|
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,? the
cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with part
of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife and
cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to go
straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.? Does
anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
On 6/21/2019 10:00 PM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,?
the cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with
part of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife
and cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on
those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Yes. We get a scapping tool called laminate cutter . Very cheap as in India we pay less than 1$ Toppcb of enclosure is to be separated . Measure and mark with marker pen on either side. Start using the scrapping tool with a straight edge support. We use steel ruleer. I shall post a photo how this tool looks.? ?I eas able to make rectangular cut foe lcd display window.
On Sat, 22 Jun 2019, 12:10 pm Dave, < dave@...> wrote:
On 6/21/2019 10:00 PM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,?
the cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with
part of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife
and cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on
those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Jim:
? I just got some front panels made of PCB from JLCPCB.? They had
a cutout for a 16 X 2 LCD, several holes for push buttons and a
coupe of larger holes for a tuning control and a rotary selector
switch.? Cost with shipping was less than $3 each for 10.?
Lettering, holes, and cutouts are perfect.? You have a choice of
colors for both the solder mask and sillk screen. ? I got red pcbs
with white silkscreen.? I used KICAD to design the boards.?
Delivery was under a week from placing the order.
Dave - WB6DHW
On 6/21/2019 10:00 PM, Jim Pruitt wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,?
the cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with
part of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife
and cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on
those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Here is a photo that I use.?
On Sat, 22 Jun 2019, 12:15 pm MVS Sarma via Groups.Io, <mvssarma= [email protected]> wrote: Yes. We get a scapping tool called laminate cutter . Very cheap as in India we pay less than 1$ Toppcb of enclosure is to be separated . Measure and mark with marker pen on either side. Start using the scrapping tool with a straight edge support. We use steel ruleer. I shall post a photo how this tool looks.? ?I eas able to make rectangular cut foe lcd display window.
On Sat, 22 Jun 2019, 12:10 pm Dave, < dave@...> wrote:
On 6/21/2019 10:00 PM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,?
the cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with
part of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife
and cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on
those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
That looks like a good method. I do not see the CedarLam brand but I see similar tools on Amazon
--
-- The only difference between men and boys, is the price of their toys.
|
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8 inch
carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is very
fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a long time, it's easy to
break and cannot be used in a handheld application.? Another
possibility is to make a fixture that allows you to use a cutoff
wheel in a dremel, lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm
saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade is
likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering them
to get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D printed
cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with
filing I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried just
using a razor knife and cutting the lines but could not get the
board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file it to dimension...
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...> wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8 inch
carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is very
fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a long time, it's easy to
break and cannot be used in a handheld application.? Another
possibility is to make a fixture that allows you to use a cutoff
wheel in a dremel, lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm
saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade is
likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering them
to get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D printed
cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with
filing I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried just
using a razor knife and cutting the lines but could not get the
board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Before I
had a cnc router I made cuttings on a small stand drilling
machine using small milling bits of 3/8in.
First a piece of thin plywood and on top fixing a flat bar
either of wood or aluminium which made a nice guide to push the
pcboard sideway. Then changing the fixing the flat bar for the
next cut.
Entering and pushing the pcboard along is a bit delicate, one
must push very slowly. It can be done with 1 or 3 depthpaths
until the depth of the pcboard is reached.
The corner will be rounded at the 4 corners and a small file
will do the job to get neat corners..
Jean-Claude
Am 23.06.2019 um 17:46 schrieb Cornelis
van Rensburg:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file it
to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of
a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided
pc board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD
display.? Can someone tell me how to do that and keep
the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a
1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.?
Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a
long time, it's easy to break and cannot be used in a
handheld application.? Another possibility is to make a
fixture that allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel,
lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw
blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then covering
that with a 3D printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might
work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one
but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight
and with filing I ended up with part of the cutout too
big.? I tried just using a razor knife and cutting the
lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I
have not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen
the little 1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that
I would trust one to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these
cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Sorry I
mixed the inch fraction. The milling bits I used were 1/8". I am
still using them on my cnc router.
Jean-Claude
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Before I
had a cnc router I made cuttings on a small stand drilling
machine using small milling bits of 3/8in.
First a piece of thin plywood and on top fixing a flat bar
either of wood or aluminium which made a nice guide to push
the pcboard sideway. Then changing the fixing the flat bar for
the next cut.
Entering and pushing the pcboard along is a bit delicate, one
must push very slowly. It can be done with 1 or 3 depthpaths
until the depth of the pcboard is reached.
The corner will be rounded at the 4 corners and a small file
will do the job to get neat corners..
Jean-Claude
Am 23.06.2019 um 17:46 schrieb
Cornelis van Rensburg:
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file
it to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top
of a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double
sided pc board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2
LCD display.? Can someone tell me how to do that and
keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a
1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.?
Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts
a long time, it's easy to break and cannot be used in a
handheld application.? Another possibility is to make a
fixture that allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a
dremel, lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm
saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw
blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then covering
that with a 3D printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might
work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one
but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight
and with filing I ended up with part of the cutout too
big.? I tried just using a razor knife and cutting the
lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but
I have not found a bit for the Dremel and have not
seen the little 1" diameter saw blades for a while,?
not that I would trust one to go straight for me
anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these
cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
I tried that (coping saw and file) but the hole
did not come out quite square.
Jim
On 6/23/2019 8:46 AM, Cornelis van
Rensburg wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file it
to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of
a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided
pc board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD
display.? Can someone tell me how to do that and keep
the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a
1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.?
Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a
long time, it's easy to break and cannot be used in a
handheld application.? Another possibility is to make a
fixture that allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel,
lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw
blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then covering
that with a 3D printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might
work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one
but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight
and with filing I ended up with part of the cutout too
big.? I tried just using a razor knife and cutting the
lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I
have not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen
the little 1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that
I would trust one to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these
cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Do you have a link to the milling bits that you
use?
Thank you.
Jim
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Sorry I
mixed the inch fraction. The milling bits I used were 1/8". I
am still using them on my cnc router.
Jean-Claude
Before
I had a cnc router I made cuttings on a small stand drilling
machine using small milling bits of 3/8in.
First a piece of thin plywood and on top fixing a flat bar
either of wood or aluminium which made a nice guide to push
the pcboard sideway. Then changing the fixing the flat bar
for the next cut.
Entering and pushing the pcboard along is a bit delicate,
one must push very slowly. It can be done with 1 or 3
depthpaths until the depth of the pcboard is reached.
The corner will be rounded at the 4 corners and a small file
will do the job to get neat corners..
Jean-Claude
Am 23.06.2019 um 17:46 schrieb
Cornelis van Rensburg:
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file
it to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the
top of a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using
double sided pc board material).? The cutout is for
a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone tell me how to do
that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find
a 1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the
hole.? Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so while
it lasts a long time, it's easy to break and cannot be
used in a handheld application.? Another possibility
is to make a fixture that allows you to use a cutoff
wheel in a dremel, lower it, and pretend that it's a
radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw
blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then
covering that with a 3D printed cover, if you have the
cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that
might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first
one but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay
straight and with filing I ended up with part of the
cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife
and cutting the lines but could not get the board to
break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool
but I have not found a bit for the Dremel and have
not seen the little 1" diameter saw blades for a
while,? not that I would trust one to go straight
for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make
these cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Fair enough, filing is not trivial. During my marine engineering course we had to use hand file to file a 5mm thick metal plate about 50mmx50mm to a specific shape with angles etc to withing 0.1mm ton pass. Affectionately called “File a Mile” Was quite impressed with what could be achieved by hand and Time!
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 23 Jun 2019, at 19:31, Jim Pruitt < jpruitt67@...> wrote:
I tried that (coping saw and file) but the hole
did not come out quite square.
Jim
On 6/23/2019 8:46 AM, Cornelis van
Rensburg wrote:
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file it
to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of
a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided
pc board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD
display.? Can someone tell me how to do that and keep
the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a
1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.?
Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a
long time, it's easy to break and cannot be used in a
handheld application.? Another possibility is to make a
fixture that allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel,
lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw
blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then covering
that with a 3D printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might
work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one
but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight
and with filing I ended up with part of the cutout too
big.? I tried just using a razor knife and cutting the
lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I
have not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen
the little 1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that
I would trust one to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these
cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Because the LCD cutout is something like 75mm x
25mm I don't think I could find a tile saw blade that would be
usable for such a small cutout.? I have an old Dremel router base
but figured trying to route out a cutout using a Dremel would just
cause a lot of broken bits and I had no desire to dodge 30,000 rpm
shrapnel.? That was why I used the coping saw.? I thought I could
guide the coping saw better than I did.
I know that Dremel used to sell a steel 1" diameter saw blade but
think that stopped when OSHA got wind of it as that thing is
deadly!? My hand has never been steady enough to guide a cutoff
wheel in a Dremel tool and cutoff wheels seemed to be too fragile
so any side movement would cause them to shatter.
Thank you.
Jim
?
On 6/23/2019 7:20 AM, Harvey White
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8 inch
carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is very
fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a long time, it's easy
to break and cannot be used in a handheld application.? Another
possibility is to make a fixture that allows you to use a cutoff
wheel in a dremel, lower it, and pretend that it's a radial arm
saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade is
likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering
them to get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D
printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with
filing I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried
just using a razor knife and cutting the lines but could not
get the board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have
not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one
to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Jim, How are you? ! try pcb dremel with circular cutter . Pre mark? with marker pen. You can make sharp edge scrapping using ruler support. ?later pass the circular cutter thro the path created by sharp edge. ? Of course , easier said than done. regards sarma ?vu3zmv
On Sat, Jun 22, 2019 at 10:30 AM Jim Pruitt < jpruitt67@...> wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a pc
board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
I used a coping saw to do the first one but needless to say,? the
cutout did not stay straight and with filing I ended up with part
of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor knife and
cutting the lines but could not get the board to break on those
lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have not
found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little 1"
diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to go
straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.? Does
anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
On 6/23/2019 1:41 PM, Jim Pruitt wrote:
Because the LCD cutout is something like 75mm x
25mm I don't think I could find a tile saw blade that would be
usable for such a small cutout.? I have an old Dremel router
base but figured trying to route out a cutout using a Dremel
would just cause a lot of broken bits and I had no desire to
dodge 30,000 rpm shrapnel.? That was why I used the coping saw.?
I thought I could guide the coping saw better than I did.
I tried a dremel scroll saw for cutting a PC
board.? Blade was toast within seconds.
I know that Dremel used to sell a steel 1"
diameter saw blade but think that stopped when OSHA got wind of
it as that thing is deadly!? My hand has never been steady
enough to guide a cutoff wheel in a Dremel tool and cutoff
wheels seemed to be too fragile so any side movement would cause
them to shatter.
Exactly, although there are some heavy duty ones that are more
tolerant.? That's why I said "fixture".?
Idea was that the dremel is mounted above the work with the blade
normally not touching, horizontal dremel so it works like a radial
arm saw.
The dremel is constrained so that it can only move perpendicular
to its own axis, and therefore, parallel to the blade.? This
should avoid stress on the blade from side to side.
Lower the dremel onto the work and the blade should start to dig
a hole in the material.? (I'd suggest a screw/nut for height
adjustment).? Move that back and forth as needed to cut either a
slot, score, or all the way through the material.?
Note that you'd like a shield for this, and a good vacuum, since
you're spraying fiberglass dust and the remnants of the wheel
(normal wear and tear).?
If you know someone with a cpap unit, the hose often can fit into
a normal vacuum, is smaller, flexible, and won't collapse easily.
You might consider moving the dremel sideways with a threaded rod
as well, should keep the work from running away from you.
Depends on how much of this you want to do and the resulting
effort.
Of the various solutions, a mill is by far the better one,
although an XY vise may be a decent choice, or you could make the
equivalent yourself.
Drill press bearings are not made for side to side load, but with
a small PC board and a decent PCB router bit, the thrust is
minimal.?
Mill is still the optimal solution, though, although expensive.
Harvey
Thank you.
Jim
?
On 6/23/2019 7:20 AM, Harvey White
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a
pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc
board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can
someone tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8
inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is
very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a long time,
it's easy to break and cannot be used in a handheld
application.? Another possibility is to make a fixture that
allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel, lower it, and
pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade
is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering
them to get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D
printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with
filing I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried
just using a razor knife and cutting the lines but could not
get the board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have
not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little
1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust
one to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Jim,
The Dremel type saw blades are still available. Do an ebay search
for Dremel diamond blades, and you will find listings for 22mm,
30mm, 40 mm and 60mm wheels.? I have bought these, and they are
fine for the purpose. While you are at it, pick up a few extra
mandrels to replace the ones you have where you sheared off the
screw.
That said, a word of caution is in order. These blades slice
through the pwb material like a hot knife through butter. They
also throw out a monstrous amount of glass and resin particles
that you don't want to? inhale. In addition to eye protection, a
mask is mandatory.
(The other) Harvey
On 6/23/2019 10:41 AM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Because the LCD cutout is something like 75mm x
25mm I don't think I could find a tile saw blade that would be
usable for such a small cutout.? I have an old Dremel router
base but figured trying to route out a cutout using a Dremel
would just cause a lot of broken bits and I had no desire to
dodge 30,000 rpm shrapnel.? That was why I used the coping saw.?
I thought I could guide the coping saw better than I did.
I know that Dremel used to sell a steel 1" diameter saw blade
but think that stopped when OSHA got wind of it as that thing is
deadly!? My hand has never been steady enough to guide a cutoff
wheel in a Dremel tool and cutoff wheels seemed to be too
fragile so any side movement would cause them to shatter.
Thank you.
Jim
?
On 6/23/2019 7:20 AM, Harvey White
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a
pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc
board material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can
someone tell me how to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8
inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is
very fragile but very hard, so while it lasts a long time,
it's easy to break and cannot be used in a handheld
application.? Another possibility is to make a fixture that
allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel, lower it, and
pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade
is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering
them to get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D
printed cover, if you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with
filing I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried
just using a razor knife and cutting the lines but could not
get the board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool but I have
not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little
1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust
one to go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make these cuts.?
Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
Hi Jim
Have a look at:
I am sorry but I buy from Ebay Switzerland and the description
comes in German. I also buy from Banggood.com and Aliexpress.com
looking for endmill.
Jean-Claude
Am 23.06.2019 um 19:34 schrieb Jim
Pruitt:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Do you have a link to the milling bits that you
use?
Thank you.
Jim
Sorry
I mixed the inch fraction. The milling bits I used were
1/8". I am still using them on my cnc router.
Jean-Claude
Before
I had a cnc router I made cuttings on a small stand
drilling machine using small milling bits of 3/8in.
First a piece of thin plywood and on top fixing a flat bar
either of wood or aluminium which made a nice guide to
push the pcboard sideway. Then changing the fixing the
flat bar for the next cut.
Entering and pushing the pcboard along is a bit delicate,
one must push very slowly. It can be done with 1 or 3
depthpaths until the depth of the pcboard is reached.
The corner will be rounded at the 4 corners and a small
file will do the job to get neat corners..
Jean-Claude
Am 23.06.2019 um 17:46 schrieb
Cornelis van Rensburg:
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then
file it to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...>
wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim
Pruitt wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the
top of a pc board enclosure (enclosure made using
double sided pc board material).? The cutout is
for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone tell me how
to do that and keep the lines straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you
find a 1/8 inch carbide pc rasp/router bit and mill
the hole.? Carbide is very fragile but very hard, so
while it lasts a long time, it's easy to break and
cannot be used in a handheld application.? Another
possibility is to make a fixture that allows you to
use a cutoff wheel in a dremel, lower it, and
pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the
saw blade is likely too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material,
soldering them to get the right size hole, then
covering that with a 3D printed cover, if you have
the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive
toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that
might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first
one but needless to say,? the cutout did not stay
straight and with filing I ended up with part of
the cutout too big.? I tried just using a razor
knife and cutting the lines but could not get the
board to break on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool
but I have not found a bit for the Dremel and have
not seen the little 1" diameter saw blades for a
while,? not that I would trust one to go straight
for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat way to make
these cuts.? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thank you.
Jim
|
?
I've done the hole cutting with a coping saw.? My method is to score
the copper
on just one side so I'll have a neat line as a reference.? I saw just
"inside" the line
and then finish with a file...carefully.? For a one-off it works for
me.
?
If coping saw blades are made like jig saw blades (and I'm pretty sure they
are),
the blades are not exactly the same of both sides so they will not cut
exactly
straight.? "Scrollers" know that from cutting wood, etc and will often
rotate
the work slightly to compensate for that.? With a hand held coping saw
you'd
have to do the same thing, except that the saw blade itself would have to
be skewed
and the work held securely in a vise.
?
Charlie
?
On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 10:31:01 -0700 "Jim Pruitt" < jpruitt67@...> writes:
I tried that (coping saw and file) but the hole did not
come out quite square.
Jim
On 6/23/2019 8:46 AM, Cornelis van Rensburg
wrote:
Use coping saw and cut an undersize square/rectangle then file
it to dimension...
Carefully...
On 23 Jun 2019, at 16:20, Harvey White < madyn@...> wrote:
On 6/22/2019 1:00 AM, Jim Pruitt
wrote:
I need to cut out an area of the top of a
pc board enclosure (enclosure made using double sided pc board
material).? The cutout is for a 16x2 LCD display.? Can someone
tell me how to do that and keep the lines
straight?
The best answer is that if you have a mill, you find a 1/8 inch carbide
pc rasp/router bit and mill the hole.? Carbide is very fragile but
very hard, so while it lasts a long time, it's easy to break and cannot be
used in a handheld application.? Another possibility is to make a
fixture that allows you to use a cutoff wheel in a dremel, lower it, and
pretend that it's a radial arm saw.
Not the easy way with the dremel.?
You might try a tile saw, cutting it wet, but the saw blade is likely
too big.
I might suggest using plates of pc board material, soldering them to
get the right size hole, then covering that with a 3D printed cover, if
you have the cover.
Sorry that this does require somewhat expensive toys.
You could try an XY vise and a drill press, that might work.
Harvey
I used a coping saw to do the first one but
needless to say,? the cutout did not stay straight and with filing
I ended up with part of the cutout too big.? I tried just using a
razor knife and cutting the lines but could not get the board to break
on those lines.
I have in the past been told to use a Dremel tool
but I have not found a bit for the Dremel and have not seen the little
1" diameter saw blades for a while,? not that I would trust one to
go straight for me anyway.
There has to be a reliable and neat
way to make these cuts.? Does anyone know how to do
this?
Thank
you.
Jim
?
|
The following procedure works great for any manual cutting or drilling, sheet metal or PCB: Create a 2D CAD layout of the object to be made in a 1 to 1 scale.? Any free or other CAD packages can do that.? Some of the paint programs works also.? Mark holes and edges.? For the holes to be drilled, beside the desired shape, draw a very small circle, about 1.5mm.? It will later be used for center punching. Print it.? Check the dimensions carefully.? Most printers are VERY accurate. If not correct, the CAD plotter software usually comes with a calibration option. ?If not, scale your design so it comes out correctly when printing. Spray the PCB or metal with removable contact cement and stick the print to.?? Let it dry. Center punch where needed, make a rough cutout with some safety margin to the printed line. Carefully file up to the line.? It is very easy to see the progress and of course it will be rectangular since the guide is right on the PCB. ? As for cutting when a milling machine is not available: I made a custom stand for a jigsaw mounted upside down.? It very easy to see the cutting process and gradually feed material. Of course a hole has to be drilled to start the cutting. Bertho
|
wb8nbs
Bertho