Request For Quote: CNC Aluminum iPhone case

[Heather]

iphone 4 dimensions
Dimensions 115.2 mm (4.54 in) (h)
58.66 mm (2.309 in) (w)
9.3 mm (0.37 in) (d)

Case is 2.5-4mm larger then the phone, with a simple hinge mechanism to close the halves. Case to be clean, with some blasting to remove harsh edges for consumer products.

Anodizing option as well with colors such as red, green, blue, black.

Case to be aluminum, and option for aluminum top and non conductive composite bottom (perhaps delrin?)

Est requirement 50-500 monthly.

Private Message estimates, top ten will be contacted with the STL 3D model.

[UWP_Wes]

I've thought about making these myself. You might want to google "faraday cage". Reception will be hindered, I don't know how much.

[Donkey Hotey]

Originally Posted by Heather iphone 4 dimensions Dimensions 115.2 mm (4.54 in) (h) 58.66 mm (2.309 in) (w) 9.3 mm (0.37 in) (d)

My bid is 8.5x11
0.003" thick

Available printed on white, yellow and bone colored paper.

Actual quote is 1" smaller than the 8.5x11" outside dimensions.

OK, seriously, you're going to need to either post a helluva lot more photos or post the models. The 'hinge' you're talking about and interior features are going to dominate the complexity of how those parts are made.

I think the quotes in these low quantities are going to blow you away so you might want to post a target price. Don't worry--you'll be lucky if anybody can meet it, competition ain't your problem.

A guy posted some stuff on here a few weeks ago and his retail price point is already set too low to afford his manufacturing constraints (similar lot size, similar part size, etc). If you aren't doing these in much larger batches (500 pieces), there probably won't be enough volume to amortize the expense of special tooling and that's what it will take to get your per-unit price to where you probably want it.

Disclaimers:

• I'm not actually interested in bidding on this part so there is no competitive motive in my post.
• I have an iPhone 4 and I wouldn't put it into a hard aluminum case if you gave it to me (too rough on the phone--just a bit of market feedback)
• I agree with the question of it shorting and/or shielding the antenna (do a bit of research on the antenna--lower-left edge on the side rail).

[jeffrey001]

I don't know if they are the same but they sell for $10.00 on Ebay with Free shipping.


Jeff

[mactec54]

Heather

Injection molding would be the only cost affective way to make these parts, you would have a mold cost,There are many materials that would be as good as the aluminum, unless the aluminum is serving some purpose

[MBG]

I like the otter box. They are designed and built by a tool and die maker.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by mactec54 Heather Injection molding would be the only cost affective way to make these parts, you would have a mold cost,There are many materials that would be as good as the aluminum, unless the aluminum is serving some purpose

Injection Molding costs many thousands of dollars and requires a lot of product to sell. Our case has a very unique design aspect...

It turns into a universal stand and car mount.

Unfortunately, our pre-ordering on an injection molded case hasn't done as well as we had hoped, people want to see the actual final product before they'll purchase anything. Also the iPhone is very thin, Aluminum is very strong, so the strength allows us to make the case work for the purposes we want it to.

We can make an Aluminum version, send it out for reviews, and when we get good feed back more people will trust us enough to order our case.

Originally Posted by jeffrey001 I don't know if they are the same but they sell for $10.00 on Ebay with Free shipping. Jeff

Those are Chinese cast copies of vapor cases, they are brittle.

Originally Posted by Donkey Hotey My bid is 8.5x11 0.003" thick Available printed on white, yellow and bone colored paper. Actual quote is 1" smaller than the 8.5x11" outside dimensions. OK, seriously, you're going to need to either post a helluva lot more photos or post the models. The 'hinge' you're talking about and interior features are going to dominate the complexity of how those parts are made. I think the quotes in these low quantities are going to blow you away so you might want to post a target price. Don't worry--you'll be lucky if anybody can meet it, competition ain't your problem. A guy posted some stuff on here a few weeks ago and his retail price point is already set too low to afford his manufacturing constraints (similar lot size, similar part size, etc). If you aren't doing these in much larger batches (500 pieces), there probably won't be enough volume to amortize the expense of special tooling and that's what it will take to get your per-unit price to where you probably want it. Disclaimers: I'm not actually interested in bidding on this part so there is no competitive motive in my post. I have an iPhone 4 and I wouldn't put it into a hard aluminum case if you gave it to me (too rough on the phone--just a bit of market feedback) I agree with the question of it shorting and/or shielding the antenna (do a bit of research on the antenna--lower-left edge on the side rail).

I know a guy with a 3 axis machine that can do 2 an hour, at $50 an hour. However he says a 4 axis machine can do it much faster, and he doesn't have the anodizing equipment that I'd like to use.

I am aware that some people need lots of protection for their phone. Some don't need quite so much however, and for those, they can get a thinner, attractive, case that'll prevent most everyday bumps and bruises.

Aluminum cases do protect well however, they are all lined inside with a buffering material. Ours will use a silicone lining, other manufacturers use similar materials.

Reception is not an issue, faraday cages require all sides to be covered, radio waves can travel in through the top, much like poring a glass of water. However, if one desires there is an option for an Acetal back which exposes most of the antenna, meaning, no reception issues for those living in bad areas.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by MBG I like the otter box. They are designed and built by a tool and die maker.

No offense to Otterbox but they are just a case, its a good case and if all your looking for is protection then they have an adequate solution. However, ours is much much more then a simple case, it's a universal media stand, cinematography tripod and portable car GPS mount. (patent pending)

It's easy to open so unlike other bulky cases especially aluminum cases that need tools to open, ours will fit in any dock made for the iphone.

What we can offer people is a simple efficient way to enhance most of the features of your smart phone without needing to purchase a bag full of accessories.

Otterbox makes a good product, but we aim to make an even better product, we're advancing how useful your cellphone accessories can be.
Jawcase | Facebook40187919260

[Donkey Hotey]

Originally Posted by Heather I know a guy with a 3 axis machine that can do 2 an hour, at $50 an hour. However he says a 4 axis machine can do it much faster, and he doesn't have the anodizing equipment that I'd like to use.

After seeing the side view of the case and that sawtooth mating joint, I can see why the 4th axis would be useful. Again, somebody is going to need to see those details before they can give you a solid quote. Maybe you should offer NDA to interested parties, then award from there?

As for pricing, $50/hour for CNC time of essentially prototype products is a fire-sale. If he's completing two cases an hour (both halves), he's already gone to the trouble of making specialized tooling to hold the parts (no way to make those parts that quickly in conventional vises).

Yeah, a 4-axis machine can do them faster but, I doubt you're going to get a 4-axis machine, the tooling necessary and somebody who knows how to program and run it all for less than $120/hour.

As for anodizing, I'm in aerospace and I can't think of a single machine shop that does any kind of in-house anodizing. On top of that, if this is for a product line, you should take control of your anodizing and get one reputable shop for ALL of your products.

Getting a color match from batch-to-batch is hard enough without inconsistency between anodizing houses. That is true even if you do find somebody on here to do the machining for you (unless they're going to do ALL of your machining and therefore outsource ALL of your anodizing).

Just my $0.02.

[Heather]

Originally Posted by Donkey Hotey After seeing the side view of the case and that sawtooth mating joint, I can see why the 4th axis would be useful. Again, somebody is going to need to see those details before they can give you a solid quote. Maybe you should offer NDA to interested parties, then award from there? As for pricing, $50/hour for CNC time of essentially prototype products is a fire-sale. If he's completing two cases an hour (both halves), he's already gone to the trouble of making specialized tooling to hold the parts (no way to make those parts that quickly in conventional vises). Yeah, a 4-axis machine can do them faster but, I doubt you're going to get a 4-axis machine, the tooling necessary and somebody who knows how to program and run it all for less than $120/hour. As for anodizing, I'm in aerospace and I can't think of a single machine shop that does any kind of in-house anodizing. On top of that, if this is for a product line, you should take control of your anodizing and get one reputable shop for ALL of your products. Getting a color match from batch-to-batch is hard enough without inconsistency between anodizing houses. That is true even if you do find somebody on here to do the machining for you (unless they're going to do ALL of your machining and therefore outsource ALL of your anodizing). Just my $0.02.

I'd like to keep this product made in the USA. I've gotten quotes from China which are ridiculously cheap but I am hoping there is still a good honest shop over here. Aluminum phone cases sell for $60-120 (higher price for the better brands) so they are definitely making it much cheaper then that.

[Donkey Hotey]

There are plenty of honest shops. That isn't your problem. The problem is that there are a bunch of up-front, fixed costs to produce those parts efficiently.

• To make 1-25 parts, they would be made in a vise and manually located after each operation. They'd cost more hours but, the per-unit price would be the lowest compromise.
• To make 25-250 parts, they might make special soft-jaws for the vises and use multiple vises. That will improve part change time, accuracy and the number of parts in the machine at a time. This cuts down on part handling time but, only marginally improves your end-cost because the cost of making all those custom jaws has to be incorporated into the pricing. The problem is that in many bids, this cost and effort is often transparent to you so you don't know how much the shop had to invest before they got your first part in their hand.
• For recurring orders of 500-1000 pieces, you're getting into the realm of setting up a 4th-axis tombstone. This is the equivalent of four vises at a time an being able to machine three sides of each part. The cost of all those jaws adds up. They not only have to be purchased but then custom machined to hold your parts. Again, these costs seem transparent to you but, the shop has to recover those costs by amortizing them across the part order. They can't afford to invest all of this if you're not firm on how many parts you want to order and aren't buying enough quantity.
• After 1000 pieces, the sky is the limit. They could continue using the tombstone or design a totally custom tombstone that would pack the maximum number of parts per part cycle. This is the ultimate in cost reduction but, somebody has to pay for the design and manufacturing of all of that tooling.

I think you want to be in the pricing point of that last bullet but, your product is in the development phase of the first bullet.

What you COULD do is accept that you're going to lose money on your pre-production units. Just have them made, get the quality you need and deal with the costs.

Or you could work with whoever is building them for you and pay separately for the tooling costs and the per-unit cost after that. Negotiate it that way so they aren't investing in the tooling for nothing. It shows that if they are able to produce a good product at an acceptable cost, you'll be back for more. It's a good-faith effort to keep them from getting stuck with tooling on a job that won't come back.

For example: $400 to make soft jaws for two vises and do the programming, $35/pair of halves after that. Or $1000 to setup and program a 4th axis tombstone and $20/pair after that. That way, you'd know that you could come back to that vendor and ensure your pricing. Otherwise, they're going to bundle the cost of the programming and jaws onto you in the first order and you'll wonder why they cost so much to make.

It's your RFQ. I'm just trying to mediate a bit. People can't quote without seeing the exact part. They simply can't know how many tools the job needs or how many times the part has to be flipped. They also need to have some idea as to the tolerances.

[UWP_Wes]

How useful is the stand feature if it makes the screen vertical and not horizontal?

Would stamping be an option?

I just don't know about machining these. It is going to be so uphill to accurately hold onto such a thin and flimsy part. If you look at other cases, they either have thicker side walls, or are much simpler in design.