Drilling through Perspex

FireCharge · March 13, 2017

Trying to mod a PSU cover to my Phantom 410 - First try was "successful", kinda failed a little and over-did the angle of the bend, it fits but it looks angled and weird. Plus I only covered the PSU with it and not the bottom HDD cages (which I intend to keep for now until I have enough money for a custom loop)
I also managed to chip a part of the perspex in the area of the front I\O connectors as I tried to drill a round hole using a metal bit on a jigsaw to make that hole.

I aim to do a better job this time and seek some advice:
Firstly, should I cut them in a circle or just got for a rectangle? If so, how do I do that for the GPU one mostly, since it should be 4cm in diameter?

Second, I'd like to add a hole to route my GPU cable upwards. How should I drill through the sheet? It's 3mm thick.

Rectangular hole sizes are 4x1cm for the GPU cable and 5x1 for the Front I/O connector area.

Tools I've got are pretty much just a drill and a jigsaw, both with only metal and wood drill bits (maybe got some cement drill bits, also they're all less than 1cm if I'm not mistaken), could get my hands on a dremmel\circular saw but that'll take more time.

Thanks in advance!

W-L · March 13, 2017

6 hours ago, FireCharge said:

-SNIP-

The main thing is to prevent chip out, wood or metal bits tend to bet fairly aggressive with a positive rake, you can brass off the tip to prevent that or get stepped or Christmas tree bits which are best at that. Similar with the jig saw blade plastic blades are not aggressive raked so they will not bite in a grab the plastic as much. The most important thing is to back the piece you are drill with a sacrificial piece of wood or plastic and to clamp it securely when cutting.

FireCharge · March 13, 2017

1 hour ago, W-L said:

-SNIP-

Found a stepped drill and a plexiglass jigsaw blade, need your confirmation if you can:

says 4mm to 20mm titanium drill bit, 7.5cm long and is designated for drilling in metal.

Here's an ebay listing for a plexiglass jigsaw blade: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Jigsaw-Blades-100mm-Bimetal-for-Bosch-for-Aluminum-Plexiglass-Varicor-/272010665849?hash=item3f55195f79:g:0i0AAOSwWnFWArnj#shpCntId

Also - is there any difference between the Bosch and Black&Decker jigsaw blades?

Thing is the drill bit specifically is quite expensive locally, so I have a question: How do you recon I could do the hole for the GPU - could I drill with a smaller drill-bit and then widen it with a jigsaw or should I stick to round holes? If so, this specific model is up to 20mm and I need it to be wider, would that be an issue as I don't want to try and widen the hole by just eating away at the sheet.

W-L · March 13, 2017

9 minutes ago, FireCharge said:

-SNIP-

Yes that stepped bit would be it, they don't dig in and take small shavings instead of the twist drills only thing is f your drilling through really thick material you limited by the step depth. You can just drill a hole and use the jig saw and enlargen it, you will want to cut away from the lines and then use files to slowly bring it to shape and size.

It's just brand usually and how long they last the current one is more general purpose and has a fairly good rake, theses are less which will prevent tearing. If you want to guarentee it doesn't chip or break back it with some thin wood and cut through both the plexi and the wood so it gives it extra torridity especially for thin plastic.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-5pcs-BIM-92mm-Jigsaw-Blade-T102BF-Clean-for-PMMA-Cutting-/172483632491?hash=item2828d35d6b:g:ThwAAOSwUKxYdxs5

Another option is to use a hole saw if its just a round opening your looking for.