Alright he looked at some spreadsheets this time, and said it will be even cheaper.
They've recently been taken down by spammer/trojans so no, he had never seen my email but I think we've got a line of communication now.
From looking at his spreadsheet of material costs, his estimates (I said we were up to about ten cases, all in 16gauge metal (1.5mm / 16th-inch, or real close to that)) was that, for 6061 aluminum, it would be about $12 for ten layers. Yes the price went down so I'll make sure I have solid number before we get to the group-buy stage but still. Also, you may notice that ten copies at $12/ea would be below the shop's MOQ. He said he'd be willing to put it through if we're that close.
Stainless steel (not sure if he was thinking 303, 304, 316 ... but surely one of the common ones) would be about the same ... per pound. So, double the cost.
Lets assume for a moment he was underestimating the size of the pieces and their un-nestability on a single sheet of metal. $15 for aluminum, $30 for SS, plus a GB fee, a PP fee, and shipping.
I've sent him the files for the full-hand case, so he can compare with the 'classic' case. I don't have a specific quote for the "minamalist" case (layers 1 & 3 ... or is that 5 & 3? anyway, plate and base) but at a guess, let's say $6, but that will assume we hit MOQ, in which case it will just be more copies of a particular layer.
I don't have any pictures, but when I asked for a sample, he showed me a piece going to another customer, who wants to tap 1/4" plate without drilling first. This showed me a couple of things -- one, their laser (if I understood aright, it was their portable laser, at that) can cut cleanly and straight, through 1/4" aluminum, and yes it looked to be to tight enough tolerances it could just be tapped and a bolt screwed in, no problems.
The sample piece had no scarring, no welts, no discolorations. It was just the bright, dull silverish color of aluminum. I did not, I'll grant you, ask how much time he might have spent polishing the sales piece for a potential customer, but I feel confident from what I've seen, that it's a reputable shop, and the project manager at least takes pride in his work (I lost my lunch hour chatting with him about a carbon-fiber-weaving aircraft-making robot arm that his company supplied parts for, and that he still goes and sees on his trips north to work with that company.
So, ten copies. can we do it?
Form of Counting now available.
No, I've never used Google forms before. Why do you ask?