Where can I get metal prototyping done?

D

dakota.potts

New member
I have an idea for a firearm accessory that I'd like to have created and see if it's feasible for a market. Obviously I don't want to give away too much but I need to build a type of small vise that uses friction to secure itself to the slide of a pistol securely without using any drilling or permanent modifications. The design is simple, but I'm no engineer or machinist. It really is just a clamp shaped a particular way so it really shouldn't be hard or (hopefully) expensive to prototype, but I don't know where to do so.

Does anybody have any ideas? I don't even know where to begin looking.
 
Make a detailed drawing with precise measurements and take it to a local machine shop that has and knows how to use something other than a CNC. Not as many shops as there used to be but you can generally find a few in most places.

EDIT: I just saw your location. Another option would be to talk to some of the aviation people around there. There are a lot of them in north Florida. They might have access to machine shops (often for the fee of a 12 pack or so) or can point you in the right direction. When I was stationed in Jacksonville I would have done it for you just for fun.
 
Thanks Chaz! I believe the airport in Saint Augustine has a Northrop Grumman building there. Would there be engineers there that I could talk to?

Also, how much do you think something like this would cost? Just a couple thin pieces of metal made of aluminum, perhaps a couple inches long, with a tightening screw and one end that clamps. Are we talking like $50 or several hundred for a new piece of metal?
 
You're looking for a machinist. They charge by the hour. You might want to enroll in a local junior college that teaches engineering (machine operations).
 
Would there be engineers there that I could talk to?
Click to expand...

There are likely engineers. I would talk to the machinists though, most are better at the nuts and bolts end of things than the paper and pencil engineers. Ask around and find one through a friend of a friend. It is not the kind of thing they can do on company time. You do not want to pay the going rate for company time.
If that cannot not be done look around for a local machine shop. Might have to go to Jacksonville or Daytona for that. As far as material cost it should not be much for one, most shops probably have enough scrap around for what you are talking about. If they have to order something special to fit your material specifications it could become very expensive.
 
look for a "job Shop" as this is a shop that does machine work that a bigger company really doesn't want to tool up for right away. this would include prototype work
 
I'm gonna throw a wild-ass guess out there and say you're likely not going below $300 at the least for this. One-off machining jobs are not cheap. The shop still has to take the time and effort to tool up (and write the G-code for the part if using CNC machinery) regardless if it's one piece or 100. And these places charge by the hour. Making the part isn't that expensive. it's getting everything ready beforehand that's pricey.

Some ways to cut your costs would be to do the G-code yourself(that's the programming for the CNC machine that tells it where and how to cut). Not too difficult if you are handy with CAD programs and can take some time to learn. There are plenty of free programs out there and tutorials for them.

Secondly, simplify, simplify, simplify. The less sides you need to work on and the less cuts that need to be made the better. It's much cheaper to cut a piece on one side than to cut it on 3 sides, having to flip the piece over and readjust the machine every single time.

And last, try to do as much of the work yourself as you can. Are there some simple holes that need to be drilled through a plate? Why pay a machine shop to do that when you can do it yourself with a power drill and a steady hand?
If you need to cut a simple notch. Leave that off the design and then just cut it yourself with a grinder and some files. If it's just a vice that clamps onto a slide, I doubt most of it really needs to be done to such tight specs that you couldn't just do a reasonable job yourself.

As an example, I had designed a replacement steel bolt for one of my airsoft guns where the original part is just very light duty (cast magnesium I think) and can't stand up tot he kind of gas pressures I'd be cranking through it.

My original design would have included ALOT of CNC milling and would have likely cost me damn near $600-700 to make a one-off piece. After alot of altering and redesigning, I simplified it down to the point that it could all be made with just drilling in a drill press(I have access to one at a friend's shop but no mills) some grinding and a few small milling operations that could frankly be done with an end-mill in a router. So cost went down to about $150ish for materials and the endmills, drill bits and cutting wheels. Not bad.

Should start fabricating in a couple weeks when I get some free time.
 
A better idea might be for you to take a machining class at your local Junior College. Cheaper, and you'll gain a lot of insight into why things cost what they do. You'll probably make a few connections in the bargain as well.

I used to do this sort of thing professionally. Ever heard of the paintball store "KAPP"? I was the guy who brought the rapid prototype/marketing process to them, introduced them to the machine shop and anodizer I'd used when I was a gunsmith, and so on.

The first project I did for them was a delrin bolt for the WGP Autocoker/Sniper. I made a prototype, had them look at it, they made some good suggestions, and machined a few to try it out. I asked for prices based on quantities of 50, 100, and 200 pieces. For 100 ea (these are 1991 prices) it was $4.00 each. Those pieces sold for $20.00 retail.
 
Evolution Gun Works does prototyping, and not just for the gun biz. I bought an oil filter cap wrench for my MINI Cooper on ebay which was made by EGW. They'd made prototypes, but the manufacturing was sent offshore so EGW sold the pieces they'd made.
 
you could go with SLA or SLS (even better) and make up a form and fit prototype. Often this is sufficent to see if you have an actual good idea. SLA is what people are callling "printing" parts. It's a plastic. The same people that do SLA can also make you a metal part from the same data file. I use a company called Quick Parts. You can find them at quickparts.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top