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Thread: 800 Tiny holes?

  1. #1
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    Question 800 Tiny holes?

    So I'm working on designing another arcade machine:

    https://youtu.be/yK8T7HLZfgs

    I'm trying to do something different this time, namely on the side panel I want to use firber optic LEDs like these:

    https://www.amazon.com/CHINLY-remote...c+lights&psc=1

    You see a lot of installations of these on ceilings for a starfield effect. The way you install them is to drill lots of .03" holes through drywall. You then shove the fiber cables in and clip them flush.

    Aside from the tedium of drilling all of those holes in the drywall, it's pretty easy looking. I can't imagine you'd break to many drill bits drilling through soft stuff like that.

    I want to do this on plywood like baltic birch. I'm looking to do a really dense starfield on each side of the arcade machine, so about 400 holes per side.

    Does anyone have experience using a tiny little drill bit like this to drill this many holes? I haven't committed to the design just yet, but I'm thinking about it...
    Last edited by EricSchimel; 07-22-2017 at 06:09 PM.

  2. #2
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    I use 1/16th tapered Beckwith ball nose a lot. My thought would be if you drill from the back side you would have the larger part of the bit for strength and the point would only have to penetrate just the tip. Just a thought. Russ

    http://www.beckwithdecor.com/index_files/Tooling.htm
    AKA: Da Train Guy

  3. #3
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    thinking about the side and 400 stars - would you loose the effect with that many?
    Tim Lucas Custom Woodworks
    www.TLCW.us

  4. #4
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    Eric...
    .030 end mill and peck drill. Do a test to see if you want to cut from the top or bottom
    Gary Campbell
    GCnC Control
    GCnC411(at)gmail(dot)com
    Servo Controller Upgrades
    http://www.youtube.com/user/Islaww1


    "We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them"
    Albert Einstein


  5. #5
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    I really like that idea of the tapered ball mill! I was planning on drilling from the back side anyway... That may work out very well.

    Gary I know I could use a . 030 mill but do you think it will take forever?

    After you put the fiber cable through the hole you're supposed to glue it in place so a tapered hole I think would work great for that.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by EricSchimel View Post
    ..... so a tapered hole I think would work great for that.
    Not sure about that. With the taper you can not predict the exact orientation of the fiber and the light field may look a bit uneven.
    I am with Gary. A simple end mill or PCB drill bit should do the job just fine. You could use thin aircraft plywood, maybe 1/8" or 3/16" or even phenolic Garolite XX sheet (https://www.mcmaster.com/#85315k292/=18m6k1c)

  7. #7
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    [QUOTE=Burkhardt;197317]Not sure about that. With the taper you can not predict the exact orientation of the fiber and the light field may look a bit uneven.
    I am with Gary. A simple end mill or PCB drill bit should do the job just fine. You could use thin aircraft plywood, maybe 1/8" or 3/16" or even phenolic Garolite XX sheet (https://www.mcmaster.com/#85315k292/=18m6k1c)[/QUOTE

    That effect may look better as it would look more like the night sky not all the stars appear the same

  8. #8
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    Unfortunately I can't use thin plywood. It's the side of an arcade
    machine so it's holding the whole thing together. I'm going to be using 3/4 baltic birch

  9. #9
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    I had a similar project in which I was drilling many 1/8" holes in 3/4" panels.
    For that I used an 1/8" twist bit in a matching collett. Spun and drilled fairly slow (Like .5 plunge and 2000rpm) to keep the heat down.
    Yes it was slow. But it went fine.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by EricSchimel View Post
    Unfortunately I can't use thin plywood. It's the side of an arcade
    machine so it's holding the whole thing together. I'm going to be using 3/4 baltic birch
    Aha...in that case no 0.03" end mill will be long enough to drill through 3/4" (and clog) and feeding the fiber through such a deep narrow hole a problem anyway.

    I would probably run 2 tool paths, first with an 1/8" end mill or drill to leave maybe 0.06" wall remaining (that could be done very quickly) and then with the thin bit to drill through (which should also be quick, given the thin wall).

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