/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Casing your phone in a Faraday cage won't do much for reception.

Likewise your perception of "metal = quality" is flawed. You want it for esthetic reasons but don't forget that's the real reason.

You'd have to target rich artfags, since such a service would be expensive. I weld, machine, am learning CNC machining, and still wouldn't bother with the time and effort to CNC a metal phone case.

Learn much more about metalwork to understand how to make the art you want. You have years of study ahead. Mere casting won't do because castings must be machined afterward. A small CNC mill could do, but would cost more than whatever you would produce though the learning experience would be quite valuable.

There are MANY resources on the internet, and the first thing you need do is boost your personal search-fu. Look for forums.

>>586223
thanks for the input, though using 'aluminum' and 'a phone case' were just vague examples, the subject really extends to all things, jewelry, tools, toys, and isn't really confined to metals alone.
Although you were right to assume my mentality is very 'metal = quality', what I really hate is when I pay a lot for a quality product, and I get a quality product in a shitty package.

Take for example this laptop I have, it's an amazing piece of hardware, but I've eaten food more rigid than the chassis, making it very hard to take around. I don't particularly need it to be a MacBook pro, but id like it to not feel like it was gonna literally snap in half when I put a book on top of it.

Again, thanks for the input. I was hoping it wasn't a case of case of finding some metalworking artist to commission, but I'm facing the possibility that's the only option.

But seriously, if a service like this existed: being able to request or send in parts, and be shipped identical copies that were simply in a different (presumably better quality) material, think it'd be popular?

Cast aluminum isn't as strong as you think and the surface finish and dimensional tolerances on it aren't very good.
machined aluminum is going to cost you three times the cost of the laptop itself in labor alone.
Nevermind that you should never replace an insulator with a conductor in an electronic device.

Shape determines strength more than the material used does. If you want a sturdier laptop, then you need to use that as one of your purchasing criteria.

Consumer goods cost a great deal less than they did in the past, and as a result they are built without serviceability and higher levels of durability in mind (because those would increase costs).
You can't really have both. Durability and serviceability require that more material is used and engineering be more thorough. Those both add cost to the delivered good.

If you want Toughbook quality then buy one.

Machining seems like magic, but a 50,000 dollar (for the cheap ones) CNC milling center and that much again in other tools and equipment and even more in a building to house it are no joke.

The low-hanging fruit is long gone. If you want to make metal things and get paid to do it, become a machinist. If you want "art" which can get away with crude process and execution, take up welding/backyard casting etc as hobbies.

>But seriously, if a service like this existed: being able to request or send in parts, and be shipped identical copies that were simply in a different (presumably better quality) material, think it'd be popular?

Those services DO exist. They are called "machine shops" and just the CAD drawing for a replacement notebook chassis would be thousands of dollars. That's why they are "popular" but only for reproducing things commercial customers need. You aren't understanding at all how demanding it is to make such products. CNC machining setup isn't cheap. The time of skilled CAD draftsment isn't cheap. It can only be paid for by ECONOMIES OF MASS SCALE if you want low costs. Your laptop was cheap because the contractor had paid for the infrastructure to produce it over a VAST number of units. A rugged lappy is cheap for what it is and the lower volume of sales.

there are online machining services. you're looking at about 100 bux to have a phone case milled out of a solid block of aluminium. theres an american one that has an easy cad design tool. gives you realtime quotes for materials and everything.

http://www.emachineshop.com/

its cheaper to do bigger runs. one offs are expensive.

>>586227
Anon, I don't know the details too much since I'm not an applefag, but I heard on one of the iPhones, exec insisted on having an aluminum band around the iPhone for aesthetic reasons, despite what the engineers said, and it fucked with reception quite a bit. Just a word of caution, as >>586223 said, about the practical considerations

>>586220

I have a similar dilema, I plan to get a torch to melt the aluminum scrap I've been gathering all this years.
I want to make small pieces like pic related, also clock casings, mechanic pieces, geometric objects... with wax (the kind woman use to remove the hair from their legs).
I want to carve the wax from a block, add a wax cylinder for the pouring and then submerge it into geeso, (without decompressing it, I don't have a vacuum bell but I can make a vibrating bed so It has less imperfections), then I put the mold in the oven and I let the wax melt.

When all the wax is out I pour the molten aluminum to make the objects.

I wonder how easy will be to remove the wax and if I could crack the mold while in the oven.

Also I fear when I pour the aluminum it doesn't fill all the spaces because of rapid cooling, also I guess I should do two holes, one for the aluminum and the other to let the air go out

You know how you artist types are always complaining about how unrealistic people are about reimbursement for making art? This image floats around a lot as an example of what artists "have to put up with." Most of these artists have about 3k in computer hardware and software and spend maybe 4 years in training at an art school (plus years of practice of course). A CNC mill alone costs more than what the 99% make in a year. For the price of a new BMW you can buy a used, shit CNC mill. If you are lucky you could get a good used forge for the cost of most artist's entire toolkit.

Some of these people spend 4-6 years doing higher level engineering in places like MIT and do more math in their first 2 years than most people do their entire life. There are major costs and these peoples time is very valuable, thats why most people don't use these services. If you have a four hundred thousand dollar motor that needs a new gear for its transmission machined up because its out of production its well worth your time to hire these people. If the back of your four hundred dollar cell phone is scratched up probably not so much.

As for buying a "quality product" that is "cheap feeling", thats the rub. See, you *didn't* get a quality product, you got a cheap one that has good performace. Consumer goods aren't quality products anymore, people can't afford them. You might be very pleased with your $2,500 laptop from a performance perspective but thats still a cheap, disposable good. Its not made to last 10 years because it wont be useful in 10 years. When you've spent $400 on a PC case (just the case mind you, not the power supply of "computer") you expect it to last for decades. You aren't going to get that build quality with a $80 care/PSU combo on sale at Best Buy. Thats what your expensive laptop is. There are ruggedized laptops out their that easily top 10 grand. Buy one of those and you will be impressed with the build quality.

The old saying goes, cost or quality, pick one.

>>586220
>would so much rather my phone have an aluminium backpanelling or something,
HTC One.

/thread?

>>586230
To me it seems more like they found ways to make junk work and just kept pouring money into marketing. Every single piece of tech in the house from 20+ years back has outlasted pretty much every replacement. I miss good old soviet tech that was made to be serviced and not thrown away (ironically it also needs less servicing).

>>586646
what's wrong with clay?
it's less expensive (free depending on where you live) and you can mold it into any shape you'd like.

>>586646
You guess right - tried casting some simple stuff in scrap silver a few years back, didn't allow for science, and the resulting crack-splash nearly took my damn hand off. Do not fuck with molten metal, man.

There are MANY backyard casting websites and MANY hobbyists who do it.
If you have such questions, learn 2 internet.

>>586646

Torches are wonderful things. I have many (and basically got paid to collect them thanks to Ebay). What you need though is an LP casting furnace, which is not a torch. Now go study, for all the answers you seek are online and I'm not linking them here.

lel bumpo