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?

[image] Terrypin: Searching hasn’t turned up anything new, apart from the possibility of repeated scoring with a very sharp blade. you can hide your not so perfect aligned cuts with a 1602 LCD bezel A CNC router can give you good cutouts *) [testbox20211029_112204m] *) after playing hours with the settings ...

[image] Terrypin: Searching hasn’t turned up anything new, apart from the possibility of repeated scoring with a very sharp blade. I have several old Radio Shack aluminum boxes with plastic end plates. And I do just that with a sharp knife blade. Sure, it takes a lot of work, but gives a neat place for a LCD display.

See this link. [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics [Five.jpg] Chain Drilling. [Six.jpg] After drilling holes in the material, work from the back of the material. You may want to apply masking tape to the exposed front surface to protect it from scratching. [Seven.jpg] [Eight.jpg] [Six] [Ten] [Eleven] [FingerNail]

Other ideas: Enclosure with a clear cover eliminates the need to make cutouts. If you want, you can hide the rest of the electronics by making a "panel" around the display. Panel can be made from something easy to cut like the thin plastic on a school folder. Could also paint the inside of the cover, leaving a rectangular space for the display, but this can be a lot of work. There are bezels available that can fit into a roughly cut hole and make it look a lot neater. They can be hard to find though. If you find yourself doing this a lot, you could invest in a square hole punch but they tend to be pricy.

Share tips you have come across work from the back of the material. Thanks Larry. That's essentially the tedious method I mentioned in my opening post. But I assume by the step I've quoted (the one with no photo) you mean: carefully remove as much of the remaining plastic as possible and then file the edges. The hardest part in my experience. :slightly_smiling_face:

You do need a good sharp (new) file dedicated to this one job. Do not use this file on anything other than plastic as filing metal dulls it and makes it less effective. The process should only take 10-20 minutes. If you have access to a CNC machine, things are much easier and 10 times faster. [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics Mounting Components in a Project Enclosure. The following discussion should help makers in placing and mounting components in a project enclosure. Refer to earlier posts on cutting and making holes for these components. A digital caliper is a must have tool when transferring component dimensions to your CAD drawing. [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [C] [I] [J] [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics [Five.jpg] [Six.jpg] [Seven.jpg] [Eight.jpg] . [Five]

If you have a drill press, you can use it as a pin router to cut out the hole quickly. See these posts to get the idea: [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics Bits More bits [Five.jpg] [Six.jpg] [Five] [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics [Five.jpg] The FR4 PCB material is considered sacrificial. You may have to remove a small amount of the business edge when tuning its proximity to the router bit. [Six.jpg] Anything proud of the business edge of the sled will be removed. [Seven.jpg] Using this method, you can easily remove small fractions from the work material, easily and safely. [Eight.jpg] [One]

Use a clear faceplate and mount the display behind it. No cutting necessary and faceplate is leak proof. Use standoffs on inside or external hw. [20230220_212847]

[H] If you follow the process below, the laminated sheet can mask a lot of imperfections ;) [image] Share tips you have come across General Electronics Making a Reasonable looking Test Jig The following images show how to build a test jig. [A] Design your front panel layout. Print a 1:1 paper copy and add double stick tape. Laminate. [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] Enlarge the holes for your LEDs switches etc. [H] [I] [J] [K] See this post for soldering the proto board components:

[image] LarryD: a drill press, you can use it as a pin router Be very, very careful when doing this. The Morse taper on a drill press is not designed to take a side load. You're probably OK doing this on thin plastic but many people have been injured, or at least badly surprised when attempting to route with a drill press and the chuck comes flying out at high speed. The chuck in a CNC or manual mill has positive retention so this won't happen. On a drill press you're depending on the friction of the taper to hold it in place.

Any fresh tips on rectangular holes for project cases?

Other Hardware General Electronics

LarryD July 15, 2023, 4:41pm 25

You do need a good sharp (new) file dedicated to this one job.

Do not use this file on anything other than plastic as filing metal dulls it and makes it less effective.

The process should only take 10-20 minutes.

If you have access to a CNC machine, things are much easier and 10 times faster.

Topic		Replies	Views
Share tips you have come across General Electronics	1429	385238	July 23, 2026
Project case advice (my Achilles heel) General Guidance	77	8385	July 16, 2021
Mounting a Display in a casing? Displays	6	1198	June 3, 2025
Automate pour scierie mobile Français	67	1285	June 11, 2026
Some notes about construction Tutorials	80	4922	June 8, 2023

Any fresh tips on rectangular holes for project cases?

Related topics