Front Panel manufacturing

[Josebeeblebrox]

I am after good quality front panels to use in my designs. Something very much like the ones containing membrane switches. A good example of what I'm after is the front panel of my Rigol DS1054Z. Hopefully someone can advise me... Is there a front panel equivalent of the services of PCB manufacturers like PCBWay or the like?

[rstofer]

https://www.frontpanelexpress.com/

[Josebeeblebrox]

Hi rstofer, Thanks for the link but it looks like Front Panel Express does only aluminium or acrylic panels. I am looking for some sort of plastic adhesive material very much like the type used in most electronics bench instruments coming out of China these days. I have attached a photo with a detail of my scope's front panel where you can clearly see the printed plastic decal.

[EEEnthusiast]

To make quality panels of plastic, you would need to make a custom die for the injection molding. That would be very expensive for small volumes. I had been to few markets in Shenzhen China where they sell these un-marked front panels of various types. You could choose one that fits you the best and they could print your text on them. Not sure if they have a website where you could order.

[EEEnthusiast]

You could have a look at this site
https://www.chinaenclosure.com/

They have ready to order plastic boxes on which they can cut out holes for you. You could select ready to use buttons to fit those holes and have them actuate tact switches/push buttons on your PCB.

Below company makes all sorts of silicone-rubber keypad. You could chose one that fits your requirement.
https://www.jglsilicone.com/silicone-rubber-keypad/page-2/

[Josebeeblebrox]

Thanks for your suggestions! I will be looking into these and hopefully get some samples from them to see what sort of final quality they can produce. I hope someday we get front panel decals with a similar service to the many PCB manufacturers offering cheap; easy to order, high quality products.

[KE5FX]

The panel decals are called "Lexan labels" or simply "polycarbonate labels."  One of those things that if you don't know what terms to Google for, you'll never find them.

They can be applied to either metal or plastic panels.

[Vovk_Z]

https://www.frontpanelexpress.com/

Can you say their approximate prices, for some small panel (e.g. 50x100 mm)?

Update.
 - Oh, I found it on their site. Prices are not for DIY, I think... 

Is there a DIY-friendly manufacturer, like those PCB manufacturers?

[voltsandjolts]

I have found that Avery Heavy Duty Laser Labels make excellent low cost panel labels. They are hard wearing and you can use colour, assuming your laser printer does colour. I stick the label on prior to drilling and have cross-hairs on the label for a drill guide, for perfectly centred potentiometers etc. I recommend using the white labels, the laser toner doesn't stick so well to the silver labels. Inkscape and these labels are my go-to for quick, cheap and effective labels.

[Josebeeblebrox]

Thanks for that! I certainly run into the problem of not knowing what are they called. I'll continue searching.

[rstofer]

I wanted a clearly labeled front panel for an analog computer.  I used a CNC mill to drill the holes through 2 pieces of stacked 1/8" acrylic and sandwiched a printed sheet between them.  Definitely looks like DIY but it's fine for my application.

Silk screen would have been nice but expensive and this was a low budget project.

[KE5FX]

Looks good, but for that project, the temptation to use a white PCB with black text would've been hard to resist.

https://www.frontpanelexpress.com/

Can you say their approximate prices, for some small panel (e.g. 50x100 mm)

Front Panel Express is relatively expensive, hundreds of dollars for a one-off.  But they do very good work.  Their CAD tool is very easy to use and will give you the exact cost for a given design.

[julian1]

Dave did a video on custom membrane keypads designed to requirements. The Pricing for prototype and volume needs are at 1min. 

[onedesignguy]

Precision Graphics at frontpanels.com is another company that can help. Let us know what you need!