Aluminium Front Panel Thickness

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When I first learned how to solder I was told solder is for electrical connection only, not for mechanical support. But many things do not follow this and seem to work ok, so I'm not really sure what the correct answer is.

The no nut mounting method is actually quite elegant, one advantage is you could use pots with different shaft lengths, you simply offset them on the pcb whereas on the panel everything lines up.
 
I've been examining how certain companies like Manley do there panels. It looks like part of the time the outer plate holes are cut so the knob fits in them. This too is elegant but committing  .  Gdiy member Nick Franklin has several pieces with a plate over the front panel that i believe were made very affordably. Same with Kingston but his looks more expensive.
 
ruffrecords said:
That was pretty much what I described in the original post. A 4mm panel with 2.5mm deep recess for the nuts. The panel is 1.5mm thick where the controls are actually attached but 4mm everywhere else. I think the overall panel stiffness/strength would be fine - I was concerned about the 1.5mm thick section where the controls are attached.

Cheers

ian

Ian, when the nuts are in place, they will "reinforce" that thin section  ;)

I've also seen many similar setup with an additional 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm galvanized steel sheet sandwiched behind the 3 mm front panel to increase thickness where the recessed are located.
 
Hi Ian

It is very seldom I can help you on this site but I have some information that you might want to look at. It is a Germany based company that makes panels in aluminum in varying thickness… they have a design program that is free and after you have downloaded it you can design really whatever you like in panels… with engravings raw or with infill colors and what not. The program will automatically calculate the price as you move along.

I have ordered front panels for guitar amps and my own DIY projects and the quality is flawless. they can counter sink holes on the back side of the panel if you have pots and switches with short threads.

https://www.schaeffer-ag.de

Best of luck

/John
 
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