Making a cutter
 

How much would it cost to make a cutter for 22 ga. paintlock? The die would
be a leaf shape, cutting out one leaf at a time, approximately 1.5" long, 1"
wide. I would assume it would be a two piece die, one innie, one outie. Or
is there a way to make two dies where 1/2 of the leaf would be cut at a
time, eating away from the edge? I guess that some sort of punch, like an
Ironworker or Piranha would have to be used to power it.

If such a device worked, would it be possible to make other dies? And if so,
how much per die? Oh, I know it would depend on intricacy, but a ballpark
guess.

What would be the maintenance profile on those dies ......... how long
between sharpenings, etc.

Or would it just be cheaper to send someone a drawing, and have them make me
say, a thousand at a time with a laser or plasma cutter?

Steve

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Making a cutter
 

"Steve B" wrote in message
...
How much would it cost to make a cutter for 22 ga. paintlock? The die
would be a leaf shape, cutting out one leaf at a time, approximately 1.5"
long, 1" wide. I would assume it would be a two piece die, one innie, one
outie. Or is there a way to make two dies where 1/2 of the leaf would be
cut at a time, eating away from the edge? I guess that some sort of
punch, like an Ironworker or Piranha would have to be used to power it.

If such a device worked, would it be possible to make other dies? And if
so, how much per die? Oh, I know it would depend on intricacy, but a
ballpark guess.

What would be the maintenance profile on those dies ......... how long
between sharpenings, etc.

Or would it just be cheaper to send someone a drawing, and have them make
me say, a thousand at a time with a laser or plasma cutter?

Steve

Heart surgery pending?
Read up and prepare.
Learn how to care for a friend.
http://cabgbypasssurgery.com


It would just be cheaper to send someone a drawing, and have them make you a
thousand at a time with a laser or plasma cutter.
I just cut 85 5" long swans with separate wings out of 20 ga CR with my
Plasma table. Yours should be about .35 + material depending on design.
Steve

Making a cutter
 

Hi Steve,

Unless you are contemplating well into the thousands, a punch (innie)
and die (outie) will get expensive fast. However once set up you could
make an awful lot, awfully cheaply and awfully fast. You would need a
small 5-ton press, a die set to hold the punch and die and then the
punch and die.

A good used Benchmaster 5T would cost around $2K, the die sets around
$500. If the edges of the leaf shape are smooth then a punch and die
would probably best be done by EDM and run to around $2K. Once you
have that set up though, each leaf will cost about $0.0001 each. If
you want other designs, then all it will cost is the new punch and
die. An iron-worker etc would be way too slow to be cost effective. I
have a 5T Benchmaster that does 40 to 50 parts per minute when running
auto.

If you get them done by Water-jet, laser, or plasma they will run
about $0.50 and up. The problem with laser or plasma is you will get
paint charring on the edges. That pretty much leaves water-jet.

Dave