CNC Machined parts UK

[CedricTheBrave]

Hi all I am looking to get some radius blocks made for my OTA as the stock OOUK ones are too short so I have a bit of movement when the scope swings over the meridian 

i have knocked something up in Fusion360 and 3d printed a test piece which looks and works well.

does anyone have a reccomended CNC company that would make a couple of these in alluminium for me?

many thanks

[Martyn87]

@CedricTheBrave do you think you need them in aluminium? I'd have thought they're not actually weight bearing as such, just filling the gap between your OTA and dovetail?

Could maybe print then in ABS or PETG, maybe nylon if your printer can handle it? 

[Astronomist]

I have used PCBway in china for machining before, they are very cheap compared to having it done in the UK. Xometry and JLC3DP might be worth a look as well.

best of luck!

[Martyn87]

15 minutes ago, Astronomist said:

I have used PCBway in china for machining before, they are very cheap compared to having it done in the UK. Xometry and JLC3DP might be worth a look as well.

best of luck!

I've had PCBs from PCBway before, they seemed good. They also do aluminium SLS printing which might be cheaper than machining. 

[Astronomist]

15 minutes ago, Martyn87 said:

aluminium SLS printing which might be cheaper than machining.

Afraid not, its nearly 5x the price!

[Elp]

Most UK companies will charge an arm and a leg for this, you'd be better off finding a local "one man band" type machinist. There may be someone on here whom can also help.

[Martyn87]

51 minutes ago, Astronomist said:

Afraid not, its nearly 5x the price!

That's crazy! I guess it must be all the post-printing work that's required. 

[Elp]

Why, some of these machines cost more than reputable CNC machines.

[CedricTheBrave]

2 hours ago, Martyn87 said:

@CedricTheBrave do you think you need them in aluminium? I'd have thought they're not actually weight bearing as such, just filling the gap between your OTA and dovetail?

Could maybe print then in ABS or PETG, maybe nylon if your printer can handle it? 

my current design means that the tube rings are screwed to the block and the block screwed to the dovetail but i will have a rethink about mounting points to see if its viable

can print petg quite well and PLA+ as well ABS is not viable for my setup

[CedricTheBrave]

2 hours ago, Astronomist said:

I have used PCBway in china for machining before, they are very cheap compared to having it done in the UK. Xometry and JLC3DP might be worth a look as well.

best of luck!

go a quote from Xometry which I thought wasnt bad £165 for 2 of them

[Astronomist]

I'd get a quote from JLC or pcbway as well before you buy, It takes literally one minute and its possible they might offer a much lower price.

[Ratlet]

9 minutes ago, Astronomist said:

I'd get a quote from JLC or pcbway as well before you buy, It takes literally one minute and its possible they might offer a much lower price.

And then it's always worth going back to the second cheapest with the lowest price and asking if they can beat it lol 

[Martyn87]

38 minutes ago, CedricTheBrave said:

my current design means that the tube rings are screwed to the block and the block screwed to the dovetail but i will have a rethink about mounting points to see if its viable

can print petg quite well and PLA+ as well ABS is not viable for my setup

If you think ABS would do, I can probably print them for you. I have some "white" (it's sort of semi transparent) in the printer at the moment. 

I'd designed some for my C6 recently but they were more of a pass through design:

 

[CedricTheBrave]

1 hour ago, Martyn87 said:

If you think ABS would do, I can probably print them for you. I have some "white" (it's sort of semi transparent) in the printer at the moment. 

I'd designed some for my C6 recently but they were more of a pass through design:

 

this is slightly larger scale Radius Block 406R v7.stl

[CedricTheBrave]

JLC Pretty good! £60 for 2 plus shipping £20

bargain !

[Martyn87]

27 minutes ago, CedricTheBrave said:

this is slightly larger scale Radius Block 406R v7.stl

I'm out, just loaded the file up in my slicer and it won't fit on the print bed 😂 sorry! 

I see why you're wanting them in aluminium now though, they're way bigger than I was imagining. 

[CedricTheBrave]

Belt and braces me

9 minutes ago, Martyn87 said:

I'm out, just loaded the file up in my slicer and it won't fit on the print bed 😂 sorry! 

I see why you're wanting them in aluminium now though, they're way bigger than I was imagining. 

 

[LuckieEddie]

I can print your radius block if you want. I'd suggest using ASA rather than ABS for the UV resistance (ABS can become brittle after a while).  Personally I wouldn't typically recommend printed parts for anything load bearing though. If you want to proceed, pm me.

[CedricTheBrave]

Just now, LuckieEddie said:

I can print your radius block if you want. I'd suggest using ASA rather than ABS for the UV resistance (ABS can become brittle after a while).  Personally I wouldn't typically recommend printed parts for anything load bearing though. If you want to proceed, pm me.

Thank you for the offer but I am going with alloy I just want it to be as resilient as it can be.

JLC @ £60 is pretty good and I am not in a hurry so it can be on the slow boat.

[Elp]

You could try getting quotes from a few on eBay, just search for CNC machining services.

[Ratlet]

13 hours ago, CedricTheBrave said:

Thank you for the offer but I am going with alloy I just want it to be as resilient as it can be.

JLC @ £60 is pretty good and I am not in a hurry so it can be on the slow boat.

I just got some PCBs from jlc as well as a metric tonne of other stuff from china.  Once made it'll probably be with you in a week or two.

I think the government subsidises the postal network so they can usually shift fairly quickly.