Cutting panels

Oops, DIY... DYI driving yourself intoxicated... think I'll have another beer and go to bed.

George H.

I think people get more excited/satisfaction when they invest time/money in a project and it looks *good*/professional when they are done. They seem more likely to want to "show it off" if they don't have to also "apologize" for it.

And, the easier it is for them to get those good results, (lower the bar) the more likely they are to undertake new "adventures". Consider how few people work on their own cars, woodworking, home maintenance, etc. "Encouragement" seems a good motivator.

YMMV,

--don

I *crudely* threw together a minimalist panel design just to get an idea as to what their pricing was likely to be. I.e., I just set out to reproduce the existing panel -- trimmed down to 3x12 instead of 4x(12+12). Recall I will need two that are that size...

This results in a panel 5.25 x 10.5 x 0.125. I chose black anodized aluminum as it seemed to be close to the cheapest option ("natural" would require painting)

The panel with three 7.5 x 0.625 slots was $43.

Adding the 72 countersunk holes that allow the PCB's located behind the panel to be attached to the panel increased this to $72.

Adding 6 countersunk mounting holes to mount the panel to increased this to $96 (OK, maybe I could omit two of those holes... perhaps this saves $5-10?).

Lettering the 36 connector positions with simple numeric designators (i.e., 1-36) brings the price up to $118.

[Perhaps there are cheaper options that I didn't explore?]

Repeat for the second set of 36 means we're in the $230+ ballpark. For essentially a blank sheet of aluminum with a few holes in it (surely no descriptive legend... that would have to be written on a sheet of paper taped to the wall by the panel? :> )

I can't imagine many folks going this route. Esp when you see how many PC's have replaced/added optical drives that don't bother to "match" the original color scheme of the machine! :>

--don

Grrr... typo. sb "24" holes (8 for each group of 12 connectors); $72 for the new price.

There are various manufacturers that make unpopulated rack panels punched for Keystone RJ-45 jacks. For example: I couldn't find one in 3x12 but there may be other configurations that are suitable.

Also, search for "blank rack panels". They're not really "blank" but that's what seems to produce the most hits for unpopulated panels.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

You're looking for a "panel punch". A quick Google didn't find me a good RJ-45 one, although there are a ton of rectangular sizes available, presumably one ought to fit an RJ-45.

I've personally only used some DB style ones. Details vary, but usually you drill some holes, fit the bolts that connect the front and back dies together, tighten things up, and then crank the punch screw until you've made a hole. I own one of these:

This I printed on paper, and then put some stikcy transparent over it. The rectangular hole was made with a jigsaw.

The LEDs are behind holes in the alu, you only see those when on.

It needs a LCD bezel and a new printout and foil glued, but it seems to work this way too ;-) But if you do this right it can look cool, print text in color too (inkjet), and the transparent foil makes it shine, shine sells.

I messed up the foil when sliding it in, was too thick... else it is really flat.

You're suggesting "nibbling" away the long slot "one connector-width at a time"? Then, coming along afterwards with a file to trim the spots where they overlapped?

Greenlee makes great punches! Years ago I had access to a large set of their punches along with the "hydraulic" actuator (so you don't have to crank down on the bolt to drive the punch through the material). I recall using them to punch 2.5" dia holes in a panel for some analog panel meters in a power supply I was designing. Talk about "labor saving"... :> I started *looking* for extra uses for the punches: power inlets, fuse holders, etc. Things that *could* have been done with oversize drill bits but much more fun to do with the punch set!

--don

Thanks, Martin. How expensive is a one-off there, ballpark? Regular aluminum panel.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

For a professional-looking panel that ain't bad at all. Just think about what your own time is worth per hour, and then you still need to buy the stock somewhere. Which probably means another hour just for the drive into town, plus 2-3 gallons of gas at $4 a pop.

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Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

I used to use FPE frequently at work, but can't recall any specific prices now. (I retired about 5 years ago...)

I have a feeling that a 5.25 x 19" panel with a dozen holes and a fair amount of lettering might be $80 - $100, using single-stroke lettering

- fancy lettering requiring multiple passes of the milling tool put the price up quickly!

Their design program is a free download, and can show you prices as you work (it shows the cost of each item, so on my first panel I could see that the lettering was expensive, so I changed fonts, and the total price dropped considerably).

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI  Vancouver BC 
peterbb (at) telus.net 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

If plastic would do, try laser cut acrylic (=Perspex, is that the same as lexan?) Then use clip-in patch sockets. The main difficulty would be the robustness of the plastic, plus finding sockets designed for a thick (4mm?) panel rather than 1mm steel.

Tooling charges for a laser cutter should be minimal as there's almost no setup, just draw something in a vector graphics package and that should suffice. Ask your laser cutting shop what's their preferred program.

Theo

Nice! Thanks, Peter, it's bookmarked. Later this year I may have to "fancify" a prototype I built with Radio Shack boxes. It all works but it doesn't look very posh.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

For 2-D, almost everyone can work with a DXF file.

h f

rear panels they look great and wasn't very expensive,

ce

the program is extremely easy to use, and has lots of connectors/fans/19" p anels etc. predefined

it literally takes seconds to do a 19" front with mounting holes

19" 3u in 3mm black elox alu comes out at ~35?

added some stuff a 6mm round hole is 0.19?, 9pin subd ~0.49?, 50x50mm square hole 1.35 ? m3 treaded hole 0.72?, "TESTPANEL" in 10mm letters 1mm cutter 1.08?

and 5/10/20 gets you 10/20/30% off

-Lasse

How many folks, realistically, do you think would drop that sort of money on a "piece of metal"? You can buy 3 or 4 quality security cameras for that price. Or, several of the little satellite processors that I use. I.e., things that give you functionality ... not just cosmetic.

As I said elsewhere, think of how many folks with "black" color scheme PC's have added/replaced CD/DVD drives and used *white* ones... because the *black* ones weren't on sale? Or, a brandX keyboard on a brandY computer? Or, who label things with pen/pencil instead of a real "labeler" (or, don't bother to label at all!! :> )

And, that's just a "generic" panel. I.e., *exactly* what I already HAVE... all it's buying me is "cut it in half" and don't make it

*look* like it has been cut in half! And, it still doesn't really legend the connections (other than numbering them).

E.g., with a graphic overlay, I can put pictures (icons) of cameras with "NNW", "NNE", "SSW", "SSE", etc. to identify the various security camera connections; icons of speakers with "N Kit" (kitchen), "S Kit", "NW Fam", "SE Fam", "SW Fam", etc. to identify each of the network speaker connections; little "antenna beacon" icons legended to identify the connections associated with the beacons; icons of "CRTs" legended to identify the connectors associated with the various control panels; a bell to mark the connector for the alarm system; a big "drip" for the irrigation system; etc. (I have mixed feelings about icons. But, you could also arrange the connectors in *groups* and use the space below each group to identify the group -- "Security Cameras" -- with shorter indications to further qualify each individual connector: NNW, NNE, SSW, etc.)

Shirley, trying to do anything like this on that "custom" panel from fabricator is going to be outrageously expensive (and, if it is engraved, probably pretty unusable, visually).

And, if you change some wiring or add some new connections, you just print a new overlay!

Also, if you've screwed up *measuring* the locations of the various mounting studs, etc. *required* to make the custom panel usable, you don't learn $100/200 later! Screw up a graphic overlay and you're out $2. It doesn't *care* where the studs are located because the studs are already present on the panel *beneath* the overlay!

It's called a photograph. You buy them at Walgreens, Target, Costco, Walmart, etc.

With the custom panel, you still are spending time. And, waiting days/weeks to see if you've screwed up.

Some of us have indoor plumbing, Joerg (i.e., we don't live 35+ miles from ) :> Even a thin sheet of rigid plastic can be purchased from any of the local craft stores. Remember, it doesn't have to *do* anything -- just cover some holes that we want to pretend don't exist and "support" a photograph.

I think the graphic overlay would appeal to the sort of person who *isn't* going to just settle for "using an equipment rack". (I know several folks who *will* go the equipment rack route!) It's a very low bar to cross -- low cost of admission. And, very low cost for failure (print paper copies until you are sure all is correct). And, lets them point to something that is exclusively *their* creation -- since so much else *won't* be!

And, hey, if he wanted to spend extra money on a fancy piece of metal, there's nothing to stop him! He can even machine it out of

*platinum* if he wants! :> (chances are, that sort of sod would not be doing *anything* himself so I won't worry about him!)

--don

Hobbyists won't, of course. But I can see myraid uses in the professional world. For example, when you present an idea to venture capitalists (just did that recently) there will often be demo hardware you have built. A professional front panel versus a "duck tape and Sharpie" approach can make all the difference. Well worth $100.

Man, you guys must have a full-blown NSA setup going there :-)

Sure, if you need flexibility you can't have things engraved. In that case it is better to have slots for paper strip, like the quick-dial numbers on a fax machine.

You plan to screw the panels straight onto the studs? That sure is a true minimalist approach.

Yeah, but those photos don't last.

Ain't no crafts store in this here town. But we can get saddles, boots, spurs, and glow plugs for the John Deere.

For hobby or residential use it can be ok. But not really in the pro world, like industrial of when looking for venture funding.

--
Regards, Joerg 

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

No just punching the holes you need. I was under the impression you wanted to put something like this:

or a collection of single ports through a panel.

For a 2x6 block of RJ-45, like the one above, you'd need an (approximately) 26x87mm rectangular punch. One that size didn't leap out at me on Greenlee's site, but I did see one that looked sized for a 4x6 block of RJ-45s.

Another alternative is to find someone who does waterjet cutting in your area, and send them the appropriate CAD file.

The panel I did was around $140. One large cutout for a HMI module, 3 or

4 holes ( including a D hole) and some simple engraving and fill to spruce it up. I think it was 3 or 4U high.

Cheers