| Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff |
| Square holes on aluminum.... how do you do it? |
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| mikerj:
--- Quote from: viperidae on October 09, 2019, 05:40:49 am ---Square drill bits are just for wood aren't they? --- End quote --- You can broach square (or other shaped) holes in metal, and you can use a rotary broach for symmetrical shapes, but it's not a drill bit. |
| dom0:
Good files make very quick work of aluminium. Make sure you are actually using an aluminium alloy that can be machined; AlMg1 for example is very hard to machine due to its softness, but commonly sold on eBay etc. because it's cheap. AlMg3 is better and proper machining alloys are very easy to work - you can drill them easily, get excellent chips, very little burrs etc. You will also immediately notice that a front panel from a higher grade alloy is much more rigid and doesn't bend nearly as easy as a panel made from a low-strength alloy like AlMg1. Chalking files reduces edge build up drastically and prevents chips getting stuck in the files. Make sure your drill bits don't have built up edges. For D-Sub connectors you want a round file to work the corners, diameter of around ~5 mm. |
| SiliconWizard:
Punch, punch, punch... (and Judy? ::) ) |
| Conrad Hoffman:
We have a shop near here that does a great job on electrical panels using a waterjet cutter. Not very expensive either. |
| langwadt:
jewelers saw? |
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