On 13 Apr 2006 15:21:22 -0700,
wrote:

Hello,

I need some z-clips (flush mount hangers) in a continuous run. As seen
here, but half the size:

http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/pa...,41869&p=41869

Is it possible to have such things made of strong nylon? Or is aluminum
the only economical choice.

What should I expect for ballpark costs - as well as what a minimum
quantity would be. (perhaps pointers to a good shop or two as well)

I am in the prototype stage, but will require quite a bit of this.

thanks...

Tor
These could be molded in nylon or another engineering plastic. Mold
costs will be high. Cheaper in China, but then that's just more money
leaving America. Extrusion could be done cheaper. The last time I bid
a job requiring a custom extrusion of my design the minimum run of
aluminum was only 300 lbs. The carbide die was to be formed by EDM and
wasn't nearly as expensive as the quote for a simple mold for a
production run of some Delrin parts. You can ask for less than the
minimum run of aluminum but they will still charge you for it, they
just won't ship it. Nylon may or may not be a good choice for this. I
don't know. Why do you want nylon? In very large quantities the nylon
parts can be molded finished for very low cost per part. But is nylon
strong enough? Will the customer perceive it as being strong? Does it
have other advantages over aluminum? I see that Lee Valley sells 3
foot lengths of the material for 6 bucks. That's pretty cheap. I don't
know if Lee Valley is producing the stuff themselves, having it made
for them, or if they are buying it from a producer which makes them as
part of its product line. So I don't know how much they cost Lee
Valley. But if you want to make these and sell them through a
distributer you will need to be able to make money selling them
wholesale for about $1.50 if they retail for $6.00.
Good luck!
ERS