DIY Front Panel

[totoxraymond]

Yes!

But you need both hardware and software to be compatible.

I use a combination of grbl and bCNC to control my machine, it works well enough for me.

Thomas

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Are you saying with a probe, it's possible to map the flatness of the surface, so the router knows how deep to go throughout the cut?

I have a friend who claims he has largely improved his productions since he installed a Z-sensor.

 

[jasonallenh]

The biggest issue is getting aluminium not sticking to the bit.

I've often wondered about heating the bit to 350 and sprinkling a little olive oil in to take advantage of the Leibenfrost effect.

Yes, your ears will be protected but the inability to hear your better halff is a severe disadvantage.

Absolutely. I'd starve to death

I have been considering trying to do my own CNC once I have the space for it, but lately I've been doing the same as @totoxraymond with a partially done panel from FPE. Typically any square holes and engraving is done by them, but I do my own circular holes and infill.

 

[jonasnoble]

That looks real nice. How much did that set you back? All the ones I've drawn cost between 160 and 190 US.

I got my router today, set it up and got it talking to the PC. I'll do some test cuts tomorrow and start drawing my first front panel. My Par-metal boxes should be here next week, so hopefully I am far enough along in this that I can move onto building the pres.

I'm digging around some of the veterans in this group. I see so many cool projects I can't wait to build.

 

[jasonallenh]

That looks real nice. How much did that set you back? All the ones I've drawn cost between 160 and 190 US.

I got my router today, set it up and got it talking to the PC. I'll do some test cuts tomorrow and start drawing my first front panel. My Par-metal boxes should be here next week, so hopefully I am far enough along in this that I can move onto building the pres.

I'm digging around some of the veterans in this group. I see so many cool projects I can't wait to build.

It was closer to 100, but I made a point to only have them do the stuff I can't. For example, there's a cavity so the module here is partially recessed into the rectangular hole. Pretty tough to do on an inexpensive CNC. If you want a super cheap way to practice, the Bud Industries CH-14400 comes with a panel and it's easy enough to replace if you really chew it up.

 

[jonasnoble]

Been playing for about an hour. Not getting close, but I'm learning a lot. I'm about to rough paint and see if I can take just the paint off.

 

[totoxraymond]

Pretty cool for a first try!

Which kind of bit did you use? Depth? Feed?

I use black anodised front panels and only engrave to a depth of about 0.15 mm (if my memory serves me well). This is enough to scrape the anodised layer and have the rough panel appear. And it's very smooth under the hand.

The downside is it requires good flatness and/or fine Z probing. (probing can be time consuming especially with a finer grid)

On some plastic button caps, i used another approach, i engraved a bit lower then infilled some acrylic paint to make nice labels.

Also, i discovered that for good engravings, you need "single line fonts" otherwise the path generated combined with bit width and any imprecision would make a mess of your label.

I can't access my archive of pics right now, but most of them should already be on the forum.

Keep going!

Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

@totoxraymond - single line fonts... That's exactly what I need but I didn't know the name for it. I'll try some more today, going 0.15mm, single pass. Are you using a v-bit? 60 degree?

 

[PermO]

Try some enamel paint for filling.

I think enamel filled engravings look the best

 

[KIDVOX]

Been playing for about an hour. Not getting close, but I'm learning a lot. I'm about to rough paint and see if I can take just the paint off.
View attachment 114347

when i paint panels i use matt black engine/exhaust paint from a rattle can as most paint does not bond too well to aluminium.

 

[totoxraymond]

@totoxraymond - single line fonts... That's exactly what I need but I didn't know the name for it. I'll try some more today, going 0.15mm, single pass. Are you using a v-bit? 60 degree?

Yes! 60 degree v-bit, single tooth.

0,15 mm is not for infill but engraving (black) anodised aluminum. So markings are grey on black. Good enough for my not-so-old eyes.

About single line fonts, QCad has about 8 of them built-in, i use one of them that i like.
That's the main reason i didn't switch to nanoCad or any other. The community version is free.

Thomas

 

[jonasnoble]

Awesome guys, thanks for all the tips. I wish I had a big enough oven to powder coat my boxes, but my wife will not let me burn off the plastic in our kitchen. So I'll try some engine high temp spray paint.

I can't remember what I had set my depth and feed were last night, but I backed them way off the default values to be safe, and it still wasn't enough. I know I'm going to have to upgrade the spindle before I really get pro results, but this is great for experimenting and learning so far.

 

[jonasnoble]

Try some enamel paint for filling.

I think enamel filled engravings look the best

And I'll try some filled engraving too. I watched a FPE "How it's made" video and saw them doing that. Looked real nice.

 

[Phrazemaster]

What is the cost for a one-off such as the picture?
I'm very familiar with ordering prototypes and in my area the cost is typically $100-200.
Trying to make our own enclosures is not only motivated by "fun", it is essentially motivated by thrift, which is a very strong motivation for DIY.

Unless you're doing something over and over again, it can be hard to save money with DIY when you factor in equipment costs, wasted materials, and sheer hours of frustration/learning/education, and yes, "fun."

At least I haven't found DIY to be money-saving; quite the opposite. And my motivation also is "fun" and learning and the pioneering spirit.

 

[jasonallenh]

Try some enamel paint for filling.

I think enamel filled engravings look the best

I am not willing to work that hard. I just use these bad boys

 

[Hansblooey Ribbon]

I’d use the mill to machine off a thin layer of “resist” like spray lacquer or primer and use lightly watered down ferric chloride to turn the exposed aluminum lines, text or drill points black. You can blacken them more with aniline dye and fix it with semi gloss art spray. I’ve done it in the reverse using the toner transfer method for the lines, text…

 

[gyraf]

For engraving (Gyraf), I use a 0.3mm 30degrees flat-nose engraver bit to a depth of 0,08-0.12mm - running 30K RPM and a feedrate of 400mm/min

/Jakob E.

 

[jonasnoble]

For engraving (Gyraf), I use a 0.3mm 30degrees flat-nose engraver bit to a depth of 0,08-0.12mm - running 30K RPM and a feedrate of 400mm/min

/Jakob E.

Perfect, thank you. I got okay results with the stock spindle so far, but I'm sure I'll need to upgrade it before I cut these first two front panels.

 

[Majestic12]

I (or better say my company) has bought a second hand CNC machine from Frank Röllen (Frontpanels.de) many years ago. It has a built in tool length sensor, as well as a Z depth sensor. Basically a spring loaded tip that folds out and will "map" your engraving material by taking several height measurements over its surface area to compensate for any warp. There is also a coolant system that will spray a tiny amount of water / ethyl alcohol directly to your cutting tool. It all needs an air compressor as an external device which is quite loud as well.

I have used it a lot to make complete 19" frontpanels, but today it only gets used for milling holes.
If I want some lettering on the frontpanel, I much rather prefer to have it done by UV printing or laser engraving.
Cutting holes in aluminium and brass was (and still is) very easy on this machine. Engraving small fonts did also work quite well after many hours of trial & error. But it needs a constant re-adjusting for different materials and the misalignment that comes with time.

Comparing the cost of the machine (>4k Euro), tool costs and the time to learn it, it was only worth it because it gets used on a daily basis.

 

[totoxraymond]

So, i finally had time to take CNC mill out for a spin today.

First i thought that my small diy machine would require a lot more maintenance after 1&1/2 year without running, but it turns out it was still perfectly square and flat!

I only have poor internet via my phone right now so i won't make a detailed report but here is my first result for a front panel:



This is 3 mm anodized aluminum.
I used a 3.2 mm drill bit, a 1.5mm /1 tooth mill bit and a 25° v bit

Unfortunately the engraving bit was a bit dull, so the result isn't as sharp as i hoped for. I made the mistake of not properly probe the surface when i ran a proto in some waste material.

Also, i had problems with one drill hole, it didn't go through. I think my version of grbl doesn't handle G81 very well. I need to investigate on that path. (I'd like to upgrade the electronic/ motor anyway).

Well, in the end i think it's not bad for a ~500€ CNC!

Thomas