low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
(OP)
Hello
I'd like to build a physical prototype of a new kind of lock (with a key).
I don't have a CNC machine and I've thought that I could pay some online company to build it for me.
I've found these:
mcmaster, bigbluesaw, teamwhyachi, firstcut, emachineshop
Do you have any experience with them?. Can you recommend any other?
I'll do it in steel, or aluminium if steel is too expensive.
Maybe I get some parts from one company and some other from other to avoid that they could copy my ideas.
I'd like to build a physical prototype of a new kind of lock (with a key).
I don't have a CNC machine and I've thought that I could pay some online company to build it for me.
I've found these:
mcmaster, bigbluesaw, teamwhyachi, firstcut, emachineshop
Do you have any experience with them?. Can you recommend any other?
I'll do it in steel, or aluminium if steel is too expensive.
Maybe I get some parts from one company and some other from other to avoid that they could copy my ideas.





RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
Don't focus on the process.
Make some decent drawings and put them up for bid on mfg.com.
Be honest about the quantity.
Or work with a semi-retired machinist with a workshop in his basement or garage.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
mcmaster just sells material/hardware,etc.. they are not a machine shop. teamwhy is for robot parts.. bigbluesaw/emachine shop look very similar..never used either though..
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
Patricia Lougheed
******
Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
If you consider this a good thing or that they are taking work away from companies that operate with normal overheads is a different matter.
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
Take the time to get legal representation, you can have a patent application filed in a few months and then proceed with a prototype development. Claim ownership of the idea of benefit to those skilled in the art. Believe me, you will not be sorry!
And good luck with it! I would sign the shop of your choice to a confidentiality agreement and be sure this is stated on your print somewhere. Don't use "patent pending",that attracts the gutter snipes.
Regards,
Cockroach
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
I don't have money to create an international patent (*).
That's why I've thought of making a prototype and show that is very difficult to open.
I've contacted some famous lockpickers that appear at youtube showing how they open high security locks and they are willing to publicly test my lock.
I'll try to attract the interest of big lock makers with all this, always hidding the internals of my devices.
regards
(*) I don't know if anybody will be interested on it. Thus I prefer to spend a few hundred dollars in a prototype instead of thousands in a patent.
I could patent a prototype and later somebody can make a slightly modified version.
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
From an applied point of view, for IP you could send different components to different machine shops. Of course if you don't do a good job of dimensioning & tolerancing the prints etc. this will cause its own problems.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
It is unfortunate you are not willing to invest the time and money into legal council. Good luck with it, hope it works out for you. You're travelling down a well trotted path of heartache and dispair. Engineers are not known much for their commercial smarts, believe me, it's tough watching everyone around you get rich and you remain in the poor house churning out ideas. Lots and lots of sharks out there, just waiting for that lucky someone to walk by....
Regards,
Cockroach
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: low cost comanies making CNC pieces ??
Though I know that the lockpicker may guess how it works to some extent.
regards
Options:
1. My lock doesn't work
2. My lock works but it's easy to pick
3. My lock work, is difficult to pick but nobody is interested.
1. I need to build it.
2. I need that somebody test it or see the diagrams
3. I'm investing time in modyfing my original (and best) model in order to get a simplified version cheaper to be made. Later I'll need marketing and luck.