Here at Benheck.com we offer a variety of prototyping services to make your product a reality – fast!

 

Our in-house ShopBot CNC mill can accommodate jobs up to 4′ x 8′ (2.4 x 1.2 meters) in size. It is used primarily for cutting woods and plastics, though aluminum in small quantities is also possible.

The ShopBot CNC excels at these kind of jobs:

• Routing parts for wood assembles such as cabinets, boxes, arcade and pinball machines.
• 3D carving of materials such as foam, wax and plastics. Can also be used to create 3D signage.
• Jobs where you need specific depths cut in materials, such as a groove in wood that another piece will slot in to.
• Routing of plastic composites for product design and prototyping.

The ShopBot is not suited for these types of jobs:

• Small loose objects with fine detail.
• Thin cast plastics such as acrylic, polycarbonate and PETG.
• High density metals such as steel, iron or brass.

For a detailed explanation of what you can do with our ShopBot CNC machine and examples of projects and file formats, please visit this page.

 

Our Epilog Mini 24 Laser Engraver is a powerful tool for creating finely detailed items. It has a 24″ x 12″ (60 x  30 centimeters) bed allowing either larger items to be cut or multiple sets of smaller items simultaneously.

There are 2 main functions of a laser engraver:

• Engraving: This is when the laser “etches” the top surface of a material. It can etch line drawings, text and even photographs with very fine detail (up to 1200 DPI). Most materials can be etched, including glass and metal.
• Cutting: This is when the laser runs at a higher power and actually cuts through material. The most common materials to cut are plastics (acrylics and PETG) and wood up to 1/4″ (6mm) thick.

The Epilog Laser Engraver excels at these kind of jobs:

• Cutting small parts out of plastic, very close together to make efficient use of material
• Engraving physical, embedded text on items, such as control buttons and painted masks.
• Personalizing objects with engraved text – such as pens, plaques, cell phones and iPods.
• Cutting accurate “snap together” assemblies with tight inner corners (not possible on a CNC mill) such as Makerbots, acrylic cases and other small assemblies.

The Epilog Laser Engraver is not suited for these types of jobs:

• Large, load-bearing assemblies and cases.
• 3D objects and prints. The laser either engraves the surface or cuts straight through – it cannot specify depth.
• Anything requiring “unlaserable” plastics such as PVC or polycarbonate.

For a detailed explanation of what you can do with our Epilog Laser Engraver and examples of projects and file formats, please visit this page.

 

We have a custom-designed 3D printer in house which is a great tool for creating small 3 dimensional objects. It is comparable in print quality to the original Makerbot. It has a maximum volumetric print area of 9″ x 5″ wide by 5″ high (22 x 12 x 12 centimeters) and can extrude many different colors of ABS or PLA plastic. Because it runs slowly and has lower quality than our other machines, we offer its service at a discount rate.

The 3D Printer excels at these kind of jobs:

• Small physical parts with complex geometry (such as flanges, inner cavities and screw holes)
• 3D “standalone” objects that aren’t milled from flat sheets like a CNC machine uses.
• Prototypes of small plastic objects with the strength of injection-molding, but not the cost.

The 3D Printer is not suited for these types of jobs:

• Large objects. The 3D printer creates objects by adding material, not removing it, so it is far slower than a laser cutter or CNC for many jobs.
• Items with fine detail such as text or smooth edges. 3D printed objects have a very distinct “layering” look, though this is improving all the time.
• Anything that needs to look like a finished product – but it’s great for internal support structures.

For a detailed explanation of what you can do with our 3D printer and examples of projects and file formats, please visit this page.

 

 

Labor Rates and Machine Time

Listed below are our current rates for design, assembly and machine time.  Study the links above to learn the best file types to send to minimize any additional design time charges.

Click on a service below to send us an email and get your project started. Or email us directly at benjamin.heckendorn@gmail.com

Labor and Machine Time Cost Structure, Hourly in US Dollars
Service	Description	Rate
Design time	Scanning of parts, drawing of assemblies on computer, preparation of files and coding.	125
Assembly time	Preparation of parts (sanding, finishing, painting) and assembly of actual project.	125
ShopBot CNC Mill	Actual machine running time required to mill, cut and form parts for a project.	60
Epilog Laser Engraver	Actual machine running time required to engrave and cut wood or plastic parts for a project	60
3D Printer	Actual machine running time required to 3D print objects via the extrusion of ABS / PLA plastics	30