Hello Everyone!
It is update time again! Polycarbonate (PC) bottom cases have arrived and are being QCed. As you may have heard, the overall cost of producing PC components are more expensive than that for aluminium. Every wondered why? Here are some insights based on our experience:
- Cost of manufacturing: Based on the quotations that we have received, the cost of producing a PC component is quite close to that of brass, which is around 3 times that of aluminium (this may vary depending on the factory). This would partially be due to the manual labour involved in finishing the PC surface. In fact, some factories even offer different tiers of PC finishing and prices are adjusted accordingly. Also, CNC failure rate is higher as PC tends to crack unlike aluminium. We didn't really experience warping issues, but this may be due to the design of the bottom case for which there are no thin and long sections.
- QC rejection rate: The slightest defect on PC is pretty obvious. As the surface finishing is a manual process, rejection rate tends to be high as we expect the finishing to be consistent and without blemish. Also, some defects will not be repairable and the rejected components will have to be remade again.
So why did we choose to use PC for the bottom case? Mainly for the underglow lighting and lower pitch sound signature. For the first project, we chose to push ourselves and went all out to tick as many boxes as we could. Really can't wait to start shipping out the units! Estimated timeline as of now is ahead of the projected Q1 2022, but fingers crossed!
