Tips on cutting panel for controls

[homebrewdude76]

I have various greenlee punches and hole saws. Circles should not be an issue.

But I have 4 PID squares 1 rectangle for Amp/Volt and 2 rectangle for temp.

I don't own a good jig saw?

I do own an aircompressor and die grinders.
But I think the cuts need to be accurate?

 

[Gameface]

I was wondering if using a dremel with a metal cutting wheel would work.

I also have access to a modest machine shop.

 

[Deece]

They should be pretty clean cuts, the front bezel on the pids I have (Auber) is only like a 1/16 in or so that's more control than I have with a die grinder. I ended up actually have them done on a CNC plasma table. In hindsight though a jigsaw would have been fine just undercut a hair and be ready to bust out a file.

 

[jsprinceiii]

Depending on where you live, check around for Metal Fabricators that do water jet cutting.
Is not that expensive, depending on the shop, and the number of cuts..
We did ours for less than $70.00..

 

[LakeErieMonster]

If you have a dremel with the metal cut off wheels it is pretty easy. And I had no experience doing it before this. Just take your time and the dremel will do the work

 

[JoshuaW]

I took my time and did my cutouts with my Dremel. I burned through quite a few wheels, but it ultimately was not very difficult to get clean, straight cuts.

 

[augiedoggy]

I used a plastic electric enclosure ... made it very to cut. If I were to use a metal enclosure a dremel with cutting wheels would be my go to choice and I would try to error on the smaller side since its easy to remove a bit more but not so easy when you cut too much.

 

[processhead]

Save yourself some time and aggravation and buy a used jig saw at a pawn shop. Metal panel cut outs with a Dremel are possible but not worth the hassle

You should be able to score a recip saw for $50-$75 or less.

 

[Brettomomyces]

I went with a jig saw, got a nice Skilsaw from Amazon for less than $50, and it's a tool I've already used for other projects.

 

[NervousDad]

I used a JigSaw and I got fairly nice cuts, then I just cleaned them up with a file.

 

[ArmOnFire]

Another vote for jig saw. Take your time, cut inside your line, use fine metal blades and smooth cut settings on the saw if it has the option. Use a file for the final opening fitment of the PIDs.

 

[BBBF]

I used a dremel and a jig saw. The jig saw was 1,000,000 X's better.

 

[iijakii]

I cut the PID squares with my friend's plasma cutter. I cut them small and then took a cutting wheel to shave them open a bit more. The plasma cutter was incredibly overkill but they're fun so what the hell.

 

[Rockn_M]

I cut my panel with a jigsaw and it went very smoothly. Just make sure you use plenty of cutting oil. Make sure you keep an eye on your lines, it can start to get difficult to see with all the oil.

 

[BigFloppy]

I used a harborfreight special... oscillating power tool for my straight edges
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/oscillating-tools/oscillating-multifunction-power-tool-62279.html

 

[augiedoggy]

I used a harborfreight special... oscillating power tool for my straight edges
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/oscillating-tools/oscillating-multifunction-power-tool-62279.html

This is what I used to cut my plastic panel openings... cut like a hot knife through butter.

 

[Islandboy85]

I'm an aircraft mechanic. If I have to cut out squares holes without punches I jut lay out my cut lines, drill the corners, use a 90 degree die grinder and a cutoff wheel to cut just inside of my lines, use sanding disks and files to finish it up and square up the corners. If you're scared you'll trash an expensive control panel, consider a beer bribe to a local mechanic at your airport. We love beer.

 

[dcbw]

Dremel 4000 with a reinforced cutoff wheel. Draw the square on with pencil and then go for it. Don't even need a pilot hole or anything. Dremel was the best investment I made in tools to build my control panels, since you can use it for so many things.

 

[branman]

I got a dremel with cutting wheels. They were really precise just take your time. I purposely cut mine a hair to small and shaved the rest until they fit snug.

View attachment 1425154322376.jpg

 

[branman]

This is my old panel done with a grinder.. you can see on the left pid where I went to far, it worked ok but the dremel was easier for fine trimming

View attachment 1425154474032.jpg

 

[homebrewdude76]

Fixed my jig saw and bought some steel cutting 24tpi blades.

Need to figure out the large holes for the recpacles.
I have a punch set, but not sure what size the parts are until they arrive from China

 

[nebulous]

Need to figure out the large holes for the recpacles.
I have a punch set, but not sure what size the parts are until they arrive from China

For the larger holes I started them with my largest hole saw and then free handed the rest with a dremel. But since you have punches you should be able to find something close.

as for the top(front?) of my panel I had found some cheap 22mm and 16mm hole saws from china that worked great with the circular drop-in components I am using. The square PID holes I used a dremel and some files.

a triangular file is great for getting the square corners just right.

I don't have a pic of it but I have a V/A meter on the front of my panel and I had to cut a small notch on each side to get the thing to clip in.
So make sure you really double check everything with physical components as you go along.

 

[lschiavo]

I used to have a pair of these that I wore out long ago. They would cut nice square holes in metal or plastic. Takes a little time but hard to screw up:

http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Sheet-Metal-Nibbler-Cutter/dp/B000T5FV4Q

 

[mrstevenund]

I haven't looked at the prices, but my work used to use FrontPanelExpress.com.

I myself had a plastic enclosure. I dremeled the PID and SCR heatsink holes and used a step bit for the round holes.

 

[Islandboy85]

The hand nibbling shears work pretty good for thin gauge and small area cutouts. They'll kill your hands pretty quickly, still need a bit of hand filing, but they are very useful if you don't have any cutoff wheel tools. You can make some pretty quick work with them just by drilling a starting hole as you would for a jigsaw. I've got a pair of them in my sheet metal tool drawer .