Or I understand all that! Just looking for options. I have too many ideas for my project and too little money. Right now I'd want to make an (2) aluminum parts that is just 2.5x2.5x1" and very simple flat design... and the best I could find is $160...
Vlad, if your part is that simple, you shouldn't be looking for a CNC quote in the first place. On the other hand, since we haven't seen the part, none of us can give you anything like a real answer.
People always say they understand that, but still want mail order part pricing. $160 buys you 2-3 hours of machine time, at best.
I don't machine anything for anyone but myself anymore because of this. My cost to machine custom components (as stated above already) is higher than the selling price from large retailers. I got sick of making $3/hour for my time. This doesn't even take into account how much money there is to be lost if something goes wrong, and occassionally it does.
Good luck. The cheap stuff ain't good, and the good stuff ain't cheap.
Amen, brother; the one that had me swear off trying to do work for the general public was finding out that the custom goat milking stand that I had no quoted because my cost for the materials alone was more than the price for the same thing from TSC was being used against me. The guy brought the actual TSC catalog to show me what he wanted, so I when I told him that he was less than happy....
It's probably a good thing that I've lived here almost all my life, and I still have some other farmers & small businesses in the area; his attempt at using his religious background to slander me for not giving him what he wanted cost him much more dearly than it cost me, and it still cost me way more than I would have thought being honest ever would...
I see.
You'd think in 2013 they'd have machines that'd just DO stuff from CAD file. Without the setup
I know I know. But being a programmer - I know that all this HOWs are theoretically solvable. We landed on the moon 50 years ago!
Vlad, heres an answer for both of the above...
Quote #1 from above; the Tony Stark workshop does not exist. For the record, CAD stands for
Computer AIDED Design; not Computer Automated Design. The same goes for CAM; not Computer Automated Machining,
Computer Aided Machining.
Quote #2; theoretically solvable and reality have this really big issue of not agreeing with each other on a regular basis. The current score? Lets just say that reality is so far ahead that it isn't worth trying to even keep score any more.....
In one of your other threads, I asked you where you were in relation to Grand Rapids MI; I'll repeat the basics here. I've still got some equipment, and if all you need is a couple of saw cuts, maybe some holes drilled, I might be able to help you out. PM me.
Pat
