[Ilya]

I'm looking if there's enough interest in making enclosures with custom front and back panels.

Enclosures currently available are: 1, 2 and 3 RU; depths: 240mm, 300mm and 420mm respectively. They are powder-coated black and made from steel. There're some other depths available too.

Front panels are 6mm thick aluminum, powder-coated black as well.

I can mill holes and cut-outs, and engrave text. I can take FPD files, so this should be pretty convenient. As an example you can look at my FP for 1176 here:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=38569.msg475310#msg475310

(Nevermind white screws, I've changed them to black later).

I estimate 1RU enclosure cost around 140$, 2RU enclosure - 150$, 3RU enclosure - 170$. In theory, this includes EVERYTHING, that is: enclosure itself, front and back panels milling/engraving and shipping worldwide. Although the price might be adjusted a bit.

Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!

PS. On the picture, there's a gray version of the enclosure. My particular enclosures are black.

[Ptownkid]

Wrong forum, and there's about 6-7 people doing this here now...

[tomcat]

Ptownkid elaborate pls. Why wrong forum? Why are the other a limiting factor for offers?

[Ilya]

I'll leave to moderators to decide if the forum is right or wrong. However, this doesn't belong to the "market" section because I'm not offering any service yet.

[haima]

It is worth noting that quite a few people seem to be making cases right now.... but if you get interest from people, I guess there's still room!

There's lots of different requirements, sizes and designs needed - The more people making cases, the more likely it is that everyone will get what they need IMHO.

Also, cases are heavy and expensive to ship, so it's probably best to have lots of suppliers in different parts of the world.

I don't see why Ilya can't offer to make some - If people want them, people will buy them. If they don't they won't. "Free Markets" at work 

Dunno if it's the right forum or not - it's still a "feeler" at this point...

[canidoit]

I'll leave to moderators to decide if the forum is right or wrong. However, this doesn't belong to the "market" section because I'm not offering any service yet.

Good luck mate. It's good to have more case suppliers, it actually makes it more healthier for the DIY builders in my opinion.

You might have a different take to the case design, service, approach, price, etc.

Also other suppliers may be out of stock and you can fill a void and vice versa.

I mean look at the 1073, gssl, u47, clone market, etc. we are filled with them and people continue to supply, design and buy them.

Competition keeps prices down and quality up in my opinion.

From my limited overview, there were only a few people supplying cases and people accepted poor quality, service, etc., now that the market has widened, people are not taking as much crap from it and it keeps suppliers on their toes.

[evilcat]

It is worth noting that quite a few people seem to be making cases right now.... but if you get interest from people, I guess there's still room!

There's lots of different requirements, sizes and designs needed - The more people making cases, the more likely it is that everyone will get what they need IMHO.

Also, cases are heavy and expensive to ship, so it's probably best to have lots of suppliers in different parts of the world.

I don't see why Ilya can't offer to make some - If people want them, people will buy them. If they don't they won't. "Free Markets" at work 

Dunno if it's the right forum or not - it's still a "feeler" at this point...

+1

[jandoste]

It is worth noting that quite a few people seem to be making cases right now.... but if you get interest from people, I guess there's still room!

There's lots of different requirements, sizes and designs needed - The more people making cases, the more likely it is that everyone will get what they need IMHO.

Also, cases are heavy and expensive to ship, so it's probably best to have lots of suppliers in different parts of the world.

I don't see why Ilya can't offer to make some - If people want them, people will buy them. If they don't they won't. "Free Markets" at work 

Dunno if it's the right forum or not - it's still a "feeler" at this point...

+1

+1

[Ptownkid]

Sorry, i should clarify...

It is the wrong forum because it's not something being developed...even if it's a feeler it should be in the black market I would imagine, but that's only my opinion and maybe I'm wrong.

As for there always being room for more, absolutely, that's totally true of course. Especially considering shipping costs on enclosures. I was merely pointing out that there's a lot of enclosure offerings here now which may produce a lack of feedback for Ilya.

Carry on...

[MartyMart]

6mm thick front panel could be a problem with some pot "shafts" and attaching a nut properly !
You would have to drill out the inside edge all around the pot .... messy

MM.

[Grand Master Audio]

Yes I say do it, if people buy from you then great, only one way to find out.

Yes 6mm is generally way too thick for a FP, you wont even get a meter with besel mount to fit that with out milling the rear.

Now if you made it out of aluminium, that is light and strong and can be shipped any where at relatively low cost.

well that's what i do so if it helps..

Best
Pete

[okgb]

I'd say I'm not excited by the price
but even with competition
there is not a definitive , obvious
good value , great deal vender

Looks nice , not sure what shipping costs from there
would be like

[Ilya]

The purpose of this feeler is to see how many people are interested. Since I'm buying local enclosures, and not making them myself, I have to buy a bunch of them to get a price break. I don't want to dump money into something that will be sitting in the garage forever.

Here're some more points. This is fully custom product, and you don't have to run a batch to make it economically viable (like with silkscreening). That means you can do whatever design you like, and it won't cost you that much.

Regarding panel thickness and pot shafts, yes, this may be a problem. What I usually do is mill a skirt around the hole. Thus when you screw the nut it sits flush with the top surface. This makes almost all knobs look much better because they sit closer to the panel surface.

Yes, I have to mill the backside for some meters to fit. Don't see any problem with that.

The price listed already includes shipping. I think that if you subtract shipping costs you pretty much end up with a custom case in the range of 90-100 euro.

Thanks for all your replies guys!

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