Enclosures: What tools used on a budget for cutting holes and windows ?

Greyling

New Member
I have seen some very nice projects on the web and a lot of them seem to have a professional look as far as how neatly the plastic is cut to fit the LCD or switches or whatever. I am disabled and have very little money for tools and not much hand strength left (arthritis). How does one cut plastic safely and accuratly?
I would like to buy some enclosures off ebay but am waiting until I know if I need to buy some kind of special tool for the job. I do not have a drill press, but I have a hand drill. So what are your thoughts? Thanks
 

erco

Senior Member
A Dremel-style moto-tool is very handy and often cheap.

A nibbling tool is useful for slowly gnawing square holes in very thin material, usually sheet metal. Also relatively cheap.

My very favorite tool for making quick round & square holes is a Rotex punch, but that's a giant machine shop item.

A step drill is handy, cheap, and makes clean holes in plastic cases.
 

inglewoodpete

Senior Member
Where I can't just drill a hole, I use a drawing program (MS Visio, which is not cheap) to draw and print the hole/s. I then use double-sided tape to create a sticker which is applied to the box or panel. Then I drill and file the hole, with the sticker in-situ: it helps to keep edges neat. With care and patience you can produce very accurate holes this way.

Below is a snap of part of a recently completed 240 watt LED lighting controller. The holes for the 8P8C jacks were made using the above method. The jacks feed chains of 10W RGB LEDs via Cat 5 cable.

LED Feed Jacks LoRes.jpg
 
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MartinM57

Moderator
..as IWP (sometimes) but using Diptrace which can be used for very accurate panel drawings and is free (and very good for schematics and PCBs as well)
 

Greyling

New Member
Thanks guys! I am impressed that using the file and drill can look so good. I will give that a try. I use DipTrace also so that will help. I tried using a moto-roter tool, but the darn thing always gets away from me and kinda runs amok!. The file method is probably best method for me. Thanks again to everybody for the help!!!
 

Jeremy Harris

Senior Member
Another way is to try and avoid having to ever cut any holes that aren't round.

Round holes are pretty straightforward, and I've found that the neatest way to drill them in plastic boxes, and light alloy ones, is to use a step drill, like these: http://www.banggood.com/3Pcs-14-Inch-Hex-Shank-HSS-Titanium-Coated-Step-Drill-Bit-Set-3-124-124-20mm-p-1003275.html as these are better for making truly round holes in sheet material than ordinary twist drills. They also seem to need less effort, as they don't grab like a twist drill can in some plastics.

To make display apertures (always an awkward job without machine tools) I've side-stepped making rectangular holes at all by buying clear plastic boxes for projects with displays. By using masking tape to protect where I want the clear window for the display, and then painting the box with ordinary aerosol paint, I've managed to make reasonably neat looking Picaxe projects without having to cut neat rectangular holes at all. Here's a photo of one, my electric bike "Fuel Gauge":

Swift display and control.JPG
 

premelec

Senior Member
I've done a lot of filing and drilling to make odd holes - several files are useful - rat tail [round]; tapered flat with side smooth so it doesn't cut sideways when you are only trying to cut down. There are also 'router' drills - don't know the official name but used in a drill it cuts sideways... A T handle tapered reamer that can enlarge a hole to fit up to 1/2" also often comes in handy when correct drill size not at hand.
 

westaust55

Moderator
Like others, I have used twist drills (in a hand drill), hacksaw blade (with fine /high tooth count) and various metal files for working with both plastic and metal.

For circular holed I have both twist drills and some other "bits" that allow me to drill up to 1"/25.4 mm typically with out/little filing required.

For larger holes such as keypads and LCD displays drill a hole just inside the corners and another adjacent (within the cutout area) and use a hacksaw blade to cut out the opening undersized. Then the metal files to enlarge up to the (pencil) line.

For LCD displays I tend to chamfer/bevel the edges to around 45 degrees to increase the viewing angle at the edges of displays in thicker plastic enclosures.
A rat tail file is then used to provide a neat curve to the chamfer at the corners.
 

techElder

Well-known member
Cutting clean/accurate holes/openings in plastic is knowing how fast to cut and when to stop.
 

The bear

Senior Member
@Greyling,
It sounds as if you have a router, these are fantastic tools. To get the best out of them, you need to use guides, straight edge or template.
A bezel will hide a less than perfect cut.
Don't forget, we are waiting to see the finished enclosure/s.
Good luck.
 

geezer88

Senior Member
To make display apertures (always an awkward job without machine tools) I've side-stepped making rectangular holes at all by buying clear plastic boxes for projects with displays. By using masking tape to protect where I want the clear window for the display, and then painting the box with ordinary aerosol paint, I've managed to make reasonably neat looking Picaxe projects without having to cut neat rectangular holes at all. Here's a photo of one, my electric bike "Fuel Gauge":
View attachment 20082
Excellent idea, Jeremy! Another trick is to use the touch sensor in PicAxe to sense through a plastic or wood enclosure, thus needing no hole.
tom
 
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