Invisible wrote:

>> A typical hard-tool for a simple plastic part (eg the front cover of 
>> your CD drive or half of a simple keyboard shell) will cost of the 
>> order of 10-40k pounds.
> 
> o_O
> 
> Ouch...

Pff.. That's nothing :) The jigging system I worked on cost about US$1M 
for a decently sized system. ~US$100K per 4 axis table. Our saws ran 
about US$100K-250K

I'm guessing Injection molding machines don't have computer controls. 
I'd imagine the engineering costs are pretty high, though ... getting 
all of the pathways right so the part fills the mold properly, and cures 
properly.

> Perhaps I should clarify: I'm talking about a "keyboard" of the musical 
> kind. Somebody might attempt to put it on a stand that only supports the 
> ends of the unit, and it's over a meter wide. (Even so, all it contains 
> inside is a circuit board. No batteries or power supply or anything 
> heavy, just the key action.)
> 

My el-cheapo Casio has a metal chassis. Ask me how I know ... I had to 
pull it apart to fix the MIDI out port ... stupid thing came un-soldiered.


-- 
~Mike

Post a reply to this message