Need A Quote- Bocking Stilt Footplate Modification

[W3bbo]

I originally posted this to the Machining forum, but I just found this and figured it would be a better place.

--------------

I'm looking to get a two one-off aluminium (or other lightweight and tough material) parts made to replace an existing part.

The existing part is an injection-moulded rubberised plastic material, since this is a one-off job I can't afford the expense of getting a custom tool made so I'm happy with cut/machined aluminium, or any other material that's lightweight.

The part is a footplate for a bocking stilt; in this photo they're the black plates your feet go. As you can see they've got a 3D shape with a long lip/tounge at the back and screwholes in the side for the footstraps, additionally the underside of the plate is such that it has grooves that fit onto the stilt's frames, then there are holes to save weight and for screws to attach them to the frame. The footplate is modelled on existing snowboard binding systems (in fact, you use snowboard bindings on bocking stilt footplates).

I'm looking to modify the design of these footplates so that they're rotated out more to compensate for outward foot rotation that a lot of people suffer from (myself included) since the design all bocking stilts share assumes that the user's feet face forward with the knees.

Thanks

[Matt@RFR]

Originally Posted by W3bbo I'm a poor starving undergraduate student with zero prior experience in the machining/metalwork sector, but as the design is a modification to an existing one and (seems to me, at least) is a fairly simple manufacturing job so I'm hoping (and expecting) it not to cost too much. Thanks

You have much to learn, grasshoppa. Here's the thing; Nobody cares that you're poor and starving. With the economy as it is, so are a lot of machine shop owners...but you are still "hoping (and expecting)" for someone to bend over backwards for you and take money away from their livelyhood to make something you clearly have no idea how to do yourself. You have no models or prints, but an idea. ****ing inventors. Do you have any clue how expensive the machinery we own is? Do you have any idea how much time, effort and money we have spent on our knowledge? And yet, you'd like us to bend over backwards for you? I don't think so.

Be prepared to pay for atleast 4 hours of design time, and probably a couple hundred just for raw material. Then there's programming and setup time, plus run time. Sure thing buddy, that'll be $50.

I wish you no luck with your project. Not because I'm mean, but because I believe people like you need to have their eyes opened to the REAL world...quickly and violently.

[W3bbo]

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR You have much to learn, grasshoppa. Here's the thing; Nobody cares that you're poor and starving. With the economy as it is, so are a lot of machine shop owners...but you are still "hoping (and expecting)" for someone to bend over backwards for you and take money away from their livelyhood to make something you clearly have no idea how to do yourself. You have no models or prints, but an idea. ****ing inventors.

Heh. Well, I have models and I'm in the process of seeing if I can get the original CAD documents for them from the original manufacturer. I'll agree that I did have the wrong choice of words there like "expecting" but I didn't mean it with any kind of instructive connotations, just that since I imagined it was a relatively simple job that this wouldn't be a $10,000 affair. Besides, "poor starving student" is a catchphrase of sorts, used very losely.

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR Do you have any clue how expensive the machinery we own is? Do you have any idea how much time, effort and money we have spent on our knowledge?

Yes, actually, prices for these sorts of things are around online and I did do some preliminary research.

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR And yet, you'd like us to bend over backwards for you? I don't think so.

I never implied that. What I meant by what I wrote was that if the prices quoted were significantly out of my budget then there's a significant chance are I'll probably leave this task until much later on account of not being able to afford having anything done straight away, but then that's the point of asking for a quote in the first place Since I have no real prior experience how am I supposed to know how much it would cost without explicitly asking?

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR Be prepared to pay for atleast 4 hours of design time, and probably a couple hundred just for raw material. Then there's programming and setup time, plus run time. Sure thing buddy, that'll be $50.

I was actually thinking it would take more than that amount of work and have a ballpark figure of about £500-£1000 in my head, is that a reasonable guestimate or not?

Originally Posted by Matt@RFR I wish you no luck with your project. Not because I'm mean, but because I believe people like you need to have their eyes opened to the REAL world...quickly and violently.

Charmed

[Matt@RFR]

Based on your reply, you could've worded your first post a WHOLE lot better. However, I shouldn't have flown off the handle. I'm a machinist and welder, not a customer relations expert. I'm sorry.

If I were you, I'd look in to making each pad out of three pieces; 1) the main foot plate, 2) the toe kick plate (bolt on) and 3) the part that bolts to the frame.

If you put a skewed bolt pattern in the foot plate, you could make the angle of the foot adjustable, which would make this a whole lot more viable as a potential product.

[Michael.lee]

if you have the drawing or 3d design of the part, I think you can create with CNC machine plastic prototype, such as ABS or PC.

[W3bbo]

I've uploaded photos of the footplate to my flickr page

http://www.flickr.com/photos/w3bbo/s...7619940961346/

I'll provide some detailed measurements later. This is more to assist those who've offered to provide me with a quote.