The last time I tried to fabricate panels for a project in my home workshop, it was a difficult job. The cutouts were various shapes and I wanted them to look nice. So I carefully made some wood templates, attached them to the aluminum panels, and used a router to cut the holes. It took far too much effort and, although the results look ok, there are some obvious misalignments and minor flaws.
So, for my most recent project, I decided to get a panel made by a PCB shop. I thought I would have it made out of FR4, but found that the price for an aluminum panel was the same as FR4 at ALLPCB. So I ordered panels made from aluminum.
The order was placed during a holiday break, so there was a slight delay in response from ALLPCB. I had given specific instructions on where they could place the manufacturer number on the board so that it would be covered by a knob in the final assembly. ALLPCB contacted me to confirm my instructions. Six days after payment I received the panels via DHL.
The quality is fairly good. The white solder mask is good and without flaws or gaps. The black silk screen lettering is flawless. I noticed that the larger holes are very slightly out of round. I suspect they were cut with a router rather than a drill. However, I had specified the holes to be slightly oversized, so it's not an issue for me. The edge of the rectangular cutout has a very small tab where it seems the router completed the cutout. This is hardly noticeable (perhaps 0.1 or 0.2 mm) and could be easily corrected with a hand file. Perhaps the biggest issue is that there are some scuffs and scratches in the surface of the solder mask that likely occurred as the panels were moved around during manufacturing and handling.
These panels are 160mm x 65.5mm, 1mm thick. They cost $4.41 each, delivered to Michigan, USA. The quality is not what I would want in a commercial product. But, I likely wouldn't be getting panels made at a pcb shop if it were for commercial production. For prototype or hobby use, I am very pleased with the result and cost.
(For those concerned about ALLPCB paying for postings, I am not posting this for payment and will not be submitting it to ALLPCB. I just want to share my experience in case others are looking for cheap panels for a project.)