• explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    How is the machine shop supposed to know it’s an aerospace part? The customer could just give them a reverse-engineered CAD file.

    (Academic question, because making this part actually work will cost >$1500 without economies of scale)

    • UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 month ago

      Depends on how much effort went into reverse engineering the part, but most likely when tolerancing enters the conversation. Most machine shops aren’t able to hit those tolerances and would laugh you out of the shop.

      A shop that can hit those tolerances will kick you out of the shop; there’s a good chance they already work in aerospace. They have a deeply vested interest in avoiding the accompanying FAA inquiry should it be installed or, Satan forbid, actually flown.

      A non-aerospace shop capable of meeting those tolerances would start laughing at the desired price point. Purchasing a suitable blank alone would cost over $1500, much less cover the actual machining.