Display cube question

[Herps&Inverts]

I go old school and use an open flame on my stove and an awl. It works well and if the metal is hot enough, you won't crack the cube.

 

[BrynWilliams]

I've tried drilling perspex/plastic before and found that a sharp wood cutting (not masonry) drillbit worked really well, i used a handheld drill with variable speed and just kinda judged the vibration of the plastic as a guide to slow down or speed up.

Also, if it's a hammer drill make sure the hammer setting if off before you start, i cracked my first one in the first 2 seconds having forgot that :?

To get a nice finish on the holes a narrow ended heatgun can be used to heat up the inner surface of the newly drilled hole to give it that 'crystal clear' finish.

Hope it's helpful

 

[Snuggles]

I vote "soldering gun", mainly because I have never tried any other methods.

 

[Moltar]

Masking tape holds it all together. Then drill at high speed with low pressure. I've never had so much as a crack using this method.

 

[Eggy]

Dremel at max RPM allways worked great here.

 

[azgrower12]

srry to get off topic but were do you get those cubes at. ohh and i dont have those cubes but for any plastc i use a drill it's pretty smooth as opose to a burn or melt

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I don't really have issues with melt holes being sloppy. The mound of melted plastic that forms around the hole pops off easily if you just apply some pressure with a pair of pliers - you are left with a nice, clean hole. The holes I melted in my betta bins look identical to the ones I drilled, and I cracked a heck of a lot of bins with the drilling method.

That being said I really like the hotknife + mesh idea for ventillation!

 

[c'est ma]

I don't really have issues with melt holes being sloppy. The mound of melted plastic that forms around the hole pops off easily if you just apply some pressure with a pair of pliers - you are left with a nice, clean hole. The holes I melted in my betta bins look identical to the ones I drilled, and I cracked a heck of a lot of bins with the drilling method.

Wow, I never knew that! I assume you have to wait until everything is completely cooled...? Can't wait to try it, as I only have a soldering iron; no Dremel.

Thanks!

 

[Miz]

i personally have never done this with an enclosure, but i've worked in the sign industry for years, and have tons of experience with plastics. so far, every suggestion has been great, but IMO drilling works best with a small bit at medium speeds and low pressure. tape isn't really neccesary....you just gotta have a feel for it. also, the comment about the heat-gun finish is a good one. either that or a REALLY hot torch for flame polishing. (That takes practice though, and is merely for aesthetics....a must in signage, not so much in T enclosures. use scrap plastic for practice first if you want to try this, and depending on the actual material, don't use cleaning solutions other than soapy water, as they will crack things like acrylic and petg if they've been exposed to heat......anyways) yeah all of those methods will work. the soldering gun seems like the best bet for starters if you aren't confident in your ability to get a good feel for the drill. and it's easy to get the excess melted stuff off. just scrape/break it once it's cooled.

 

[Snuggles]

srry to get off topic but were do you get those cubes at.

I get mine at craft stores. The ones by me are called Michael's and Pat Catan's. I don't know if those are nation-wide chains or not. They are around $2.00 each.

 

[c'est ma]

the soldering gun seems like the best bet for starters if you aren't confident in your ability to get a good feel for the drill. and it's easy to get the excess melted stuff off. just scrape/break it once it's cooled.

Thanks for confirming that, Miz! I'm kinda surprised I haven't accidentally stumbled on that myself...