[sdiy] Odp: Cheap rack enclosures with option for custom front panel

[Roman]

The biggest panel I did as a service was 200x500mm. I can do better but prefer anything that fits in 3U or less. Black anodized 2mm aluminium with laser etched markings.   As for the case, I'd try this one, but AFAIK you're on the other side of the globe so maybe not such a good idea anyway:  armel.pl armel.pl   Roman  Dnia 16 czerwca 2017 04:34 Roman <rsdio at audiobanshee.com> napisał(a):  Hi folks,   I'm working on both modular circuits and other audio circuits. For the modular circuits, it's easy enough to design for a certain HP width, and then draw the face plate in Front Panel Express. I'm seeing prices from $20 to $50. Expensive, but manageable.   However, I also have some audio circuits (a breakout for my SynthAccess guitar so I can patch into my computer balanced  audio interface) that are a bit too big for modular units. So, I thought it should be simple to find an enclosure that allows for a custom front panel, but with a standard back, top, bottom, and sides.   First of all, I couldn't find anyone selling rack enclosures without a front panel. Some of those folks offered the option of customization, but it was difficult to find pricing information at the first several hits, so I thought I'd ask here for advice.   Second of all, I finally noticed that Front Panel Express offer full rack enclosure designs. That seemed like a good idea, at first, since I already know their software. But the bad news is that the front panel alone is over $75, and that's without getting fancy. I haven't even priced the rest of the panels because I fear that the whole thing will cost more than my assembled circuit prototypes.   Anyway, I'm here to ask what people recommend. It's seems like such a common need that some company would already be providing cheap rack enclosures with the option to drill your own face plate or just order the 5-sided box without a front and get that part from some place like Front Panel Express.   Any advice appreciated,   Brian   p.s. I'm looking at 1U height. Unfortunately, my current circuit is too wide for a half-rack, but no where near full rack width. There's a bit of wasted space on the front. Perhaps the only reason that FPE is so much more expensive is that full width plates cost more than the smaller 4HP and 8HP modular plates. I'm clearly not a mechanical expert...    ______________________________  Synth-diy mailing list   Synth-diy at synth-diy.org  synth-diy.org synth-diy.org
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