Plexitone

Making holes in aluminium enclosures.

Mike
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Posted

Can anyone give tips on how to drill doles in the aluminum enclosures spld by Tayda? (e.g. www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/enclosures/1590bb-style-aluminum-diecast-enclosure.html and http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/enclosures/1590a-style-aluminum-diecast-enclosure.html)
I don't have any tools and I've long forgotten drilling I did in my past.
Thanks.

Alexi
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Posted

Drilling is the best way to pierce through the aluminum enclosures but you can also hand bore them.
There area number of good videos on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mx6ACRjDJ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQyU2byLVZA

If you do not have access to drill and find hand boring way to time-consuming (it is very arduous) I would consider getting the plastic enclosure Tayda sells and using a sharp razor knife and regular drill bits to bore through it.
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/enclosures/project-plastic-box-03.html

Hope this helps. Good luck

In reply to Mike
Mike
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Posted

It certainly does help. Thanks. Great videos. Much appreciated.

I think I'll start with the plastic enclosures. If they can't take the strain then I'll get one of those stepped drill-bits :)

In reply to Alexi
Jhavok
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Posted

Two key parts of the process are centerpunching then drilling a pilot hole. These steps make sure that your hole will be in the location you wanted it to be.

Drills will walk a little when you start them, and the bigger they are the worse the tendency is.

Lay out all of your holes, punch the centers, then use a 3/16" inch drill bit to put pilots in them.

In reply to Mike
Mike
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Posted

Thank you for that tip. I do experience 'walking' with drilling. I've kind of 'punched' when drilling into walls (even though not very successfully :s) but with the enclosures it never occurred to me. Thanks once more for the advice guys.

In reply to Jhavok