Milled Aluminium Stanchion Bases (advice needed)

[weaver_fish]

The sad reality is that the Chinese are now far better at this sort of stuff than any UK engineering company.

Places like JLC CNC (Online CNC Machining Service - JLCCNC) allow you to upload a part and get an instant price, including all the finishing options etc.

It then gets reviewed by an engineer within a few hours who will ask all the questions you have raised if required.

They then make the part in a couple of days and ship it out with DHL. Normally about a week turn around. They handle all the import charges.

Unfortunately for small run prototyping UK industry is totally dead. The Chinese will have the parts in your hand before the UK company will have even replied to your initial email.

And I say that as someone running a UK manufacturing company employing 30 odd people. It’s absolutely impossible to compete on this kind of thing. The ecosystem is just not available.

Thanks that’s very helpful and interesting (and a shame!)

 

[weaver_fish]

My gut feel is that as an “amateur” buyer wanting a product like this you *could* get local machine shop who are easier to work with than the far east and also remove the uncertainty of shipping, customs charges etc. What you want is the sort of place that takes your drawing and calls you up and says “is R1 actually critical because if putting a small radius there means changing tool to a more delicate cutter” or “can you cope with a radius on the internal square holes” or “we’ve got some 50mm stock - so you really need 2inches on that dimension” etc. My experience buying in the far east is you will get exactly what you specify but little “sense” to ask if your spec is right.

When I was a kid growing up in Lymington I was recommended this old chap who had an engineering workshop in Milford - lovely guy…. Helped me out fixing up a 505 by making some custom parts. He redesigned and improved them for fun and charged peanuts.

 

[Halo]

There are some excellent machine shops in the uk who do great work at reasonable costs. I used to run one and it has been flourishing for years ( even after I left). The trouble is that they have generally learned not to interface with the general public who tend not to know what they want and get shirty when their unknown expectations are not met.
Having said that The heat sink shown above does look like exceptional value for a 1 off.

 

[Neeves]

You need to choose your Chinese supplier with care. Emphasise you only want one piece not 1,000 as in general Chinese suppliers are geared for a huge population and most components are made in their thousands. BUT - some suppliers are geared up to make prototypes or production runs of 20 pieces - and they can still be competitive, in my case compared to an Australian supplier.

I have had some 316 and 7075 threaded, two part, deck bushes made (much more cheaply than Alan Brothers can supply and made to my size specification), a bridle plate/chain hook in Duplex stainless and we have just fired the pistol to make a boom cover for a 27' yacht. The boom cover is being made today, 25th Dec!!, and we will pick up (we will be in China, on the 3rd Jan). We were going to make some anchors but politics and social issues were a discouragement.

Mass shootings and random knife attacks are are not a part of Chinese life (or are heavily edited) but an absence of 'privacy' and repression of demands for privacy is the price. Additionally making in China DOES take business away from some one in the UK or Australia - but finding someone who can compete on price, quality and numbers in Oz/UK - is almost impossible.

But finding someone in China who asks the right questions and becomes directly involved (usually to improve your ideas) takes time, patience and either linguistic skills (or more patience if the supplier needs to translate)

Jonathan

 

[garymalmgren]

RE: Has anyone with an engineering background got some advice
(1) any company who might be able to machine a series of stanchion bases as per the pics / drawing
(2) what sort of price we might expect to pay for eight

Jake has provided just the answer that you require.

Places like JLC CNC (Online CNC Machining Service - JLCCNC) allow you to upload a part and get an instant price, including all the finishing options etc.
It then gets reviewed by an engineer within a few hours who will ask all the questions you have raised if required.
They then make the part in a couple of days and ship it out with DHL. Normally about a week turn around. They handle all the import charges.

It is almost 2026, use what the modern world has to offer.
So, your next steps are.
1, Send off your drawing for a quote on the number of parts required.
2. In the meanwhile, have the drawing made up in 3D printing and test for fit.
3. When the 3D fitting has been tested and the drawing is to specifications and financial details are satisfactory, order and pay for parts.
4, Fit parts to vessel.
5. Come back here and tell us all about it.

Merry Christmas to all at Y.B.W. and here from Gary in Japan..

 

[Norman_E]

The drawing doesn't match the real item. On the right hand outer edge in the photo the drawing shows sharp internal corners. The real item has radiused corners in those locations.

There is a risk that sharp internal corners will act as stress raisers, causing part failure, but the reduced size of the drawing on screen probably conceals the fact that a small radius is intended.

On the subject of dissimilar metals causing corrosion, the aluminium stanchion bases on my yacht were bored slightly oversize, and the stainless stanchions had a hard plastic heat shrink insulation.

 

[doug748]

Thanks will do - good idea. There might be a few of us needing to replace so a run is a possibility

Might be worth looking at a bespoke extrusion from Aalco:

Aalco - The UK's largest independent multi-metals stockholder

Seems they act as agents for the manufacturers but looks a useful service. If you had the extrusion the rest is easy.

In terms of price I think this falls into the "bloody expensive" bracket but has advantages if the boat is an upmarket, popular class and you want to offer kits.......say it's a Swan, you could maybe see a set of these being taken at £1000+ a go?

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