Anybody used CNC'd faceplates?

drew.spriggs

drew.spriggs

Well-known member
I've had an idea for finishing a Duocast enclosure off and I think the easiest way is going to be CNCing an aluminium plate (and filling the etching in with black paint).

Has anybody done this, and if so what thickness/etc of aluminium did you use?
 
steviejr92 said:
I would try a 1mm thick aluminum sheet. It’s cheap and if you mess up you should have enough to make more. A simple 1ft by 1ft sheet should do.
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I make laser engraved acrylic faceplates and I can say that more than 1mm is going to be a problem because pot shafts are not usually long enough for more than that. Basically you end up not being able to screw the nuts back on. Also phrasing.
 
giovanni said:
I make laser engraved acrylic faceplates and I can say that more than 1mm is going to be a problem because pot shafts are not usually long enough for more than that. Basically you end up not being able to screw the nuts back on. Also phrasing.
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In combination with the aluminum enclosures? I’ve made some in the past using 1mm thick aluminum sheet metal before and never had a problem!

Edit: In fact Ive used 18 ga steel before as well which is 1.2mm thick and again never had an issue. I’m wondering if thicknesses vary from manufacturer.
 
steviejr92 said:
In combination with the aluminum enclosures? I’ve made some in the past using 1mm thick aluminum sheet metal before and never had a problem!

Edit: In fact Ive used 18 ga steel before as well which is 1.2mm thick and again never had an issue. I’m wondering if thicknesses vary from manufacturer.
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Yeah on top of the aluminum enclosure. If I go above 1mm or maybe 1.2mm I can get into trouble. Not sure how thick Tayda enclosures are but it’s gotta be at least 1mm? I should take another look at some of my failed faceplates.
 
I make brackets out of 1mm thick steel. They fit on the inside but you’re still adding a mm to the overall enclosure for the pots to fit. These are Hammond but still I can’t see the tayda enclosures being that much thicker. Never had an issue with pots not having enough threading for them not to be tightened. I’m thinking the 125b enclosures might be thicker.

IMG_4177.jpeg IMG_4175.jpeg
 
giovanni said:
I make laser engraved acrylic faceplates and I can say that more than 1mm is going to be a problem because pot shafts are not usually long enough for more than that. Basically you end up not being able to screw the nuts back on. Also phrasing.
Click to expand...
Going off datasheets, you can get away with 2mm if you skip the washer (which matches up to what I've done before with ply faceplates).

1mm doesn't leave a lot of room for a CNC engrave + paint fill, unless I'm using some sort of carrier to keep everything flat (and facing on the CNC again).
 
drew.spriggs said:
Going off datasheets, you can get away with 2mm if you skip the washer (which matches up to what I've done before with ply faceplates).

1mm doesn't leave a lot of room for a CNC engrave + paint fill, unless I'm using some sort of carrier to keep everything flat (and facing on the CNC again).
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I run a cnc machine every single day. 1mm thick aluminum is enough to engrave what you need and still fill it with paint. You just need an engraving tool. If you engrave at .35mm deep you can get a nice engraving without going through it.
 
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