No cnc shop is going to make you a sample unless you commit to buying thousands of units.
It’s a lot of work to set up a job. You need the CAD file first, from that it gets fed into a CAM program to generate g codes. The code is fed to the machine to make the part.
But nobody uses square part unless all you are making is square brackets, so a way has to be devised to hold an irregular shaped object while the machine carved out the other side and both sides must match exactly (there can be more than 2 sides if you need to machine along multiple axis, which is why 5 axis machines are so valuable.). So a fixture is made with the cnc first. That fixture is good for one job, they can’t be reused for future jobs once made because it will no longer line up correctly. If the alignment is off by more than .001" (that’s 1/5 the thickness of your hair), the part is scrap.
So it’s a lot of work to make a one off item so it will cost $$$. If you’re making 10,000 then not so much since the time and effort for that one fixture is amortized.
Also end mills wear out too so that cost have to be factored in.
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I guess it depends on who you know then. I know different places where I can have people make a one off part. CNC parts don’t need toolings. So it is fairly easy for some experienced shop to do that.
I have been in the metal parts business for more than 8 years now. I have contacts with companies who specifically specialise in one of a kind parts.
There are definitely shops/people that do it. I used to myself, but whenever someone pulled out the, “I want to order 500, but I just need 1 first” line, that usually ended things before they began. Anything involving soft jaws, multiple fixtures or intricate shaping got expensive fast.
I usually try to avoid orders under 5k USD myself. Unless it is for a customer with repeat business.
If you found a CNC shop who is so desperate for business and they’re willing to spend time to make you a one off part, you may be in luck, but don’t count on it. CNC machine is a big investment and unless I know for sure I’m getting repeat business from you, I’m not going to make soft jaws and fixtures just to make a one off part, unless it’s simple enough that a 30 minute solidworks, mastercam session will get me a .nc file to feed the machine, and another 30 minutes to make a soft jaw and make your part, I would not do it. If it’s only making simple mounting brackets, a manual machinist can do this cheaper and faster than CNC.
It looks like the OP wants a part that has a teardrop shaped cross section tube, with a thing on top to mount the seat. This requires a soft jaw to machine the other side, and a fairly deep one too. If it’s simple enough CAD time may not be that long, but it will take a machine probably 3 hours to finish making it (due to all the curves), IF that shop was desperate for your business and their machine isn’t busy filling a big order, they’ll do it for about 3000nt.
If their machine is busy, they will turn your business down. Not going to waste a soft jaw just to machine your one off, especially when the previous soft jaw is junk once it’s removed from the machine.
In China I know companies who specialise in it. Is not a problem to find someone to do it if you know the right people.
It’s not like these people I am talking about are small laoban with one machine. They have a whole building of machines. And they do this kind of business for people like toyota. Where they specifically only make 1 piece for testing purposes.
They may have an agreement with those companies to give them regular business. Not individuals who only want a one off item. They probably have an agreement to use them for R&D and the companies would pay the cost for the one off item, and if it works out then they would be extremely busy making them.
Would anyone do it for an individual who will do this one business and never see them again? Seems like a lot of work for that.
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Not for an individual. But for companies they will.
add my line: kao02c there is a line group where once you get approved they’ll post your requirements but beware you will get lots of calls so you need to vet yourself
If the part is simple enough to be produced on manual machines without too many operation it’s going to be cheaper. CNC only works if you intend to make a bunch of them.