So I'm moving into a new house and I'm having a heck of a time coming up with a design that my wife will sign off on. My woodworking skills are terrible, I literally have a hard time making a box that's passable.
So...
I was looking into a few options:
1) Hire someone in China to do a run of CNC flat packs, save a couple for myself and sell the rest. Yes, I know this option is probably fraught with peril, but my 3D skills are great, and I feel confident that I wouldn't supply them with a model that didn't "fit together."
Also, I'm cheap, and I figured it would be a lot cheaper per unit to have ten or a hundred made.
2) Hire someone locally to CNC the cabinet.
I'm a bit wary of this, because I figure it might cost $100 for the wood and $1000 for the labor. But I'm new at this, so if I'm wrong, someone correct me please.
3) Same as option 3, but use someone off Craigslist. There are a handful of people on my local CL who say they offer these services. Naturally, no idea what the prices are.
4) Just buy my own CNC. I've noticed that you can get an X-Carve for under $2000 now. I don't need to do big pieces of wood; my projects tend to do be small, but with a lot of crazy angles, so they're kinda ideal for CNC and 3D printing. Up until now I've largely done everything with a 3D printer, but I'm running into real issues because a little bit of warping in a 3D print really ruins the cosmetics.
So...
I was looking into a few options:
1) Hire someone in China to do a run of CNC flat packs, save a couple for myself and sell the rest. Yes, I know this option is probably fraught with peril, but my 3D skills are great, and I feel confident that I wouldn't supply them with a model that didn't "fit together."
Also, I'm cheap, and I figured it would be a lot cheaper per unit to have ten or a hundred made.
2) Hire someone locally to CNC the cabinet.
I'm a bit wary of this, because I figure it might cost $100 for the wood and $1000 for the labor. But I'm new at this, so if I'm wrong, someone correct me please.
3) Same as option 3, but use someone off Craigslist. There are a handful of people on my local CL who say they offer these services. Naturally, no idea what the prices are.
4) Just buy my own CNC. I've noticed that you can get an X-Carve for under $2000 now. I don't need to do big pieces of wood; my projects tend to do be small, but with a lot of crazy angles, so they're kinda ideal for CNC and 3D printing. Up until now I've largely done everything with a 3D printer, but I'm running into real issues because a little bit of warping in a 3D print really ruins the cosmetics.
The shipping from China will kill you even if the workmanship is good, which can be dubious.
San Diego.
I found a place in Redlands that's promising. (Shout out to JB Fabrication and Welding)
It turns out they've done quite a few speaker building projects. One thing that's a sticking point right now is that it looks like it gets expensive / time consuming to have the CNC router chamfer the pieces.
IE, if you have two pieces that meet at a 45 degree angle, it sounds like it's faster/cheaper to cut them square and then route them with a 45 degree bit.
So I need to look at my model and see if that's an option.
CNC ROUTING for cutting wood, plastic, foam, acrylic, aluminum
Sorry I just noticed it was the subwoofer forum but the principle is the same. Cutting many similar pieces is what a CNC is good at. Cut the way these are there is very little waste. These were cut out of a sheet and a half of 1" baltic birch.
Wow! That's incredible. $300?!
Because I have a hard time making decent looking cabinets, I've been looking on eBay for classic prosound cabinets, like JBL speakers from the 70s and 80s. I have zero interest in the actual speaker, I just want the cabinet, and some of these guys are asking for $500-$1000 for speakers that will need to be completely refinished.
For $300 yours looks 10X better.
Because I have a hard time making decent looking cabinets, I've been looking on eBay for classic prosound cabinets, like JBL speakers from the 70s and 80s. I have zero interest in the actual speaker, I just want the cabinet, and some of these guys are asking for $500-$1000 for speakers that will need to be completely refinished.
For $300 yours looks 10X better.
Ok I just looked it up. $185 to have the the pieces machined and the 4x8 sheets were $110 ea. so $405. Still pretty good I thought.
Find a CNC hobbyist in your town
Look for some companies that sell kits and also look for a CNC DIY forum and trade some of your 3D skills for some cutting services.
Who knows you might find a CNC club in your area and become a member.
Good CAD guys are hard to find.
Look for some companies that sell kits and also look for a CNC DIY forum and trade some of your 3D skills for some cutting services.
Who knows you might find a CNC club in your area and become a member.
Good CAD guys are hard to find.
I actually asked at a local shop that CNC cuts wood. It was $150 for programming and then an hourly rate for runtime. Then it was just a matter of twlling thrm to run the program again.
At the time i was considering selling flatpack speaker boxes.
At the time i was considering selling flatpack speaker boxes.
if you only require a few speaker cabinets - and assembled - talk to Jesse Brunner at "Triticum Audio" (Almira Washington) - he does all my stuff and some of its pretty tough with compound angles and lock - miter joints. Time could be a factor to fit in with his farming.
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