Need to pay off my new toy...

[yaddatrance]

So thing's have been busy and hectic at the "farm"... we have a new
tool to pay off so I'm taking ideas for pricing and sizes for optical
beam tables... I'm hoping to make a few runs of high quality low cost tables.



The basic considerations we have to take into account which temper
ultra low costs are the size (or more accurately the weight of the table
since metal is sold by the lbs), the cycle time (number of holes) and the
cost of tooling (taps, drills, etc)... aside from that, please post what sizes
you guys need, what you think it's worth and what your "buy-it-now" price
is... It doesn't matter if you don't have an immediate need, I'm just
seeing what the common requested sizes are so I can start tooling...

[Laser Ben]

How about the weight of the starting material plus $ per minute of work time? The price per minute should vary biased on how fast your CNC works. Is it a 3Axis or 5 axis? That seems to be a good price. Also, what kind of CAD files can you take? Would you be able to do parts in shapes other then just plates? In my experiance, at least on a manual mill, it is much easier to make parts lime blocks and brackets then it is to make precision plates.

[yaddatrance]

Well the new CNC is nice and fast

Does 800+ inch/min rapids and 400 inch/min cuts... 10HP (15HP peak)
says it'll cut though most anything... It's a standard box-ways CNC mill
so it has a bit of get-up-and-go...

It's pre-wired with a 4th axis, but I'm choosing plates to keep the costs
down and that should only use 3 axis... We plan on standard 1" O.C.
w/ 1/4-20 tapped holes...

We could do odd sizes and complex cuts but that'd have to be ironed
out individually because I can't imagine people having a "standard"
non-rectangular shape they want...

We use 5/8" plate on our gear unless the table is <1'x1', 1/4" plates are
very cheap, but tend to flex... we can do any thickness, but the
material is measured by the pound... with precision plates being a bit
more expensive... I wouldn't go under 1/4" and 1" plate is really nice
but very heavy...

I figure we can do two or three classes of material, the cheapest being
extrusions, followed by MIC6 plates and the most expensive being
precision ground plates (though I can't see too much demand for the
latter unless you're doing lab work)

Right now we just buy our stock new at Industrial Metal Supply, and
I plan on running these jobs during the night to get some little extra
cash to pay this beast off sooner...

The max size of table is 5'x3' to fit without creepy workholding,
though if we can keep it 4'x2' or smaller that'd be nice... Again, the killer
on big tables is the raw weight of metal... You're not going to be
able to lift a 5'x3' table without help.

[buffo]

Interesting toy you have there, Yadda!

I don't know how many people here would be interested in a 5 ft table, but I'll wager that there are plenty of folks that would be interested in 2 ft by 12 inch or 2 ft by 18 inch tables...

Then again, a lot of us recently purchased surplus optical plates like these on E-bay. Evidently the seller has a whole crapload of these things and puts groups of 25 of so on E-bay from time to time. His price is pretty hard to beat, though I will admit that his plates are not tapped, and the holes are not drilled on 1 inch centers, but rather on 5/8 inch centers. Nevertheless, I used one in my RGB rig, and so far it's worked out very well for me.

Can you give us a rough idea of what it would cost for a 2 ft by 1 ft table, say, 3/8 of an inch thick, drilled and tapped on 1 inch centers to 1/4-20? And how much extra if we bump it up to 1/2 inch plate? (Aluminum, of course... Steel is too heavy.)

Adam

[allthatwhichis]

How bout a whole enclosuer?

[QUAZAR]

Also, most Europeans would require the holes tapped for M5.

How about MM1's, dichro holders and brackets etc.

[allthatwhichis]

How much for the bikes? and not that beach cruiser!

[Laser Ben]

Also, most Europeans would require the holes tapped for M5.

How about MM1's, dichro holders and brackets etc.

If anyone would like to loan me a mm1, I can make a CAM file of it so he cam mass produce them. The problem is that you cannot just cut them out of plate, you have to start as a block. This is because if you cut out a piece with the mill, it will then get the cutter cought between the loose piece and the work piece. Depending on the hardness/thickness of the material and cutter, it will either destroy one face of the loose piece, break the cutter, or both. All of which result in a total disaster. If you want to cut pieces like that out of plate stock, you have to leave a few little tabs holding it in place. Or use a jig to hold down the loose piece with a bolt.

[MechEng3]

Just use a slitting saw on a horizontal milling head. Purchase surface ground bar stock from Dillsburg aviation. Just cut to desired length..then cnc drill set up on another mill with a turret head...or build a holding fixture......no big twig either way. I wouldn't waste time with the mm-1's........unless they are a small run of special function other than commercially available size/special use. Time vs. materials costs would have to be somewhat far less than the buy it now from whoever's catalogue. Time is a major factor in manufacturing arenas now. Everyone looks for an outsourcing venue to avoid high labor costs and materials acquisition. Plus EO has them for $35 brand new.

[Astroguy]

Just use a slitting saw on a horizontal milling head. Purchase surface ground bar stock from Dillsburg aviation. Just cut to desired length..then cnc drill set up on another mill with a turret head...or build a holding fixture......no big twig either way. I wouldn't waste time with the mm-1's........unless they are a small run of special function other than commercially available size/special use. Time vs. materials costs would have to be somewhat far less than the buy it now from whoever's catalogue. Time is a major factor in manufacturing arenas now. Everyone looks for an outsourcing venue to avoid high labor costs and materials acquisition. Plus EO has them for $35 brand new.

Your right it is cheaper to buy them. I have a small CNC mill as well and thought about making MM1`s and dichro mounts to sell cheap to the members here. I should have done my home work, after I figured out the cost of material and my time I could not beat the prices they sell for now unless I made a run of 1,000 or so.