Hello--
I'm looking to have a part machined out of steel (probably 8620). Starting material will probably be 2" diameter rod, 8" long. Final product will look something like a Christmas tree (a cone on a cylinder), but with a rectangular spiral groove on the conical part.
I have a pretty low budget and I don't quite know where to start. A local place offers design classes, and I'd bet I can design the part myself, but I have nowhere to get it machined. I'm guessing it'll need a 5-axis machine but I don't really know that for certain. If I manage to produce a design in Solidworks, can I expect to hand the file off to someone and get it machined without too much extra effort on my part?
At this point I'm pretty much just exploring options, so if others have alternative suggestions (lost wax casting or something?) I'd like to hear those as well. I don't need super-high dimensional tolerance or surface quality; cost is the main criterion. Thanks for any help!
- Scott