Machined Part Request

I need a part machined and I thought I would ask here to see if any of you might be able to assist me before I approach any local machine shops.

This is what I need made (see drawing attachment).  I think it can be made from a piece of aluminum "U" channel.  This is a rough drawing and not really to scale, but I think it gives a good idea of what I need.  There are five holes needed which are not shown, one is for a 1/4 20 screw and the other four are for 6 32 screws.  Eventually I can make the holes myself it is adds too much work or cost to the part.

I don't want to spend a lot of money on this but will pay for the part.

Thank you.

Would need more details, are the three drawings the three different views? front, back, side?

The top image is what I would call the top of the part.  The left most lower image is what I call the front, or back of the part.  The right most lower image is the left side of the part.

The top image appears to show a thick wall but I would say 1/16" to 1/8" wall thickness is sufficient.

I think I have the idea, if so, this would not be easy to make. If it was an assembly then it would be much easier. But a deep narrow pocket is not fun. Does it have to be aluminum? or will plastic do? Could two thin sheets be separated by standoffs? or does it have to be all one solid thing?

It could certainly be made from four separate pieces.  An aluminum bottom and back plate and some carbon fiber side plates with 2.5 mm - 3.0 mm thickness.  That would be a great part.  What is needed is torsional stiffness.  I would prefer not to use plastic if possible.

The bottom plate could be 1 1/2" long x 1 3/4 wide x 4 mm thick.
The back plate could be 1" long x 1 3/4" wide x 3 mm thick.
The side plates could be the triangular looking shape on the bottom right image in the drawing, 1 1/2" wide x 2 1/2" tall x 3 mm thick.
Of course I would need drilled and tapped holes on the bottom and back plates with respective holes in the side plates.  If I have a choice I would like 2.5 mm hex button head hardware to fasten it all together.

Ok, that makes it much more doable. However, there are still some things. If the plates are 3mm thick, and the screws go in from the side to bolt the thin triangles on, you can't drill a 2.5mm hole into a 3mm thick object, only give a remaining wall thickness of .25mm on each side of the hole. CF is not rotary cutter friendly, it will look like a beaver ate it if I tried to cut it. Could be water jet cut, I don't know if the stuff can be laser cut of not.

I won't try to persuade you to go with other materials, because I know all too well what it is like to have a desired end product with the look and feel that you have settled on. But I will mention that if the design could be done with Lexan (Home Depot) and thicker aluminum (thick enough flat bar to get a tapped hole in the side), you are looking at 15 minutes of spindle time over a 1 hour job preparation period. The CF won't be an option for me to work with unless they can be pre-made somehow. (the straight lines might be able to be cut by hand, and then I could drill the holes).

PP - No you can't laser cut CF material.  John - I think it would help a lot if you could explain exactly what you're trying to do with this piece.  It's really not manufacturing friendly the way you have it drawn and it probably doesn't really have to be that way.  Are you going to fly this thing so weight is an issue?  Could it be made from a solid block and maybe drilled to reduce the weight?  There must be mounting holes on this thing.  Where are they?  Do you just need one of these?  Knowing the final objective would help the ideas flow.   If you don't want to talk about what it does, I can sure understand that, but if you can, it would help a lot.

...Tiger

Oh, I think there is a misunderstanding.  I meant the bottom plate and back plate could be the aluminum parts. I stated these parts could be 4 mm thick, but 5 mm would be better.  The bottom and back parts would be the parts with the edge drilled and tapped holes.

The side plates are the ones that I thought would be good in carbon fiber.  These parts at 2.5 mm - 3 mm do not have edge drilled holes, the holes are on the flats so they could accommodate 2.5 mm screw hardware.

You are right about the carbon fiber.  I remember having this conversation before with someone and I learned that not many people want to CNC cut carbon fiber.  These side plates could be sheet aluminum in 2.5 mm - 3 mm thickness and that would be great too.

While I was posting it seems so were you Tiger so here is a reply to your query.

It's not a big secret, the part is a camera mount for my home made gimbal.  I have not talked about it much because I have been working on it with the resources at my own disposal but now I've hit a dead end because what I devised for the camera mount was just too big and clumsy and cannot fit into the physical requirements I have to work within.

This part can be easily made by four parts as Tyson suggested.  It may make it more serviceable this way too.  You are correct that there are some mounting holes needed and I did mention that in my original post, I thought I would do them but certainly that would not turn out as well as CNC drilled holes.  The other reason I did not include them was that the drawing program I used for my drawing was just making it difficult to position them so it didn't look funny.

The overall finished part is really not complicated at all.  I could draw it for you on a piece of paper and you would understand it immediately or I could show you the two primary mating parts to see if you have a better idea.  The only real constraints are torsional rigidity.

I know this drawing is pretty lame, but I hope it helps explain what I am looking for.

Looks like we were both typing at the same time again.   Hey... Why don't you just give me a quick call since you're still up.

I think I understand now, The MM stuff is hard for me to see in my mind, but I think I have some .120" (3.04mm) 6061 sheet. For the bottom and back I would use 3/16" (.1875 = 4.76mm) x 2" bar stock and mill the 2" down to your 1" 5/8" inside dimension. However, you show a 1" 3/4" outside dimension, so 1" 5/8" (1.625") + .120x2=.240 = 1.865 or almost 1" 7/8" (but just almost) which is a fake dimension, kind of like that monolith thing in that space odyssey movie, just out in space all by itself for some unknown reason?

So, which dimension is critical, inside or outside, or both? If both are then we need .0625" triangles or 1.59mm which is now different than what you want. Sorry to keep hitting you with these details, but when Tiger and I look at making something we really need lot's of solid info, since we are not designing the part and don't know what matters and what is just fluff it is really hard to select both material type and method to make the thing. You will want all the holes drilled in the mill, it is really easy, plus it kills us to watch someone hand drill a hole into something that was just in the jaws of a mill vise a few minutes ago 

You guys need to move in closer, this is going to be an awesome photo, the lighting is perfect here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPKg2c_bRCs&t=3m10s

That is the most non lame drawing yet, now that I see details, I can see exactly how to make it. It perfectly illustrates the assembly and hole locations, dimensions can just be hand drawn after printing. No reason for a better drawing.

Thank you.  I just spoke to Tiger about it on the phone.  He thinks a piece of "L" channel might work and is going to look if he has a piece.

The inside dimension is more important.  The 1 3/4" in the first is not very important.  The camera fits in between those plates so that's more important than the outside dimensions.

Tiger thinks that a "L" bracket would be rigid enough and simpler to make.

John - I took another look at that Replay XD you mentioned at pizza.  That really looks nice.  Is that a new model?  I thought I remembered the Replay being bigger when I looked at it before.  That would be so nice to mount and I like the simple controls!  Maybe I should tell Santa about that thing.

...Tiger

There are two Replay XD models, one is the 1080P version, the smaller of the two is standard definition.

I found this at ReadyMadeRC. Don't know why I never paid attention before, but explains last nights experience exactly...

"Includes 3 sets diopter lenses that will fit in the new FatShark goggles to help correct for myopic (near sighted) vision.  Includes -2, -4, and-6 lenses.  Allows users that normally wear glasses to see far away to use the FatShark goggles.  Note: people that only need reading glasses typically do not need any lens correction for the goggles since the "virtual" image appears to be some distance away."

John - I thought the 1080P version was the one you were saying you would get.  It seemed smaller than I remembered.  I know that other one is really tiny.  I remember it had some drawback, but I can't remember what.  Maybe it was just resolution.

...Tiger

Oh yes, I would get the 1080P version, I thought were talking about the smaller one when you mentioned the small size.  Both are small compared to most other cameras.  I would definitely ask Santa for the 1080P one!