Aluminium Cutting + Some Extras.

[DeathPrincess]

I'm starting a case mod (parts are arriving tommorow!) based off a Lian Li case. So its made of aluminium, of a thickness of around 1.8mm (it said that somewhere, or I imagined it, it sounds believable.

Now I have a Dremel 300, and would like to make some nice thin cuts as the idea is to lower the front part of the case.

This is simplified (the edge going across the top is more of a _|------|_ shape) but basically i'm cutting out the 5.25 drive bay and then reattaching it somehow. The only idea I have for that so far is just screwing it to the top of the drive cage (the system disk is an SSD so if I use the top slow for that I have plenty of clearance.

Why this needs to be done shall probably get revealed in a work log. Ive gathered a load of materials so this shall be hopefully quite professional looking. But basically im looking for which cutting disks would be appropriate for this kind of work? Also are there any recommended tools to assist in cutting straight lines? Or techniques?

For the next stage im using a load of putty to build up a few areas. So does anyone have any ideas for cheap stuff that will set hard and shrink as little as possible? It doesn't matter about the finish as I have stuff for the top layers anyway.

Lastly. Perple perspex. I use purple and green for everything. So I decided this time the colors will be purple and blue (or red...or blue and red...) It will have strange cut outs on the side panels too, which I was hoping to find transparent purple perspex for. But have had no luck (I just had the idea of using transparent plastic film, but not sure hw that will look) pleanty of places in the US do it, but non in europe. Does anyone know of a place that will ship internationally (or in europe) that sell this stuff?



Basically.

Best deremel blades for cutting aluminium with thin cuts.
Best way of reattaching cut offs.
Cheap putty that sets hard.
Place that sells purple perspex (in europe)
Thankyou!

 

[wra18th]

Ooh! I'm subscribing to this. Sorry, I don't have any suggestions as I've botched up a Lian Li case mod so badly that I'm embarrassed to show my face anywhere near a nice case mod. I'm actually hoping to learn something from you.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Thanks Ill probably make a proper worklog (in the worklogs forum) when I get going on this (tommorow) so ill post links and photos based on any advice so you can see how it goes

 

[aphasia]

howdy

i'm sure other members could probably assist with your full list of requirements. the only experience i've had is cutting chunks out of my last case (removing fan cut-out grills and cutting holes and basic modding for water loop).

for cutting alumimium you can use either a MultiPurpose Cutting Bit (561)

or cut-off wheels like these;

409 15/16" Cutting Wheels

420 15/16" Cut-off Wheels

426 1-1/4" Fiberglass Reinforced Cut-off Wheels

i personally haven't tried the MultiPurpose Cutting Bit.
with the cutting wheels (the first 2 pictured), the discs are quite thin and good for fine work.
personally i preferred the reinforced cut-off wheel (426) b/c the other discs tend to explode if too much pressure is applied. though working with soft metals you should be ok (tin / aluminium) if you're carefull

using a hand-held dremel for small surfaces are fine however if you are planning to use longer straight line cutting work, you may need an attachment like this;

231 Shaper/Router Table

trying to cut a pefect line with a tool designed to work @ 20,000 to 30,000 rpm is tricky. last time i used my dremel, my hands were numb after cutting half a 120mm fan hole.

anyway you'll probably want to check the dremel website to ensure you have everything you need to do the job right. after all it would be a shame to butcher a nice lian li case.
http://www.dremel.com/Pages/default.aspx

with the other stuff you need help with i've no idea. the other members will chime in i'm sure.

good luck

 

[DeathPrincess]

The 561 looks intresting. I'm guessing it just works like a drill that cuts sideways? The cut from that would be rather thick

I've heard that aluminium likes to melt if too much pressure from cutting tools is applied, so im probably going to be taking it in slow steady shallow cuts (proabably about 7 passes should do it, 2mm a time). I've got 2 giant rolls of masking tape ready, and the case arrived on time. It was freezing cold...

The case is pretty tiny being mitx. So the longest cut will be about 10 inches at most. Probably going to cut as neatly as possible and then grind down the line until they are flat. The top cuts are going to be the most trick, as they have right angles and I dont want to go too far off to the sides.

Do dremel make any hole saws? They are perfect for cutting fan holes! I have very little in the way of equipment as i'm a tennant. I have a garden and a few rooms to work from, but no desk even It will all be done from the floor of my room or the garden.

I checked out the dremel site as you suggested and it has a "pick activity" so cutting. Then "pick material" I chose aluminium. The suitable blades it came up with were the three wheels you had posted plus the 456. Which looks identical to the 426 but is just 38mm rather than 32mm, which apparently offers a significantly longer lifetime. So I suppose it would depend on the prices of those two. If a pack of 5 426s were half the price of 456s then they would be more than worth it. Depends on home much longer they actually last! It suggested 60-120 grit sandpaper wheels for sanding, and 518 and 516 for grinding.

They also sell a line and circle cutter.

But the part is attached at 90 degrees. So youd have to buy a 90 shaft convertor (which I dont think would work as it appears to connect using the same thing) or use a spiral cutting bit, which would have much thicker line.

I know that there shall be sparks (hopefully ) and because of various reasons I have a load of eye protection and facemasks. I've got no gloves other then wool ones...So it might be intresting.

But anyway the case has arrived, ill take some photos and then start masking taping off stuff!

 

[wra18th]

No, not the 561!!! Oh the horror!! That's what I mutilated a Lian Li with. I can still see the jagged rip in the aluminum. sob......

You gotta be really steady with that thing or you'll ruin it.

 

[aphasia]

one thing i forgot to mention regarding the cutting discs (cut-off wheels) is that you need to make sure the wheel bit is balanced in the dremel chuck.

i had problems when i was using mine when changing over bits. i took me 5 - 10 mins to get the cut-off wheels tightened properly so they didn't wobble when cutting. if the bit isn't balanced right, you'll just make a mess while cutting or destroy the disc.

as i've only used my dremel a few times, not 100% sure i was installing wheels right (hence the 5-10mins it took me to tighten the chuck properly). the reason it's was so difficult for me was b/c the neck attachment for the cut-off wheels is so thin and short. it's not like changing over a drill bit where almost impossible to install incorrectly. then again it could of been just me being a spaz...

anyway i'm sure you'll figure it out or the other members will drop some helpful hints.

 

[aphasia]

wra18th - lol.

No, not the 561!!! Oh the horror!!

i feel you're pain. personally i've never dared touch a lian li case with a power tool (other than a drill). i'd be too scared i'd bugger it up. kudos to you though for having a go, even if it ended in tears...

 

[fochkoph]

All I got to say is be VERY patient with the cutting process and make sure you mask the entire surface to protect the beautiful finish from any scratches. I had the utter misfortune of asking a very impatient friend to cut some holes for my top panel and sufficed to say I have the result stored away in a very dark corner of my closet hoping to never lay eyes on it again. It was painful.

 

[DeathPrincess]

No, not the 561!!! Oh the horror!! That's what I mutilated a Lian Li with. I can still see the jagged rip in the aluminum. sob......

You gotta be really steady with that thing or you'll ruin it.

I'm kind of clumsy with most thing So definately that wont be something i'd use! This is probably one of the cheapest lian li cases, but it would appear one of the ones you can't order the panels for individually. I'm going to be practicing with the spare HDD cage thing I don't remember the name, the spacer) a few times to get into to it a bit better.

one thing i forgot to mention regarding the cutting discs (cut-off wheels) is that you need to make sure the wheel bit is balanced in the dremel chuck.

i had problems when i was using mine when changing over bits. i took me 5 - 10 mins to get the cut-off wheels tightened properly so they didn't wobble when cutting. if the bit isn't balanced right, you'll just make a mess while cutting or destroy the disc.

as i've only used my dremel a few times, not 100% sure i was installing wheels right (hence the 5-10mins it took me to tighten the chuck properly). the reason it's was so difficult for me was b/c the neck attachment for the cut-off wheels is so thin and short. it's not like changing over a drill bit where almost impossible to install incorrectly. then again it could of been just me being a spaz...

anyway i'm sure you'll figure it out or the other members will drop some helpful hints.

One of my few skills is overtightening stuff I had to slice out the screw on a PSP to get to the screen for a replacement. It still kinds of hangs off ina weird way, but I could definately identify it if it got stolen!

What kind of thing did you use to do the changeover? Theres some instruction videos on dremels website that might be helpful. I'm probably going to be watching them (I feel like a noob watching tutorials, but its always good to have a second experienced opinion!).

One thing i've heard often is to take regular breaks using it, otherwise the drive shaft melts... Someone experienced should make a dremel tutorial and someone else should sticky it!

All I got to say is be VERY patient with the cutting process and make sure you mask the entire surface to protect the beautiful finish from any scratches. I had the utter misfortune of asking a very impatient friend to cut some holes for my top panel and sufficed to say I have the result stored away in a very dark corner of my closet hoping to never lay eyes on it again. It was painful.

I've got pleanty of masking tape ready (2 giant rolls) plus it's cheap to buy another 200 rolls more. So i'll be using that lavishly. Plus ill be probably quite nervous with the first few attemps, which is why i'm doing my research. The danger shall probably come after i'm more "experienced" and just kind of go for it...

If it was a lian Li case it's possible (if you haven't already) that you can find a replacement top panel and try again! Oh...one thing to note that though it wont be completely gone, the hair finish (they call it that...) in the areas that i'm modding (about 80%) will get nicely covered, so there is a little room for errors but I want to keep up a professional look for obvious reasons. Knowing that theres an army of errors underneath (probably will be a comedy of errors knowing me ) will annoy me too much to not be careful!

 

[aphasia]

DeathPrincess;
What kind of thing did you use to do the changeover?

as long as the cut-off wheel mandrel (pic below) is spinning straight, you should be fine.

the only issue is you really won't know if it's balanced until a cut-off disc is mounted.

i didn't have much of a trick to get the mandrel straight, just trial and error.

for most of your cutting work, you're only going to be using a single disc anyway (426 1-1/4" Fiberglass Reinforced Cut-off Wheel). so you're only going to be changing discs if you break the original. the reinforced discs are frankly quite difficult to break unless your pressing down too hard. only light pressure is needed during cutting work.

probably should start with lower rpm when starting then slowly dial up the speed once you get more comfortable handling the tool (insert lewd joke here...)

yeah dremels gets pretty hot during use.
i didn't really take much of a break when i was cutting into my case tho i did let the unit spin down when lifting off the case surface and moving to the next section.

the youtube tutorials are pretty good;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMiH8wYTDY
definitely worth a look,

 

[E^vol]

They also sell a line and circle cutter.

FYI, if anyone is thinking about the circle cutter attachment to install fans, this is "roughly" what you can expect, no pun intended. I did this cut in about 2mins. and as you can probably see, I didn't take the time to clean up the edges at all...Case is a P180, so the side panel is alum, plastic, alum. and I cut it in a single, quick pass.
The attachment did a great job especially considering it was my first try with it and I did it very quickly.

P.S. It's a Works 250mm fan and it's too loud for my taste.

 

[DeathPrincess]

as long as the cut-off wheel mandrel (pic below) is spinning straight, you should be fine.
the only issue is you really won't know if it's balanced until a cut-off disc is mounted.

i didn't have much of a trick to get the mandrel straight, just trial and error.

for most of your cutting work, you're only going to be using a single disc anyway (426 1-1/4" Fiberglass Reinforced Cut-off Wheel). so you're only going to be changing discs if you break the original. the reinforced discs are frankly quite difficult to break unless your pressing down too hard. only light pressure is needed during cutting work.

probably should start with lower rpm when starting then slowly dial up the speed once you get more comfortable handling the tool (insert lewd joke here...)

yeah dremels gets pretty hot during use.
i didn't really take much of a break when i was cutting into my case tho i did let the unit spin down when lifting off the case surface and moving to the next section.

the youtube tutorials are pretty good;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iMiH8wYTDY
definitely worth a look,

Ok so I ordered a bunch of dremel disks and stuff. I wanted to have lots of insurance agaist breakages. So I got a 5 pack started set of 456s (the slightly bigger version of the 426s) which use the speedclic mandrel (so might help with the levelling problem, i'll have to see), and then a 12 pack for the cheapest I could find. Both of the packs were next to impossible to find (in europe) for the standard mandrel, they all seem to be for the speedclic, so for compatibility I have both things now. It actually turns out 3 places within 500m of my house are listed as dremel stockists. But i've never seen any of them, so don't actually know what they carry, or how expensive theyll be (probably very). But it should mean if I get stuck or burn through all 17 + 10 disks I have then i'll be able to get replacements fairly easily and quickly. Make sure you always buy with the amazon links! (I forgot at 3am... sorry kyle! Ill get some more drives and motherboard soon using it!)

The lowest setting for the 300 is 10,000 RPM up to 35,000 (I think). 10,000 doesn't sound too gentle (if youve heard a 10,000 RPM fan). But that will probably be my ramming speed. I'll probably do a cut round the whole shape. Take a break, do a cut etc. Luckily theres no batteries to play around with.

Ill check out some tutorials so i'm better informed when starting! I won't get much practice, so i'd rather make informed mistakes then otherwise

FYI, if anyone is thinking about the circle cutter attachment to install fans, this is "roughly" what you can expect, no pun intended. I did this cut in about 2mins. and as you can probably see, I didn't take the time to clean up the edges at all...Case is a P180, so the side panel is alum, plastic, alum. and I cut it in a single, quick pass.
The attachment did a great job especially considering it was my first try with it and I did it very quickly.

P.S. It's a Works 250mm fan and it's too loud for my taste.

What kind of blade did you use to do this? The edge is maybe a little rough (not that it matters) in one or too places. Which could probably be neatened up slightly using the rubber U shaped strip stuff thats used for case windows. As for the noise, maybe use a bigger holed mesh, as that is supposed to lower noise output (strangely), as there is less turbulence. Unless its just the motor, then you can't do so much apart from replace the fan But it definately work and came out fine!

Is it possible to use the circle adapter and the 90 degree adapter at the same time?

What thickness aluminium is it?

 

[Mickey21]

Personally I would never use the multi purpose bit for smooth metal cuts. For cuts, I would use a combination of any of their circular cutters, even 409 are fine on aluminum. Just turn the speed down on your dremel if you are worried about snapping too many discs, let the cutter do the work. LET THE CUTTER DO THE WORK. Keep any worn discs for small angle cuts later, never throw away a used disc unless it cracks. Small discs do well on short cuts and tight spaces. For the dremel I would reccomend the hand held adapter which gives you finer control over the tip not to mention a smaller footprint for cutting in tighter spaces.

For holes, I have said this before and I will say it again, a hole saw is all you need. For metal, I would suggest a drill press with hole saw (not those cheap multisize hole saws either), a bimetal hole saw. Take your material and put it between two pieces of sacrificial wood to keep it steady and clamp them all together in a nice sandwich. Drill through all pieces to get a very smooth cut. Sand to taste afterwards.

Holes will work fine with dremel discs, but best results are with hole saw and some patience. Of course, if you have a nice laser/cnc plasma/cnc waterjet, that is cool too.

And as said, mask your work off as to not damage areas you are going to keep.

 

[manfaux]

ith the levelling problem, i'll have to see), and then a 12 pack for the cheapest I could find. Both of the packs were next to impossible to find (in europe) for the standard mandrel, they all seem to be for the speedclic, so for compatibility I have both things now. It actually turns out 3 places within 500m of my house are listed as dremel stockists.

 

[ekuest]

2 things i would recommend are:

1. work on a couple inches, then move forward a couple inches and do that for a bit, then move forward again etc. basically dont just do everything in one long cut since the metal will heat up and warp and break discs etc. vary the spot where your working.

2. cut 1 or 2 mm outside of your line, and file up to the line. you will never get as good of a line if you just dremel it and dont file.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Ok got camera ready and disks come tommorow. Unfortunately the speedclic madrel wont...also i'll be out all day so I wont have any time to work on this before friday. Definately going to get a worklog up and running (and now I don't have to go out...so ill probably take some photos and begin!)

Personally I would never use the multi purpose bit for smooth metal cuts. For cuts, I would use a combination of any of their circular cutters, even 409 are fine on aluminum. Just turn the speed down on your dremel if you are worried about snapping too many discs, let the cutter do the work. LET THE CUTTER DO THE WORK. Keep any worn discs for small angle cuts later, never throw away a used disc unless it cracks. Small discs do well on short cuts and tight spaces. For the dremel I would reccomend the hand held adapter which gives you finer control over the tip not to mention a smaller footprint for cutting in tighter spaces.

For holes, I have said this before and I will say it again, a hole saw is all you need. For metal, I would suggest a drill press with hole saw (not those cheap multisize hole saws either), a bimetal hole saw. Take your material and put it between two pieces of sacrificial wood to keep it steady and clamp them all together in a nice sandwich. Drill through all pieces to get a very smooth cut. Sand to taste afterwards.

Holes will work fine with dremel discs, but best results are with hole saw and some patience. Of course, if you have a nice laser/cnc plasma/cnc waterjet, that is cool too.

And as said, mask your work off as to not damage areas you are going to keep.

Thankyou for the advice!

One thing I've forgotten to ask, and i'm sure you would know. When cutting with the metal cutting disks, on lowest setting (10,000rpm) will there be a great deal of sparks created from this? I'm sure you should wear eye protection (which I have) but would gloves be advised? And how loud is it? I've never used a dremel for metal cutting, only saws.

So i'm going to take it nice and slow with the specilized fibreglass reinforced metal wheels. I'm looking to get the flexible extension thing because i'm lending it to someone for engraving work also. There dremel one is 3 times the price of the silverline one (25 vs 8), but i'm not so sure of the silver line units quality.

I know this sounds a stupid question, but what is the easiest way of telling a disk is blunt?

The holes i'm cutting in the sides wont be round, but more jaggedy! I would love to use a holesaw or a drill press. The total work area I have to work is a bedroom and a garden, and no desk whatsoever (other than my computer table, but thats got computer(s) on. I would really like a plasma cnc...just because of the plasma bit I'd use it to cut everything. hair, sandwiches, fingernails.

2 things i would recommend are:

1. work on a couple inches, then move forward a couple inches and do that for a bit, then move forward again etc. basically dont just do everything in one long cut since the metal will heat up and warp and break discs etc. vary the spot where your working.

2. cut 1 or 2 mm outside of your line, and file up to the line. you will never get as good of a line if you just dremel it and dont file.

Again thankyou

Does the dremel disk make a cut largely the same as the disk width? The longest single cut I have to do on the case is 8 inches on either side panel. The rest of it shall be 3/4 inch sections going round parts.

I've got a few grinders and files so that shouldn't be so hard to do. There are the sanding cylinders and a grinder that came with the dremel itself which I could use to do the bulk of the work and then straighten up/de burr by hand. Thats the plan anyway!