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Square holes on aluminum.... how do you do it?

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wizard69:
About that mill, training shouldn't inhibit your ability to learn to use a milling machine.   The real problem with milling machines is the expense.   This makes me wonder if you have a makers space near by that you can join.   The ability to properly machine something opens up all sorts of possibilities with respect to your hobbies.

For ideas that don't involve milling machines I have a few to list.   Realize though you need to check to see if they are suitable for 3mm thick aluminum.

You can buy powered nibblers for electric drills with a bit more capacity.    Example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017JRJUI4/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFFU1NCWDM3MU9MSUgmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTEwNDAxMDEySE41RUExNkY4RVUzJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4MDA5NDcxSDBCVjFRUzhTOU9NJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsMiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

A jig saw can do the job if the item to be mounted has a flange to cover the ragged edge.

Actually your drill and file method it tried and true.   The trick here is having the right files.  A good vise or other method of clamping the work down is needed.   Being able to clamp the panels down is key to getting good results with hand tools.


--- Quote from: tkamiya on October 09, 2019, 03:43:04 am ---Well.....  all the sudden, drills, files, and a couple of band-aids doesn't seem so bad....

--- End quote ---
It has been that way in the DiY world forever.   It is only recently that low cost alternative methods have turned up.   Even in industry we sometimes have to resort to this approach.

--- Quote ---Farming it out is OUT because of the way I make things.  I do in steps.  It's just too inconvenient to make several trips to the shop.  For my current project, I ran into few problems.  Now, I have to remove the front panel, add two DB9 holes and 1 hole for LED.

As far as Greenly punches go, I was reading up some.  For aluminum, the spec for the punch is 3.2mm.  That's awfully close to some of the rack panels.  I really don't want to buy mills as I was never trained to properly use it.

--- End quote ---

It might pay to make friends with an electrician, especially one that does machine controls.   

wizard69:
Some more general tips for working with aluminum:


* Lubrication helps!   WD40 is surprisingly good when it comes to aluminum machining.   It can help greatly when using powered tools but also helps for manual work.
* Just about any tool used for wood working will machine aluminum.   Table saws are regularly used to cut aluminum stock to dimension/   There is considerable noise though.   Do make sure your approach is safe.
* I've used a hand held router with burrs usually associated with die grinders to machine both steel and aluminum.   The spindle speed is about the same so you get similar removal rates.   Frankly with two hands on the router and the work piece clamped you get better control.   Even better is to use fencing in the same way you would for routing wood.   The more control the better.   Usually I do this to "clean up" stuff that was rough cut via other methods.
* If the visuals allow you can avoid the hand work of cleaning up the corners of cutout done with rotary tools by over traveling on one axis half the tool diameter. This can save a lot of time be it in a production setting or simply something you are doing by hand.
* A 4.5" right angle grinder can work miracles in the right hands.   You can also screw things up real quick.   However they can make real quick roughed out rectangular cut outs.
* When drilling sheet metal use drill bits designed for such.   Stepped drills used by electricians are ideal
* Machinist tools help greatly.   Consider deburring tools from Noga and others.   Triangular scrapers are very useful.   Layout tools cna be of huge help, the square, compass, scribers, even layout ink, can make it far easier to create a good looking panel.  These tools will not do your cutting but they can lead to a far nice end product./li]

langwadt:

--- Quote from: wizard69 on March 02, 2020, 11:51:23 am ---Some more general tips for working with aluminum:


* Lubrication helps!   WD40 is surprisingly good when it comes to aluminum machining.   It can help greatly when using powered tools but also helps for manual work.
--- End quote ---

ethanol is a much better and it doesn't smell or leaves a mess

EEEnthusiast:

--- Quote from: langwadt on March 02, 2020, 11:56:27 am ---
--- Quote from: wizard69 on March 02, 2020, 11:51:23 am ---Some more general tips for working with aluminum:


* Lubrication helps!   WD40 is surprisingly good when it comes to aluminum machining.   It can help greatly when using powered tools but also helps for manual work.
--- End quote ---

ethanol is a much better and it doesn't smell or leaves a mess

--- End quote ---

I'm wondering if ethanol fumes can catch fire due to high temperature caused by the milling. Is it really safe to use ethanol in such applications?

langwadt:

--- Quote from: EEEnthusiast on March 02, 2020, 02:14:11 pm ---
--- Quote from: langwadt on March 02, 2020, 11:56:27 am ---
--- Quote from: wizard69 on March 02, 2020, 11:51:23 am ---Some more general tips for working with aluminum:


* Lubrication helps!   WD40 is surprisingly good when it comes to aluminum machining.   It can help greatly when using powered tools but also helps for manual work.
--- End quote ---

ethanol is a much better and it doesn't smell or leaves a mess

--- End quote ---

I'm wondering if ethanol fumes can catch fire due to high temperature caused by the milling. Is it really safe to use ethanol in such applications?

--- End quote ---


milling aluminum isn't very high temperature and it is only tiny amounts of ethanol, so I don't see it being anymore or less safe than using wd40

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