pulse223

Hi everyone, i just started to mod my crappy generic made-in-china case but im a total noob at it. I wanted to cut a design into the front trim panel to serve as a new fan intake, but during the cutting, i realized the plastic would melt and refuse in a really ugly way...The tool i used was a band-saw/scroll saw and i used it after drilling the right holes.

So the questions is: How do i cut the case without the melting? What tool or technique do i use?

AMOCO

a little drimel tool might work + they have very fine bits too.

radodrill

What TPI blades ard you using and at what cutting speed? for plastics you want to use high-TPI blades and at medium cutting speed.

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pulse223

The speed of the machine was set to medium, and i guess TPI is the measure of fine-ness of the teeth, it was a very fine blade.

If i can, I'll get some shots of the front panel, its a total disaster now because the plastic turned into blobs and solidified right after....=( im still thinking of modding the front, but i might have to cut out the damaged parts and put something else in its place

pulse223

Pictures up>> the blue holes are the LEDs in the case shining through, the 2nd pic is what the cut looks like now

Attached Thumbnails

   

theCanadian

Dremel on lowest speed and a light hand is your best bet. What ever you do, if you use a power tool, set it to the lowest speed possible.

You could probably cut it out with a carpenter knife/razor if you have to. Patience is everthing.

radodrill

What type of blade were you using? And how many strokes per minute was the saw set to?

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Project RAD GT

SR-1/2 radobases for Crazy Carl's Antec 900 mod

Modding/electronics/hardware supply thread

pulse223

I'm not sure on the type of blade it was or the strokes per minute because my friend set it up for me and i just tried to cut with it =P but i think most likely the blade is a wood blade because his is a woodshop above all else

Is any of it repairable? Like, can i just continue cutting the pattern or should i go with plan B and remove the bottom section and replace with acrylic/aluminum?

Syrillian

Hi.

The problem is not you, nor is it necessarily your tools. As Radodrill has mentioned the tooth-count on the blade plays a significant role in the cleanliness of the cut.

Imho, the focus of the issue is the plastic itself. Most likely you are using "extruded-acrylic". This type of manufacturing produces an acrylic that does not handle high-heat as well as "cast", or "cell-cast".

You may have to cut slowly, and pause frequently to keep the cut clean. Also, if you are steady-handed, or have another set of hands, then compressed air can help keep the area cool; not a steady blast, but intermitant and light bursts.

Using a sharp utility blade to trim the congealed plastic helps to remove the offending mass.

...this can be tedious, but well worth the effort.

Further cleaning can be done with sand paper and a home-made sanding block (in this case a thin and rigid piece of metal ~ I have found that a SST ruler hits those really thin spots well) and 100-400 (depending upon severity, or desired end-result) grit sandpaper...

...how's that for a run-on sentence

...okay I'll shut up now.

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pulse223

thanks alot guys, ill give the cutting another shot when my friend gets back from his cottage =) the reason im modding it is that i got a couple of LED fans in the case now (bright blue) and one of them sits in front of the HDD bay, cutting the pattern into the front would serve as an intake vent, in addition, with blue LEDs behind it, the front would look amazing in the dark