Good EU sources for metal and plastic

[metaltexParticipant @metaltex]

Hello all,

I am wondering if anyone has any good and reasonably priced suppliers of raw metals and plastics in the EU. I am just getting into machining properly here and am looking for good sources of material that can be purchased online in a variety of sizes and alloys. I am finding plenty that sell industrial scale, and in long lengths like 3 meters. I only have a small mini lathe and dont have a bandsaw (only a character building saw) so being able to purchase well defined sizes is preferred.

 

Thanks in advance.

[renardiere7Participant @renardiere7]

You don’t say where in the EU you are but have you tried asking on the local machining fora?

 

I’ve just acquired a load of Mikron equipment and I’m spending a lot of time on Usinages.com (France) and Zerspanungsbude.net (German) and with the help of Google translate and some schoolboy French I’m getting by OK.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

One thought is to find a small engineering works and talk to someone about short off cuts or having a look in the ” scrap bin “. The offer of a donation to the workers welfare fund (tea and coffee fund ) May help. Or a bottle of something for the foreman. Good luck. Noel.

[metaltexParticipant @metaltex]

I am in Luxembourg. There is very little about these parts other than the large industrial manufacturer Paul Wurth as far as I am aware. Searches thus far haven’t uncovered much of a community here. That german site you mentioned shows 21 users from Lux registered. I’ll check them both out with the help of Google translate extension. I am American and despite speaking 5 languages none of them are french or german (my french from school is terrible).

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Which country and region are you in?  Earlier questions revealed wide variations within the EU.

The ideal supplier is nearby so you can avoid post and packing. Might be possible to build a relationship too, opening the door to offcuts and other goodies.

Also, much cheaper to buy in quantity if you have storage space.  Avoid buying in penny-packets because the cost of processing orders is much the same whatever the quantity; on small orders customers pay through the nose for the service, not the material!

Unreliable local supply is another good reason for building up stock and having materials to hand saves lots of time compared with ordering and delivery delays.   The initial cost may be a shock, my last order was £350, but it’s cheaper in the long-run.

Otherwise, Amazon, ebay and internet suppliers are your friend.  Deliver anywhere in the EU, the main problem being couriers.   In the UK, those lucky enough to live in the Highlands and Islands have to pay premium prices for a slower service, and the same is likely in the remote parts of the EU.  Again, if couriers are a problem, buy big – they are less likely to lose a single large package.

Finally, beware the notion that there are any “good and reasonably priced suppliers of raw metals and plastics“.   Most are “good” in the sense that they deliver, but small firms have bad days due to illness, and whether or not they are “reasonably priced” varies with supply and demand.  The real test of a supplier is what they do when things go wrong, so look for bad reviews.   A better question might be “is there anyone I should avoid?”.

Dave

 

[metaltex]

On metaltex Said:

I am in Luxembourg. …

Famously isolated by geography!  But how good are the roads these days?  Not far from Belgium, Northern France, Germany and Southern Holland as the crow flies.  Is a 400mile round trip to the Ruhr Valley too far?   (Too much for me these days, but I’m ill.)

Dave

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Try these, I have used them all although we have a good range of suppliers here in the UK

https://knupfer.info/shop/index.php/deutsch/

https://ghw-modellbau.de/Home

https://www.rcm-machines.com/en/

http://www.ateliermb.ch/shops/gussteile/ch/contents/de/d41.html

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

tartaix.com in Paris.  Quite good range of metals will cut to your size.

blockenstock.fr  Fair selection of metals and plastics.

boursometeux.com Sometimes have good bargains in offcuts.

All the above will deliver anywhere in EU.

 

Russell

[HuubParticipant @huub]

The most of my stock comes from the “sorted” scrapyard. For a private person getting steel, aluminum, POM, etc is most of the time quite expensive.
Buying 6 meters of C45 cost only a bit more than buying 1 meter. Buying serveral diameters at once save a lot in shipping.

https://www.indi.nl/nl-nl/p/assenstaal-c45-20-h9-6m-SM20C456

[Roger BParticipant @rogerb61624]

As you are in Luxembourg I would recommend RCM

https://www.rcm-machines.com/en/

I have used them for materials and tooling.

[metaltexParticipant @metaltex]

Thanks these are some great sources. I was completely unaware of rcm in Lux, though their material prices seem a bit steep (but so is everything in Lux).

Thanks everyone for this info! I don’t have a car (yay free public transport), so driving over to Germany or France at the moment isn’t too convenient unless I can ask a favor. I am also glad to see this forum is so active and helpful!

 

I stumbled across https://www.matieredetail.fr/ via a French forum. They have great prices, but don’t really ship.

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

I’m in France and have used https://www.blockenstock.fr/ for

Aluminum, steel, plastics, brass, bronze, cast iron, stainless steel, silver steel.

Very professional, material is always properly packed, clean, deburred etc.

https://www.commentfer.fr/ have bought structural steel and some ali from them.

Delivery expensive, ok for S235 black mild flats and squares some bright drawn bar, but no choice of grades.

https://www.rcm-machines.com/en/materials

Good prices for some steel and ali. Tools and tooling too.

https://www.tartaix.com/  Paris  – interesting website!

 

[Roger BParticipant @rogerb61624]

Conrad also offer some materials, gears and fastenings. They are German and I think they work with the rest of Europe. I use them quite a lot in Switzerland.

Industrial Model Making | Conrad Electronic

 

[simondavies3Participant @simondavies3]

For random offcuts I use https://www.qualichutes.com/ The certainly send within France, not so sure if they extend to other countries.
be aware that their packaging leaves a lot to be desired- I had a couple of lumps of steel delivered, probably about 8-10kgs each and they were wrapped up in a single layer of bubble wrap with a fast detaching address label. Didn’t look like they were going to do the rest of the parcels much good either!

Simon

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