Services to cut holes in plastic enclosures

[Urahara]

Hello

Am new to this forum. Not sure if this is the right place to ask the question, but hope someone can help/advise.

I have some plastic enclosures bought from one of those hobby electronic component shops at Sim Lim Towers. Dimension is 20cm(W) x 11cm(L) x 6cm(H). Thickness is abt 0.3cm.

Would like to have rectangular cutouts on them for push buttons, data connectors, plugs etc.

Anyone provides services for cutting the holes in Singapore? Am looking at abt 20 pieces for a start. If qty is too small, what would be the MOQ?

Thks for your time!

[cruise33]

Enclosures Box

Hi friend can u show any picture of the box n which place to cut

[pilot_bear]

haha, that is the same question in my mind.

[Urahara]

ok. hv attached 3 pics. pic 1 and 2 shows the bare enclosure external and internal.

pic 3 is an (not finalized) example of how the final enclosure might look like:
1) top: two buttons on top (likely square or rectangular cutouts) and maybe two small round holes for led light indicator
2) back: cutouts for power inlet, on-off switch, 2 outlets, fuse
3) side: a round hole for a cable
4) front (not shown in pic) : a rectangular cutout abt 13mm x 16mm

The enclosure is one of those al-cheapo ones found almost in every shop at SLT.

Thks! <br> <br>

[pilot_bear]

if you need 1 or maybe 2, i may be able to help out.
i cannot give you commercial standard, but will make it presentable.

[Urahara]

Hi Pilot Bear

Thks for the offer! Will need more than 1 or 2.

Am also thinking by myself what kind of tools would be good for such projects. Would routers, albeit a non-CNC one do? Where do I find such tools anyway?

[Wongster]

Hi Pilot Bear

Thks for the offer! Will need more than 1 or 2.

Am also thinking by myself what kind of tools would be good for such projects. Would routers, albeit a non-CNC one do? Where do I find such tools anyway?

I think a dremel will help in such project.

[pilot_bear]

if you want an easy way, go for round button, which can be done with a simple drill. for the rectangle connector, need to plan a bit, use a drill bit near/exact to the width of the connector, drill a few hole closely, finish off with a flat file. if possible, lock 1 axis, only move 1 axis at a time.

if you are likely to do more, may consider a small hobby/industry drill press, around $100.

if you have access to a drill press, use a waste wood or something, mark out all the position you use/mount on the vise for the first box, the rest of the box is just a repeat of mounting and drilling, will be easy and near exact.

router or cnc is a faster way, but not a must, cause the start up cost will be too high.

if you have a steady hand, a dremel or other rotary tools is the only tool you will need. a good add-on.

for local small mill/lathe machine, take a look here too.

http://shop.sgtooling.com/

[pilot_bear]

one more thing, if you are only using drill/hand drill, use something to punch/dig a center of the hole, a small dent will do, the idea is to let the drill bit have a resting point/start point, else it will run off center during drill. slow speed will do the job nicely, add a bit of oil will help, not a must. (it will be messy)

i use a small drill bit and turn it with my hand, sometime a Philips screwdriver. remember to support the base if punching, else may crack the plastic.

if you dont want to scrape any line on the plastic, use those paper type tape edges as a line, or draw line on them. they are drill friendly.

[wolf]

Plastic enclosures are soft enough that you can use simple tools like hand reamers and needle files to cut out the holes you need.

But yes, if you have to do 20 pieces, you might want to use a power tool for the sake of your sanity. You'll need to either go slowly, or use drill bits for plastic - plastic has a nasty tendency to melt and snag, then the entire enclosure gets sucked up the drill bit.