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Cost to get chassis CNC'ed?

Discussion in 'The DIY Tool Shed' started by Che_Guitarra, Dec 29, 2013.

  1. Dec 29, 2013 #1
    Che_Guitarra

    Che_Guitarra Tele-Holic

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    Does anybody have a ballpark idea what it costs to use CNC machines? I want to investigate getting a custom chassis cut for my next project, but the local businesses that'd handle such things are closed for the holidays.

    In the past i've adapted existing chassis to suit my projects, but there's always an element of compromise adopting this approach. This time I want to make the chassis from scratch, with no trade-offs to the layout.

    BTW the planned chassis is for a 6G4A Super - single channel, single input, in a tweed style box chassis.
     
  2. Dec 29, 2013 #2
    guitarbuilder

    guitarbuilder Telefied Ad Free Member

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    You might have a better chance at getting an answer by asking this at the CNCZone forum. cnczone.com There are a couple places where you can draw and submit a drawing and get a quote on a price. One is cut by waterjet and the other is a machine shop.

    http://www.emachineshop.com/

    http://www.internetmachineshop.com/
     
  3. Dec 29, 2013 #3
    piece of ash

    piece of ash Friend of Leo's

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    A shop with a laser/plasma/water-jet cutter will likely be your cheapest route toward a one-off creation (I do this c__p all day). That said, if you're confident in your design, the second or third piece in a small run will cost you nearly nothing. Your shop will likely cut 2 or 3 blanks just to get through the bending process.
     
  4. Jan 13, 2014 #4
    G60syncro

    G60syncro Tele-Meister

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    We have a place that does laser/plasma/water and most of the shops in the area do business with them and don't even bother with cutting sheet and plate themselves. Since their volume is so big, their prices come to just a little above the actual price per pound for a given material. I'm sure we're not the only place on earth to have such a shop... look around your area, even a few calls to machine shops that don't really do that stuff might point you in the right direction.

    What we needed to send was a .pdf file or fax of the part drawing to get the rough dimensions right and to tell them what the units are. (it would suck to get a key-tag-sized piece because they mixed up inches and mm!). The drawing also showed if there are any lines that need to be etched. Etching does't cut through the material, it merely burns a mark on the surface and is useful for laying out bend lines or optional holes that you would want to drill out yourself later on for example.

    Next up was the .dxf file containing only what needs to be cut or etched... Preferably, each on it's own layer. If you leave text or notes one the file, the text will get cut out too!! That info should only be on the .pdf!! However if you like the look, you could have them etch the control labels and graduations for the switches and knobs... it shows up nicely on stainless.

    That's what our place required, yours might be different in some details but they should be able to help you with all that.

    Karl
     
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