Instrument case punching reqd (Perth) - suggestions?

[rebel]

I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[atec77]

rebel wrote:

I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied

 

[rebel]

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied

The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(

 

[K Ludger]

"rebel" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
newspb3m4psvml22e3usga224k2anlm3dvpof@4ax.com...

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument
cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of
routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied

The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(

What about a small 1/2 ton press from soneone like
conputronics/fiora/machnery warehouse etc in perth?

Buy (or for ABS even make up) a simple small square or round punch/die set.
Set up fences around the box in the right places and punch away to nibble
out the shape. Maybe a minute per box & a cost of $100-$200. Press can be
used for all sorts of stuff ie IDC's etc.

 

[atec77]

rebel wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied

The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(
Then maybe laser or water cutting ?

 

[rebel]

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:46:36 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied

The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(

Then maybe laser or water cutting ?

Never seen laser cutting on non-metallic work ...

Water cutting I have seen close up. It's the sort of stuff most people probably
wouldn't believe if they hadn't seen it. We've used it on cutting bulk holes in
gland plates for comms huts. Bit brutal on small ABS instrument cases though.

 

[atec77]

rebel wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:46:36 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied
The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(

Then maybe laser or water cutting ?

Never seen laser cutting on non-metallic work ...

Water cutting I have seen close up. It's the sort of stuff most people probably
wouldn't believe if they hadn't seen it. We've used it on cutting bulk holes in
gland plates for comms huts. Bit brutal on small ABS instrument cases though.
We used it a while back for cutting an oval hole in some conduit type

tube , several hundred of them and it worked very well ( it doesn't have
to run the 50.000 lbs/sqinch) plasma wont work so you may have little
choice but to be inventive. , good luck with it anyway

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

rebel wrote:

Never seen laser cutting on non-metallic work ...

Lasers are used to cut wood into intricate shapes, but it leaves a
very thin burnt edge.


--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html

aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.

If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm


There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

 

[atec77]

rebel wrote:

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:26:51 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:46:36 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied
The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(
Then maybe laser or water cutting ?
Never seen laser cutting on non-metallic work ...

Water cutting I have seen close up. It's the sort of stuff most people probably
wouldn't believe if they hadn't seen it. We've used it on cutting bulk holes in
gland plates for comms huts. Bit brutal on small ABS instrument cases though.

We used it a while back for cutting an oval hole in some conduit type
tube , several hundred of them and it worked very well ( it doesn't have
to run the 50.000 lbs/sqinch) plasma wont work so you may have little
choice but to be inventive. , good luck with it anyway

To give you an idea what the required slots are, look at the top of the first
pic in http://www.radioprogrammers.com/70-1000X.html
if all else fails a simple short run on a vertical mill although I still

think you can buy suitable punches

 

[rebel]

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:26:51 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:46:36 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:18:22 +1000, atec77 <atec77@hotmail.com> wrote:

rebel wrote:
I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have you tried some std size punches such as d/s and jaycar supplied
The slots aren't that convenient a shape :-(

Then maybe laser or water cutting ?

Never seen laser cutting on non-metallic work ...

Water cutting I have seen close up. It's the sort of stuff most people probably
wouldn't believe if they hadn't seen it. We've used it on cutting bulk holes in
gland plates for comms huts. Bit brutal on small ABS instrument cases though.

We used it a while back for cutting an oval hole in some conduit type
tube , several hundred of them and it worked very well ( it doesn't have
to run the 50.000 lbs/sqinch) plasma wont work so you may have little
choice but to be inventive. , good luck with it anyway

To give you an idea what the required slots are, look at the top of the first
pic in http://www.radioprogrammers.com/70-1000X.html

 

[terryc]

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:14:49 +0800, rebel wrote:

I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument
cases (small numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm
sick of routing them by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Okay, if you only have small lots and usually do it be hand, and you are
runnng a business, have you considered adding a milling machine to your
inventory?

Some hobby magazine advertise compact combination lathe-miling machines.
One of these might suit your various slotting requirements in future and
thus worth the investment.

 

[Mark Harriss]

rebel wrote:

I need to find an outfit who can punch some slots in ABS instrument cases (small
numbers) in Perth, but I'm not having any luck so far. I'm sick of routing them
by hand. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What sort of budget do you have for tooling?. Your case is plastic so
you can fabricate a simple female die from four pieces of steel to make
the die hole (two blocks for the long sides and two bits of 3mm sheet
to space the long sides apart and bolt it together). Then make a made
die punch from some 3mm sheet steel cut at a slight angle so it shears
the plastic slot from one end to the other as it goes into the hole.

In use you'd occasionally touch up the edges with an oil stone to
retain a sharp 90 degree corner on the cutting surfaces.

A $120 hand press would complete the tooling.

I'd expect the plastic punch die can be be made from mild steel for
the lower volumes you'd be making.