How do I make this?

[bobw53]

This product is none patent-able as there is no creative step in its invention i.e. it would be obvious to any metal worker that a bottle opener template could be folded. Anyway I'm changing the design a little so it will be mine.

Loads of crap patents floating around that aren't worth the paper their written on. Wouldn't bother me at all arguing this design in a court of law because that's all it is.

It would never get as far as court. You'd get a nice cease and desist letter, that is worth less than the paper it is written on. You could then either toss it in the
trash or frame it as a badge of honor that you are now a legitimate threat in the market.

[boslab]

Perhaps the material is the problem, how about a nett shape ali extrusion cut to length the gash the keyslit on mill, either way round, then anodise in pretty colours

http://files.metal-wares.com/aluminum%20extrusion%20parts/Aluminum-Extrusion-Parts.jpg

Just an idea
You have to buy a press tool anyway so an extrusion die might be cheaper
Worth exploring
Mark
Oops i think i did this already but my ipad went nuts!

[dian]

haha and hahahaha

For the file part I would personally do it after the bending and I would be tempted to just stick it to a 50 grit belt sander for a couple seconds to get the "file" surface.

a file could be used to get the serrations:

http://img203.imageshack.us/i/cimg4902small.jpg/

"kannelierfeile", i dont know whats it called in english.

[tmc_31]

I wonder if a fellow could knock those out with an ironworker? I suspect you could pick up a used one pretty cheap. Getting the die made probably won't be cheap though.

Tim

[ikdor]

Well, the 3D printing in stainless is rather cheap by now. Shapeways prints them for $8 per cubic centimeter, so this would be around $20 to print. (the site says steel now, but a while ago it said stainless and the part I ordered is still pristine after two years)
Surface finish is not super though. I noticed another company does high detail in 316, at probably a bit higher cost.
Regular stainless print:

High detail:


Igor

[John Stevenson]

$64,000 question though is if you follow that link in post #21 you will see they are selling for £4.99 about $6

Allow a 100% mark up and that's $3.

Now tell me who wants to get involved in what is going to be an expensive project when the return per part is so low and someone has got there first ?

[J Tiers]

Sheesh.... Lots of "No-sayers"..... at least about making the part.

That part can be made at a very low cost. All you need for that is a lot of bucks for a die set. Fewer bucks if you do it in china.

The issue is that you will have to take at least 10,000 of them per shipment. And that will only take the makers a few hours to turn out as far as stamping is concerned. Figure about 1 per every 1.5 to 3 seconds, progressive, flat in, formed out.

You'll want to change the design so that all the beveled parts are done at one time along a single edge line.... and then maybe folded differently. With some materials you might even be able to coin them in and trim the excess, in which case you would be able to put them anywhere.

As an investment it kinda looks like it sucks, though....

[huntinguy]

What about machining it from bar stock. Wheel cutter for the slot and small nc mill for the profile. 500 a week could be doable given the right tooling.
What about the heat treatment though?

Larger lots though, I would think need a progressive die.

[michigan doug]

No aluminum alloy in the world is going to stand up to screwdriver and file duty for any useful lifespan.

Some kind of heat treated or prehardened steel would make a functional tool.

It's all about the die, the labor costs and how many tens of thousands you order at a time.

I would be interested in how this story turns out. I would think you would have to have a trusted partner in china to make the import angle work out.

doug

[Bob Fisher]

Try "kickstarter" a funding site. If enough people believe you have a market, I don't, you may raise enough capital to build a die and buy a press. Not trying to be a wet blanket, but this is seriously beyond HSM stuff. Bob.