Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Square holes on aluminum.... how do you do it?
tkamiya:
I am placing one of my project in an aluminum rack case. Front panel is 2mm, top and bottom is about 1.5mm, and sides are 3mm.
I do not own any mechanized tools. All hand tools, bench drill press, and manual tools. I just broke my dremel.
I always disliked making non-round holes. But for RS232C (9 pin) and power connectors, square holes are necessary. My usual method is draw out the outline, drill holes inside it along the line, use whatever is available to connect the holes, then file, file, file.... It's time consuming, and prone to slips to cause cosmetic problems. I can do pretty precise crafting but boy - it takes time.....
Does anyone know a better way? What I've already excluded are farming it out to pros, buying mills, and hydraulic punches.
sokoloff:
I use a square nibbler I bought at radio shack many years ago. I’ll see if I can find a modern listing.
sokoloff:
Try https://www.amazon.com/ProsKit-900-215-Nibbler/dp/B000BN60XW/
digsys:
I used to have a punch set for all sorts of connectors - used both hand press and hydraulic press types. If you're only doing a few, likely not worth while, but damn awesome for production. Also had a set of basic punch tool shapes that you just placed the sheet down and whacked out desired shapes. Worked fine
texaspyro:
You can buy chassis punches for most DBxx connectors. They are a 2-piece punch. You drill a hole, feed the bolt through the hole, place the second piece over the boltm and crank down a nut. The punches (made by Greenlee, etc) can be rather expensive, but occasionally can be found on Ebay for affordable prices.
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