[sdiy] plastic front-panels?

[James Husted]

You should go to a acrylic or Plexiglas dealer and get some bits designed
for Plexiglas. Metal bits will work, but the pitch is different for plexi
bits. I did a bunch of plexi sculpture in collage, and the plexi bits will
drill a much cleaner hole and won't melt or fracture the plexi as much as
metal bits. Wood bits will destroy it pretty quick.
The other plastic to use is Lexan. They make motorcycle helmets out of it.
One of the companies I worked for used Lexan decals on their front panels
for awhile. Great color, could be screened from the rear and looked good. 3M
makes the most Lexan.
-James

-- 
James Husted                        The ErsatZ Planet
james at ersatzplanet.com           www.ersatzplanet.com

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your money."


on 1/31/02 12:42 PM, Scott Evans, Gen Mgr at esresource at earthlink.net wrote:

> I would definitely recommend springing for carbide tipped drill bits if
> you are going to drill a lot of holes in cast plastics (acrylic).
> Regular bits tend to chatter and cause chunks of the plastic to chip
> off. Don't know if this holds true for lucite (brand name?). Carbide
> drills are more expensive, but if you are going to drill a lot of holes,
> the expense is justified.
> 
> Scott
> 
> Jim Patchell wrote:
>> 
>> Plastic is also a lot more difficult to drill, but it can be done.