How do you produce the panels? (Punch, drill/mill, lasercut, watercut, engraving, silkscreening, uv printing...?)
Our standard method is: cnc machining and uv-printing

Engraving:
We can also engrave panels and fill the engravings with colour, but the frontpaneldesign needs to be made for engraving and picture and some logos aren't possible with engraving technology. And the more engraving... the longer the machine run-time... the higher the price. 

CNC-machining:
That's the best way to machine aluminum. Lasercutting, watercutting and punch/nibble machines can only do holes - not more.
But with cnc machining we can make threads, countersinks, pocket milling, edge radius cutting and more.

UV-Printing:
We offer UV-Printing up to 500x330mm in any CMYK colour.
White and clear varnish can also be printed.

How long does it take to produce my order?
The current processing time shown at the right side of the frontpanels.de website.
Usually it takes ~7 work-days becuase everything is custom made/built to order.

"I do have abselutely no frontpanel layout or..." or "I have a layout but it needs to be changed... can you do it?"
Yes. Thats possible. But it's the same as doing a new pcb layout from scratch. And sometimes the layout needs more time then producing the part.
I need to charge 15€ (+VAT) for every 15 minutes of work.
I will draw the design and send it to you. You need to check EVERYTHING. Then just pay the invoice and I will start making the parts.
First I start making the first Layout. If it's not finished after 30 minutes of layout-work I will send the the file so you can see how far I got.
Then you can send me Ideas and tell me what needs to be changed. I will always write the needed time for this revision under the layout. In the end I will count everything together and send an invoice.
(Info: I will start cutting the panels when I received the payment. Once the panels are done there is no way back. Iam not responsable for the accuracy of the drawing, even when I did the drawing. You need to check that everything is correct BEFORE the parts will be manufactured.)

Which material do you have?
We have standard anodized colours available such as Black, silver, red, green, gold anodized aluminum.
Please look here for more information: Material

Info: We can't cut steel!

Which files can be used?
Every file can be used. Just send me what you have. Even pdf or a hand drawn frontpanel will be fine.

What about the price?
Generally cheaper than all others.

Is it possible to force in closed insert nuts?
Yes, thats possible.
Now we can even weld nuts into the frontpanel. Available M3 thread length are:

8mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 30mm

19" Enclosure holes

All 19" enclosures will have the "double-d" holes to screw the panel into a 19" rack. But there are 4 additional holes which are needed to fix the frontpanel to the enclosure. Generally there is no standard of the position and size of these holes as every enclosure manufacturer has different positions and diameters.
So if you buy a panel you need to tell me if you want to have the holes made for one of my enclosures, and which one, as I offer different enclosures.
Normally if you buy one panel and one enclosure I will make the holes automatically into the panel.
If you just order a panel without an enclosure I normally make no holes in it. (unless you tell me the position and size of these holes)
If you want to have holes drilled I need the horizontal and vertical distance between the holes.(center to center position) and I need to know the hole diameter.

Is is possible to use customer material?
Yes, but only aluminium, brass, plastics, pcb/fr4. We cannot work with steel. And if we would do this, it wouldn't make sense because the edges or the engravings will start to corrode after a while.

Can I send painted frontpanels for engraving?
Thats possible. But it will only work if the panels are painted properly. Home-painted panels are not good for this. The paint isn't strong enough. If you give the panels to a car paint shop it will be much better. If you want to do it yourselfs, you should use a primer or ground coating and let the panel dry for weeks.

I want to have a logo on my panel?
If you want to have a logo on the frontpanel and you don't know how to do this... no problem - just send an email.

I need the panel faster. Whats the extra charge?

3-work days: 50% extra charge
1-work day: 100% extra charge

 
What are the prices?
Iam always trying to have competitive prices. If you've got a good price for something, please let me know and I'll try to beat the price with a 20% discount.

Do you offer any discount when ordering more of the same part?

The discounts for Frontpanels are:
  5 pieces or more:  10%  discount
10 pieces or more:  20%  discount
20 pieces or more:  30%  discount
30 pieces or more:  30%  discount
50 pieces or more:  35%  discount
100 pieces or more: 43% discount
200 pieces or more: 45% discount

Which file formats can be used?
Just send me what you have and we will sort it out. Always convert objects to path.
Converting any files into the machine CAD/CAM system needs time and sometimes things have to clearified within some emails. Converting files will be charged with 20€.

If you can... please send me your drawing as PDF file and also send me the original file. (where the layout was created with)

There is a problem with the produced parts, can I get new parts for free?
If you send a wrong file (for example: missing or wrong holes or text) I will not replace the parts for free. (your mistake)

If there are quality issues (for example: something is missing which was in your original file) I will of course replace the parts for free. (my mistake)

Missing hole problem:
Make sure there are no double holes (circle on top of another circle) as these holes will be ignored by the cnc machine.
Shifted text problem:
The best way is to send a PDF as it looks the same on every computer. Make sure there are no bitmaps (but only vector informations) to get the best result.
If you send a drawing in any other file format (like Illustrator, Corel Draw, AutoCAD, Inkscape) and then there is a problem with the received parts I will not replace
the parts for free because of a software glitch. Inkscape for example is the worst Software ever. Better always send PDFs - I never had a problem with it.

For large production runs, always order one prototype panel first.

Online Tracking Service

For DHL Shipping use this link:
https://www.dhl.de/en/privatkunden/dhl-sendungsverfolgung.html

For "German Post Shipping" use this link:
https://www.deutschepost.de/sendung/simpleQuery.html?locale=en_GB

DHL Shipping is insured up to 500€.
German Post Shipping is insured up to 37,50€

Adobe Illustrator Files:

If you made a frontpanel layout in Illustrator you have to convert all objects to path. The reason for this is that Illustrator on my computer wants to replace an existing Font which is installed on your computer - but not on my computer. If you convert the fonts and objects to path then there is no problem.

It works like this:
Select > All                          or shorcut: STRG+A                          (=select all objects)
Type > Create Outlines    or shorcut: Shift + Control + O        (= Create Outlines)

If you locked or grouped parts please ungroup and unlock them before. Otherwise it is not possible to select them and create outlines.
Object > Unlock All   or shorcut: Alt + Control + 2
Object > Ungroup     or shortcut: Shift + Control + G

When using "Affinity Designer": 
When saving the PDF please un-click the "Allow advanced features". Because otherwise all properties like line thickness, line type, text will not be readable by Adobe Acrobat Reader and these infos are getting lost.

We're using cnc machines to produce frontpanels. And here are some useful infos about the technology in general.

If you want to design a frontpanel you have to use a vector based software. Adobe Illustrator for example is such a software.

TEXT ENGRAVING

The best Fonts for cnc machines are "single line fonts". These are included in cad programs and they're used to print technical drawing with a pen-plotter.
The advantage: For the character "I" for example only ONE line needs to be engraved. That works quick and it's cheap. It looks like this:

All Windows Fonts are designed differently. Every font needs to be "closed". Which means it's not possible to draw a single line.
Any windows Font will look "outline", which means that only the surrounding lines will be engraved. Like this:

These Fonts can be filled. Nearly every sofware (like Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw) can make parallell lines to the inner part of the character. Then these fonts don't look outline anymore. Because it needs more time to engrave these fonts it is more expensive as the machine needs to run longer.

The thickness of the text can be changed by using tools with a different size. Check the following picture... same text was engraved with 3 different tools:

CUTTING

Cutting tools are always round. Look at the following pictures.
In the top picture the cutter produces are very sharp 90° corner.
In the bottom picture the cutter is at the inside (to cut out holes) and it's generally not possible for the cutter to go completey into the corner.

That's normally not a problem, but it's good to know. If a round cutout needs to be made there is no problem, the cutter is also round.

First steps when using Inkscape:

Set Page properties from A4 to A2. (so you have enough space for 19" panels)

1. Press String, Shift and D at the same time.
2. Click on A2 (Page Size)
3. Click on "Landscape"

Import a dxf template from this website and move the template to X=0 and Y=0 position, so you have it in the left bottom corner:
1. Import a dxf file
2. String + A (=select all)
3. put 0 as position in  X and Y at the top toolbar

Ungroup all objects to be able to edit them:
1. String +A
2.Right Mouse click, then click on "ungroup"

Ok, my inkscape version just crashed at this point when now clicking on a circular object (hole)  :-)