[Edwood]

What are your experiences with Front Panel Express?
I've just completed a Part.

How are their tolerances? Their program seems to indicate they can maintain tolerances to within 0.0100". Is this true or not?

I've put a lot of countersinks, and I'm wondering if they can get these right as well.

Also, how well do they stick to their lead time estimates?
(not including shipping time)

-Ed

 

[rreynol]

I've only dealt with them once. It was a front and rear panel setup for my Pimeta. I don't know about the tolerances but I did spend a lot of time creating my template for the panels based on spacing needed for the components. The pieces I received seemed to be layed out perfectly. I used these panels on a Hammond 1455N case and used countersink figures someone here recommended. They all seemed to line up right. They stick to their lead time perfectly. They shipped my panels on the exact day they said they would when I placed the order.

All in all, I was happy with the panels I received. However, two things that I'm not particularly fond of. Their pricing is kinda expensive. I now do a lot of my own panel work but if I came across something I didnt think I could handle, I would deal with them again. The second thing is that the aluminum pieces are anodized before being cut. In my case (natural aluminum finish), it wasnt a big deal. I am assuming that if you go with a black panel, the edges will be unanodized aluminum (not black) as well as the countersinks and holes. Something to keep in mind.

 

[grandenigma1]

I know MisterX has used them and from the looks of Zemos stuff same with him... I have never of any troubles with them and their panels look very nice... I am currently working on one for my PPA if no one picks it up

 

[Edwood]

FPE says that the Brushing of the metal is done Up/Down by default.

Is there an option in FPE to change it to Left/Right?

Or how do I rotate the whole part 90 degrees?
*Edit, nevermind, I found it.

Has anyone done plain Engraved lettering without dye on plain/clear alodine Aluminum? Is it readable, or should I have lettering dyed white or some other color? I want to make the lettering more subtle, but I want it to be readable as well.

-Ed

 

[grandenigma1]

I have a pic of one with the engraveing with no color at home but I am at work right now... I love the clean and certialy subtle look it has...and it is very readable... just dont go crazy with some weird font...

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grandenigma1 I have a pic of one with the engraveing with no color at home but I am at work right now... I love the clean and certialy subtle look it has...and it is very readable... just dont go crazy with some weird font...

Kewl. Thanks!

-Ed

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Is there an option in FPE to change it to Left/Right? Or how do I rotate the whole part 90 degrees? *Edit, nevermind, I found it.

Would you care to post your solution?

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsavitsk Would you care to post your solution?

-Drag a box around the entire part.

-Right Click -> Move/Rotate (Ctrl+M)

-Action: Pull Down Menu-> Rotate (it is Move, by default)

-Angle: (pops up to the right) -> enter "90" degrees.

-Click "OK"

There is one downside to this method. It only works on square parts as far as I can see. Because I can't seem to rotate the Basic Shape.
Only way I can see is to change the dimensions of the Basic Shape, which if you are not careful, can misalign some parts.

I think you can also just ask FPE to change the default Brushing to Left/Right, rather than Up/Down. Either as an email, enter it in the remarks, or call them.

-Ed

 

[riffer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rreynol ....The second thing is that the aluminum pieces are anodized before being cut. In my case (natural aluminum finish), it wasnt a big deal. I am assuming that if you go with a black panel, the edges will be unanodized aluminum (not black) as well as the countersinks and holes. Something to keep in mind.

That's a little silly.

I was thinking of getting some panels done for some of the silver components I have that I want black to match everything else, but who wants an aluminum rim around the faceplate?

I guess it would be best to get it anodized oneself.

 

[Edwood]

What's the difference between "Aluminum anodized" and Aluminum anodized/chromated" with either one being "Natural" color.

*Edit, just got off the phone with FPE, they say that Chromated is a conductive plating on the back of the panel. It will make the natural aluminum a slightly yellowish color, but it's not on the front surface. So if you need to ground the front panel for some reason, Chromating is an option. So if your font panel is larger than the case, some areas of the rear part of the panel is visible.

Oooo. And remember to update to the latest version of FPE. Apparently they will do Acrylic too.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Oh, and I asked them what their tolerances are.

It is two hundredths of one milimeter.

-Ed

 

[Juergen]

I used them once for my PPA panel:

You can't tell in the picture, but the outside edge had a slight imperfection. I will eventually give it a light sanding. Countersinking areas should be covered since the surface looks a little rough. I was mostly concerned about how my custom logo would turn out since it is a small/fine hpgl drawing. It turned out great imo. I would really like to see how the new acrylic material they offer looks when cut. Too bad they dont offer anything thicker than 4mm.

 

[grandenigma1]

here ya go!

 

[BradJudy]

I was pretty happy with my one experience with FPE. I wish they could do anodizing after the outside cut and then cut the rest so that the edges would be anodized too, but I still like it. Here are a couple of pics:

 

[bryman79]

Edwood... regarding tolerances, you need to ask the machinist that question. If they machine a part that is not to the agreed tolerance, then they should remake it. That is common practice in the machining industry. This should also extend to places that brag about their customizing abilities like Par-Metal, but apparently they think not. This is why I had to make the panel that I show in this post, but any further discussion would be O/T.

Juergen... did your countersinks look like grandenigma1's? I can't believe they would use a rounded endmill to mill out the countersinks. Wow. But a nice layout nonetheless...

For the most part, FPE does very nice engraving work. Here's my latest one... not the most exotic, but turned out nice: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...FrontPanel.jpg. Here is a close-up of the HPGL logo: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...FAudioLogo.jpg. See this thread here for a procedure on how I converted the logo from bitmap to vector (post #7): http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=125023.

However, FPE needs to re-think their panel sizing procedure. Instead of sizing the panels first, they engrave and mill the panels to size all in one operation, leaving "spokes" to support the panel during engraving. They then use a bench grinder of some sort to remove the spokes. Note that this could easily be done by anyone with a mill, but they choose to do it with a grinder. Here is the result, which leaves a lot to be desired given the alternatives: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...GrindMarks.jpg.

So if you are fine with the above, then all is cool. However, if you are like me, then we need to find an alternative. In the future I will either have the panel milled beforehand, or ask them to not remove the spokes. I will then do this on my own. How I wish I still had access to a mill!!!

I personally don't mind the bare aluminum ring. I thought I would, but it looks OK to me. Others have suggested having a shop anodize it after machining assuming you didn't use pre-anodized material to begin with (http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=126872), but the shops in my area want a fortune for such services. This is why I use FPE. If anyone can suggest a shop in the Bay Area who is willing to accommodate one-offs, please let me know.

Hope this helps,
Bryan