CNC help

[mjkonopka]

Does anyone know where I can get some CNC work done in the Chicagoland area? I'm looking to build a brass sorting machine like the ultimate sorter and need to get a few pieces of aluminum plate cut. I need the slots cut in the plate to allow the brass to fall through. It needs to be accurate down to the thousandth of an inch, which is why I can't do it with a drill. I have been looking for a shop with either a CNC mill or a water/plasma table, but everywhere I call won't do small jobs.

[KYCaster]

Call your local Vo/Tech school. Ask them if they will assign it to a student in lieu of a standard project.

Jerry

[KenH]

If it's just slots, does it need CNC? OR - would just a milling machine do the work?

[mjkonopka]

I guess it doesn't need CNC. Would a mill be that accurate?

Thats not a bad idea to call a tech school. I'll have to find one around here.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

A manual mill in decent shape with a good operator can hold extremely close tolerances. Besides, they will be a lot cheaper. The setup on a CNC will cost more than the operation.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[mjkonopka]

I can use AutoCAD at school to draw up the design I need for it if that would save money and time.

[KenH]

A manual mill will hold the same tolerances as a CNC mill - the CNC shines when making many copies of the same part that would make it worthwhile to write the g-code for the part.

Ken H>

[Hdskip]

as a longtime machinist instructor I'd like to comment on getting a votech student for this work. Students are just that ....Students! It's not likely that a student will be capable of executing work to " the thousands of an inch". That level of precision was not expected for students. +/- .005 yes. I'd not allow my students to take on a project of that magnitude. very likely they as well as you would be disappointed in the results. What you're asking for would require a fair amount of skill and craftsmanship on a manual milling machine. Vocational training is an excellent first step in becoming a machinist. our program has produced over a hundred graduates who have maintained a career in the machining business over the last 20 years. It is important to realize that it's just a starting point though.
Gary

[JackQuest]

A manual mill will hold the same tolerances as a CNC mill - the CNC shines when making many copies of the same part that would make it worthwhile to write the g-code for the part.

Ken H>

What KenH said. FlashCut out of Chicago converts Bridgeport/clone manual mills to CNC machines, usually in 1 day, so yes, a manual mill will hold the tolerances of "CNC" machines. The VoTech idea is a good one since the instructor will probably be double-checking everything anyway.

[DCM]

double post

[DCM]

I would also recommend doing a search for brass sorters on this site.
IIRC JMorris made a pretty sweet one based on 2 rotating bars that get farther apart as they get farther from the brass feed end.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?82771-Homemade-brass-sorting-device