CNC machined keychains

[Biodude]

Hello everyone,

I'm a CNC machinist and wanted to share a few cadillac keychains I made in my spare time. I do all my work in Autocad and Gibbscam, running HAAS and Doosan mill centers.



The first is for my 1992 DeVille, nick-named the "Dadillac". Machined from 6061 aluminum.

The second one is for a 1991 Eldorado Biarritz. My brother drives it primarily and really likes birds, so I thought "Bird Coupe'" would be fitting for it, as well as a play on words . Made out of C360 Brass.

The last is something I designed out last night for a 1968 Eldorado (that I'm currently looking for), taking cues from the keys/tail end of the car. I plan to make it out of stainless steel or aluminum.


(Front and back, I recently updated the "Cadillac" script to look more correct)

I'll post pictures when I machine out the next key chain, my search for a 1968 Eldorado continues...

Thank you for your time,

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello ,
    The work you do is Beautiful. I have been in the machining business for 50 years . We have a shop full of 5 Axis  machining centers . We do all
Aero space work . I can appreciate your knowledge and enthusiasm to make these key chains . They are totally  custom and personal . The problem I see is the cost .  Making items like this is very expensive . I have made all types of things for my cars over the years . And always think  how lucky I am to be able to Make things no one else can make without years of knowledge and expensive equipment .  To make any money at it is another story . You know what it takes to make one of those keychains .  The people you make them for will have a very special gift . Again I really admire your work .

      Bill

[Biodude]

Hello ,
    The work you do is Beautiful. I have been in the machining business for 50 years . We have a shop full of 5 Axis  machining centers . We do all
Aero space work . I can appreciate your knowledge and enthusiasm to make these key chains . They are totally  custom and personal . The problem I see is the cost .  Making items like this is very expensive . I have made all types of things for my cars over the years . And always think  how lucky I am to be able to
Make things no one else can make without years of knowledge and expensive equipment .  To make any money at it is another story . You know what it takes to make one of those keychains . To make any money you have to make high quantities . Making custom keychains  is a nice touch . But can you make any money at it ? Again I really admire your work .

      Bill

Thank you for the kind words! Always happy to run into another machinist, Aero space work is very cool!

I do a lot of tooling work for a company that stamps hinges and slides- running wire edms, grinders, mills, etc.

I've made a lot of other neat stuff in the past such as emblems for my corvette, swords, etc. Love the trade.

I do understand the cost of making something like this in high quantities, so I mainly just stick to one-off work for personal use/friends and family.

[cadillacmike68]

They look great.

Is there any way you can edit the script font so that the uppercase C comes out to connect to the next letter like the actual Cadillac tiffany script?

[Biodude]

They look great.

Is there any way you can edit the script font so that the uppercase C comes out to connect to the next letter like the actual Cadillac tiffany script?

I made some modifications to make it look closer to the actual script, I was using a font that looked close but wasn't exactly the same.

[cadillacmike68]

That looks FANTASTIC!

[Bill Balkie 24172]

Hello Biodude ,
      The two Eldorado key chains you show look like Cad Drawings . The big problem I see with machining those parts are the inside corner radius . They look razor sharp on top of the last letter O in Eldorado . Unless you use a cutter that is .001 you will never get it to look like that . Probably the smallest cutter you can use is .010 and then you will see the radius .  I have always found that engineers can draw anything they want . When it comes time to machine it that’s a different story. I alway thought a good engineer should spend 4 years in the shop first and the go to engineering school . What are your thoughts ?

    Bill

[Biodude]

Hello Biodude ,
      The two Eldorado key chains you show look like Cad Drawings . The big problem I see with machining those parts are the inside corner radius . They look razor sharp on top of the last letter O in Eldorado . Unless you use a cutter that is .001 you will never get it to look like that . Probably the smallest cutter you can use is .010 and then you will see the radius .  I have always found that engineers can draw anything they want . When it comes time to machine it that’s a different story. I alway thought a good engineer should spend 4 years in the shop first and the go to engineering school . What are your thoughts ?

    Bill

Hey Bill,

I completely agree with you about engineers, I've done a lot of engraving/embossing with small letters in the past 7 years.
I'm using a 1/32" endmill (.030" or .787mm) to do all the finish cutting, the letters are all embossments (besides the 7.7 litre on the back).
Any sharp corner will have a radius as you know. The cut simulation function gives me an idea of how it will actually look after being cut.
Between all the letters there is at least .8mm of clearance around them. Cutting it very close! But I made sure to check between each letter.



Here's a close up shot from the render during simulated machining:



This is from the first keychain up close- even in all the sharp corners inside the letters/outside, the .03" radius didn't look too bad:



For the "7.7 Litre" on the back side- it is engraved. I'm using a very small carbide engraving tool, so I can get in-between all the very tight lettering. Won't be engraving very deep with that.

[russ austin]

You open for business?  I'd like to get a handfull made up.

[Biodude]

You open for business?  I'd like to get a handfull made up.

At the moment I only planned on making the one for now, but I may make a few extras when I have it setup if I have the time.

[Biodude]

I finally found a 1968 Eldorado! I had to drive 10 hours just to see the car, then ship it back. Very worth it, I love the car.
It has nearly every option including heated seats, and runs like a top.

I decided to go ahead and machine out the keychain. I used 1/32" flat and ball nose endmills for all the fine details.

[Big Fins]

Great color combination. But, then, I am a bit bias.

Imagine if you could get a white leather interior in one of today's cars, besides a Tesla. The sales people look at you like you're from outer space.

"You want to order it in the colors that you want?"    As he/she rolls on the floor laughing.

[CORVAIRWILD]

Wow!

[Biodude]

I finished a front license plate out of 6061 aluminum




I'm working on making new letters for the side of the car with the pegs as well, already modeled out with correct peg location/sizing.

[Matt CLC#18621]

Hey Tyler,

This Eldorado proto type script brings back memories of Pan Am 747's exterior banner.

Regards,
matt 18621
i am 2nd

[Matt CLC#18621]

Hey Tyler,

Your 68 Fleetwood Eldorado appears to have a very straight and beautifully clean front-end.

Regards,
matt 18621
i am 2nd

[Biodude]

Thank you Matt!

I was fortunate to find one in the shape its in, well worth the drive to see and buy it.

Here is a few pictures of the fender letters I'm working on, work in progress.

I plan on milling out all the small posts sticking up at one time in a solid block, then using a wire EDM to cut them out on a slight taper like the original letters.

[CORVAIRWILD]

Tyler... I'm a no nothing about CNC machining, or any machining for that matter,  but couldn't these be programmed once the 1st one is made? So that one presses a button and a completed piece pops out the other end?