Engineer student wanted...

colm_c

I need some help with cutting some aluminium plate to an exact size (from a paper model) and bending it to fit an exact shape.

It's a very small area, it shouldn't take more than an hour, and I'd be willing to pay...

pauln

If you post up a few more details maybe we could give a bit of advice. Depending on what you're looking for it might be a fabrication shop you want, most wouldn't have access to the necessary tools outside college.

Anyway with that said a few questions;
How exact a size are we talking? Milling machine exact (0.001mm)? Angle grinder exact (depends on how shaky the hand is )? or somewhere in between?
What thickness is the plate?
What radius bends?

Any other info as to the overall design that could help to visualise it would help.

Nukem

Rough idea and info from above please.

nukem

colm_c

Here's the idea,

The plate itself I've source from a Lithography (spelling?) company, the same ones that are used for printing so it's very thin and quite easy to bend.

I've made a paper prototype as it would look if it was flat and it's about the size of a credit card or maybe a little bigger, but not the same shape.

It's to support the side of a hinge that's already cracked, I'll be using some 2 part epoxy to attach it, but the tighter it is the better.

I don't have the tools to do the bending, whether a sharp knife would suffice I don't know.

Hopefully this makes sense. I'll be making a photoshop version of the plate so I can print it out and I'll post it here if anyone's interested.

pauln

The image of your idea would certainly be of great help because without seeing the final design it's hard to say the best way of going about it.
A sketch of the final shape, scanned in even, would finish anymore questions from us.

That type of aluminium sheeting sounds like it should be very easy to work, a vice and a sheet metal shears/stronger scissors, may even suffice.
But again, without an idea in my head as to the actual shape of it I can't say for sure, it may be a harder job then your explanation gives it credit.

colm_c

Got it sorted. Friend of a friend is an engineer and he's going to fabricate it for me.

Thanks for the help anyway guys!