinny" rail which is a universal rail used to mount acessories like lights, lasers, etcs on firearms. If the specs are off on the rail the female part that slides over the rail and screw that fits into those grooves will not fit and my prototype will be useless and will need to re-machine another. And I dont' want that to happen cause i'm not a billionaire. Sorry for not being more specific in my first post. I apologize Matt, thanks for having the decency to help me fix

[Matt@RFR]

Originally Posted by Greg Koziol He said that the cost of "fixturing" would be roughly $200 because of that special tool he would need for those curves.

I'm going to be right up front with you and let you know that your local guy doesn't know how to do prototypes. I'm not going to give away any of my knowledge on prototyping because my competitors are reading this, but I'd be happy to explain in private.

well I have this drawing of what the specs need to be of the rails...

Now we're getting somewhere. You have no need to worry, those tolerances are actually pretty loose, and any good machine shop will be able to make a part well within them.

Will you please send me your complete 2D drawing and solid model? matt_rfr@sbcglobal.net What is your time frame for the prototype?

[Greg Koziol]

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR I'm going to be right up front with you and let you know that your local guy doesn't know how to do prototypes. I'm not going to give away any of my knowledge on prototyping because my competitors are reading this, but I'd be happy to explain in private. Now we're getting somewhere. You have no need to worry, those tolerances are actually pretty loose, and any good machine shop will be able to make a part well within them. Will you please send me your complete 2D drawing and solid model? matt_rfr@sbcglobal.net What is your time frame for the prototype?

please explain in private, sending an e-mail now. I don't have a time frame... just as soon as I get enough money to be honest with you. I'll send you the sketches I have and a 3d cad drawing thats slighlty different.. i need to change the cad drawing around because it doesnt have the taper and it has indents.. you'll see when i send it. Thanks.

[mcphill]

Does it have to be machined? I could give you a rapid prototype of this part for about $300. If you are interested, e-mail me at mike(at)mcpii(dot)com. If the prototype works out, I can source the machining, or give you pricing details on casting the part.

100% Made in USA suppliers.

[Greg Koziol]

Please note I found someone to do the prototype for me.

[Excelmachine]

If you go into mass production of these, you might want to check into getting an extrusion made. You could save a lot of machining time then. Extrusion dies aren't really that expensive. Just a thought.

[emily]

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Originally Posted by Greg Koziol I need to machine a prototype out of aluminum 6061. And if I can find customers and I like the price possibly someone to do some light production. It's a small part, I have more detailed CAD drawing on CAD if necessary So far here is the best quotes I got: $1,202 from Firstcut.com $850 from tool tek inc. a local machinist near my house I was hoping I could find someone who can machine this for signifianctly cheaper than both of those Holes need to be threaded and the giant u-shaped tunnel needs to be tapered... althought not shown in the picture it will need a .6 degree taper in it Dimensions are rough dimensions just to give an idea of the size of it those rails have groove and the groove need to be exactly .206" wide and .394" center to center. The cross section of the rail also needs exact measurments with close tolerances.