laser vendors

Dawnelle

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May 23, 2020, 3:18:45 AM5/23/20

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Vendor info on laser cut prices.

Ponoko

I just ordered 2 cuts (for 2 crow-boxes) of all 6 acrylic/styrene laser files from Ponoko. The price with $14 setup, free 20-day shipping, etcetera was $134.76

That includes a $90 discount for multiple cuts/parts. So one set of cuts (1 box) costs more than half of that amount for 2 sets.

Their upload time and email response was horrendous; be patient. Covid has impacted their time, and they did a recent website overhaul. They offer very large discounts for large quantities.

Important Info: Ponoko has this project on their website, but that link (Page bottom under "Free Projects") only opens 1 file. You need 6 files to order this from Ponoko. As of May 22, 2020, the Crowbox project has 4 files on the Crowbox website, but Ponoko can't fit all of the dark-file on 1 sheet, so they divided that file into 3 files for 3 acrylic sheets. Now ordering at Ponoko takes 6 files. Thanks Josh for chasing that down for me!

I've attached the 6 files: Light, Transparent, Styrene, Dark 1, Dark 2, Dark 3, to use if you order from Ponoko.

ZotLasers https://www.zotlasers.com/

Jesse in Seattle ( z...@zotlasers.com) laser cuts goodies for various prices & exchanges. He is familiar with the project and offered to laser cut 2 for me if I ship extra acrylic/styrene so he can cut one for himself. He recommended Tap Plastics ( https://www.tapplastics.com/ ) as an acrylic source. They are located in San Jose and highly recommended. I've used them, been to their store, and heard them recommended before.

I went with Ponoko for pricing reasons, but I am cutting 2 of these. If you are cutting a different amount, your prices will be very different at all 3 places (Zot, Ponoko, and Tap), so price it all for your quantity.

Sculpteo Pricing (just FYI)

Clear file was $35.25; Dark file was $43.54; Light file was $34.16, and styrene is not listed. So Their prices for 1 set buys roughly 2 sets at Ponoko.

We'll be building 2 crow boxe when they arrive in late June.

Has anyone found best prices on the plugs? I had a hard time finding the right one, and I'd like to make a third crow-box later this year.

crowbox_v2_r2_light.dxf

crowbox_v2_r2_styrene.dxf

crowbox_v2_r2_transparent.dxf

crowbox_v2_r2_dark_2.svg

crowbox_v2_r2_dark_1.svg

crowbox_v2_r2_dark_3.svg

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Ryan

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May 25, 2020, 4:48:17 AM5/25/20

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Thanks, Dawnelle. It was really helpful you provided an update and the files you used. Also very helpful that you helped price various vendors.

Curious what colors you used? I chose ivory for the light and brown for the dark. I was trying to match the colors on the official channel but couldn't find them. Attached is my quote from Ponoko.

Annotation 2020-05-25 014518.png

Dawnelle

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May 25, 2020, 4:53:25 AM5/25/20

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I chose medium green for the dark and ivory for the light on one. On the other, I chose medium green and neon green for the light color.

Ryan

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May 25, 2020, 5:14:40 AM5/25/20

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I ended up switching from ivory to green as my light color. However, it increased the price by $9/sheet.

I also noticed I don't have an option to choose "medium green" as a color selection in 3mm plastic. Maybe the website is smart enough to know what inventory they have and adjusts the selections accordingly. Perhaps they're out of "medium green" as of today