#383

I used Laser cut studio in Finland, total cost 73€ using matte black acrylic. No idea about shipping costs to Europe, though.

3 Likes
#384

Check Razorlab - which is the same or similar to Ponoko, but based in the UK.

3 Likes
#385

Ponoko quoted me £45 for an acrylic fates case a couple of days ago.

I did consider them for a 128 that’s In progress.

@okyeron what roughly was the cost of your case with foam and acrylic?

I imagine it’s too expensive here in UK at $146

M

#386

Thanks for the info! Since the libraries (and their laser cutters) are closed at the moment, this seems like a viable option for me – being Helsinki based – too. Did you ask if they’d cut the EVA layer too?

1 Like
#387

Didn’t ask about cutting the EVA layer, and I didn’t end up using the EVA at all in the end. PM me if you are interested in the rest of the EVA sheet.

2 Likes
#388

I did some customization with my 128 case, so there may not be an exact correspondance, but my total cost from Ponoko was 123USD. The 5mm acrylic layer alone was 63USD; I picked a silvered black acrylic for the 3mm top layer - that came to 25USD.

#389

Thanks, that seems a fair price.

M

#390

Thanks, will check them out

#391

Used Razorlab, 150euro with shipping to Italy.

#392

A couple things to consider if you’re ordering a case from Ponoko or other laser service:

  1. Github has a recent design optimized for less material use (version 12 I believe)

  2. The EVA layer I used is optional - you can use regular acrylic or whatever. I just wanted a 5mm layer there. You just need to be able to match the internal spacer height to the thickness of the final stack.

  3. If getting matte or special finish material - don’t order all of the layers with that matte material. Get just the top or top/bottom in matte, then the other layers in plain gloss black - which is cheaper.

Note - I don’t have laser access due to virus restrictions so I can’t cut cases right now :frowning:

2 Likes
#393

Thanks again and I really appreciate your help once again :slight_smile:

#394

Currently looking into this so really helpful.

Just confirming re stands off: your design uses 11mm 2.5 female/female standoffs and then 2.5 screws for both sides, top and bottom, correct?

#395

This is correct.

When I did a few from bamboo, that material ended up being more like 3.5mm+ so the internal stack worked out ok (at 10.5mm)

I think Ponoko has some 3.2mm material but I’m not sure if that’s totally accurate or just “advertised”. I’ve found some cast acrylic can vary up to like 0.5mm on the same sheet, so I usually have to see what I end up with.

1 Like
#396

Dumb questions, as someone who’s never used Ponoko or Illustrator. Assuming I want to order just the top in matte, I would need to edit the the design file so as to order one project w/matte material, and one with the rest in glossy? Is there an open source program that’s good to edit the .ai file? I tried with Inkscape, but couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on.

#397

I suppose I can slice it up into individual parts?

Also FWIW (if you don’t want to go thru that hassle) - I hope to have laser cutter access again in about a week and will be making neotrellis cases then.

2 Likes
#398

Would you be selling any in in matte white?

#399

Not right away as I don’t have any of that material right now. DM me and we could figure something out.

#400

Works really well - very easy build - thanks @okyeron
(both cases designed by @frankchannel)

I used a Teensy 3.6 and Raspberry Pi 4. I didnt use the separate usb port as the 3.6 has the fuse in a different place to the 3.2. The only issue I had was that the grid wouldnt work when plugged into the USB2 ports on the Raspberry Pi but worked fine when used with the USB 3 port - not sure if this was a current issue (USB3 can provide more current) or if it was the particular port I used or if it just needed to be connected several times - unlikely but I’ll investigate unless anyone else has any thoughts…)

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11 Likes
#401

Just thinking a little more about ftdi chips communicating with a teensy - would a simple ft232rl breakout board wired up to the teensy rx1/tx1 work ok to emulate a monome grid?
It looks straight forward? Am I on the right track here? If there are no objections I’ll grab a breakout board and give it a go…

eg

#402

You’ll need to be able to reprogram the chip to change the manufacturer and product strings.

(FWIW - I’m not sure I see the point unless you’re wanting to use the grid w/ ansible.)