What would be the cheapest way to accurately cut this shape out of a 3mm (11 gauge) piece of steel, without access to expensive machinist tools?
>>2792209What is your tolerance? If you need 3.507mm exact even precision manufacturers will tell you good luck with that.
>>2792211Oh wait now that I think of it, wire EDM can do it.If +-0.1 is enough then have it laser cut
>>2792209You're gonna need a sharpie, and JIS number 2 screwdriver, and a 20oz claw hammer
>>2792212Sorry, I should have specified. Just needs to be within +/1 0.1mmAlright, so no way to do it in my garage?
sharpy to lay out the basic shapelots of filing
>>2792226Sure you could file it but it would take forever. Some help with a dremel maybe but it’s going to be damn hard to get that precision247steel makes single pieces and ships from China pretty fast
>>2792209google sendcutsend. Easy and cheap
>>2792226> garageYes, if only the outer diameter is the main tolerance concern. Not all tolerances are equally important.I assume this is an extrusion plate.If it’s a shower drain, then make it out of SS.First, rough-cut the slots undersize with a drill or drill press.Next, using the slots, you bolt the roughly cut oversize outer diameter to a piece of wood and attach to something that spins at relatively low speed and file down to the exact diameter you need.It’s better to have the piece this inserts into to check. Beware different metals have different thermal expansion coefficients.Then dremmel out the peaks in the slots, and use a file to finsh to final dimensions.
>>2792209I'd just drill holes then connect them with a thin file, since the shape is pretty simple. But if you want to etch it for whatever reason:Print the negative with a laserprinter, use a hot iron to transfer to the metal, then drop small amounts of HCl or FeCl3 on it
>>2792209>3mm (11 gauge) piece of steelThat's going to be tough since the material is so thin, it will easily get bent or warped from manual operations. What I would initially try is glue the sheet metal to a backing material like mdf board. Print out a 1:1 scale drawing of the thing and glue it on top. Cut out the external shape using a manual jig saw. Drill a series of holes along the slots and use the jig saw again to connect the holes and then use a dremel to grind the edges to the right shape.It's important while cutting to make sure your saw blade cuts only on the down stroke so that it doesn't try to lift the metal sheet off the wood backing. Heat the metal up with a blow torch or similar when it's done to destroy the glue and separate it from the backing.Or avoid all this shit and find a sign shop with a CNC router.
>>2792209see >>2792339
>>2792339>>2792413Any idea which scheme of step file I should export from FreeCAD?
>>2792444shouldn't matter. Whatever CAD/CAM they're using should import the step file fine, if it doesn't then it'll be obviously broken and they'll ask you to re-upload it.
>>2792447I'm saving it as millimeters, but it's only displaying correctly on the site if I choose inches as my unit. I feel like it's gonna be fucked up. But it's only like $20, so, fuck it.
>>2792452probably a mismatch between the save settings in cad. it should give you a rough size before ordering. go off that because that's what you'll get
>>2792455>>2792447>>2792404>>2792413>>2792339>>2792240Thanks anons. I ended up going with sendcutsend. 247steel had too much friction to get through the site.
>>2792459If you haven't bought yet, check out OSHcut as a price comparison: https://www.oshcut.com/
>>2793077thanks, anon. I'll check it out
>>2792226>Alright, so no way to do it in my garage?You can if desperate and the goal is to do it in your garage for the sake of suffering, but even machine shops outsource that shit because time has value. Laser cutting outfits (get multiple quotes) can handle it. Cheaper if you do the CAD.>>2792339Thank you. I shall check them out.
