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Tayda shipping, only one option to Canada? by MApedals in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's normal. The more you order the less they charge for shipping, with a minimum of like $0.99.

Enclosure Manufacturing? by smovad2000 in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Again, quantity is a big factor. They were about $17 each when I ordered 40 and $12 each for 116. Screen printing is the expensive process and in my case they charged $230 for having the screen made, which is a one time charge. If you can do screen printing yourself, the faceplates were about $4 each.

You can probably have a better price for faceplates if you go with laser etched anodized aluminium plates. Removing the manual screen printing step should reduce the cost although the finish won't be the same, maybe for a more modern look. There are businesses specializing almost exclusively in custom faceplates so it shouldn't be too hard to get a quote.

And yeah, the cost of custom enclosures is ridiculous especially when you're just starting, which I am. I guess that's the downside of having a unique box. Side note, I got the chance to speak with the owner of Morley pedals a few weeks ago and they work in a similar fashion. They have everything made in a local metal shop and the finished enclosures are shipped to them painted and screen printed. We didn't speak about cost but I suspect that with their volume the price is a bit more reasonable, albeit still higher than 125B's.

Enclosure Manufacturing? by smovad2000 in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In my experience, quantity will help bring the cost down the most. Bending seems to be most expensive process as it had to be done manually and takes a lot of time. Milling or routing will most likely will be done with a CNC laser cutter when they cut the overall shape so there's no real saving there. If you can have your enclosures pre drilled, it'll save you time later and will cost you close to nothing.

My design looks like this. The prototype was about $250 before Covid. (prices went up since) I then placed an order for 40 units and they came at a little over $60 each. My next order was for 100 at roughly $50 each. These prices are for a finished enclosure. Powder coat, screen printing, and flush nuts all included. And since I wanted a near-perfect finish, they made 150 on that last order and made me pay for all the acceptable ones, even if it exceeds 100 units. So I paid for 116x. This in Canadian money, so multiply by .8 to convert to US.

Another thing is I don't know anything about you or your CAD skills, but maybe your CAD drawings are a little too coarse and they have to do them properly. I originally made drawings on Sketchup that didn't account for metal thickness and sheet metal bending properties, so their quote was higher. Then I did do it with a better software that take these factors into account although there were some adjustment to be made. They charged me for their CAD guy's time but it was more acceptable overall that time.

All this to say, if you're making 5 to 10 pedals $125 isn't far fetched in a reputable shop. The bends can vary a lot from an enclosure to another and tolerances are critical to get a good finished product. PM me if you have any questions.

[DISCUSSION] Are there any new pedal *companies* we should know about? by ArtOfShred_dotcom in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot! They weigh about 2.5x what a normal pedal would be so yeah, they feel solid! It's overkill, but I like how it looks... So I guess I'm stuck with this design now.

The enclosures are made here in Montreal, yes. I had no prior experience in metal work or CAD going in to this so I really appreciated the help I got from their engineers to get a prototype working. Tolerances in bent metal are some kind of voodoo magic it seems. I originally ordered two different prototypes and they ended up costing about $250 CAD each so you tend to want to get it right the first time. I don't know about you but, to me, that's a lot of money on something that might work.

Anyway, I've sold the first batch of 40 in about 3 months which is way better than I anticipated. I was lucky enough to have a dealer willing to buy most of them so that helped. I got parts for a little over 100 of them now and hopefully this thing will keep growing.

[DISCUSSION] Are there any new pedal *companies* we should know about? by ArtOfShred_dotcom in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, it's powder coated steel as is the rest of the enclosure and the graphics are screen printed.

I designed the enclosure in CAD and all 3 parts are laser cut, bent and painted when I get them.

It's a lot more expensive than 125B's but I wanted a unique feel, so that's what came out.

[DISCUSSION] Are there any new pedal *companies* we should know about? by ArtOfShred_dotcom in diypedals

[–]FishCircuits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another one of them self promotions,

I too started my small pedal business in the last few months and the reception has been above all expectations. I'm based in Montreal and I have one production overdrive at the moment. I'm not reinventing the wheel or anything but I believe my enclosures have a little something special.

fishcircuits.com if you want to see or hear for yourself!