Online CNC work? Suggestions?

I wasn't sure where to post this one, but since it's for my 3rd gen....

I recently designed a mounting bracket for my light bar. I've tested with a 3D printed version and am happy with the fit. Mostly. I might make a small tweak or two. Now, I just need to find someone to make it. Does anyone have any recommendations for material, thickness, coating, and most importantly, a resource to do the work?

I see a number of online companies that can work from various file formats. I'm working in Fusion360, so can generate most formats. I'm using the sheet metal tool for the most part. Below is an example of what I've designed. I'd be happy to support a TW member that has a plasma or CNC router plus the ability to bend. Tolerances are pretty tight though.

I'm trying to decide between aluminum and steel (what formulations too) and whether to powder coat or leave raw. This will go on a powder coated roof rack.

Appreciate any input y'all might have.

 

I like your bracket idea, but is there not something already out there that would work and be much cheaper?

 

Might be expensive all the way up here in N.C. from Texas but this is who we use for our laser work and bending. Their work is amazing and turn around times are quick too
https://www.cpeakes.com/

 

Probably. But finding it and testing it out might take some time. Plus, I don’t get to learn fusion so where’s the fun in that?

it is a relatively tight fit. I have the Gobi stealth rack and my 30” bar has fairly tight tolerances in that space. I have mounts from Gobi for a 40”, and these things are massively overbuilt and only have the single lateral attachment point. The design I made includes the center pin and the rotating lock slot so they can be aimed and dual supported. My design is a hack of their stock material.

Thanks, I’ll take a look and see what they’re all about.

 

What is your definition of "tight tolerances". Tight can mean vastly different things depending on who you are talking to.

 

I think you'll find, that if you aren't producing high quantities of these brackets, the cost of manufacturing will be very prohibitive. As you increase the quantity, the price per unit will go down.

I'd recommend stainless steel and either an at home powdercoating job or rattle can it. If you end up doing a large quantity, then professional powdercoating will be an option. Most shops have a $150 minimum for PC jobs.

As for "tight tolerances", how did you come to that conclusion? All of your holes are slotted, which usually equates to very loose tolerances.

Good luck!

 

Thanks guys. I suppose that by tight, I meant better than a Stanley tape measure and a good eyeball. Yes, all but one of the holes are slotted, but the one arc is radius’d upon the single hole so its arc and distance only has about 1mm of margin. Even having a digital caliper and the light bar in hand, it took me another two iterations after my first print to get the dimensions right. Part of that was learning fusion though. I could make them looser I suppose. But my intent all along was to send a cad file to a machine shop with a plasma table or cnc router and a brake for bending.

I sent an interim design to one online somewhere along the line and got an e-quote for like $39 or something close to that. So x2 because they are mirrors and I’m at $125 -$150 with setup and shipping is my guess.

 

1mm tolerance might as well be a mile for any halfway decent fab shop. Here is a list of standard tolerances.

1 decimal place (.x): ±0.2"
2 decimal places (.0x): ±0.01"
3 decimal places (.00x): ±0.005"
4 decimal places (.000x): ±0.0005"

$125 -$150 is a good price for a one off run of 2 parts.

 

Well, I wasn't far off... ~$160. Since there's a per piece setup charge, I figure I'd just mirror the bracket onto itself and pull out my jigsaw with a metal blade and cut it in half. $160 for custom mounts. Ouch. Anybody need any of these? #'s 2-10 are about $5 a piece. I'll let them go for a meager $10 each. Just kidding. These would only work on the Diode Dynamics light bars anyways.

Still thinking. I could probably just by some stock sheet metal, and a decent vice, and some metal router bits, and, and, and.... nah, who am I kidding? I'd spend more time and money trying to get all that sorted out than just paying the man.

 

Try out 3dhubs.com, you can upload your file for an instant quote. Haven't used them myself, so I'd be interested to hear what their prices are like.

 

Three ten thousands lol.

Wait. 7 micron...

 

If you are near Fort Worth reach out to @CaliRaisedLed they have a full facility and may be willing to do custom work

 

They are on my hit list too. I think they want an email address other than hotmail/gmail, etc. They sure as heck aren't getting my work email. They might get my consulting email.

I've been to that shop; nice clean setup. I talked to them about custom slider work but they declined... prefab only. I don't know if they just weren't setup for that yet, or were too busy, or if the Fort Worth site is strictly prefab. But maybe I'll reach out to them again on Monday if I don't catch them here.

 

@Naveronski got them to make some custom stuff. If you talk to the customer service rep they will probably blanket say no, if you talk to Jake you might get more traction.

 

Exactly. For me. Anything higher than single digit micron falls under the "no problem, we can hit that comfortably." category.

 

I made my truck rack with one and you can download their free CAD program and upload your file to it as an import- they did a nice job.

edit: https://www.emachineshop.com/

 

It’s hard to find a shop to do one offs for hobby projects. I know at my place, I don’t even bother responding to RFQ’s for quantity 1 or 2 sent from a personal email.

 

Yep, I get it. They have a business model that works for them. The work really is in all the setup. For a ten piece run, 80% of the cost is for the first piece.

 

I’ll take a look. I know I’ve seen the name but may not have priced them yet. I’ve been hitting all the automated instant quote sites first.

 

Was it that address? I get a generic search response from there.