Support Forum

Hello,

Choosing the right tool size for engraving comes down to what would you prefer your thickness of the engraving to be. For instance, if you choose a larger tool for the engraving, the engraving will be the same thickness as the tool size you have chosen. To get a visual of how engraving would turn out, you can print the panel in a 1:1 scale. Since the panel is a good size it will print a couple of sheets that can correctly matched up.

Best Regards

Leland

Posted By: Leland Savage on Mar 04, 2009 01:52AM

Hi Mike,

Usually there aren't any issues, however two things need to be considered.

1. The panel needs a good primer. Just paint on aluminum won't work and will lead to flaky results around the holes or engravings. Standard rack mount panels from common suppliers have good coatings and don't come with that issue.

2. The paint we use for the engravings don't always get along with the painted panel. Our experience tells us what works and what not and we offer special engraving wax as option. But again, standard painted or powder coated rack mount panels work just fine.

And no worries, our customer service would contact you in case of any concerns prior to manufacturing.

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 28, 2009 03:37AM

Thank you for your nice words and even taking us from hobby to business.

I must admit, the library is not really highly developed. Future versions of Front Panel Designer will have more and more cutouts for all kind of different standard connectors, switches etc.

We will keep you posted on updates and release dates.

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 28, 2009 04:00AM

Hi! I love the Idea of making the drawing my self and you making the pannels!

However, I am looking dor DIN cutouts and CEE connectors holes. Will this be released in near future?

Posted By: Henrik Rydell on May 20, 2010 03:56PM

The reorganization of the macro objects in version 4.0 was the foundation for an extended library.

You can always post your requests for certain cutouts here in our forum. We are more than happy to look it up for you and provide it to you as fpd file. This will build up your on library over time.

I agree that it will get a little unorganized over time to have it all over our forum. This brings me to your other post

Posted By: Diane Haensel on May 25, 2010 04:37AM

Hi Stephen,

I did it on a single sheet of metal to save money. Can I have them cut it into 3 pieces or should I do it myself?

I'm sorry but we don't cut panels after they have been milled, wouldn't be accurate. You can order three single panels or just one with a little help to cut it yourself.

If you need it very cost effective you can design your panel like this.

Here is the link to the 3-in-1 fpd file and to the single fpd file.

The additional cutouts in the 3-in-1 file will make it easy for you to cut them into 3 pieces. I left some material between the cutouts to keep rigidity.

Any problems with the way the cuts overlap, or any other suggestions?

You cutouts will work just fine, however I would like to explain the difference of both tool diameter and radius.

First of all, all three cutouts overlap to give you sharp 90 degree edges.

The left one is designed with the smallest tool (1mm) and a 0 radius. This will give you the closest match to a rectangle. However, the smaller the tool the higher the costs. If you don't need such a small radius go with a bigger tool.

The middle cutout is designed with the biggest tool (3mm) and a 0 radius. The corners are also cleared but you have larger 'ears'.

The right cutout uses also the 3mm tool but has a standard half tool diameter radius of 1.5mm. If you have enough tolerance I suggest to choose this option. It is the least expensive one.

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 25, 2009 09:58PM

Daniel,

Thank you so much for your help! That is a great idea the way you made the cuts to split the panels! This will make it so much easier for me, I should have thought of this :oops:

I will order as soon as I can, this customer service cannot be beat! Thanks again!

-Stephen

Posted By: Stephen Altenb on Jan 27, 2009 12:14AM

Hi Mike,

You can find a walkthrough for scales in our FAQ section under 'How do I create a round scale?'

Here is an example for a basic scale with 5 positions done with Front Panel Designer.

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 15, 2009 05:42AM

Hi Carl,

1. We offer plexiglas in 2, 3 and 4 mm thickness. See here

2. Plexiglas is available in clear or red. Other colors are available upon request, please contact our office at (206) 768-0602 or info@frontpanelexpress.com for details.

3. Our standard colors can be selected in Front Panel Designer. Please use the 'Remark-Box' in Front Panel Designer to leave us a note for any special requests.

Best regards,

Diane

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 14, 2009 04:45PM

Can the Plexiglass Red Filter you offer be used

for VFD or LED Display Filters.?

Posted By: Jorge de la Paz on Jan 02, 2010 04:13AM

We offer the brand Plexiglas GS from Evionik (Product description) for both clear and red acrylics.

You can find the optical properties on page 6. It has a pretty good transmittance percentage of 92 and blocks UV. Basically, it depends on what kind of filter you are looking for. There are acrylics available on the market with integrated light guiding material or non glare surface texture.

If you are looking for UV protection and a couple of percent in transmittance loss aren't a problem, our plexiglas will be usable as VFD or LED display filters.

Posted By: Diane Haensel on Jan 05, 2010 04:36AM

(1) For transparent/translucent plastic materials , pLease add Clear Lexan (Polycarbonate) material to your available materials. In many instances the proximity of a polystrene or plexiglass material to an lcd or other electronics can build up a static charge and transmit it to the lcd/electronics ,possibly zapping it.

(2) For Opague plastic materials ,please add ABS materials like black. No issues with static unlike Plexiglass/POlystyrene materials.

Posted By: Jeff Wilson on Jul 10, 2010 05:49PM

Hello Jeff,

I can sympathize with you in regards to static discharge. Having worked for many years in the plastics industry, I can offer some insight.

Both polycarbonate and acrylic will have immense static discharge potential, but this appears to be more of an issue with the masking that is placed over the sheet. A sheet with poly-mask will have immense discharge capability (I have experienced a 1/4" arc from a sheet of 3mm polycarbonate), while a sheet with paper masking tends to have almost none. At Front Panel Express, we always remove the masking on any sheet we machine, and it sits on a giant grounded metal mill for significant periods of time. When the plastic is packed, if two pieces of plastic are to be packed one on top of the other, a piece of tissue paper will be placed between them. I would imagine, however, that a material like FPVC might still have issues, even with those efforts taken.

We are able to machine plenty of different opaque plastic materials, and we can special order these quite easily. For the amount of this type of machining that we do, it does not make a ton of sense to keep all of these materials around. For something like black ABS, you will typically see one day added to your order for us to receive the material.

Many thanks,

-Paul

Posted By: Paul Birkeland on Jul 12, 2010 07:04PM

Hi,

On this page, it is mentioned that the clear acrylic comes in thickness from 2mm to 10mm.

But, in the quoted post (below) and in designer, the maximal thickness is 4mm.

1. We offer plexiglas in 2, 3 and 4 mm thickness. See here

What information is good, because I would like to make a led edge-lit window whit engraving. So I will need a thickness of 6mm minimum.

Thanks

Julien

Posted By: Julien on Mar 19, 2013 09:46PM

Hello Julien,

The forum post is from 2009 and outdated. You can order clear acrylic up to 10mm in thickness.

Best regards,

Diane

Posted By: DianeHaensel on Mar 20, 2013 11:33PM