[sdiy] front panels

[harrybissell]

G'day Chris (et al)

Having used Schaeffer once... my first comment would be you can't afford
not to
use them...

I've used AlumaJet material from horizonsisg.com... they have a similar
product in vinyl.
I made black panels with aluminum lettering... you could easily do black
on aluminum...
The sheets are 8-1/2" x 11" (10 pcs) or 11" x 17" (5 pcs) and cost about
$60 (us).
I have not priced or tried the vinyl

You can print these in an ink jet printer.  I made AutoCad drawings to
fab the panel
and do the graphics... the registration was OK...

The Schaeffer alternative (for my panel) was about $60 also. It was 2U x
19"... with all the
machining done numerically (far better than my paper templates and hand
drill could achieve)...
looked absolutely beautiful (vs AlumaJet 'acceptable') and cut the time
to about 10% of learning
to deal with the AlumaJet process.  I save in layout time, ink jet
cartridges (which ain't cheap)...
messing up the first attempts (at $5 per sheet + ink and time).

Some people have done paper panels... and some have used the "Toner
Transfer System" or
Press n' Peel to make decals and apply over the panel.

I'd mow lawns, rake leaves, shovel snow... and save the money to use the
Schaeffer product.
their software "Front Panel Designer" was an absolute joy to use, first
time... and the one question that I had was promptly answered by them
(and the answer was... its OK kid... it
works just like you think it does).

Good luck and check the archives as well... there are a lot of posts
there on this subject

H^) harry

Chris Williams wrote:

> G’day everyone!
>
> I thought I’d better introduce myself to all of you. My name is Chris,
> I’m an Electronic Eng/Computer Science student at UWA
> in Perth, Australia. I’ve been delving into analog synths for a month
> or two now. I started off with the PAiA 9700 and are now adding other
> bits and pieces (mostly designs from
> Jorgen Bergfors’ Bergfotronsynth). It’s primarily to use in a band I’m
> in and also just cos I like building electronic stuff :-)
>
> I’ve found this list rather helpful, especially looking back through
> the archives.
>
> I’ve come to stage where I need to mount the phaser unit I’ve built
> into another 19” rack. To match the other gear I’ve got black anodized
> panels – and my question is – what’s the best way to get a white
> legend on the panel? I know many of you use Schaeffer panels, but I
> can’t really afford these at the moment :-) Many of the solutions in
> the archives seem to be ok for a black or coloured legend on a white
> background, but what about the inverse white on black? Any help would
> be warmly welcomed!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chris.
>