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  • Author Author: billabott
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Project case construction

billabott

Having purchased some of these DC POWER JACK 2.1MM ENCLOSED FRAME WITH SWITCH, I began to wonder how am I going to create the proper precise opening to insert and secure it to.

 

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Will someone point me in the right direction and the right terminology to find a punch that will "Make:" this hole?

  • in reply to shabaz

    William

    If you only have a few to do, two holes and a file.

    You probably only need one flat to stop it spinning.

     

    We once had a very clever guy at work make a punch for the D type connectors, it was tha same as the manual punches with a large 1/2 inch (12mm) and a locating hole.

    We used a Grade 10 Cap screw, plenty of lube and a sacrifical washer, or a thrust washer, and used thin cases.

     

     

    mark

  • in reply to billabott

    I just had a look on Amazon, it looks like a useful book.

    Another method would be to use a milling machine of course, but that is an even more expensive up-front cost :-(

    The mcmaster site looks extremely good. It's a useful reference to browse what kind of tools and components are possible. I also use this site to see what kinds of metalwork tools there are - this site has some semi-affordable items for individuals unlike some other sites in the UK.

  • in reply to shabaz

    I recalled that in a fairly good book I read, the author made a big deal about sources of tools from a web site called www.mcmaster.com.  The book is "Making Things Move DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists" by Dustyn Roberts.

     

    They call that punch style a Double-D but they don't do small (or inexpensive) and they don't do metric sizes.

  • Hi William,

    You've got the right terminology I think. There are punches and dies available in various common shapes, but they cost ($100 or more - as an example, this one is for D-type connectors) and require a press machine (could be a manual press or powered). There used to be tools where you would drill a smaller hole, and then screw the punch and die together through it, but I've not seen them for quite a while, and I don't know if they were ever available for small overall diameters. It is a pain to do it with no tool - I don't have one, and I have to drill about half a dozen holes for BNC connectors which have one flat side, and I'm not looking forward to it for the same reason. I'm planning on drilling a smaller hole and then using needle files - not ideal, but possibly the only way to do it at low cost - but it will take ages.

    Some would suggest to drill just a bigger round hole and squeeze in some epoxy resin glue to hold it in place permanently - really not nice, but I have done it sometimes :-(

    I'm always on the lookout for low cost metalwork tools - if I spot anywhere offering low cost punch and die tools, I'll paste it here!