Any fresh tips on rectangular holes for project cases?

Other Hardware General Electronics
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Decades ago I’d make occasional rectangles by tedious drilling and filing. In recent years I’ve managed to avoid that, confining myself to circular holes. But my 16x2 LCD prompts this post.

Searching hasn’t turned up anything new, apart from the possibility of repeated scoring with a very sharp blade.

Given the popularity of these displays, is there a metal template which, if somehow secured rigidly to the typical plastic box surface, might make it possible to Dremel inside it to create a reasonably neat rectangle?

Or any other approaches please?

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3D printing at home was a game changer for this for many of us

You can find also on Etsy or elsewhere people selling such enclosure for example

first couple hits looking for LCD enclosure

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For woodworking routers, you can get bits with a bearing on them - the bearing allows them to follow the line of a template.

I dunno if you can get similar things to fit something the size of a dremel...?

As it's a simple rectangle, maybe have the dremel in a stand, and set up a jig which constrains the box to move in a parallel straight line ... ?

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Here you go - using a straight-edge guide:

you could equally just set up a straight edge to guide that "hood" thingy ...

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Can you rout a rectangular hole with square corners ?

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If the plastic is thin enough that it fits in the jaw and isn't super brittle, there isn't much easier than than this one: Drill a round hole to fit the buisiness end of this in (about 3/8th inch) then make your rectangular hole with the nibbler.
No affiliation with amazon vendor, but it looks identical to the one I had and was the first google result

For 1602 LCDs specifically just search aliexpress for project box LCD - and you'll get these. There may also be a version for the 2004, but it's not common

Edit - if you decide to use this, pm me and I can dig up the measurements on them. took many board revs (but it did for electrical reasons too) but I finally got the holes in the right places.
With that enclosure, you can actually mount the display to the PCB and that's that (that's what I do) outside dimensions 85 x 85mm

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Would require fettling to get perfectly square corners, but the the requirement was for, "a reasonably neat rectangle".

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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There are many places nowadays that will do custom machining on standard cases ...

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Any of them that do it for a reasonable price, as in hobbyist reasonable? I've not found any.

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you get this for less than 3€ shipping included

https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005004851619221.html

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I've never got far enough down that path to get pricing - you'd have to ask ...

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That listing is expensive, you can find better sellers

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I figured you hadn't, because you still have eyebrows, Had you seen the prices any place I had asked for quotes you would NOT. The sticker-shock was so forceful that it burned my eyebrows off.

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Thanks, looks a promising line of enquiry. Good video.

I do have a Dremel, with limited accessories and even greater limited experience of using it. But maybe it's time to discover what rebate, mortice and rabbit etc mean!

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A Dremel and a cutting disk would probably be a better bet if you want square corners on the cut-out without any need for filing

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Thanks, I'll try that. What's the best starting point - drill largest holes possible to remove maximum plastic, then the Dremel?

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If you use a cutting disk you don't need a starter hole. You use it like an angle grinder straight along the edges of the rectangle

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or just a Dremel Cutting disk and being careful. you'll need possibly a bit of filing work at the angles

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About a hundred years ago, I bought a NIBBLING TOOL for 10 dollars and still use it today for cutting out any square or rectangular openings. A 3/8" hole on opposing corners, then just insert the tool and start squeezing the handle. Takes a few minutes, but works perfectly in plastic or thin aluminum !!

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you can hide your not so perfect aligned cuts with a

1602 LCD bezel

A CNC router can give you good cutouts *)

testbox20211029_112204m
testbox20211029_112204m1920×1080 176 KB

*) after playing hours with the settings ...

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