Looking for about 10 parts to be cast

[Shanghyd]

I am looking for about 10 parts to be cast. I'm going to let the experts tell me what sort of metal the parts should be cast from. I don't know what the original part is made from.
The part is a carriage lock for a lathe. It is used to lock the saddle/apron from moving when machining a part. Because of that I'm going to guess that aluminum is out.

I can send the original part to the person that is going to be doing the casting if that will help.
I can make a detailed drawing also.

Please let me know what I can do to keep the cost as low as possible. This is a hobby project.

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[mcphill]

Casting is only cost effective in LARGE quantities, and if you want this in steel, the tooling will cost you quite a bit. You would be better off just having a few machined, it will be much cheaper.

[slowlearner]

I agree with McPhill

[Shanghyd]

What is considered LARGE in the casting world? 100? 500? 1000?

[azmachining]

I don't know of any casting house that want's anything to do with less then 500 parts.
I know of a few that will do minimum of 100, but you have to supply the mold.
Your parts will be stronger if they are machined out of steel. Rather then cast out of iron.
You know why your parts broke? It's because iron is harder and more brittle then steel.
Cast iron takes more wear then steel on the other hand. Your best bet is to have these
machined out of steel.

[Brandon@HPMS]

My recommendation would be to machine the components from billet of 4130 or 4140 steel. should give a good combination of hardness and toughness for your application.

[metalcaster4jc]

We specialize in low volume requirements, these are pretty small parts, we could cast from the originals for about $15 each from ductile iron, 60K tensile or 80K.

[Shanghyd]

I PM'd you but received no response. Where do you want me to send the part? $15 sounds fair to me. I need 10 of them to start.

[Shanghyd]

I'm still looking to have this part duplicated. If anyone wants to have a crack at it with a milling machine let me know.