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Post by kilroyrock on Jun 3, 2016 12:40:17 GMT -6
Since I have this big garage with a bunch of tools in it, I figure I can get one more - a metal brake! Do any of you build your own cases?
If so: where do you source your sheet metal - and expected costs? what are your types? cold rolled steel? aluminum? what would RGO do?
how the hell do you paint these to look professional? Can someone explain to me the process or suggest a place I send them out to if I want it to look good? silk screening?
I'm interested in making 500 series cases mainly. something to house pcb's I buy and build or want to do some other type case. I'm chasing the dream again. |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jun 3, 2016 12:44:56 GMT -6
svart built his cases for the Svartbox I think.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Jun 3, 2016 12:48:35 GMT -6
Tim with mca builds his cases for the Mammoth Cave Audio stuff too. |
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Post by svart on Jun 3, 2016 13:23:19 GMT -6
svart built his cases for the Svartbox I think. I buy blank chassis and do all the drilling, cutting, installing studs and silkscreening myself. I don't bend the metal, although I thought about it. |
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,934 
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Post by ericn on Jun 3, 2016 21:13:54 GMT -6
Since I have this big garage with a bunch of tools in it, I figure I can get one more - a metal brake! Do any of you build your own cases?
If so: where do you source your sheet metal - and expected costs? what are your types? cold rolled steel? aluminum? what would RGO do?
how the hell do you paint these to look professional? Can someone explain to me the process or suggest a place I send them out to if I want it to look good? silk screening?
I'm interested in making 500 series cases mainly. something to house pcb's I buy and build or want to do some other type case. I'm chasing the dream again. Harbor freight cheap small metal brake ( I might even have on nib in storage) Find a local source for metal, a couple of homage jigs an electric sheers a drill press and a tap and die set or a small CNC and your up and running ! |
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Post by rocinante on Jun 3, 2016 22:23:28 GMT -6
Now really what we need is somebody who does front panels affordably. Somebody has to have a CNC in the states that can do it Frank Rollen style (affordable amd good). I like Franks stuff a lot and despite him being in Germany his turn around is fast. I havent gotten stuff done by him in awhile but he's top notch and a good dude.
I've debated it considering I probably would actually make money.
Also we could do knobs with 3D printers nowadays. There was a thread with one guy doing those TG limiter knobs on a 3D printer that looked completely legit.
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Post by rocinante on Jun 3, 2016 22:31:22 GMT -6
Silk screening is only affordable if it's a group buy. You have to remember that the screen itself is what cost all the money but at the same rate many images can be put on just one screen so in a sense we could do five or six 1u or 2u designs on one screen.
Or we could do our own.
I know some folks have used trophy shops that were insanely cheap and really nice. I haven't found any that could do it for anything resembling practical.
Btw: i use recycled gear for my cases shhh..
Fpd and front panel pros is where its at and ive actually gotten good at it and enjoy designing them.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2016 3:12:10 GMT -6
For a really cheap quick&dirty silkscreening alternative right at home without extra material, you can try the old toner transfer method, ironing directly onto an aluminium panel. Not too easy, needs some practise and a printer with appropriate toner. But if it works, it works, and it's cheap enough to experiment with it. With acetone the toner can be removed in case the result is not good enough....
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Post by kilroyrock on Jun 4, 2016 5:16:09 GMT -6
I used to silk screen t-shirts, it isn't bad, and small screens are cheap, but yeah.
I hear a powder coating machine isnt cheap either!
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Post by EmRR on Jun 4, 2016 10:20:00 GMT -6
It's not too hard to bend metal and make cases, but to do it well or even decently is a tougher prospect. To do anything approaching commercial quality (or maybe even square with corners not noticeably round in shape) you need more expensive tools. Then are you gonna make enough to justify? I had a friend taking machinist classes who had access to really nice tools, and he could barely bend and weld a competently square box after a semester. GroupDIY has a fairly deep section on metalworking.
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Post by svart on Jun 6, 2016 7:41:07 GMT -6
Silk screening is only affordable if it's a group buy. You have to remember that the screen itself is what cost all the money but at the same rate many images can be put on just one screen so in a sense we could do five or six 1u or 2u designs on one screen. Or we could do our own. I know some folks have used trophy shops that were insanely cheap and really nice. I haven't found any that could do it for anything resembling practical. Btw: i use recycled gear for my cases shhh.. Fpd and front panel pros is where its at and ive actually gotten good at it and enjoy designing them. I bought my silkscreen from a company that sells them online. You send them the design, they send you a screen. Mine was around 50$. The trick is determining the right type of screen (mesh count, material, etc) for the ink you plan to use, and then designing your print. A can of good ink cost me more than the screen though. |
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Post by rocinante on Jun 7, 2016 9:31:21 GMT -6
God damn 3u case I ordered for my mixer is not deep enough. Damn it. Probably be perfect for an 11 rack. Looked fine in the pics. Guess ill try it with an external psu. Maybe it save me.
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Post by dandeurloo on Jun 8, 2016 22:22:40 GMT -6
I have 3U cases in 14" depths if you need one.
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