Enclosure choice and customization

[VEGETA]

Hi,

I was looking for a case for my project which I intend to manufacture and sell when done, basically I want the height to be 3 cm to be able to put 2 18650 batteries on a surface mount holder, and around 12x8 or 15x10 dimensions. So I have found this one: http://uk.farnell.com/takachi/pf15-3-10w/instrument-enclosure-comm-abs/dp/2478786 which I REALLY like and it is so perfect for the application.

I had another choice to use something cheap like this: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/bud-industries/CU-1941/377-2068-ND/439228 and have the PCB to be the user interface. However, I have a usb-micro-b connector and +,- outputs (power supply) say gold plated binding posts which can not be on top, putting them on the sides requires customization of this simple box which I won't do. Not to mention the LCD!

To cut it short, I quoted the company (Takichi) which manufactures the first enclosure and told them about the holes and printings to be done... they gave me this rough estimate:


for a quantity of 50:

enclosure: 3.92$/unit.
inkjet printing: 4.73$/unit.
total per unit: 11.55$
Total order: 577.5
Inkjet initial cost: 62$.


Add around 100$ shipping = 739.5$ for 50 pieces.
For 100 pieces... total boards = 1071$ + 61$ + 100$ (shipping) = 1232$.

Now these prices are way too much! Maybe I didn't have the correct idea about customization but I read people say it is cheap. While the simple box costs around 2$.

So what do you think? is this what people pay for customizing their off-the-shelf cases? I mean 12-15$ for one case for 50,100 quantity (the most I can do). And it doesn't include the prototypes that I will order to find the right settings!

Please guide me to the best choice for a USB powered portable variable power supply that would sell roughly 70-120$.

Thanks!

UPDATE: I did a total estimation including PCBs, customized enclosures, components, shipping, customs,... it turned out around 3500$ for 100 units (maybe 4000$ as a far extreme estimate). Do you find this normal for 100 units? how much this thing to be sold? I think of 70-120$ range.

[janekm]

Aluminium extrusion enclosures might work well for your volume. The initial per-box cost might be a bit higher but they are very easy to customise so you will likely get some decent quotes if you check with a few places on alibaba / aliexpress, similar to this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-30-H-x70-W-x100-L-mm-Custom-high-quantity-aluminum-extrusion-enclosure-electronics/32375316435.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_10,searchweb201602_3_10057_10066_10056_10065_10068_10055_10054_10069_10059_10058_10073_10017_10070_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=e4f07af3-fca4-413e-ae07-7279ab235172

Also there are plenty of enclosures designed for USB power banks, I can't find them with a quick search just now but they are all over the markets in Shenzhen...

[VEGETA]

Aluminium extrusion enclosures might work well for your volume. The initial per-box cost might be a bit higher but they are very easy to customise so you will likely get some decent quotes if you check with a few places on alibaba / aliexpress, similar to this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-30-H-x70-W-x100-L-mm-Custom-high-quantity-aluminum-extrusion-enclosure-electronics/32375316435.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_10,searchweb201602_3_10057_10066_10056_10065_10068_10055_10054_10069_10059_10058_10073_10017_10070_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=e4f07af3-fca4-413e-ae07-7279ab235172

Also there are plenty of enclosures designed for USB power banks, I can't find them with a quick search just now but they are all over the markets in Shenzhen...

Shipping is very expensive from that supplier, I don't know why. Anyway, I want a plastic one with some printings and cuts. I thought of going to cheapest option of having a plastic enclosure that is symmetrical like this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/szomk-new-arrival-abs-material-black-plastic-junction-housing-1pcs-142-82-39mm-hot-selling-abs/1006252_32359815136.html

And then split it in half and use one case for 2 units! I will put the PCB as front panel but then the design needs to be changed in order to fit this new case (no binding posts or knobs).

[VEGETA]

Aluminium extrusion enclosures might work well for your volume. The initial per-box cost might be a bit higher but they are very easy to customise so you will likely get some decent quotes if you check with a few places on alibaba / aliexpress, similar to this: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-lot-30-H-x70-W-x100-L-mm-Custom-high-quantity-aluminum-extrusion-enclosure-electronics/32375316435.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_10,searchweb201602_3_10057_10066_10056_10065_10068_10055_10054_10069_10059_10058_10073_10017_10070_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=e4f07af3-fca4-413e-ae07-7279ab235172

Also there are plenty of enclosures designed for USB power banks, I can't find them with a quick search just now but they are all over the markets in Shenzhen...

Hi, well, after thinking a lot your post convinced me to rethink my design. I fell in love with this case: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/abs-plastic-electronics-control-box-1-pcs-140-167-60mm-2014-direct-selling-new-arrival-desktop/1949423469.html?spm=2114.12010108.1000013.6.qI9geB&scm=1007.13339.33317.0&pvid=abe90ad3-6ab0-4bea-8155-851b1197f6e3&tpp=1

It is absolutely fantastic!!! I can accept its price of 8-9$ but the shipping is just too insane!!! it would be insane for me to pay 100% shipping rates! I will make a PCB front panel which works fantastic with it, but since I am ordering 100 or so quantity I guess they will custom print or machine the thing for me.

getting 10 of these costs 220$ to Jordan! 22$ per board which is just too much! the custom printing and tooling is way much cheaper. even at 50 pieces the price is 948$ and the shipping costs more that the 50 boards themselves!

I found the same stuff from the same company in DHGate site offering a little less price, but still too much. I am really surprised it is this much expensive.

[janekm]

I didn't really mean to point you to that shop in particular, just an example of the sort of cases that are out there.

You might find it helpful to talk to a few of the shops about what you want (like what customisation you need, and the volume).

In particular, since Jordan may not be a common destination for them, the default shipping may be expensive but they may be able to get a better rate by talking to their logistics agent. The shipping agent I frequently use has a special service to the "middle east" which is about half the cost of DHL but still fairly speedy. But of course enclosures are terrible for shipping costs, since they are very heavy compared to their cost.

[matkar]

Similar boxes are produced by Bahar http://www.bahar.asia/en/Products3.asp?pid=366
For your reference here are some prices they quoted me two years ago:
BDH 20012   4.25  USD
BDH  20014   7.5   USD
BDH  20015   8.3   USD
BDH  20016   10.5  USD
 
BAD  40004(W140)   3.66 USD
BAD  4OOO7(W195)   8    USD

[VEGETA]

@janekm

Do you know a shipping company from china? they call them warehousing and shipping companies. I found one in the USA which will help me get the things from Digikey. I couldn't find one from China and Szomk doesn't ship to mainland China for some reason.

I talked to them via e-mail and they gave me good price of around 7$/100 pcs but shipping is around 250$, still not good enough. I sent them the description of the printing and customization that I need as they requested.

@matkar

Their website is bad. They give cheaper prices but no info about customization, not about shipping too.


BTW, is "Silkscreening" different than "Digital printing" on enclosures? which one is better? cheaper?

thanks!

[Jeroen3]

14$ per unit enclosure is not that expensive for 50 pieces. Seems like you need a larger quantity to become profitable.
Shipping is expensive for large stuff, you're not getting around that.

[janekm]

@janekm

Do you know a shipping company from china? they call them warehousing and shipping companies. I found one in the USA which will help me get the things from Digikey. I couldn't find one from China and Szomk doesn't ship to mainland China for some reason.

I talked to them via e-mail and they gave me good price of around 7$/100 pcs but shipping is around 250$, still not good enough. I sent them the description of the printing and customization that I need as they requested.

@matkar

Their website is bad. They give cheaper prices but no info about customization, not about shipping too.


BTW, is "Silkscreening" different than "Digital printing" on enclosures? which one is better? cheaper?

thanks!

I use http://sendfromchina.com but they don't really do individual orders, they're mainly a fulfilment / logistics company. You could still probably use them to look up reasonable shipping costs. But keep in mind that for enclosures like this you will likely be charged by "volumetric weight" based on the volume taken up by the parcels, so it will be more costly. Based on playing around with the shipping calculator it seems like $250 is already a good price for a 100 of them.

There are a number of freight forwarding services around, you can find some with a search for "taobao agent". I haven't used any in years so I can't give a recommendation.

BTW I have also used cases from Bahar, they are a top-notch enclosure factory even though their website is indeed terrible (most Chinese factories have terrible websites though). The quality of their moldings is really excellent. I have had them do CNC customisation of their enclosures for me and again no problem, but they didn't want to do the silkscreen printing, I guess the volume was too low for them.

Inkjet printing is common for really low volumes, less than a few hundred, I don't like it too much because you can usually see the dot pattern. Similar to the inkjet printing now commonly done on prototype PCBs. The pricing for printing and setup looks a little high to me. Silkscreen printing is a little more work to set up and a screen has to be produced which adds a little to the setup cost.

I think it is tough to do low-volume manufacturing of low- to medium-value products outside of China. Having to ship enclosures and other low-value items (connectors, switches etc) around the world prior to final shipping is not very cost-effective unless you're dealing with thousands of units.

$3500-4000 for a run of 100 would normally be considered pretty good  A larger company would produce a run like that for "market testing" and wouldn't expect to make any profit on it.