Online machine shop-this looks fun!

[Lucky]

you d/l the software & design your part (it says no CAD experience needed) then order the part thru the software, they machine it & mail it out...kind of cool.

http://www.emachineshop.com

I was researching die cutting for the petcock project & ran across this. take a look.

i'm d/l the software now to play with.

--Lucky

[Lucky]

ok, i just downloaded the software & in about 3 seconds made a plate with 2 holes in it, rendered it in 3d & can rotate it in real time...SO COOL!  i don't know how to save a pic to show you, probably have to save a screen shot, but it's late & i'll try that tomorrow.

get this software it's AWESOME!!   ;D ;D

--Lucky

[h2olawyer]

Looks like a cool toy, Lucky.  Great find!

H2O

[Coil Coyle]

Lucky, I downloaded it as soon as I got home.

Thanks again.

coil

[Koaps]

If anyone has access to milling machines with CNC hooked up or want to hookup CNC on an existing mill, I just recently installed this:

http://www.linuxcnc.org/bdi/

Its an all in one Debian linux package that has all the needed componets installed to do real-time control for CNC.

It's not nearly as easy as that emachineshop method, but if you have access to the equipement, this is the ultimate package, though *nix experience is required. The install and setup could be done by a novice, a beginner might run into some issues with linux if they have never seen it before, it can be quite the animal to deal with, but the level of control it has makes windows look like a silly toy.

The next level is to use Blender:

http://www.blender.org/

Blender is a extremely powerful 3D modelling tool usually used for animation, game design, movie effects, but since its opensourced and fully scriptable by my favorite programming language(python) it shouldn't be too difficult to develope plugins for G-code generation and CAD designing, along with FEA(stress testing) and other mathmatical type of analysis which can be wrapped up into plugins. It is also both a Unix and Windows application, so this can be used by most people with not many issues.

This is the route I'm going and all software I'm planning on developing I will give out free(GPL), so motorcycle designers can get access to some very powerful tools. Unfortunitly its a ways off til I have all the things in place to really be a CNC production shop or I would offer to make those parts for you Lucky.
A couple years from now I hope to be in full swing and tooling out tricked stuff for the masses.

[Extent]

I'm just waiting for hardware to become more accessable.  I saw a build diary of a couple guys who made their own laser cutter, but even then the hardware was very expensive.

EmachineShop also has a sister site at http://www.pad2pad.com/ where you can design printed circuit boards.  Looks like they've recently added full component assembly to their lineup as well.

I once looked up what it would be to mill an aluminum YICS replacement, and the adaptor mount for when I was experimenting with a rear shock, they're prices are not bad if you order in volume, getting just 1 would kind of hurt, but if you pull together 3 or 4 people the price starts to get resonable.

[Koaps]

Well, its cheap if you just want to mill, space is the issue.

I think you can find nice old heavy exmilitary mills for around $600, a driver board would be around $400, and stepper motors are about $75 each so about $150 for two. All you need is a spare crappy pc(free maybe), opensource software(free) and some serial cables(free maybe) and you have a CNC machine for around $1150, not cheap in my book cause i'm poor and lacking space and funds, but definately doable.  ;D

Lasers or waterjets would be bank to try to make, but interesting to try to make, plus be able to cutout stuff like gears. I think it would be interesting to have a small robotic arm with a MIG welder on it, though it would be kinda cheating, heh, it would make clean welds around pipes for a chasis. I think I'll build that after I'm done making a fusion reactor. 8)

-C

[Lucky]

I think I'll build that after I'm done making a fusion reactor.

Can you build one small enough to stuff in a Vision frame??  ;D ;D

[Extent]

Just make it a pan-dimensional engine and you can have it as large as you want it to be, then even give it the appearance of a V engine.  "Yessir this bike is entirely stock, I couldn't possibly have been doing 634MPH"

If you want to check out some really sick CNC download the akropovic factory tour video at http://www.akrapovic-ai.si/main/factory_tour/factory_tour.htm .  Hydro forming, laser cutting, multi axis pipe bending, CNC welding, the've got it all.

[crazyjimmy]

This would be perfect for the oil filter adapter. If we have enough people it would be relatively inexpensive. I am up for it.

Jim

[Lucky]

I'm not sure this particular software is sofisticated enough to do something like that.. it might.  i'm just wide eyed because i'm a newbie at any kind of CAD stuff. :)

[Extent]

Well it's not exactly high end cad software, but it certainly seemed capable enough to do just about anything I could think of, and it's probably gotten better since then.  I'm not saying it would be easy... but anything I can think of could be done