Laser / Water cut / machining quotes?

J

JoeKewl

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Messages
133
I am looking to get the front panel of my SilverStone LC-02 precision cut (waterjet or something similar) Here is the back of front panel:
htpc_3a.jpg

It is nicely polished aluminum, about 4mm thick.

I purchased a Crystal Fontz 633 LCD (2x16 w/buttons) that I would like to fit in the front panel, but my dremel skills are not good enough to make it look good, and I wanted to have it cut very professional looking since this case will become my primary HTPC. There would need to be 7 small holes cut into the aluminum.

I randomly stopped by a local machine shop, and they told me they could laser cut it for around $125 (I would provide a CAD file). Is this outragously over priced?

I really have no idea, and would appreciate some advice from some fellow [H] modders out there. Thanks! :)
 
That does seem pretty high for pricing. Especially since yoru provided the cad file. I'd go elsewhere or ship it somewhere to be done.

Normal CNC work should run ya about $90/hour....that would take a few seconds to cut out......find someone with a hookup on the machine.
 
that sounds pretty good for a price, im sure you can find it cheaper but not much and you would be looking for a while. I know there are a few people on these forums that have access to that bigger stuff just dont remember thier names. Try doing a search for waterjet or cnc milling.
 
The price might be a little high, but because the shop is local to you, the convenience factor should make up for it. Certainly not "outrageously overpriced."

Also, I want to see this project progress to see how it turns out, so I'm all for you getting it done as quickly as possible. ;)
 
If you want perfection, you guys have to learn to pay the price. Don't be cheap when it comes to modding. I'm sure you can shop around for a better deal but for a simple rectangle and a few other holes, I'd just do it myself.

I could probably cut that thing out for $50 without a waterjet and make it look just the same. With a scroll saw and some files, that could be done in 10-15 minutes easy.
 
Computer cutting alone doesn't make for a professional finish - the finished cuts are rough and so you'll still need to do filing and polishing. The advantage of computer cutting is that it gets complex designs cut with precision, it doesn't produce finished smoothed cuts, just very accurate ones. At least, that was the case last time I looked (a few years back). Things may have improved since then,

Stop the press! I take all that back, I just looked at the examples on this thread, and they're lovely. Much better than the stuff I saw. Wow.

But I'd probably still lean towards Qtip's cheaper offer :)
 
Qtip42 said:
I could probably cut that thing out for $50 without a waterjet and make it look just the same. With a scroll saw and some files, that could be done in 10-15 minutes easy.
Click to expand...
ya know, not all of us have a scroll saw - most of us lowly peons use a good ole' dremel... ;) and you know, DREMEL < WATERJET.

/edit POST #2000!!!
 
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