Quote & ideas

[KW52]

I market these patent pending motorcycle license frames. Appx. 4" X 7", curently they are CNC milled flat and then rolled to get the curve needed, all the dimensions are very specific as their is a lighting system installed and the curve fits a specific fender. I know little of machining but would like to get these milled with the curve.In other words skip the rolling process.They are made of 5052 aluminum. Any rough quotes for qty of 10 or 20 at a time or DIY ideas to get these produced would be appreciated.Living in a small city so options here are limited . I can send samples to serious prospects.

[Dualkit]

The rolling saves a lot of material cost and machining time. It would be helpful to list a target price so no one wastes time working up a quote at a price that is too prohibitive to make these profitable. This looks like a no go from a cost point of view. Fixturing costs will be way too high to amortize over 20 parts and make the part where it can be resold at a profit.

[KW52]

Originally Posted by Dualkit The rolling saves a lot of material cost and machining time. It would be helpful to list a target price so no one wastes time working up a quote at a price that is too prohibitive to make these profitable. This looks like a no go from a cost point of view. Fixturing costs will be way too high to amortize over 20 parts and make the part where it can be resold at a profit.

The problem with rolling is distortion.The long edges bow outward.I massage them back down with a mallet.The corners get small dents in them,more massaging and the ends have that smashed look and the material rolls over onto the short edges,xtra sanding.In the end they look good.The idea is to try and cut down pre polishing prep.These go on custom motorcycles so they have to be perfect. Would pressing them into a slightly oversized fixture made with the curveature work ? Could they be made for less than $40.00 ea. if the above process was a possibility ?

[a1cadcam]

what is the height of the curve when both ends are laying flat?

you do the math... what would the material cost... most likely 6061-t6?
more than $40 im guessing...

could maybe try bending the material before machining.... or casting it then machining... but it does seem like you have found the cheapest way of doing it.

add up the extra time you spend tapping it all into place($80/hr or so) and add it to the cost of the flat holder before bending... plus the extra material... will give you an idea of cost.

your holder is 'trick'.

Phil

[KW52]

Originally Posted by a1cadcam what is the height of the curve when both ends are laying flat? you do the math... what would the material cost... most likely 6061-t6? more than $40 im guessing... could maybe try bending the material before machining.... or casting it then machining... but it does seem like you have found the cheapest way of doing it. add up the extra time you spend tapping it all into place($80/hr or so) and add it to the cost of the flat holder before bending... plus the extra material... will give you an idea of cost. your holder is 'trick'. Phil

The aluminum is billet 5052,getting them less than $40.00 now
including material CNC and rolling.Never thought of rolling the material first.
what type of machine would it take to do the CNC after rolling?

[a1cadcam]

really, with the proper fixtures and programming...
a 3-axis mill should be sufficient... 4th axis would be easier...
but here is where the experience and technique add a significant value...
and you are asking this question?... not sure what your final goal here is...

talk to your local machine shop who is doing it now... about different ways and what they feel comfortable with...

what i/we think might be beyond their scope and comfort zone... maybe they will have some suggestions which would suite them better to help you out.

another possibility... cut it out of pipe/tubing... depending on the radius required.

i am done here, must be the Christmas spirit... there are many ways to get it done, you just have to pick the way which bests suites you and your capabilities...

if you wish to send me the part for a quote, please email me at phil @ tddinc . com (no spaces)

hope this has helped you...

Phil

[universalfab]

The ideas are there and a few that I "somewhat" gave you in a PM that I'm not going to disclose. Your aim is to reduce or eliminate time spent on straightening the distortions and lower polishing times. What it boils down to is what is your time worth? I value mine and that will reflect in my pricing as it should anyone elses. You figure you put 2-3 hours at least into straightening and polishing your part, whats that worth to you not to have to do it?
3-d machining it out of a solid chunk of aluminum to that shape is going to be expensive to machine and the material is going to be expensive. I gave you a extremely reasonable offer that would save you alot of time and give you quallity parts.

[Dualkit]

Unfortunately the volume here is what makes a nice distortion free product a no go from a manufacturing stand point. This part could be machined flat and probably pressed between two dies to attain the curvature. The cost of the dies would probably run $1,000-$2,000 a set plus a designing \ engineering fee. Hydro forming instead of pressing \ stamping would probably yield a nicer product yet.
At 20 pieces you can't afford the tooling costs, so rolling is what you are stuck with. If you could sell 10's of thousands of these so you could afford a $10,000 tooling \ set-up charge you could end up paying less than $10 plus material each for these parts. We all appreciate you giving a price target, so no one wastes time with involved quoting that won't yield a price you can work with. Every time you see someone selling something at a low price,
it's all about the volume.

[KW52]

All valid points.Most of which I knew would'nt be cheap.Wish I was selling tens of thousands,(not Yet ) totally get the volume picture.Just trying to improve my product a little at a time with fresh ideas and input without breaking the bank,not gonna go out to far on a limb all at once and don't expect anyone else to either.Appreciate the time you guys have given me and the PM's. all of which are being considered.