[sdiy] PCB faceplate large hole creation?

[Pete Hartman]

On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 2:34 PM Brian Willoughby <brianw at audiobanshee.com>
wrote:

> Naive question: If someone actually ordered a PCB in aluminum - not as a
> faceplate - would the copper traces deposited on aluminum actually work?
> Seems like the Electrical Test would fail with everything shorted out.
>
> By the time you go to the trouble of designing a PCB with the intention of
> using it as a face plate in aluminum, it seems like you might as well just
> start with Front Panel Express (Germany and USA). They have the ability to
> put letting on the face plate via routing or silk screening. I've seen
> both, and the silk screen seems to work fine. I think that the person
> ordering it may have specified a clear coat to protect the silk screen.
>

There's a layer of insulating material between the copper and the
aluminum.  I cannot remember whether it's FR4 or something else.  The main
point of the aluminum substrate is to suck away heat, as I understand it.

I believe when I did my experiment, the aluminum PCB material was still far
cheaper than the FPE options available at the time.  However it may have
been before they were doing or widely known to be doing screening on their
panels, I understand that has brought their prices down significantly.
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