Cutting ABS |
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SamV
Old Croc Joined: 21 October 2008 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 8707 |
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Posted: 09 October 2015 at 3:32am |
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I have some flat par cans that have captive leads, trouble is these leads are short and not great quality, and the gland + radius of cable curve means that it adds an extra 30mm to the back of par. This is prone to damage and wastes a lot of space in cases. And I'd quite like the ability to daisy chain them for a neater look.
So I'm looking into replacing the cable with an snap in IEC socket and an outlet on the other side. There's enough space on the inside to safely do this. What do you reckon is the best way to to cut out the hole? I need to do 15 par cans! The hole needs to be 20.5 x 27.7mm.
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bruce@bluff
Registered User Joined: 16 September 2007 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 232 |
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Abrafile hacksaw blade will be the best way to cut ABS you can get them at any hardware store
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csg
Old Croc Joined: 17 September 2007 Location: bedford Status: Offline Points: 6086 |
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If you have a few to do, you will be able to find the correct size punch and die set for the IEC assembly. RS components is a good place to look
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“The fact is this is about identifying what we do best and finding more ways of doing less of it better”
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GEB
Old Croc Joined: 13 November 2009 Location: East Midlands Status: Offline Points: 1993 |
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In the past Ive drilled a large hole and dremelled out the rest. Depends how thick the abs is through.
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kevin tyler
Old Croc Joined: 15 April 2007 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 3402 |
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The cowboy builder in me instantly thought of router bit in a drill
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Earplug
Old Croc Joined: 03 January 2012 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 7199 |
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Or a jigsaw? You´d need one with a variable speed trigger and do it slowly, otherwise the plastic will melt and seal itself behind the cut.
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Earplugs Are For Wimps!
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mini-mad
Old Croc Joined: 13 July 2012 Location: london Status: Offline Points: 6903 |
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Dremel. Simple and fast. Just stick masking tape with the drawn template on it where you need it and cut it at a medium speed.
You should get through all 15 in about two hours. |
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If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down.
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AJordan
Young Croc Joined: 06 July 2007 Status: Offline Points: 1013 |
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+1 to this. I cut quite a bit of abs holes many years ago and used a jigsaw. dont think it was variable speed but i didn't have any problems in fact it was a breeze. Just drill a pilot hole to get your blade in and away you go. |
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mini-mad
Old Croc Joined: 13 July 2012 Location: london Status: Offline Points: 6903 |
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a fine tooth blade if your gonna use a jigsaw..... dremel would still be better.
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If it sounds like a gorilla is trying to escape, turn it down.
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Earplug
Old Croc Joined: 03 January 2012 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 7199 |
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Yes, decent blade and it goes through like butter. Only problem may be the stuff sealing itself behind! "a fine tooth blade if your gonna use a jigsaw" Definitely. |
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Earplugs Are For Wimps!
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SamV
Old Croc Joined: 21 October 2008 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 8707 |
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Can't use a jigsaw, punch would be ideal, can I do it in a laser cutter or will it melt it to buggery? It's 2.3mm ABS.
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SamV
Old Croc Joined: 21 October 2008 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 8707 |
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As it's a snap in, I'm finding it hard to find the exact size punch and die, how much difference do you think half a mm would make? It's hate to have a loose connector.
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