Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Square holes on aluminum.... how do you do it?
Bassman59:
--- Quote from: soldar on October 16, 2019, 07:54:03 pm ---
--- Quote from: tkamiya on October 16, 2019, 07:46:13 pm --- Wooohooo! Great idea! I already have a smallish compressor. Thanks!
--- End quote ---
I have a broken refrigerator and the intention of using the compressor to build myself a shop compressor. It'll be any year now. :)
Compressed air tools have the advantage of being powerful and refrigerated by the expanding air.
--- End quote ---
I have an R2D2-sized air compressor in a room off my house. I use it with my air impact wrench (with car tires), for tire inflation, and with a ratchet wrench for outdoor assembly. (It was great for bolting together a gym set for the kid.) It's so fsckin' loud that I can't be in the room when it runs. And the tools themselves are loud.
Bassman59:
--- Quote from: KL27x on October 16, 2019, 08:10:57 pm ---
--- Quote ---I wonder if there are any high speed dremel type tool that will withstand heavy-duty usage? I used a regular type for this particular time. Well... it got awfully hot. Also locking mechanism jammed so I had to take it apart and fix it. Maybe something like dentists use?
--- End quote ---
My only Dremel is probably over 10 years old and still works like new.
--- End quote ---
I have an even older Dremel, maybe 25 years or so. I have a fantasy of using a Dremel-like tool for routing in 1.5 mm aluminum -- is that reasonable?
KL27x:
--- Quote ---A die grinder is a fairly blunt instrument, not something you'd want to (or even be able to) use for putting switch/button holes in aluminum.
--- End quote ---
The die grinder is the exacto knife of the steel shaping world. And it is used for porting aluminum engines to improve air flow, which involves shaping things smoothly and precisely. It would absolutely do stuff like this, using a carbide burr. They make burrs specifically for aluminum, as well. You'll have to finish the corners with a file, obviously. This is for the rough shaping.
--- Quote ---don't you want a safety switch with 1/4 inch? I kind of feel like using a router free hand for metal is dangerous even if its overbuilt because of ergonomics. They are like a giant can
--- End quote ---
Well, a stubby die grinder isn't much different. It's always dangerous, and I suggest full face shield whenever using a burr in metal, cuz chips in your eye.
https://www.amazon.com/Metabo-GE710-Compact-Variable-710-watt/dp/B00FDLB9OC/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=metabo+die+grinder&qid=1571332977&sr=8-8
The problem with electric die grinders is they are expensive. There are cheap imports in the realm of the 25-30 dollar trim router, but they are junk with unbalanced motors.
--- Quote ---I have an even older Dremel, maybe 25 years or so. I have a fantasy of using a Dremel-like tool for routing in 1.5 mm aluminum -- is that reasonable?
--- End quote ---
Dunno. I've routed up to 5mm aluminum using trim router with an endmill, in a router table. That works good, but it's really slow, because you have to take shallow passes. IIRC, I was taking max 1/32"- 1/16th" cuts (but my router table has some compromises to the rigidity). This is one of the reasons I built a threaded incrementing fence, to make that find of adjustment quickly, and even down to 1/64th" for final pass. 1.5mm might be doable by a Dremel, but if you are imagining doing this free-hand, I suggest you stick with burrs.
*edit: You can cut aluminum with any bit for wood. But if you route plexiglass or aluminum with a straight carbide cutter for wood, it doesn't cut as smoothly and it also leaves weird diagonal lines on the edge. Likewise, any drill bit or saw for wood will also cut aluminum. Even large forstner bits in a drill press; you just have to drill a pilot hole for the point, although some peeps just press a lot harder, lol. I use the router table on aluminum mostly for finishing and dimensioning, slots/grooves, and partial cavities. It's a lot like manual milling, but upside down. And with stop blocks instead of crank knobs; and you might have to include extra material for indexing against the table/fence which will be cut away when it's done. If you need tight tolerances, and esp parallel edges, a router table can get you there, eventually, you just have to want it bad enough, and you might have to add some parts along the way. Adjusting the Z-axis is the biggest pain, left on my table. I have a couple ideas on how to amend this, but I haven't had the need, yet.
tkamiya:
I've seen my share of industrial accidents.... I've seen an arm fly off a lathe. I have a full face shield on every time I use dremel. The cutting blade may not have that much mass but the speed has enough to cause enough force to take out an eye or cause serious cuts.
My compressor is pretty small and isn't too loud. I still don't want to be in the same space, so I have a long hose.
m3vuv:
--- Quote from: tkamiya on October 18, 2019, 01:36:23 am ---I've seen my share of industrial accidents.... I've seen an arm fly off a lathe. I have a full face shield on every time I use dremel. The cutting blade may not have that much mass but the speed has enough to cause enough force to take out an eye or cause serious cuts.
My compressor is pretty small and isn't too loud. I still don't want to be in the same space, so I have a long hose.
--- End quote ---
do lathes have arms?,ive never seen one with arms or legs come to think of it!!
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version