I have some spare time on my CNC and would like to help make some keyboards. I have seen quite a few posts about people getting things machined by different places. I am sure many of you have been shocked by the prices that it can cost to get a one of prototype made. I think that we could reduce the overall cost, lead time, and help design for manufacturing of new boards.
For a short while I will be offering services at near tooling+materials cost to get things rolling. My thoughts are as I refine machining methods and fixtures we should be able to come up with designs that have similar features that allow easier machining. The biggest challenge in machining is how you hold the parts. I am thinking along the line of a common design base or feature set that will allow different cases to be made with the same fixturing.
I am really just looking at CNC aluminum cases to start. If you have a design you are working on let me know! Also since I know that there are a few vendors on this site, if you are looking to bring manufacturing back into the USA (if your in the USA) let me know and I will see what I can do.
What are your guys thoughts?