I'm looking for recommendations for a 30~50 run anodized aluminum case, in a similar size as the Kawaii. Does anyone have any recommendations? The quotes I'm getting are closer to $95/pc and that seems quite high.
The price for a small-batch run is going to depend heavily upon how difficult it is to manufacture at small scale. If you got that $95 quote from a local shop, you can try asking them what you can do to make it cheaper. There might be some tricky features in your design that are jacking up the labor costs.
The cheapest way to make a small-batch aluminum enclosure is probably to base it off an off-the-shelf extrusion stock. I'd go on McMaster and find some C-channel stock that fits my needs, then I'd design a base plate that nests inside the C-channel. If you're trying to go for an upscale, professional look, you can have the machine shop run a wire wheel over the C-channel before anodizing it.
Hi, I have ordered in the past from JLC3dp[1] both metal printed parts and aluminum anodized CNC machined parts. I was happy with the quality and the pricing was a lot better than my local CNC companies.
