LM4780 Mini amp - Completely DIY

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
I started by designing and machining the front panel. It is made from 2" wide 6061-t6 bar stock. Width is 10". machining required 3 steps. letters are carved with a 60 degree V bit. small holes are cut using a 1/16" end mill and larger holes are cut with a 1/8" end mill. The panel is machined on my DIY CNC router table. I'd never used it to machine aluminum until yesterday. it does a pretty good job.

After milling, I polished it with jeweler's rouge and a buffing wheel on my drill press. total time to make this panel was about 90 minutes.

next I'll work on the rear panel.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1329.JPG
    IMG_1329.JPG
    86.2 KB · Views: 647
  • IMG_1327.jpg
    IMG_1327.jpg
    734 KB · Views: 643
The LEDs are oval. I didn't realize they were elliptical until they arrived. The great thing about having a CNC router is that it was a pieceof cake to cut the elliptical holes for them.

Worked on the input section and power led circuitry tonight. Tomorrow i'll cut the rear panel and will be able to start putti g the guts of this amp together.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20131230_214544.jpg
    IMG_20131230_214544.jpg
    606.6 KB · Views: 554
This morning I worked on the back panel. First I clamped a piece of scrap wood in the CNC and milled a pocket for the 2" bar stock to sit in. This allows me to accurately place the bar stock with respect to the CNC's coordinate system as well as ensures the bar sits parallell to the XY plane of the machine (in case it isn't perfectly flat. Any skewing of the bar will result in the lettering being cut poorly since it isV carved.

Next I cut all of the holes using a 1/16" end mill followed by cutting the lettering using a 60 degree v bit.

After that i polished it and mounted all the hardware that connects to the panel. Total time today: 3 hours.

Next is to cut the wood sides and bottom and aluminum top.
 
Last edited:
Great build! I really like the lettering. Do you have any pics of your cnc setup? Or some more info on it. I have been considering going this route for various other projects, and am curious what others are using to get results like this.

Pics...pics..pics:D

Beat me to it
 
Last edited:
I wanted compact and this one will weigh in at 2" tall x 10" wide x 7" deep. Shouldn't be too difficult to hook up speakers (the trick is to rotate the posts 45 degrees) and since i'll only need to do it once, i figured no biggie.

I'm really happy with the panels. I figure having them made would have cost about $80. Materials were $4. Not bad considering the CNC only cost $600 to build.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.