# Looking for a quality machinist



## zapped (Feb 16, 2010)

Hi guys, Just found my way to this forum today.What I'm looking for is someone with the ability to do small and large runs and is willing to prototype an item for sale on my website.
The product will made out of titanium with a three piece design very similar to a flashlight.Will hold 2 cr123 batteries, be regulated to 4.5 volts, have a momentary on switch and maybe an led.This device is considered a personal vaporizer or PV mod for Electronic Cigarettes.
These are great little devices that are much healthier than smoking a regular or "analog" cigarette, the only problem is that battery life is currently only 2 hours.Pv mods extend this battery life to 8 hours or more.
Please contact me here or at [email protected] if you need more info or are interested in taking this project on.
Thanks....Rob Williams, Owner Zap Electronic Cigarettes


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## precisionworks (Feb 17, 2010)

Rob, you probably need to look for a CNC machine shop that does prototype work ... which a few do and many do not. MFG.com is one site that allows getting quotes from a number of shops, or you may have a local CNC shop that would want to take this on.

Prototyping can get expensive in a hurry. Expect most shops to charge around $100/hour (plus materials) during the prototype phase. Developing an idea into a titanium product can take dozens & dozens of hours.


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## zapped (Feb 17, 2010)

I just dont think it should be that hard, Titanium is my preferred choice of materials, thats not set in stone but all were talking about here is a custom flashlight casing that accepts two cr123s or an 18650 battery, maybe a custom drilled cap to fit the atomizer in and a momentary on switch.

I could buy a few flashlights form deal extreme and mod them myself but I dont want my cigarette mod to look like anyone elses.Did I mention That I'm willing to pay for the service on an ongoing basis? Surely someone out there has the time and creativity to take this on.


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## brickbat (Feb 17, 2010)

Zapped,

You'd need to post drawings of the parts as well as the quantities so prospective machinists can see for themselves how hard these parts are to make...


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## zapped (Feb 18, 2010)

Here's some link of other mods to give you an idea what I'm talking about

http://www.e-savuke.com/ecig_mods.htm

And a basic wiring diagram for a flashlight mod

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...asic-wire-diagram-flashlight-mod-diagram.html


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## precisionworks (Feb 18, 2010)

> dont think it should be that hard



Every customer that comes into my shop with a really tough project says "it shouldn't be that hard" or "this shouldn't take too long" or "I was told that this wouldn't cost very much" 


> need to post drawings of the parts


Dimensioned drawings, which can be done on any of the free 2D programs available, are the first step. The shop you choose can provide these drawings for you if you provide some sketches of what you want ... but why pay a shop $500 for drawings if you can do them yourself?



> , Titanium is my preferred choice of materials


Lots of shops work with Ti, but it is a difficult to work material unless the shop has equipment & tooling to work with that material ... plus some Ti machining experience. I know quite a few shops that will not touch it, and about as many that like to work with it. 

Make up some 2D drawings & put them on MFG.com. You'll get quite a few quotes back in a short time. The price of those quotes will tell you if this is worth doing or not.


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## wquiles (Feb 18, 2010)

precisionworks said:


> Every customer that comes into my shop with a really tough project says "it shouldn't be that hard" or "this shouldn't take too long" or "I was told that this wouldn't cost very much"


+1

I am guessing, but probably 75% of the folks what come to me for a quote for "simple" work never come back after getting the quote. I guess their definition of "simple" is different than mine.


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## brickbat (Feb 18, 2010)

Brickbat's rule of customer delightment # 532:

Whenever a prospective customer is trying to convince you how "EASY" a job is, RUN. You can't win:

Either you complete it on on time and under budget, and he says "well of course you got it done, it was EASY"

OR,

You go over budget, or take too long, and he says" You dumbass, what's wrong with you - this was EASY".

- you can't delight this guy.


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## zapped (Feb 18, 2010)

Ive decided to go ahead make a cheap (hopefully) full scale mock-up from cardboard and then plastic and work from there as I have the tools to for that
Assuming I can get this done in the next couple of weeks how hard would it be to then transfer the design to metal?


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## Mirage_Man (Feb 18, 2010)

wquiles said:


> +1
> 
> I am guessing, but probably 75% of the folks what come to me for a quote for "simple" work never come back after getting the quote. I guess their definition of "simple" is different than mine.



+1 :thumbsup:


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## StrikerDown (Feb 18, 2010)

Lets face it often the customer is right when they say it's easy or simple. What they don't realize or don't want to think about is that that $25 per hour employee needs to be paid and he really costs more like $50 per hour, then that machine that makes this "so simple" has to be paid for along with the lights, heat... 

In my business (not machining) it seems to work out the same, the customer almost always is surprised that the cost seems high. When the customer says something like the price sounds good you can bet he just got a price at a competitor down the street.

Easy? Maybe!, Time consuming? Definitely!


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## gadget_lover (Feb 18, 2010)

zapped said:


> Ive decided to go ahead make a cheap (hopefully) full scale mock-up from cardboard and then plastic and work from there as I have the tools to for that
> Assuming I can get this done in the next couple of weeks how hard would it be to then transfer the design to metal?



What you need to transfer are dimensions. They tell the machinist what needs to be cut and will expose things like how thick parts need to be ( for threads ) or how thin they can be.

The mock-up will tell you how long things must be, and will give you some insights to the way the layout works best. Keep in mind that you will need to leave room for contact springs, and threaded parts will need some thickness on both male and female parts.

Good luck.

Daniel


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