The pdf says that the LED holes are radius 1.0 mm, but the little not to the side says "...then drilled to 1.35 Rad".
So, if I was going to have a top plate fabricated by someone out of aluminum, should I specify these holes should be 1.00 mm radius, or 1.35 mm radius?
2.7 mm diameter assuming they would drill that rather than laser / water jet cut it. If its going to be cut rather than drilled get it cut at 2 mm then drill it out afterwards.
I know nothing about machining, so I have probably a stupid question (just for my knowledge)... why can't their machine laser/water cut the hole to 2.7 mm? Would they use a machine to automatically drill the 2.7 mm holes? Is being able to drill a 2.7 mm hole a pretty common size? (i.e. would most shops be able to perform this)? Like I said... I am totally ignorant on this subject, so please forgive me.
The absolute accuracy is just not that great - especially with water jets cutting, a difference of .1 of a mm can make for much more sloppy light pipes, or pipes that dont fit at all.
Laser cutters can acheive good enough accuracy if you run them slow, but that costs you more money.
The light pipes themselves are 2.6 mm diameter so if you drilled the holes to that size most would stay in place with the little rubber bungs, however some are hard to get it and you might break them if you are not super careful. This is why we opted to go for 2.7 mm and the bungs.
Thanks.... good to know... I need to check out the assembly video again to see the bungs you spoke of. I'm also considering, as an option, to try to cut a top plate out of hard board by hand.... my hand... which probably isn't that skilled. I do have access to other much more skilled woodworking type people who could assist, but the precision required to cut the light-pipe holes and the exact placement of the buttons could pose a problem.
I'm still playing with the FrontPanelExpress.com CAD software, but, I'm afraid that will just end up being too expensive if I can do a decent job myself...
Good question... I was going to have my top panel custom fabricated, but I think I'm just going to do something by hand to save $$$. I was just planning to try a 24mm hole saw bit to see if that made a good fit. Unfortunately this doesn't answer your question, since I've yet to attempt this and can't yet provide results...
but, if someone else (moderator???) wants to chime in, please do!
Bookmarks