High hopes for ponoko as a prototyping tool. It is cheaper and faster than the other options I have — i.e. 1. cutting pieces myself (time consuming) 2.going to tap plastic (limitation on cut shapes) 3. hiring a real fab shop ($$$). Their customer communication is *beyond excellent*.
For prototyping, their turnaround time is up to 28 days for normal orders. Ponoko Prime, a $40 service ponoko offers for faster (1-2 weeks) turn around time is a must have if you’re in a rush.
I took my OpenPCR case to a fab shop — they said that my ponoko case looked really and wondered how much I paid for it. They said they would’ve charged $400 if I had them do it.
Here’s my detailed experience:
April 14th — uploaded OpenPCR design, picked bamboo as my material, and placed my order. Â Wanted to test it out by April 23rd.
April 15th — after reading ponoko’s policies, April 23rd didn’t seem like a reasonable expectation. Ponoko straight up says to expect a 28 day turnaround on all orders. Josh@Ponoko recommended I sign up for Ponoko prime ($40) to speed up my order to 11-15 day turnaround, which I did.
April 21st — update from Josh@Ponoko. Won’t hit April 23rd, bamboo is out of stock and has not arrived, no ETA from supplier.
May 3rd — talked with Josh@Ponoko, bamboo still out of stock, this is pushing our schedule too far. Josh said I could pick another material and they could have it to me by the 5th (2 days!).
May 5th — 21 days after order, received Birch cutouts. Yipee! Laser cut birch smells awesome!!
Happy to answer questions. I am excited about using Ponoko again.