Looking to get a custom CNC part made

Im looking to get a custom CNC part made for a hobby project. I'm not a professional on the subject. I've done a little fusion 360 and cut some basic wood pieces on a very cheap machine.

Other than designing the part, what should I know before going to a CNC shop and asking them to make the part for me?

 

@six5crèéd

 

Are you just wanting one part made or multiples of the same one? If you can find a small job shop it'll be better for one. Where are you located?

 

Just 1

Northern Virginia

 

Do you have a drawing?

 

Keep in mind the bulk of the cost of doing anything CNC is the time to write the program. Just making a one-off part can get really pricey. Where I work we have a full machine shop with manual and CNC equipment and often have customers balk when they here the prices of making a single part to repair a piece of older equipment where parts are now obsolete. Best of luck.

 

It's a var

I haven't done the model yet.

 

What if I bring in a step file or STL? I know the tool paths still need to be generated but would that help?

 

People freak out when they come in our shop as well and get a price, they don't understand everything you just said and the cost of the machine and tooling.

 

What does var stand for?

 

Is it something that has to be run on a CNC mill?

Cause any machinist worth a damn can do some pretty complex stuff on a simple knee mill and a lathe.

 

Where are you located?

Talking a steel/aluminum part? Any bends in it?

 

EDIT - missed some posts... Whoops

Fusion360 gives you a lot of functionality - if it has bends, make sure you create a flat pattern, then export that into a drawing with different views of the part.
Export a DXF for the cutting and the drawing as a PDF.

Happy to help you a bit once you get further along. What exactly is the part you need done?


Like it's been mentioned - a one-off part will always be more expensive. Have all your files sorted and ready to go will make all the difference in pricing though.
If they need to go back and forth with you to fix your files/info, that's time they've already invested.

 

Sorry ignore that. It's was from another post

 

It could be done on a mill. Part is aluminum. 6061 would be ideal but I can change the design to accommodate other aluminum alloys.

 

I have an RC car that has a 1.5kw motor in it. I'm swapping out the motor for a 4kw motor. The part I'm making is a new motor mount. I can 3d print some parts but sooner or later thing are going to go bad. Others have hit 150mph with the motor I'm using so there is going to be a lot of strain.

The original motor mount has some aluminum and some plastic. I'm essentially making the blue piece (original is 3mm thick) and extending it out to partially wrap around the motor and bolt into the frame.

The 4 hole pattern in the blue plate is 1 inch (25.4mm) across.

 

If you can get me a drawing I can help you out