Thanks Werner!

I think this is probably and underutilized method. Just asking what their budget is or what they think they plan on spending. If it's way off, you can tell them and not even have to bother running a quote. It at least gets you close and lets you know if you are on the same page.

@@kazlx Precisely. I'm not always hot on this but it can be a very useful strategy.

Thanks!

thanks!

If you're getting customers i would keep doing what you're doing. In days time cnc machines are cheap and easy to get started in.. low ball the competition, making a profit for ur self, keeping a good relationship with the customer, and making it hard on other machine shops u cant go wrong

he set the surface finish at 125 on the last part, but in his cycle he has it at about 63 so that might be the price difference

Take a look at www.nyccnc.com/tips-on-how-to-source-cnc-machined-parts/

Google Maps

Also practical machinist has a manufacturing resource page for listing your request for quotes from companies around the country

Sourcing is, like most other things in business, all about building connections. Outside of MFG.com (not recommended, see other comment thread on this video), I don't think there's a consolidated sourcing platform that has any traction. Try asking around your social circles and you should be able to find somebody pretty quickly. Welders, mechanics, machinists that work for big companies, accountants, engineers... These people have probably all crossed paths with a few small local machine shops at some point and will know who to use (or, equally valuable, who not to use.) Or, if you're not in a rush, most larger cities have a manufacturing expo of some sort that is intended to connect shops to sourcing professionals. The big flashy shops that advertise all over the place are not who you want; they're looking for the corporate customers. You're looking for the shops that don't need to advertise because they've got more work than they can handle. In my experience, it's difficult trying to use the internet to source parts if you're starting out. There are a lot of crooks out there, and if you don't look like you're an established company with some credit references, shops are going to be hesitant to do work for you. Perhaps more than most other businesses, machine shops take a huge risk when they do work for new customers. When you find somebody local, and meet them in person, they're going to be more confident they'll get paid (and more confident they can haul you into court if they don't). Some additional tips (and forgive me if you already know this): 1) Send a complete, proper drawing, and a proper purchase order. Real shops don't want (only) a CAD model. They need to know tolerances, and if you're talking small quantities, they'll probably do some or all of the work on a manual machine where a CAD model doesn't help them. You can make drawings in Fusion 360, so there's no excuse in this day and age. 2) Give them lots of lead time. Good shops are scheduled out 4-6 weeks, and their priority will be their existing customers. They're going to work you in when they have time. 3) Expect to be surprised by the price. If you're a new customer, they're probably building in some overhead to get you set up, and will also assume that they'll have to spend more time on this job because of inexperience or whatever. If the transaction was positive, the prices will come down on the reorder. Perhaps you could mention what state/region you're in? There might be somebody here that knows somebody in your area?

Mlnlme1, I currently work for a small job shop that operates in quantities like you are talking about. We specialize in fabrication, prototyping and just got started in Cnc machining about 2 years ago (3 axis only). Would you be interested in emailing me about what you are looking to get done? I do not know where you are located but it never hurts to talk and build relationships/connections.

I'm not sure how hard you've looked but it's likely that there are more machine shops around than you think. Many little shops won't even show up on Google Maps. Your best bet is to start asking around. If you have a local makerspace that's a good place to start.

Rylee Gill I currently work at a small fabrication shop that has a 3 axis Cnc. I don’t know where you are located but we are near Rochester, NY.

@@brentonparis8927 I'm North of watertown

It must not be available

I'm guessing they would if these were actual jobs, but they're just examples so he's not putting in as much effort.

The first part also has to be held in a vice, so to use the entire bed you’d need to set up a bunch of vices, right?

Robert Panco you could also use a vacuum table, super glue method, hold downs, or mod vices.

James Dreger fair point

If you already have vises set up on the machine, it's probably more work to remove them, do a completely different setup and change back than it is to just cut them to size and run the program 10 times. You aren't really saving that much material on those parts in that size. It's way easier to just throw the blanks in a vise.

David Smith check out www.stockcarsteel.com you can buy by the foot and cheaper than most online places.

Absolutely

www.nyccnc.com/tips-on-how-to-source-cnc-machined-parts/

Not being able to find a CNC Machine shop must be very frustrating. I would encourage you to upload your part for a quote through Xometry, get.xometry.com/quote. We’d be happy to help you get what you need!

RFQspace.com

website search on google nyc cnc quoting go to the website you have to pay $40 for 3 month subscription

Usually the plasma cut finish in aluminium is far from good and water jets are expensive as hell to own and operate. Also in 10-off quantities set up and cam programming for the water jet or plasma cutting usually does not pay off versus the saved material.

@@maikeydii ......Maybe until someone clever invents the 'Sonic Breadknife Universal Water Jet System' for the CNC mill.... like a glorified mister nozzle, then it would just be a first op' Fusion 360 process. Does aluminium work harden when plasma cut to make it entirely unsuitable for roughing out blanks where a substantial material saving could otherwise be made? If so, one could simply 'mill part' thin items close to or at finished size if they tessellate well or can be arranged with any number of common edges and surface finish is potentially better when slotting as opposed to edge milling. You could save on workholding setup time also if items are parted off on the mill, if only for the roughing stage. This is all assuming that it's actually cheaper to buy larger sheet or extruded plate material for a particular job. Like John said, it's always worth suggesting strategic design changes if it will allow more efficient production, speed up delivery and save money. People sometimes go to ridiculous lengths to stick to design spec's that often aren't even critical rather than query the design for possible efficiency improvements and you'll often be dealing with more computer tech' savvy but perhaps less 'hands on' CAD operators who may have even misinterpreted a drawing or over complicated the bejesus out of a component, like the air filter retention handle/lock on my Grundig tumble dryer. It looks like a shuttle docking port from a Scifi movie but way more complex.

@@SupraSmart68 CNC plasma sucks for aluminum. It's way faster to just machine them. You aren't saving enough material for it to even matter.