A bit late for comments on this, but anyway…
I‘m pretty sure this is „alucobond“, mainly used for facade cladding and similar.
Has some neat features but is difficult to work with, at least without a good assorted workshop.
I did some experiments with but abandoned the stuff. Went over to alucore (Alucore(R) | ALLEGA) really advanced stuff [emoji851]
McMaster sells the fasteners by the bagful -- 25 or 50.
Interesting -- the "insertion tool" is $533 at McMaster. I thought it may have been more. McMaster-Carr
It´s *expensive* for a hand tool which to boot is sllloooowwww (in any poduction environment) and will tire/cramp your hands into uselessness after a couple dozen insertions.
Price would be fine for a pneumatic or foot operated machine though, one which allows, say, 5v inserts or better per minute, during hours.
As shown, only valid for prototypes but too expensive for Hobbyists/DIYers.
That said, it seems to include a very complete set of dies.
Price would be fine for a pneumatic or foot operated machine though, one which allows, say, 5v inserts or better per minute, during hours.
As shown, only valid for prototypes but too expensive for Hobbyists/DIYers.
That said, it seems to include a very complete set of dies.
It just depends on the look you are interested in, without a doubt the case is one of the most difficult parts to complete a project. It does open the opportunity to use unconventional materials, stone, glass, wood, and you will truly have a one of a kind project. Here is a couple I built you will never see in a shop.
Attachments
I have one of those Roper hand punches, only use it occasionally. Limited throat depth rules it out for many projects. When I bought it, the cost was much less.
But if you really want to do lots of pem nuts:
https://www.haeger.com/pdf/Machine Brochures LowResolution/824 OT4 - English - LR.pdf
It even costs less than my car did!
My Nisshinbo MAP500 turret punch is down at the moment. ( Nisshinbo MAP 500 (2001) Turret Punching Machine - YouTube ) It gave me a motor overheat warning, which wasn't right, turned out to be a bad power supply capacitor in the servo motor drive controller. Fixed that, (Part $4, shipping $30!) ran parts that would have cost $10,000 if someone else sold them to me. In house cost for material and labor was under $1,000! A week later it failed again. This time one of the white square cross section power resistors actually exploded! Never seen that, so I checked the load. It was in spec. Sent the unit off to the drive system manufacturer for repair. Cost came back at $1,200! Estimated repair time 30 days!!!
Replacement cost on the turret punch is $225,000! Good thing I can wait. I did ask two other folks for quotes on 1,000 simple single gang wall plates, that I could use quickly. Neither have come back with a quote. Expected price should be about $7.00 each from one of the folks. I suspect that project alone will pay for the repair.
The reason why I saved $9,000 on the parts I needed is that the other folks who make them just chop small bits of structural steel (10,000 PSI yield strength typical) and weld them. I CNC punch big sheets of 1/8" thick 30,000 PSI yield strength steel (5% tolerance) and then bend the flat pieces to shape.
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^^^^^^ THAT is why I make as much as I can "in house".
My Argentine colleagues call me crazy because I make my own transformers, PCBs, chassis, silkscreening, speakers, metal corner protectors, voice coils, strip handles,rubber feet, reverb tanks, knobs, etc. , but then hate me because of my "chinese costs" pr to be more precise, my "chinese" end customer prices.
They only "eat take out food" , I "cook at home" he he, then complain they sell little to nothing due to Chinese competition.
Oh well.
Back to the PEM nut problem:
Nice machines and certainly justified if you insert ten to hundred thousands per Month but for smaller scale use, I bet that a cheap (as in less than $200/300) male/female die set can be made (turned shapes are cheap easy) out of cheap tool steel (say 1070 with proper heat treatment and even cemented for durability) to be used with a small mechanical press, hand feeding nuts one by one (using tweezers or similar to keep fingers safe).
Back of a napkin calculations tell me that to punch a 4mm hole in 1.25mm thick cold rolled steel sheet takes all of 700 something kilograms (so not even 1 Ton), so insertion force can´t be higher, in fact should be less.
So a small press and a cheap die can insert some 50 nuts a minute, at a leisurely pace.
Had a look around for this stuff and thought it might be difficult to source, then I found it at Aluminium Solid Metal Sheet, 600mm L, 600mm W, 6mm Thickness | RS Components They list them as solid metal sheets (surprised?), 6mm sheets should be strong enough for most applications. It might be difficult to handle (fold) but I did come across this clip
ALUCORE(R) Folding bending - YouTube
The folding itself looks easy once you cut out the groove.
I'm pretty sure I've seen people mention that they use router bits for cutting aluminium.
You can use a normal router, in fact many DIY CNC tables let you use your own, BUT you need a special router bit, with proper angles and sharpening for Aluminum.
Notice this one specifically mentions "composite aluminum panels".
If making straight cuts , no big deal using a hand held one, but use some kind of rail or at least a straight piece of wood as a guide, it´s easy to mess a cut just by unguided hands.
Notice this one specifically mentions "composite aluminum panels".
If making straight cuts , no big deal using a hand held one, but use some kind of rail or at least a straight piece of wood as a guide, it´s easy to mess a cut just by unguided hands.
Formed aluminum cases are great, simple, and cheap.
Might have to spend a few extra dollars to make something like this but it’d probably pay for itself.
How to make a DIY sheet metal brake | I Like To Make Stuff - YouTube
Might have to spend a few extra dollars to make something like this but it’d probably pay for itself.
How to make a DIY sheet metal brake | I Like To Make Stuff - YouTube
This is my reference video. As you can see the result is not perfect, however lots of useful tips on cutting and folding.
How To Make A Metal Project Enclosure - YouTube
What strikes me is that compared to a wooden enclosure, which I have building several prototypes of so far, metal enclosures seem to involve fewer steps and a better finish overall.
The DFMA concept can be applied here: using the minimum number of parts and the minimum number of steps to build an item. Metal enclosures really enable DFMA techniques - for example you can create a box out of two sheets of metal - 2 parts and about 10 folding actions.
https://www.unm.edu/~bgreen/ME101/dfm.pdf
How To Make A Metal Project Enclosure - YouTube
What strikes me is that compared to a wooden enclosure, which I have building several prototypes of so far, metal enclosures seem to involve fewer steps and a better finish overall.
The DFMA concept can be applied here: using the minimum number of parts and the minimum number of steps to build an item. Metal enclosures really enable DFMA techniques - for example you can create a box out of two sheets of metal - 2 parts and about 10 folding actions.
https://www.unm.edu/~bgreen/ME101/dfm.pdf
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Quite certain they must follow the "official" safety standards as any commercial product does.
Mains voltage, fire hazard, etc. are as deadly no matter WHO built the device.
Only difference I see between Commercial and DIY is that they usually need to submit samples to some official certification bureau to show valid certificates when needed, specially when going through Customs or stuff simply gets retained there, while DIY does not leave your Home, but in any way respect them for your own safety.
Mains voltage, fire hazard, etc. are as deadly no matter WHO built the device.
Only difference I see between Commercial and DIY is that they usually need to submit samples to some official certification bureau to show valid certificates when needed, specially when going through Customs or stuff simply gets retained there, while DIY does not leave your Home, but in any way respect them for your own safety.
While we are on the subject, and possibly off topic, is there anything missed from this:
Electrical safety for diy electronic circuits - Electronics information from PenguinTutor
I hate to be off-topic, but maybe take the opportunity to look at this now and avoid problems later. So for me it comes down to:
How do I know my AC/DC adapter will not catch fire?
Should I use a fuse rated to just below the adapter max current?
Electrical safety for diy electronic circuits - Electronics information from PenguinTutor
I hate to be off-topic, but maybe take the opportunity to look at this now and avoid problems later. So for me it comes down to:
How do I know my AC/DC adapter will not catch fire?
Should I use a fuse rated to just below the adapter max current?
