Greetings!
I am an artist currently making chandeliers. I have this vision to weld together aluminum pieces to make large chandeliers. I have been dealing (or trying to deal) with Chinese manufacturers to have the pieces fabricated there and shipped to USA for me to assemble. There are about a thousand problems in these interactions, most deal with metal types, thicknesses, and metal qualities.
It seems the best I can do is getting the items made in ZINC which is a terrible metal to weld mostly because I don't want to get cancer.
New thought: buy a die press and make them all myself!
Have a die made and I can hand-create each shape and have total control over my metals as well as a possibility to make endless shapes for very little continuing costs. Not only that, I don't have to deal with foreign language barriers, sub-standard product, shipping, customs, and all the waiting for my packages.
Can you guys let me know if this is a viable idea?
- I will be die-cutting aluminum from sheets up to 0.25 inches thick but no thicker than that
- I will be using 6061 T4 or T6 grade aluminum
- Each cut piece will not be larger than about 4 inches square
I understand that many of these machines are kinda slow so it might take all day on the die cutting, but it would give me so much flexibility.
The Questions
- Which machine is a good starter press for a metal die-cutting noob?
- Any businesses you would recommend to create the dies?
- Can I cut through aluminum that thick with a manual press?
Thank you guys so much for your help! I like the idea of not outsourcing the pieces so I can say I made the whole thing.