How do I go about reworking this aluminum enclosure?
I would like to modify this powder coated extruded aluminum enclosure and know next to nothing about what I'm doing. Most metalwork I have done is drill a few crude holes.
I have this Kawasaki 691225 rotary tool with all sorts of aluminum oxide bits for cutting, drilling, sanding, polishing, etc metal, and the "non-metal" bits are silicon carbide., so it sounds like it can do everything I need.
Things I would like to do this enclosure:
- Level out the protruding corners and make them round them
- Take the blue off
- Make it a few centimetres shorter
If I can make it handsome that'd be great but I'm OK with it looking "rugged", I think - if that bridge can be crossed after the 3 more important bridges then all the better.
It's for a pocket amplifier so it'll be going in pockets.
I'd appreciate some pointers on which accessories to use, sequencing, and technique. I've read that aluminum can be tricky to work with because of it's so soft.
Should I do it piece by piece or with the enclosure assembled? I was just going to start experimenting with the different bits but figured it's way smarter to ask first.
Posted Aug 28, 2020, 9:51 PM UTC · edited
That rotary tool is completely unsuitable for what you want to do. Do you have access to any other tools?
i can see that it's not ideal but it has bits for cutting, grinding, and sanding metal so can you expand on how it's completely unsuitable?
quick googling shows that silicon carbide (not the tips the manual recommends for metal) is recommended for grinding aluminum...
Grinding aluminum will likely clog and bit especially if it's an abrasive bit.
i'm almost done shortening one of the pieces with the laughably thin cut off discs - cuts like butter but i can't keep my hand steady enough and keep breaking them
i've experimented using the thicker pink/green cutting wheels to level the corners and was going pretty good, definitely feasible, seems to be clogging the wheel a bit, going to look into some kind of lubricant