As an exercise, how would I go about manufacturing small batches of this part in metal? Say... aluminum or stainless steel?
I checked Shapeways and they quoted roughly $100 for a stainless part, but I didn't see an aluminum price.
What are my options here for a one off? Where do I go to get quotes? What about a small run of 10? And what kind of discounts can I expect at volume?
I'd really prefer to do all of this in house, but I'm not sure it's practical at this stage of the game.
I've researched casting processes. Definitely an option for small batches, but it seems like a lot of manual labor and risk. I'm also not sure how well casting processes scale. The centrifugal machines jewelers use might make a part like this, but they probably won't make anything much larger. Finally, I still need some way to make the molds. I don't think my 3d printer really has the accuracy I need for that, so we're back to thinking about CNC.
I am also considering just buying a CNC mill to make parts like this in house, but I want to get a feel for where to go and how to price outsourced parts as I've never outsourced anything before.
Prototype in plastic -> real part in metal. How to get the lowest price?
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