Good morning members,

I would kindly ask for your advice on the following: I want to design enclosure for my electronic circuit board, and I would be looking for a CNC house to manufacture it.

I want to have it milled from a small aluminum block (or from an acrylic block).
Approximate size of the enclosure would be 10 cm (L) x 5 cm (W) x 2 cm (H).
Rough description is that the design would be open from one side (bottom), where PCB would be inserted from, and closed with a (thin) bottom panel (either aluminum or plastic). Front and back panel would have openings for connectors.

The key thing I am trying to achieve is a look-and-feel of a commercial products, for example brushed aluminum cases, in the class of high-end audio amplifiers, or style of a modern handheld devices.

This is a prototype design, with probably one or two follow-up revisions.

The purpose of this effort is two-fold:
1 Learn a SW tool(s) needed for design.
2 Go through learning curve in working with a CNC house, and improve on this initial design using it as a reference for further designs.

Therefore, I would need your advice on:
1 Recommend me a software for this (relatively simple) design (I guess CAD + CAM package) ? (how about SolidWorks + Solid CAM ?)
2 Recommend on a CNC shop in AZ (Phoenix/Scottsdale) area.
3 Any rough estimate how much would a shop charge for manufacturing based on the above description ?



appreciate all comments,
regards,
Dubravko
Scottsdale, AZ