[ujamerstand]

For those of you who worked on par metal cases, does par metal provide 6mm thick panels? Also, for those of you who made CAD drawings of the panels, how did you find out the locations for the mounting screws? Anyone has a measurement?

 

[sachu]

measurements for the mouting screws was just that measurement. A tip, if you are planning on an FPE panel for a par metal chassis (looks very very good btw) i'd suggest buying the par-metal chassis sans the front and rear panel, just get the chassis with the mounting brackets for both front and back. It is cheaper that way.

 

[ujamerstand]

So buy the chassis and measure? not sure if I'd have an accurate measurement.... The only thing I don't like about FPE is that the edges of their panels are not anodized. But then again, I do save the efforts of shipping the panels to them.
 
I remember another place that does front panels, but cannot recall its name right now. Starts with a c or something...

 

[sachu]

Camexpert.
 
Well if it is the 20-12124 case you are looking at, then let me know and i'll forward you the mounting hole measurements for it.
 
edit: a quick shout out to rbarth for the set of quad Jfets he sent me for the last SS exstata build that has been languishing for close to 8 months now. most appreciated. I will hopefully get to test the boards out today.

 

[MashBill]

sachu,
Please send me the mounting hole measurements.
 
I didn't know that the cases could be ordered sans front and rear panel.
 
Thanks for sharing the info!
 
Bill

 

[jlefley]

I recently bought an enclosure from Par-Metal for use with panels I had Cam-Expert machine.  Cam-Expert was cheaper than the same panel designed in FPE.  As stated, you can order the Par-Metal enclosure without a front panel and with an additional frame instead of the standard back if you want a custom machined rear panel as well.  The mounting hole dimensions should be pretty easy to measure once you have the frames in front of you.  I used a 20-12123 (12" x 12" x 3") and the holes were 11.2" x 2" apart, centered on the frame.  I would imagine the 11.2" dimension would be constant for all 12" wide cases and maybe you just subtract 0.8" from the case width to get the dimension for any case width?  and maybe take an inch off the height to get the vertical dimension for any case height.  This is just a guess but it might be something to think about when you take a pair of calipers or a ruler to your case frames.  Also FWIW, I sized my panels at 12.25" x 3.25".  This left an 1/8" overhang over the front profile of the enclosure which looks good when the panel is installed.  (These cases/panels were for a different amp; the actual case and panel dimensions probably wouldn't work for an eXStatA but the 1/8" overhang would probably be appropriate for a variety of case sizes) 
 
If you are thinking about getting a panel made from the pre-anodized aluminum that Cam-Expert and FPE uses, the edges will be raw aluminum.  Its not really an issue if you are using a silver case with a clear anodized panel but if you want black then it might be of concern.  I wanted the edges on my black panels to be anodized which meant that they had to be anodized after milling.  I contacted FPE and they do not offer this service.  Cam-Expert quoted me $150 total for 4 panels.  I checked with some local anodizing companies and ended up getting the panels machined be Cam-Expert from raw aluminum and then had them anodized locally for $60 for all 4.  This is another option to consider if you want the edges to be finished. 

 

[ujamerstand]

Right, that's another thing I like about Cam-expert, they could mill your panels, then anodize your panels afterwards. I didn't see the price on the website though. $150 seems a little high for just a little more visual effect on the over all finish. How much did FPE's quotes (on milling) differs from Cam-expert?

 

[sachu]

 
[size=medium]

As i won't really be building any more amps in the foreseeable future, i'd like to submit my FPE files for anyone to use as they wish. Please donot use the Cavalli Audio logo without express permission from Alex Cavalli.
 
 
here are links to download the fpe files. You can use them as templates. Will save you a ton of work.
 
http://web.pdx.edu/~savyak/exstata/
 
​

[/size]

 

[ujamerstand]

This is most useful. Thank you very much!

 

[BoilermakerFan]

Quote:

 

As i won't really be building any more amps in the foreseeable future, i'd like to submit my FPE files for anyone to use as they wish. Please donot use the Cavalli Audio logo without express permission from Alex Cavalli.
 
 
here are links to download the fpe files. You can use them as templates. Will save you a ton of work.
 
http://web.pdx.edu/~savyak/exstata/
 
​

The CA label should really be removed from the front panel since Cavalli Audio is now MOT. 

 

[sachu]

Updated front panel template for use with WPI jacks. The earlier one was for the ones made by luvdunhill. Am guessing more folk are using the WPI/Amphenol ones.

 

[jlefley]

Quote:

Right, that's another thing I like about Cam-expert, they could mill your panels, then anodize your panels afterwards. I didn't see the price on the website though. $150 seems a little high for just a little more visual effect on the over all finish. How much did FPE's quotes (on milling) differs from Cam-expert?

They don't list the price on the website.  I asked about it when I was getting a quote on my panels and that what it was.  I went through a local company and it was less than half of Cam-Experts price.  I had my panels made from 6mm material and Cam-experts price was about the same as FPE's price for 4mm as quoted by their software.  I never got a quote from FPE for 6mm panels but it would have obviously been more than the 4mm price.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

 
[size=medium]

As i won't really be building any more amps in the foreseeable future, i'd like to submit my FPE files for anyone to use as they wish. Please donot use the Cavalli Audio logo without express permission from Alex Cavalli.
 
 
here are links to download the fpe files. You can use them as templates. Will save you a ton of work.
 
http://web.pdx.edu/~savyak/exstata/
 
​

[/size]

Just curious, since I can't open these - are these the same design that I had you develop for my eXStatA?

 

[sachu]

well the design that I developed for someone else prior to you was changed and modified as per your requests. The front panel template i had earlier was the one used in your design.
 
But i took that down and put up the original front panel design that I modified to suit your needs without the CA logo as it was made for the WPI jacks and figured that would be more handy to folks here..
 
The rear panel template is the one used in your amp but is now being replaced with a more general template as yours was quite specific.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

well the design that I developed for someone else prior to you was changed and modified as per your requests. The front panel template i had earlier was the one used in your design.
 
But i took that down and put up the original front panel design that I modified to suit your needs without the CA logo as it was made for the WPI jacks and figured that would be more handy to folks here..
 
The rear panel template is the one used in your amp but is now being replaced with a more general template as yours was quite specific.

That makes more sense.  You anticipated my concerns exactly.