Posts
1077
Joined
11/6/2017
Location
San Diego, CA
US
Fantasy
1061st
Edited Date/Time
6/20/2019 7:32pm
Have you ever asked a company for a custom part or a part that they don't already offer for sale? We occasionally get customers asking for things like this, and when I get back to them they're usually shocked at the cost.
I wrote up a blog post over the weekend about what it takes to design and manufacture a new part, and why the process is so time consuming and expensive. I used one of our newest products as it started in this exact scenario - our one-piece integrated handguard and steering damper mount top bar clamp. Check it out and let me know what you think!
https://luxonmx.com/blog-luxon-motocross-one-off-custom-parts.html
I wrote up a blog post over the weekend about what it takes to design and manufacture a new part, and why the process is so time consuming and expensive. I used one of our newest products as it started in this exact scenario - our one-piece integrated handguard and steering damper mount top bar clamp. Check it out and let me know what you think!
https://luxonmx.com/blog-luxon-motocross-one-off-custom-parts.html
As an engineer who has worked in R&D for many years and runs a CNC mill, it is almost always cheaper on a time/material basis for me to send things out, even one-offs. Did you ever get this part quoted by a prototype shop? We often send part overseas, not because it is cheap (it isn't), but because they have beautiful parts back to us in less time than it takes many shops in the states to get us a quotation.
The Shop
It really pains me to say it, but most recently, the domestic has been ridiculously expense and poor quality/workmanship compared to even Asia. Its maybe one poor example, and not usually poor work, but its never cheap in the US.
Right now, UK is great for outsourcing since they have highly trained workforce and a weak pound because of Brexit. Nearly as cheap as China, and we dont have to worry so much about the intellectual property products that might go on to be an asset that makes maybe $2-10 Billion (With a
My point is , dont make the excuse that you need cutting edge equipment and computer systems , that stuff is luxuries and you can still be competitive and offer inhouse manufacturing with great quality with the correct knowledge .
Pit Row
The FEA shown in the blog post was done using Altair SimSolid. Much of our other analysis runs and all of the optimization runs are done in Altair Optistruct set up in HyperMesh.
It all comes down to what your time is worth and how much time you have. I evaluated the various options and the compromise in time savings and convenience vs cost and bought what I believed to be the best setup for my goals. Someone else's compromise might be different one way or the other depending on their needs. Regardless, going from nothing to a CNC mill and supporting equipment (air compressor/dryer, electrical infrastructure, coolant, tooling, installation/setup, CAM software, workholding, etc.) you're going to be somewhere near (likely over) six-figures with reasonable quality equipment.
More complicated parts, like triple clamps, get a little more attention. We're typically doing in-process inspection with the probe on the machine (and verifying by hand) for bore diameters and position. But things are usually pretty spot-on, which is yet another argument for my last post using higher end equipment. With the laser tool setter, we're automatically calculating the tool offset and compensation in the toolpath. And with high quality tools, we don't get a lot of wear. It's easy to hit +/- .002" tolerance without even trying when you have nice stuff to work with.
Great breakdown though, shows what it takes, and thats not a complicated part by any stretch. Good that you went to the trouble.
It's important to have a good understanding of what matters and what can go wrong throughout this whole process. For this particular part, I did everything myself. I have the engineering background to know what matters in the final part and what doesn't as far as strength, stiffness, fit, tolerance, etc. I also have a good understanding of what can go wrong in programming and on the machine. A quick visual inspection of the part combined with a few simple measurements using the probe and/or micrometers is enough for most of the motocross parts we do.
It all comes down to the cost/benefit of everything. 100% inspection is possible, but isn't required and wouldn't yield much benefit on these parts. Inspection of critical features is usually all that's necessary.
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