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Affordable CNC Prototype Enclosures

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I'll jump on board. This is something that I think will really be of use to the members of this forum.

We have a new generic chassis design that can be used with Front Panel Express to produce a custom chassis. The general idea is that Front Panel Express specializes in prototype CNC cut flat panels. They have free software available at their web site which allows you to design flat panels and place an order for a single unit CNC cut panel. They are quite reasonable for the quality of work... most flat panels for our chassis cost around $35-$45 depending on a number of variables. I spend about $11 per panel in production quantities of 50 units.

Anyway.... I designed a chassis that would use flat front & rear panels in which I could prototype products easily. I made templates for our chassis so that you have the starting dimensions & mounting holes. I also did the design work to program in macros for all the common parts that would be used on an audio project. This allows me to design a rear panel for a custom product in about a half an hour.

It is pretty slick... I'm buiding a couple things for myself and it is really nice to be able to drop macro's of my various parts to generate a custom design. If this is commercially successful I'll do some variations with different sized boxes so that we can cover the range of possible DIY projects and remove the hastle of building an enclosure for both prototype work and/or custom DIY projects.

I'll just drop a picture of the chassis and a link to my site explaining the product.

Chassis Link


Note... this picture is of a finished product. The chassis kit comes without the front/rear panels. I just wanted to show something finished so people can get the general idea.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
Yes... those are silk screened. Those are for an amplifier which we had produced in 50 unit orders. The Front Panel Express panels wouldn't offer silk screening. What they do is just engrave the text via the CNC machine. It actually looks better than the silk screening and is obviously much hardier than any silk screened text.
 
Sure... the template we use isn't rack mount but it is easy to make the adjustments in the FrontPanel software to cut a rack-mount front panel. I'd use steel rather than aluminum which can be spec'd via the FrontPanel program.

I just made a non-rack mount version for a 5-channel amp using the UCD-180 Hypex modules. It took me about 15 minutes starting from the template.
 
Great news!

Hey, thats a great idea! Glad someone thought of this, chassis' are denfinately one of the hardest things to find in the diy world.

Looking at the pics, there is nothing showing what you get (the parts) when one buys a one of these. In fact, the items one would be actually buying look kind of concealed/hidden from the photos. How many parts? Is it a frame that things bolt to or is it bent metal? What exactly comes with this? Does the top panel or bottom panel have vents? if so where?

Can you post something showing the parts?
 
I agree. The pics leave you wondering, 'just what am I getting'? Need to see pics of the inside, and how the whole thing 'comes together.' And image quality should be improved, a real challenge with a black chassis.

I also recommend an option for blank panels that mate with chassis, as I can drll my own holes.
 
I'll attach a PDF to the web page showing the complete dimensional breakdown of all the parts.

We don't have any immediate plans to offer other sizes. There just isn't enough demand for these to justify doing more sizes.

We do have ventilation for tubes since I'm working on a tube buffer stage for some of my own projects but they don't stick out the top.

I designed these for a power amp project but they don't have the traditional sides made of extrusions you would need for a Class A amplifier project. I have some extrusions for our LM4780 amp but they are little guys (5" L x 2" D x 2.8" W).
 
Dear Mr. Haskins,

My wife demands elegant furnishings and assessories that compliment the rather tasteful interior of our manor.
Is there a chance that these will be available in "Hydro Klammodyne Red?" I can imagine that you've already received numerous requests for this option, but I thought I'd join the chorus.

signed,
Cowering in Carnation
 
Dear Kevin,

I have had a few panels done by front panel express. I noticed that that they pre anodise the panel before any machining work. Therefore, the cut out (e.g. holes etc.) & panel edges are no longer anodised but raw colour of the aluminium. In addition, there are small marks where presumably the CNC tool grip the work piece. I emailed front panel express about this & their reply was that that is their standard practice. Any thoughts on these ? This is a big hurdle for me as the custom panel will have nice shape with proper cut outs but not fully anodised.

Regards,
Joe Ling
Malaysia
 
Yes... they cut the panels out of anodized stock to begin with and you get a non-anodized cut. For the price they charge and the turn around time they have it would be impossible for them to anodize the part after the CNC operation. All of the units I've ordered come back looking very good. I have yet to get any clamping marks from the tooling.
 
Dear Kevin,

Thanks for your answer. Just wondering - if I specify a 19" XXU height panel, the edges would also be pre anodised to start with. Is this the case? Is this how you can manage to have the edges of the front panel for the chassis that you offer to be anodised as well ?

Regards,
Joe Ling
 
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