Low cost front panels ??

[whoops]

Nowadays there are several pcb manufacturers which can produce pcb`s for prototype for a reasonable price.

I was wandering of there are any companies which can make front panels for prototypes.
( printing the text, and cuttong out the holes )

Anybody here knows a company who does ?

 

[Maddin]

whoops,

which kind of front panels are you looking for? I recently searched for companies that produce custom c_P_C_I front panels for my prototype board, but it seems for me that no company was interested in producing only 1-5 panels. If you are also looking for (custom) c_P_C_I front panels, take a look at APW's homepage - they offer A_C_A_D templates that you might modify to fit your requirements.

regards

Maddin

 

[Kalashnikov]

**broken link removed**
Almost all enclosure manufacturers will help
you design/fabricate panels. Whether or not
it is cost effective will depend on what type
of quantity you need. Setup charges will be the
same whether you order 1 or 1000 panels.

Depending on your requirements, it might just
be easier to do it yourself. You can buy the
required punches/dies for any size/shape hole,
but they can be expensive. If you need only a
couple of pieces, a drill press and a selection
of files and sandpaper can do the job almost
as well. For labels, I've had good luck printing
the mirror image on thick transparency sheets.
That way the printing is protected. Another
technique is to use a laminator, such as the
ones from X_y_r_o_n, to apply a transparent
adhesive to the printed face of the label, then
you attach that to the back of a clear faceplate.
You can make some very professional looking
panels this way.

Regards,

Kal

 

[whoops]

I was talking about really small qty like 1 or 2 pcs. Basically diy is possible, but guess I`m maybe a bit lazy. Often need to have a display and buttons ( rectangle holes ) making them yourself is very time consuming and the result can easily be very poor.
I guess the must be some companies out there who can do cutting the holes based on a CAD for for reasonable cost. printing text is less important, but can also be done by CNC..

 

[glasstire]

For DIY, I drill panel myself then ink-jet print on full-page label adhesive sheets from Avery. Then I press on clear adhesive laminating sheet and cut the whole thing with a razor knive. Looks very professional and is long lasting. Also not too hard for 1 or 2 pcs. Also check out rippedsheets.com for supplies.

 

[Pim]

One easy way of designing one own's custom frontpanels is to let a circuit-board manufacturer that is oriented towards producing prototype batches to do the frontpanels for you by using glassfibre circuitboard material.

A friend of mine use to do so, the laminate (FR4) is possible to get in several different colours, he use the black ones. Then its easy to let have the text printed on the circuitboard and the necessary holes and cutouts done too. You can in that way design the whole frontpanel in your regular circuit-board design software and seeing to that you do not have any cupper traces on the front (you may want that on the back for shielding purposes) you can get custom made quite professional-look frontpanels for your application in small quantities to quite a low price.

/Pim

 

[kiks]

The best and cheapest way I find is to print the front panel on overhead projector paper and then laminate it. This is then cut to size and glued on to the front panel with clear glue along the edges. The switches and potentiometers etc also help to hold the panel in place. I have successfully used this method many times.

 

[PsIoNiCs]

Hi,

If you're looking for Machined Aluminum front panels, look no further than

**broken link removed**

They’re very competitively priced, they provide free software for creating your panels and it also calculates the cost.

-PsI

 

[7rots51]

do you have the link for prototype pcb manufacturer (send file and payment be online)??

I prefer the ones in asia.