Custom Fan Grills?

[commandercup]

I'm thinking of buying a nice scroll saw... and starting to make custom fan grills out of aluminum and acrylic...

Would anyone here be interested in buying custom fan grills or even getting custom jobs done by me if I can get good enough at it?

The idea behind what I would do is that I'd provide templates for people to design their own grills which I would then actually fabricate from sheet aluminum or acrylic...

Prices would be based on complexity of the design, time spent and amount of grills made.

I'll probably end up buying the scroll saw for making fan grills on my own projects... but would anyone else be interested?

The grills would be priced well within reason because I won't have any operating costs besides the materials I cut up...

What do you guys think?

I know no one would commission me without having an established portfolio, but I plan on building up a collection of completed grills and other works before starting any such business up.

edit:

oh yeah, and turnaround time would be pretty short unlike the big guys who always take weeks to get jobs done... estimated work time would be 1-3 days for simple designs and small jobs

 

[Eclecticos]

I wouldn't. Only because laser cut fangrills are cheap.
Now if you made them with "Perforated metal" I'd probably buy a couple.


Something similar to this:

 

[sneekypeet]

I say make a few and post some pics....I could see this taking off like the waterfall resevoirs.

Plus the fact that I dont have to settle on everyone elses ideas of "cool designs".

Im sort of tired of aliens and plain mesh style. I think this could make a themed case take just that extra step to completion.....Good luck with this !!!!

 

[Nitro-Max]

I would like to view a few examples first.

 

[commandercup]

I wouldn't. Only because laser cut fangrills are cheap.
Now if you made them with "Perforated metal" I'd probably buy a couple.


Something similar to this:

you misunderstood

I realize that a CNC machine will own me anyday in mass producing a grill... (mnpctech uses cnc not lasers) but I will be making 100% custom ones... grills that will never be made again (unless you ask for it)

I'd focus more so around designs that look cool rather then perform amazingly since the best performance comes without a grill.

This would be aimed towards modders who want to "bling" out their projects and to customize it to the smallest extent.

 

[Nitro-Max]

i think if u make some samples people might like what they see if the qualitys good i cant see why people wont buy.

 

[Nitro-Max]

Id like to see color choice too other than silver like gold or red etc..gold fan grills on a black case would look mint!

 

[commandercup]

colors would be hard to do unless I just spray paint them... which wouldn't be a high quality finish

powder coating is too much work since it takes forever and I need an industrial oven

I could spray paint them for a small fee (ie. ~5-10), but it wouldn't look as good as a nice powder coat which would rack you up around ~20

 

[Nitro-Max]

couldnt you just buy the metals in that color like anodized or somthing obviosly this would bump the price up but custom jobs aint always cheap.

 

[GJSNeptune]

Definitely need some samples. Try to find some images of Bonzai Mods' grills. His custom grills were pretty damn good, and would be a good standard to match or transcend.

You need to find something different to do to entice people though. Maybe if you could incorporate filters with your grills?

 

[commandercup]

the way my grills would be different is that I don't stock them...

I'll have a template readily available once I get used to the scroll saw and you can design your own grills according to your projects, PCs or whatever else you'd use them for.

I may consider buying an anodizing kit (~100-200) for anodizing the parts at home... that would be quite nice and I could get some good results.

and by bonzai grills you mean like this

anyways...

feel free to post up some designs you'd like to see cut out as samples

I'll be getting the scroll saw relatively soon

 

[GJSNeptune]

You should keep a stock, like jewelers have jewelry in their storefront. Cheaper grills you can sell while you're making custom ones.

 

[AsRock]

I wouldn't. Only because laser cut fangrills are cheap.
Now if you made them with "Perforated metal" I'd probably buy a couple.


Something similar to this:

LOL. were ya find them i need some.. Chances are they do not have 40mm one though.

On subject. yeah i would need to see samples. I'm after ones that are 120mm\92mm\40mm which are kinda hard to find a matching set.

I'd spray the frame of that one yellow for what i'm about to start.

 

[commandercup]

lol the url is right there in the picture...

mnpctech.com

great place, owned by Bill Owen, monster modder

 

[GLD]

The AMD arrow would make a good grill imo.

 

[sneekypeet]

what about using colored lexan for color choices...they sell it in solid colors, not all of it is see through!

 

[commandercup]

ahh lol good idea, colored acrylic/lexan/plastic/whatever

already colored and all ready to go!

not to mention cutting the plastic will be much easier then the metal and will take much less time and blades...

anodizing seems like something fun I could do though, so I'll probably try that during the upcoming summer months

 

[Kreij]

Don't try to save money by purchasing cheap scroll saw blades or files.
Olson has been making excellent blades for a long time.

 

[SuperStarr]

Friend make some with dremel:
http://benchmark.co.yu/forum/showthread.php?t=157608

 

[commandercup]

Yeah I know, I didn't mean that I would be buying cheap blades, I just didn't want to have to pay as much in replacing the blades over and over while doing a job

edit:

superstarr... jesus, those are beautiful

must've taken forever with a dremel...

 

[Kreij]

Yeah I know, I didn't mean that I would be buying cheap blades, I just didn't want to have to pay as much in replacing the blades over and over while doing a job

I didn't mean to imply you would use cheap blades, I was just reminding you
Better blades will last longer and you will have to replace them less often.

 

[commandercup]

yeah heh, I cant wait to get my hands on a scroll saw... seems like quite an awesome machine to work with

 

[Kreij]

I have a Ryobi for woodworking. Works just fine.
Just make sure to check the tension on your blade often.
If the blade stretches from the lateral pressure, the cuts can get sloppy, and you won't be a happy camper if you are almost done with one and it gets borked.

 

[commandercup]

yeah

btw, do you think its worth getting a saw with a long throat? (distance between blade and arm)

I'm pretty sure that I'll only be cutting grills... which can be cut into small managable peices with a jig

could save quite a bit..

 

[AsRock]

lol the url is right there in the picture...

mnpctech.com

great place, owned by Bill Owen, monster modder

Cheers for pointing the link out. BUT there's no 40mm ones, as i said i need 120mm 92mm and 40mm.