I’ve been compiling this list for some time now, picking them on various sources like reddit, geekhack, and others. Could be useful for someone. EDIT: I’ll add the other places people tell on the comments.
https://www.laserboost.com/ - carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, other metals by request (contact them first)
https://razorlab.online/ - acrylics, wood, cardboard, fabric (added September 4th, 2020 after them asking to be added via DM, need more info about their service)
https://sendcutsend.com/ - 1095 High Carbon, 4130 Chromoly, Aluminum 5052, 6061 Aluminum, AR400, AR500, Brass, Copper, Cor-Ten, Mild Steel, Stainless, Titanium. WARNING: not all materials are available in thickness suited for switch plates. (suggested by @SargentRedbeard )
Ponoko does all kinds of materials. But the only two material types that are reasonably priced and applicable to keyboards are acrylic and bamboo.
Also, many people have good experiences with lasergist (their quality is great), but if something goes wrong, there customer service is horrendous. So much so that there is a good chance that whatever went wrong will never be put right.
Edit: I should provide full disclosure. Ponoko has been, but is not currently, a sponsor of meetups in Seattle. Was only sharing what they have because it was missing at the top.
In Europe I found http://www.geerscutting.com/
to be relatively cheap (2 sets of Iris keyboard plates, top and bottom for about 70 Euro)
They offer aluminum and steel in different variations.
I myself have used Lasergist before and the quality of their plates is stunning. But there are the issues you mentioned.
@kohlerm, Lasergist is from Greece, LaserBoost is from Spain, Sculpteo is from France, and there are a couple of British companies as well. Europeans are very well served of options here. (At least until the Brexit ends…)
For PCBs I use www.pcbshopper.com, it compares the price between a bunch of fab/assembly houses. You provide the information about your PCB (size, number of layers, etc.) and it automagically compare the prices.
I thought big blue saw offered only waterjet cutting.
They mentioned to me that they wanted to start giving CNC service for carbon fiber parts with multiple detail; cutting carbon fiber with waterjet might intriduce too much delamination.
I’m logged into ponoko, here’s their list of materials. Any numbers listed after a material are the thicknesses offered in mm. Only listing them for the materials people might use as a plate. I do not recommend them for metal, their prices are prohibitive. A basic 60% plate was quoted at around 200$. Their acrylic selection is wonderful though.
I’ve used Ponoko, Sculpteo, and BigBlueSaw for my personal projects. If anyone wants to hear what my experiences have been like with any of them feel free to ask.
Would it be helpful to include the thickness for some of the more common materials? For example, LaserGist has 1.5mm stainless steel available (nice for plate-mounting MX switches) while Sculpteo doesn’t.
We are always here to assist or over LIVE CHAT at razorlab.online should you have any burning questions re: laser cutting and/or what materials to use, timing, pricing, etc.
- carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, other metals by request (contact them first)
- stainless steel
- carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, acrylics, plastics, carbon fiber (they are expensive for low quantities)
- mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum
- mild steel, stainless steel, aluminium, brass, copper, wood, MDF, ply, plastics
- MDF, plywood, acrylic, stainless steel, galvanized steel, carbon steel, paper, cardboard, cloth, leather, cement board, polypropylene, PETG, rubber (added August 2nd, 2021)
