Want to produce clear or frosted plastic keyboard, where to start?

[RedTriad]

I'm looking to make my own custom keyboard from the ground up and if it works, I am planning to make a bit more of it (Maybe around 100pcs for our company employees). Where can i find a good plastic housing manufacturer in China or Asia? I'm from asia btw so the US is a bit too costly for the shipping of this project unless the pricing is really good. The housing i want to create is transparent (either clear or frosted) I haven't decided yet. Any leads would be great! Also, whats a good PCB manufacturer, the KB i am building for myself will most likely be 65 or 75%.

[TheIcyKoala]

Defiantly join the keyboard atelier discord server for keyboard designers! https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS.
A lot of the designers in there have shared some manufacturers for both cases and pcbs. There is a pinned post in the #manufacturing channel with a list of manus, some of which are in the server and have answered questions about costs, machinability, etc. Many of them defiantly work with polycarbonate cases.

[RedTriad]

Defiantly join the keyboard atelier discord server for keyboard designers! https://discord.gg/b7vwhHS.
A lot of the designers in there have shared some manufacturers for both cases and pcbs. There is a pinned post in the #manufacturing channel with a list of manus, some of which are in the server and have answered questions about costs, machinability, etc. Many of them defiantly work with polycarbonate cases.

Thanks so much for the resources! I really appreciate it.

[smollchungus]

Also, whats a good PCB manufacturer, the KB i am building for myself will most likely be 65 or 75%.

JLCPCB offers fast and cheap prototyping. The quality isnt top notch, but you will get a cheap working pcb.

[RedTriad]

Yeah read about them and will definitely hit them up. I think the case manufacturer is the only thing left. Hopefully i can find someone to help me design a case soon.

[smollchungus]

Yeah read about them and will definitely hit them up. I think the case manufacturer is the only thing left. Hopefully i can find someone to help me design a case soon.

if you're going for a stacked acrylic case, its probably best to find a business locally that does lasercutting.

[RedTriad]

I'm probably going to go with injection molding. Not trying to be too fancy, just a basic plastic KB case.

[MIGHTY CHICKEN]

Keep in mind injection molding has a relatively high startup cost, unless you go for something like cheaper molds that don't last as long. Although it will still be pricey compared to development of a more traditional laser cut or cnc board

[Leslieann]

I'm probably going to go with injection molding. Not trying to be too fancy, just a basic plastic KB case.

Injection molding requires tooling, as well as an injection machine.

This means you need cad and experience to make a nice mold, it's not something you will just do. Then you need to actually make said mold, and the mold size needed to make a keyboard case is in the thousands, even for a 65% and at that size you need a pretty high pressure machine. Going larger means even more money, as in tens of thousands. And that is before you even pop out a single case, make a mistake, if you're lucky they can weld the mold and just re-machine the change, otherwise you get to start over. While it is the cheapest way to make a case, it only works if you're planning on making thousands to offset the initial investment which is extremely high.  This is why so many customs are machined aluminum, yes they're expensive for low volume but you control the cost down to the individual item and there's far less up front cost involved.

Basically.. (without switches or caps)
Laser cut, you can do an entire board for about $100 each
Machined, at absolute bare minimum and really cutting corners, expect $800-1000, possibly as much as $3000 by the time you're happy and then $300-600 each there after.
Injection molding you might spend $10-20k on cad and molds (or more) to get your first case but each thereafter is only $10-$20 when bought in bulk.

You only use injection molding if you have to or you're doing bulk, it makes no sense otherwise.


Honestly...
Just look on Alibaba, find a design you like, email them, most will screen print your logo onto the product for free if you order enough, it's called white labeling, it's far cheaper and easier.  Will it be completely custom? No, but most of the people you give these to won't appreciate what they are anyhow. With white labeling you get a known working product and it gets shipped out fast (like 2-3 weeks) as opposed to machining or worse injection molding which can easily be a 1-2 year project by the time you have your entire order in hand.

[RedTriad]

Yes i am familiar with the whole process and the cost. As for white labeling, I don't think its an option for us because most of the big OEM/ White Label KBs are already present where I am from. So this basically means we would have to create our own KB from scratch if we want to be competitive in our market. Aluminum however is really out of price range and is generally unwanted where i am from. Most likely i may just get a "white label" case and use their shape but alter the materials used to make our case stand out.

[Leslieann]

Yes i am familiar with the whole process and the cost. As for white labeling, I don't think its an option for us because most of the big OEM/ White Label KBs are already present where I am from. So this basically means we would have to create our own KB from scratch if we want to be competitive in our market. Aluminum however is really out of price range and is generally unwanted where i am from. Most likely i may just get a "white label" case and use their shape but alter the materials used to make our case stand out.

Competitive?
You said nothing about production for sale, "Maybe around 100pcs for our company employees".

It's near impossible to properly guide someone in regards to manufacturing if you aren't going to be honest and up front about your plans. Everything in manufacturing revolves around quantity required because how it gets made changes with quantity, not just price. If you pull this with a manufacturer just prior to starting production they are going to tell you to kick rocks and never return. On a similar note, don't pull this on people trying to help either, if you're picking people's brains, be up front, you're taking advantage of them and abusing the relationship (leading to alienation), not to mention the advice will not properly apply (surprise!).



Regarding plastics and molds,
I will simply say that there's a reason you don't see clear products very often, especially on high end stuff.

[RedTriad]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. When i meant "Competitive for the market" i meant supplying our internal employees (Correct about 100 as i stated) bec there is a procurement competition happening right now on who can get the best equipment at the best price. The reason why i talk like this is i work for a multinational that uses these words as normal lingo. The reason why i cant use a white label keyboard is bec if people notice that they got keyboards similar to existing brands with our company logo on it (this is for work use only) i may get in trouble with our legal department. Plus they voted for acrylic boards so thats what im going after. Not really trying to abuse the people in this thread, i myself am just a hobbyist trying to get this done the best i can. Apologies for the confusion, english is not my first language and i tend to mix corporate slang when i talk online.