Best way to make this part

[skmetal7]

I have a few parts that I want to make, or have made. It's a reed cut out of .005" shim stock. I would like the edges to be very smooth. EDM? Laser cut? Waterjet? There is a very small radius (.005") that I'm concerned about, and wondering if a laser beam can go that small, or a jet of water.

[tobyaxis]

Originally Posted by skmetal7 I have a few parts that I want to make, or have made. It's a reed cut out of .005" shim stock. I would like the edges to be very smooth. EDM? Laser cut? Waterjet? There is a very small radius (.005") that I'm concerned about, and wondering if a laser beam can go that small, or a jet of water.

I have no experience with Water Jet, EDM, or Lasers but am interested in the suggestions that you will get. This should make for an educational read.

Sorry I couldn't help.

[laka]

As far as Water Jet, the smallest nozzle size i've seen is 0.020" diameter

[Geof]

EDM. I have never used it but from what I have read this would likely be the only method.

Water jet cannot go small enough.

With laser the piercing action would would leave a rough spot.

With EDM the electrode is machined to the precise shape that you need and the cut comes out minimally larger.

Your check book will need to be in a good state of health.

[tobyaxis]

Originally Posted by Geof EDM. I have never used it but from what I have read this would likely be the only method. Water jet cannot go small enough. With laser the piercing action would would leave a rough spot. With EDM the electrode is machined to the precise shape that you need and the cut comes out minimally larger. Your check book will need to be in a good state of health.

That sounds like it would be expensive to have an electrode made from Graphite.

[yoopertool]

Am I correct to say that the three blue U shaped things on your drawing are flaps for the reed? If those are flaps then I dont know of anything other than a wire EDM which will leave you a nice finish and hold your tolerances. The only snag associated with a wire EDM is that you need to have a hole already in the piece for the wire to feed through and it would have to be larger than the wire. Common EDM wire has a diameter between .008 - .014. You may be able to find someone with smaller wire. There are several companies that make very small drill bits that you could use for starter holes such as this one:

http://www.minitoolinc.com/microdrillingandpunching.htm

EDM time is not cheap, but those parts are very thin and would cut extremely fast. You would just have to supply them with material that already has the starter holes in it. Good Luck!

[tobyaxis]

This is getting very interesting. I wonder if it would be possible to Stamp these parts with a Die. Is this possible??

[skmetal7]

thanks for all the responses!

I was thinking about stamping them but I don't even want to think about the price of a die being made, and I only need 2 of each.

I could possible make the radius larger, let me take a look

[yoopertool]

You could find a way to stamp it, but you probably wont get the nice finish that is desired. Also, you wouldnt be able to get the gap needed for the reeds unless a complicated or 2-stage die was made. If this was a mass production job, then stamping could be considered, but not with only a few pieces.

[skmetal7]

Originally Posted by yoopertool Am I correct to say that the three blue U shaped things on your drawing are flaps for the reed? If those are flaps then I dont know of anything other than a wire EDM which will leave you a nice finish and hold your tolerances. The only snag associated with a wire EDM is that you need to have a hole already in the piece for the wire to feed through and it would have to be larger than the wire. Common EDM wire has a diameter between .008 - .014. You may be able to find someone with smaller wire. There are several companies that make very small drill bits that you could use for starter holes such as this one: http://www.minitoolinc.com/microdrillingandpunching.htm EDM time is not cheap, but those parts are very thin and would cut extremely fast. You would just have to supply them with material that already has the starter holes in it. Good Luck!

yes those are the flaps, and I'm not sure how drilling .005" shim stock would work, sheet metal sucks to drill to begin with.

I made the radius now .01", so the width of the "u" shape groove is now .02". Is that a more standard size? it can still go a bit larger, but I want to leave room for tolerances.

can you drill down with wire edm? If I went with a laser cut edge how rough would that edge be?

I'm playing with a .004" feeler gauge here with me and thinking about how thin this is gonna be.

[Skeeterd5150]

I was thinking. This might sound really dumb but what if you lay it out with a hand scribe and keep going over the lines with it. I mean when you scribe something you are actually cutting it. So you really don't have very far to go down before you get to the other side. .005 isn't very much.

[bigbunny5]

I may be reading that Scrrenshot wrong, but if you are only talking about .005 thick parts have you thought about using an Electro Chem Etching Processes?