Metal Tux case badges... or looking for a pantograph

[Colin McGregor]

--- interlug-vSRlqIl1h/9eoWH0uzbU5w at public.gmane.org wrote:
> On Wednesday 15 February 2006 14:11, Colin McGregor
> wrote:
> > Ok, the whole doing metal Tux case badges for the
> > Linux World show is a pet obsession for me... 
> 
> I've read this post and your prior thread seeking
> CNC services with interest.  
> There are many ways to approach this.  Can you
> narrow the solution set for me 
> a bit?  How many badges would you like to make?  

Well, to be blunt I want GTALug to be known as having
the BEST swag (free goodies) at the show. We can NOT
outspend the commercial firms, but we might be able to
out think them :-) . 

So, in an ideal world (which we don't live in) I would
love to say have 2,000 metal case badges that we could
have as swag items, all done inside a TIGHT budget.

Spoke to Bill Thanis last evening. Bill has I gather a
University Metulurgy degree and he noted that in high
enough volume the badges could be done in stamped
aluminum VERY cheaply (the initial set-up costs being
the BIG issue). Regardless I need to deal with the
need for a good initial master case badge.

I was thinking about doing the badges out of pewter
for several reasons.

- Looks great.
- Low enough melting temperature that it could be done
in a temporary backyard foundry.

As for metal costs I was think about starting with the
the likes of taking an old, very beat-up pewter beer
tankard that I have and melting that down. Then for
additional pewter doing the garage sale/second hand
store pewter buys :-) .

> How little would you like to spend?  
> How much would you be willing to spend?  

Well, let us start by assuming a painfully modest
budget of say $50.

> How much of your own manufacturing time are you
> willing to spend on each 
> badge?  

How many Sundays are thier between now and the show
start?

> I use CNC services in the $60 - $100/hr range.  You
> might get programming and 
> machining for a simple Tux outline in as little as
> two hours.  Might.  This 
> depends on how clear your directions are to the CNC
> folks.  A sculpted, 
> rounded, 3D die will be more.  Material cost should
> be low since the volume 
> required is low.  

Comming up with a suitable file should not be a big
issue, not with the assistance available via this
group :-) .

Colin McGregor

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