Description

Custom cases, panels, circuit boards, etc. all take a considerable amount of time to plan, develop, and produce. Over the past 12 years I have been able to take on a lot of custom builds ranging from a simple panel for a unique fight stick to complete custom builds with numerous buttons, levers, and very specific requirements. Now that I have returned to the US and operating more similarly to the time before I lived in Japan, I am able to take on custom work again.

The process.

If you want something completely unique or not offered in the shop, this is your listing. The $50 non-refundable deposit gets you on the list to start fleshing out details to include discussions, design, and cost analysis of your project. If you decide to move forward with the project after this initial phase is done – the $50 is applied to the total cost to complete it.

Why do I have this non-refundable fee policy? Time and resources. It takes time to understand what you as the customer wants, design it in Solidworks, and do a full quote. This ensures that neither you nor I are spending time on a project that may not come to fruition and avoids the causal window shopper from getting makers to directly compete against each other when quality and capability between many varies.

The Cost.

There is a lot that goes into a custom build’s total cost. Number of parts, material, size, design time, revisions made during the design phase, etc. come to mind. The biggest driver of cost is the fact that we are only making (usually) ONE custom item. The Panzer Fight Stick cost is as low as it is because of the volume that I produce them and their subassembly parts. The first prototype of the chassis was well over $400 to produce and didn’t include any of the wiring, custom PCBs, etc. When making one of anything, all the time and cost associated with tooling and design is applied to that single item.

Ultimately, there are ways to make this less costly and they include:

1. Buying more than one of the custom design.
2. Letting me open the design to others to gauge interest and order it as well.
3. Having a design in mind that fits the Panzer 4 chassis.
4. Having a design that is in line with something I am already working on and planning to release to the market.

These all have risks associated with each and outside of #1 – are mostly out of your control as the customer. Customs are generally custom because you have a very specific need to fill. If you want me to explore #2 or #3 please let me know this in the first email dialog I open with you.

The Timeline.

Once you purchase this item and submit your order, I will reach out to you via Email. I prefer to coordinate via Discord to keep a good dialog going in more real time than email, but email is fine if you don’t use Discord. In this first email, I will ask exactly what you want and provide a link to my Discord for communications. The more details you can provide, the easier it will be for me to turn your words into designs.

What You Get.

Your design shipped to you when complete and an art template (in illustrator) if appropriate. The design files and engineering drawings are kept in house and not shared. You are buying a custom, final product not the design files that go with it.