CNC machining service for private projects

[T_guttata]

Dear all

I do a lot of private projects where I need all sort of parts. 3D printing I obviously do my own, but I often need as well metal parts, often CNC milled.

I have tried PCBway a few times and in general I'm satisfied with the quality. The issue I have is that shipping cost is usually very high, often the same as the actual value of the goods.
Cheapest shipping option to europe is usually around $35, but some additional fees might come on top.

Does anybody know alternative services where shipping cost is lower? I usually don't need the parts shipped express and would prefer slower shipping at lower cost.

My experience so far is that if you order out of the shelf parts from aliexpress shipping cost is very low. But for any other supplier shipping cost seems to be extremely high.
What is your experience?

[Roehrenonkel]

Hi T_guttata,
 
Okay, just a few questions:
What metal? Lead or Titanium? What precission?
Post a picture of a example-part.
what country are you in?

Aliexpress is highly subsidised by PROC and your local postal-service. ;->

Best regards

[temperance]

CNC parts made in the EU for proto typing= expensive. I've been searching myself a few times for a service oriented at proto typing but never found any except for front panel express.

[thm_w]

$35 doesn't seem that high when we are talking proto CNC machined parts. What companies do they offer, DHL? Anything else?

Try pricing it out elsewhere and you won't like your options.
https://www.xometry.com/capabilities/cnc-machining-service/

[T_guttata]

The last part I have ordered was a shaft d=25mm, L=102mm with two precise fits for bearings. This part was from mild steel, weight 370g and it was $48 per piece (I ordered 2). I also had an offer from https://www.china-machining.com/ which was only $29 per part but @ $60 for shipping.

For weight <1kg there must be cheaper options...

You can forget about Xometry. I tried to create a login, but they only sell B2B.

@Roehrenonkel

I thought that shipping from China to Europe is generally subsidized because the universal postal union classifies China not as a developed country? So why is Aliexpress much cheaper than the rest?

[pope]

Dear all

I do a lot of private projects where I need all sort of parts. 3D printing I obviously do my own, but I often need as well metal parts, often CNC milled.

I have tried PCBway a few times and in general I'm satisfied with the quality. The issue I have is that shipping cost is usually very high, often the same as the actual value of the goods.
Cheapest shipping option to europe is usually around $35, but some additional fees might come on top.

Does anybody know alternative services where shipping cost is lower? I usually don't need the parts shipped express and would prefer slower shipping at lower cost.

My experience so far is that if you order out of the shelf parts from aliexpress shipping cost is very low. But for any other supplier shipping cost seems to be extremely high.
What is your experience?

Where are you located?

[T_guttata]

Switzerland. Within europe it makes a difference regarding shipping cost, but it is probably not a big diffrence when ordering in china.

[mikeselectricstuff]

So why is Aliexpress much cheaper than the rest?

Volume. For many countries they bulk-ship to that country and packets are then divided up and sent via local services.
For popular items they ship a container-load and keep local stock.

[H.O]

Have anyone tried fractory.com ? (yes, fractory)

[thm_w]

I thought that shipping from China to Europe is generally subsidized because the universal postal union classifies China not as a developed country? So why is Aliexpress much cheaper than the rest?

So what shipping method was used? DHL/Fedex/UPS are not subsidized, they are private couriers.
If you want to wait 2-4 weeks and use a low cost shipping method, maybe it can be subsidized, but I don't know if PCBWay offers that.

I would probably not want to use cheap shipping for high precision parts. Depends how well its packed I guess.

[T_guttata]

No, I have not tried fractory.com. Where are they located? Only in UK or different countries?

PCBWay offers many shipping options, they as well offer a cheaper service than DHL / Fedex / UPS. I had some very small parts (100g) shipped for $5. For larger parts difference was smaller.
I would not bother at all to ship high precision parts with cheap couriers. So far everything was extremely well packed, you could hardly damage it. They might loose the package, but for orders with shipping higher than the value of the goods I don't bother either.

[H.O]

I have not tried fractory.com myself but if I understand correctly the company is based in the a UK. However, if I select "Sweden" I get a contact information in Estonia so they might have offices and/or legal entities in several countries.
Anyway, as far as I understand THEY don't do any machining or fabrication. They have partnered up with manufacturers across many countries and provide the the web front end with instant quotes that we've gotten used to when ordering PCB's and then pass on the actual work to whoever has the suitable capabilities available within the timeframe.

Again, I've not tried them and I've got no connection with them, I just found out about them the other day.

[T_guttata]

I don't think the price will be competitive anyway.

I have ordered from JLCPCB a few times and shipping was always around $15 for a small package (FedEx international Priority). Why can they offer such a good price?
JLCPCB offers CNC machining service as well, but only Aluminum.