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Anyone here do CNC machining?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ironsheik
  • Start date Start date
I

ironsheik

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I have a gauge mount bracket made out of wood that I would like to made with 3/4" thick aluminum. Any recommendations? It's not really too complicated. I live in New York City so if any of you know someone local, that would be best of course.
 
ironsheik said:
I have a gauge mount bracket made out of wood that I would like to made with 3/4" thick aluminum. Any recommendations? It's not really too complicated. I live in New York City so if any of you know someone local, that would be best of course.
Click to expand...

We think alike I have a gauge bracket mocked up of wood also...need the same service.
 
I do, but too far away to be good to you...also currently in school learning to be a better programmer/designer.

Paying someone to CNC one of something is not generally economically feasible. Shop time is normally $100/hr-ish and you're looking at two hours minimum (usually) for programming and setup. Of course once you push the green button, cycle time may only be a few minutes, but it's the stuff that comes before that kills you on a one-off.

But, my (limited) experience is in prototyping, maybe jobber shops can pick this kind of stuff up and do it so it makes sense.

Post a picture, I'll lend whatever advice I can. Include dimensions if you can. Go here for expert advice: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/
 
I'll take a pic of mine and you should do the same. Maybe we can compare notes and split the cost of a bracket?

jwhelan65 said:
We think alike I have a gauge bracket mocked up of wood also...need the same service.
Click to expand...
 
show me a pic and some dimensions. i may be able to do one at work. i know i am in the uk but i will be able to do it a lot cheaper than a specialist machine shop and the postage wont be that much either
 
Here's an online machine shop that I've used in the past. http://www.emachineshop.com/

What I generally do is use their software to design the part, then price it out. If it's too high I don't use them BUT I then have a drawing that I can print out on a 1:1 scale. This has been really handy for fabing brackets.

The procedure is draw up the part and print it out. Then take the drawing to the garage and cut a template from cardboard and fit it. Note the cahnges that need to be made, then change the drawing and repeat. When you get the part the way you want it, cut it from stock and bend or whatever needs to be done.

You can even view the drawing in 3D. Pretty cool stuff for home fab work.
 
Here's what I've got so far. It's just a really rough cut out of pine. It still needs the recesses where it mounts to the upper tripple to be 1/2" deeper. It also needs threaded holes in the bottom to mount the ignition. This works with the stock upper triple. I just bent the bracket on the gauges so the posts are angled instead of angling the new mount surface.
bracket.jpg
 
No need for machining, that can be done with hand tools. Finding stock that thick might be a bit of an issue but if you can find it then a good hacksaw, drill press and some files will get it done. A lot cheaper too.

I assume that you want the aluminum for esthetics but if you're not concerned then another route would be plastics or nylons. There are various types but I've used Delrin for a couple of projects. Easy to work with hand and home power tools and can be shaped like aluminum. Check with any plastics distributor. Depending on how much you need you might be able to get an off-cut for a buck or two.

Let us know how you end up going with this project.

Good luck.
Spyug
 
I agree that doesn't require machining, let alone CNC. The software at the site I posted works perfect for that application. All you need to do is cut it from sheet aluminum or steel and make a couple of bends (I take it that the deeper holes are the need for a different level).

Pretty simple to do in most home shops. The sofware allows you to prototype fast and when you actually go to cut stock you'll only need to do it once.
 
spyug said:
No need for machining, that can be done with hand tools. Finding stock that thick might be a bit of an issue but if you can find it then a good hacksaw, drill press and some files will get it done. A lot cheaper too.

I assume that you want the aluminum for esthetics but if you're not concerned then another route would be plastics or nylons. There are various types but I've used Delrin for a couple of projects. Easy to work with hand and home power tools and can be shaped like aluminum. Check with any plastics distributor. Depending on how much you need you might be able to get an off-cut for a buck or two.

Let us know how you end up going with this project.

Good luck.
Spyug
Click to expand...

Awesome. This is the stuff I don't have experience with. Is Delrin totally rigid and strong? It has to be strong enough to hold up an 1100ed guage cluster which is about 1lb and at torque on the bracket will probably be quite a bit. I was thinking I would have to add a couple of pieces to raise the cluster (hence the CNC work) but I've just worked it out where the piece you see will be the perfect size. SO I could easily just cut this up out of aluminum or Delrin. It does need to be 3/4" thick though. Thanks for the help!
 
ironsheik said:
Awesome. This is the stuff I don't have experience with. Is Delrin totally rigid and strong? It has to be strong enough to hold up an 1100ed guage cluster which is about 1lb and at torque on the bracket will probably be quite a bit. I was thinking I would have to add a couple of pieces to raise the cluster (hence the CNC work) but I've just worked it out where the piece you see will be the perfect size. SO I could easily just cut this up out of aluminum or Delrin. It does need to be 3/4" thick though. Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
Why do you need so thick of a piece of aluminum to hold up a gauge cluster? As short as the stock is going to be that 3/4" piece would hold up your bike.

You're overdesigning this by orders of magnitute. The torque on the bracket will be about 1/2 lb/ft. You could get away with 1/8" stock with no problems whatsoever. It's easy to cut and bend too.
 
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Well, this is the easiest way for me to raise the bracket I made out of wood. It's not that thick because of strength. Where the bracket attaches to top triple I've recessed the holes so it sits higher than a flush mounted 1/4" piece would, thus raising the gauges in relation to the triple. I'll take photos. I know I could also use a couple of 3/8" pieces of aluminum and weld them together but (since I don't have experience with metal fab or welding) I thought a solid piece of metal might be easier for me to handle.
 
ironsheik said:
I know I could also use a couple of 3/8" pieces of aluminum and weld them together but (since I don't have experience with metal fab or welding) I thought a solid piece of metal might be easier for me to handle.
Click to expand...

Why not take a few pieces and glue them together with epoxy.
Make sure you scuff up the surfaces and get lots of bare metal.
 
At 3/4" or so the plastic or nylon is plenty strong. I also suspect you don't need that thickness. 1/8" to 1/4" aluminum stock is plenty thick but yet still bendable if you need.

I think I'd try something in 3/16" aluminum sheet and see how that turns out. Easy to work for sure.

No question that you can find materials to work easily enough.

Try some thinner aluminum stock and see what you end up with.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Spyug
 
If you want to have it machined look on ThomasNet for machine shops. Good luck for one in the city. You could ship it in the worst case.
Don't ask for CNC, just tell them you want it machined out of aluminum or whatever. They will use a mill machine much faster than a CNC setup.

I don't work with machine shops any longer or I would get you in contact with one.
 
ironsheik said:
Well, this is the easiest way for me to raise the bracket I made out of wood. It's not that thick because of strength. Where the bracket attaches to top triple I've recessed the holes so it sits higher than a flush mounted 1/4" piece would, thus raising the gauges in relation to the triple. I'll take photos. I know I could also use a couple of 3/8" pieces of aluminum and weld them together but (since I don't have experience with metal fab or welding) I thought a solid piece of metal might be easier for me to handle.
Click to expand...
OK, that's why I mentioned bending the plate. I'll bow out now as I've given you all the info on how I fab parts for conversions.
 
I've got a shop full of CNCs.. could give someone a quote if you have a dwg. We're slow right now too :(
 
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