Could this be made in NZ cheaper?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Could this be made in NZ cheaper?

1 | 2 | 3

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3052143 19-Mar-2023 20:35

gzt: Reminds me last time I bought a Zalman case - giant block of aluminium with a power supply built in.

Had a look at Zalman since I didn't know if they were still around, looks like they've completely dropped all their fantastic massive alu passive-cooled stuff and are only doing boxes with fans like everyone else, sigh.

Daynger

435 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3052424 20-Mar-2023 17:13

It could be made cheaper in NZ if you have a contact in engineering to supply the materials and you make it yourself.

Itll cost you alot more in time though.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8868 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3055146 27-Mar-2023 08:56

eracode:

I don’t understand your fixation on this - $400 for a class piece of kit like this seems more than reasonable to me.

@networkn

Yeah, sorry, fixation probably wasn’t the best choice of word. However I’m interested to know where you have got to on this.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3055164 27-Mar-2023 09:34

All good.
It's a beautiful but of kit but I can't justify the cost.

I've been looking at alternatives which are likely lower quality and slightly less attractive for less than half the price but haven't made a decision.

There is no rush and maybe I'll monitor the price of the original item for a sale or price drop.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#3055190 27-Mar-2023 10:43

networkn: All good.
It's a beautiful but of kit but I can't justify the cost.

I've been looking at alternatives which are likely lower quality and slightly less attractive for less than half the price but haven't made a decision.

There is no rush and maybe I'll monitor the price of the original item for a sale or price drop.

If you shop around you can find polished alloy or chrome steel tube at reasonable prices or mirror polish your own alloy (not hard). You could find black tinted or solid black acrylic too - you'll want this to be thick or have some other design feature to keep it from sagging. Hi-Q components will probably stock any rubber feet or tube ends that you need. The trickiest bit will likely be attaching the tubes to the shelves.

I think you could get all the materials you need for about $200 (cheaper if you can get trade pricing). Cutting acrylic is a fickle task - it's easy to crack. To avoid cracking, I typically sandwich it between sacrificial sheets of 4mm MDF (I have a source for free 'cover sheets') and go slowly.

Mike

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3055237 27-Mar-2023 12:42

MikeAqua:
If you shop around you can find polished alloy or chrome steel tube at reasonable prices or mirror polish your own alloy (not hard).

The original though is turned alu, with a chromed tube you'd need to plug the end and chrome it to match the rest of it, if you really wanted to DIY it your best bet would be to try a metal shop and ask them to turn it from alu bar stock.

However I still think the second response summarised the position nicely.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#3055418 27-Mar-2023 15:20

neb:
MikeAqua:

If you shop around you can find polished alloy or chrome steel tube at reasonable prices or mirror polish your own alloy (not hard).

The original though is turned alu, with a chromed tube you'd need to plug the end and chrome it to match the rest of it, if you really wanted to DIY it your best bet would be to try a metal shop and ask them to turn it from alu bar stock. However I still think the second response summarised the position nicely.

I assumed it was tube, just because the cost of bar would be eye-watering. If it's solid alloy, then I doubt you could make get the parts for under 300, excluding labour/machining. Alu bar is expensive right now (admittedly I'm buying 5052 which is always spendy as).

Mike

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3056220 29-Mar-2023 14:56

MikeAqua:

networkn: All good.
It's a beautiful but of kit but I can't justify the cost.

I've been looking at alternatives which are likely lower quality and slightly less attractive for less than half the price but haven't made a decision.

There is no rush and maybe I'll monitor the price of the original item for a sale or price drop.

If you shop around you can find polished alloy or chrome steel tube at reasonable prices or mirror polish your own alloy (not hard). You could find black tinted or solid black acrylic too - you'll want this to be thick or have some other design feature to keep it from sagging. Hi-Q components will probably stock any rubber feet or tube ends that you need. The trickiest bit will likely be attaching the tubes to the shelves.

I think you could get all the materials you need for about $200 (cheaper if you can get trade pricing). Cutting acrylic is a fickle task - it's easy to crack. To avoid cracking, I typically sandwich it between sacrificial sheets of 4mm MDF (I have a source for free 'cover sheets') and go slowly.

I was contemplating whether I could just buy 3 sheets of black gloss acrylic in the right size, with holes drilled in, and get the stand ups from somewhere else and then just kinda 'put it together'.

I am not a DIY'r though really.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8868 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3056317 29-Mar-2023 20:02

networkn:

I was contemplating whether I could just buy 3 sheets of black gloss acrylic in the right size, with holes drilled in, and get the stand ups from somewhere else and then just kinda 'put it together'.

I am not a DIY'r though really.

This raises multiple questions in my mind. Just a few of these: need to work out how you would attach or support each shelf to the uprights. Are the uprights solid or tube, aluminum (polished or not) or steel (chromed)? Is each upright one piece - so it passes through a hole in the acrylic - or a stack of shorter pieces for each shelf, so that each shelf is supported by a vertical piece near each corner? If a stack, how do you make the whole thing rigid?

Pretty tricky I believe especially if looking for a high-quality finish and especially for a non-DIYer.

You could make each upright from two parts: an outer stack of shorter lengths of tube for each shelf height - and a full-length close-fitting inner tube (or bar) inside the outer tubes. Only the inner tubes could pass through holes in the acrylic and the shorter outer tubes would act as spacers for the shelf height.

However it’s done I think one of the biggest problems will be to stop it being wobbly.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

driller2000

935 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3056343 29-Mar-2023 20:49

Incl design, drawings/CAD, material, labour, tools and margin?

Not. A. Chance.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
8868 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3056347 29-Mar-2023 21:05

driller2000:

Incl design, drawings/CAD, material, labour, tools and margin?

Not. A. Chance.

That’s already well understood - see first reply nearly two weeks ago.

OP is thinking of DIY so paying for design, drawings/CAD, labour and margin etc doesn’t come into it.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

Uber Geek

#3056507 30-Mar-2023 13:14

networkn:

I am not a DIY'r though really.

If you're not really a DIY'er I would honestly advise you just buy something pre-made.

Acrylic isn't forgiving. If you have the gear and use it the right way, it looks easy. Get it wrong and it splits, melts, chips etc.

I'm normally pretty confident about DIY stuff. But acrylic under 18mm mm thickness makes me pucker!

If you're keen to learn, see if you can get hold of some acrylic scraps or buy small piece and sacrifice it to practice. You need to drill at a consistent angle and at an appropriate speed (generally slow) Working With Acrylic Part 2: Drilling & Hole Cutting (engraversjournal.com)

I find that maintaining a constant speed is also important. The torquing from changes in speed can cause cracking.

Mike

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3056606 30-Mar-2023 15:18

Probably overstating my DIY Intent.

Was thinking of buying something like This:

Then finding something mostly premade in perspex or similar (Glass even), and get the holes drilled in the corners.

It's probably more mucking around than it's worth. Haven't decided.

networkn

Networkn
32354 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3063773 14-Apr-2023 22:06

So I have made some progress.

I found a place to do 3 black gloss acrylic sheets at around 4.5mm thick for under $30 all up.

Now I need to try and find these:

At least 65mm high. I can find similar on Aliexpress but they are only ~40mm. The above example is around $50 shipped.

I need to find something handle vibration and or handle shock absorbency, but some form of silicone or rubber ring should do the trick for a few cents?

SomeoneSomewhere

1804 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#3063792 15-Apr-2023 08:28

As they're threaded standoffs, you could probably just thread two into each other for ~80mm, though you'd have a slight seam visible in the middle. Might have a gap if they have a minimum thickness (the hole might not be tapped deep enough). Examining dimensional drawings if there are any might help.

Another option would be to use plain pipe for the spacers, with a threaded rod through the centre in tension holding it all together. Getting pretty nuts for each end could be a concern but should be fairly trivial - I think those cone-shaped ones visible would likely do it.

1 | 2 | 3