Metal Dice

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One more thing. I'd rather not buy the metal die and tint them because I want to engrave a custom logo on the number 6 side like in the pic.

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I suspect that the traditional way of making a rounded dice is to simply shove it into a lathe and cut out a spheroid.

But that's just me guessing.

>>1024788
Hmmm...I could put the square in a lathe and sand of the edges... I would have to be careful to make the top be exactly like the bottom, but maybe I can do something with that idea!

Etch the pips instead of carving them out and painting them. Less material removed.

>>1024781
This person once made a kickstarter for various die cast from various exotic metals and it was pretty successful at raising money, until people actually started doing the science. The biggest issue it seemed was removing material for the piques, with plastic its not such a big deal but when you get into metal, especially heavier metals (brass) you're creating quite the difference between the 6 and the 1 side. Etching would be a good option if done right, if you just anodize the entire thing (the coating process youre looking for) and laser away the anodizing youll have a fairly permanent solution. The only problem is anodizing wears off eventually, especially on something like a die. So you could pay extra and have them do it real thick (by anodizing standards) but the thicker you go, the more weight difference between the 6 and 1.

If I were you, which I once was, I would go about machining it from square stock aluminum. Get a fairly expensive grade, and get it a little bigger than you want it to end up. This helps a TON if you have access and experience to a simple mill like a bridgeport and have some experience with fairly precise milling. Even better if you have a CNC machine and know how to program it, even a simple bridgeport with a CNC conversion kit would work for this.

Or you can just make a detailed drawing in solidworks and send it out to some machine shops for bids, but unless you're making a few hundred the labor prices will be through the roof.

Hope that helped, I guess it all boils down to how precise you want the die. If youre wanting rounded edges your die wont be too too precise anyways, so I say just cast them without piques, get them anodized and laser etch out whatever designs you want for the piques.

>>1024880
Hi. Thanks for your feedback.

I honestly just want them rounded because I think they look better and feel better in the hands.

I will check out the anodizing method and I definitively lean towards stock aluminum.

Thanks so much!

>>1024781
>1. I can make a complete square dice, no problem. Problem is making a "rounded dice" and making sure the edges are equal on all sides. How do you think I can accomplish this? (Maybe casting ?)
Assuming that you have access to a (manual) mill and a lathe:

What I would do to make these is I would make regular square/cube dice on a mill, and then mount them in a lathe and use a ball turner to round the edges off (do one end to round off four corners, then flip the die around to get the other four corners). The edges would still be sharp, but the basic shape would be the way you wanted it.

>2. As on the image, I want to give a tint on the metals. Are there any good methods to get the desired product? I've photoshoped how I want the final to look like.
Looks like you want anodizing. I've never done it myself, or had it done on any parts I made.

>3. Balance: How do you think is a good way to make sure the dice has equal weights on all sides? I'm sure I'll never get a 100% randomness. But how can I minimize the effect?
If you just wanted dots, the easy way would be to drill them to different depths so that the total metal removed on all sides is the same: the 1X dot would need to be drilled 6x as deep as the 6X dots were. And even this may not be 100% technically correct, but it would be pretty close and is still easy to do with a manual mill.

If you want pictures on the 6th side tho you kinda need to use a CNC machine, because you would have to draft the picture and figure out how much metal it displaces and then factor that into cutting the dots on the other 5 sides.

Rounded edges on dice is the hallmark of cheap manufacturing. It's from when they're all rolling around in a rock tumbler for polishing, and you're not going to get precision fairness from that.

As far as the pips go, you can drill out excess, then fill back in with lead, paint, or whatever to add color and weight back to the faces. But if you end result is having an engraving on one of the faces, then fuck it. You're not running a casino (presumably). Who cares if your probabilities are off.

>>1024781
For what it's worth, casinos went to flush spot dice because the paint they use is the same weight as the plastic the dice are made of. The test for fairness involves two opposing rods with conical openings (holes) in the ends, one is threaded and can be tightened or loosened. Chuck up your die on opposite corners and give it a spin. I don't know how many trials they do, but I don't think it has to be very bad to have a noticeable "wobble" as it slows and stops.

>>1024783
Straya!

>>1024984
I would be entirely unsurprised if the exclusive customer of these sorts of products (DnD, MtG players) were autistic about probability even though it essentially doesn't affects them.

>>1024790
Wouldn't it be easier to get something like ball bearings and then mill the flat sides out of it?

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>>1025538
Seems like a good idea, but working with a sphere is always hard since you don't have references or flat sides to make a good grip when machining it.
Also, bearing balls tend to be hard as heck.
I would probably start with a square bar, and cut it like it is inside of an oversized sphere.

>>1024781
metal lathe and a 4-jaw chuck (or better yet a square collet). ezpz

>>1024781
Corner rounding end mill will give you clean, round edges.

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-100-CRE-312-125-Rounding-Diameter/dp/B00Q8M1SRS

>>1024977
>What I would do to make these is I would make regular square/cube dice on a mill, and then mount them in a lathe and use a ball turner to round the edges off

This.

Start with square bar stock the size of the dice. Turn one end of the bar stock down on a lathe, leaving a cube with a round stub sticking out of one face. Chuck this stub in the lathe jaws and use the ball turner to round off the corners. Part off the stub. Use a ball end mill for the pips in a mill or drill press.

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>

>using a lathe to make a dice.
Not saying it can't be done on a lathe but dice will take removing and adding the the piece back into the chuck multiple times. Squaring and zeroing a piece in a mill is much easier with the right tools. I'd even use the mill to cut the dice from the bar stock.

Maybe I've just worked with good ancient mills and meh ancient lathes.

>>1024781
>Milling
>Milling
>Milling
>Hard metals

FUCK NO.

Lost wax casting with Pewter.

1) Get a cheapass 3D plastic prints
2) Make molds
3) Mass produce lost-wax casts.
4) Profit
5) ???

You'll never feel a difference between pewter and harder metals. Your hands are softer than any metal.

>>1029335
Electro-plate it with copper or whatever if you REALLY REALLY REALLY want dice that look like copper or whatever.

Making "pure" X metal dice though if you can't cast it is a shit idea. Hell, just look at the kickstarted projects to make those. They're upwards of 20$ PER DIE. Lathes are slow as fuck, require experienced technicians to operate over a long period of time, and not cheap.

>>1024880
>die cast from various exotic metals
Were the die die cast?

>>1029335
He's right. Image search "pewter dice" for examples.

>>1025550
exactly what im thinking.

a square collet or a 4 jaw scroll chuck would be perfect and make setup a breeze even 4 jaw indy would be fine. could be done in 5 operations and they are all basically facing operations

>>1027280
this would give you round edges
but not a round face or rounded corners like in op's pic