Product Suggestion

[sunfish]

I am in the middle of making up an instrument panel for my Zenith CH750 and I am having a very stressful time making the cutouts for the SV1000 and a Dynon radio and knob panel right along side it.

I'm trying to get everything as neat as the advertising brochure images, but there is very little wiggle room, the tolerances are tight, at least for a ham handed metal butcher like me.

I'm cutting holes in a chunk of 0.063' 6063 T6 to make a sort of sectional panel that will be held in by four mil spec quick release fasteners.

I was thinking of all the other folk doing the same job who do not have access to a CNC router or custom instrument panel shop.

Would Dynon, or somebody else for that matter consider manufacturing and selling a piece of 0.063 with either Two or Four knob/radio/intercom/ap cutouts surrounding a hole for the SV1000? Maybe mounting pilot holes too? If there was a Two inch margin around the outside, we could cut it to fit our panels and save a whole lot of finicky work.

A plastic Dynon blanking plate would be a nice idea too.

 

[n456ts]

You could get the aluminum laser cut by a third party. Draw it up on CAD (some are free, such as Sketchup). Send it to them. In my area, Alro Steel does it all. They have many locations, or I would bet that someone in your area does it.

You could even have your labeling laser etched at the same time.

 

[RV711AC]

Contact http://www.steinair.com/index.cfm I believe they will create a layout for you and cut the panel. You would need to accurately describe what you want and the less leg work they do the faster it will go. They have info on mounting probably anything you could put in the panel. They are also a good source for anything panel related from a few feet of wire to a finished turn key panel.
The other option is to turn this into a real learning experience. You can carefully layout the cutouts on scrap and make templates to transfer to the real panel. Glue paper to the panel blank and using a square, scale and a very sharp pencil you can create a layout. The eraser makes changes easy. Once the layout is done mark all the hole centers with a sharp scrib and then center punch. Start with a small pilot hole and drill. You can now check to be sure your alignment is good. A hole that is slightly off can be drifted back with a round needle file and then drilled to the next larger size and finally to the finished size. For plate nuts use a flathead screw to secure them to the panel, square them to the panel to suit and then drill through the mounting holes. After the first hole add a cleco to hold the alignment and then drill the second hole. For the large cutouts use a sharp exacto knife to scribe the straight lines. For rounded corners locate the center of the radius and drill as above. A unidrill step drill will make nice round holes. Cut inside the lines with a saber saw or a cutoff wheel in a dremal tool or die grinder. Once the hole is roughed out carefully file down to the scribe line. Don't scribe anything that will not be cut away. Check everything for fit and you are ready for finishing. It does take care and patience but you can learn to do this accurately and the satisfaction of having done a superb job is lasting.
Good luck either way you go, there is no shame in trading money for labor and if metalwork is not something you want to get skilled at avoid the time and frustration.
Ralph

 

[dynonsupport]

Sunfish:

Thanks for the product suggestion. We're putting more of an emphasis products to make it easier for EAB builders to install SkyView, and I'll pass your suggestions along to that group.

I am in the middle of making up an instrument panel for my Zenith CH750 and I am having a very stressful time making the cutouts for the SV1000 and a Dynon radio and knob panel right along side it.

I'm trying to get everything as neat as the advertising brochure images, but there is very little wiggle room, the tolerances are tight, at least for a ham handed metal butcher like me.

I'm cutting holes in a chunk of 0.063' 6063 T6 to make a sort of sectional panel that will be held in by four mil spec quick release fasteners.

I was thinking of all the other folk doing the same job who do not have access to a CNC router or custom instrument panel shop.

Would Dynon, or somebody else for that matter consider manufacturing and selling a piece of 0.063 with either Two or Four knob/radio/intercom/ap cutouts surrounding a hole for the SV1000? Maybe mounting pilot holes too? If there was a Two inch margin around the outside, we could cut it to fit our panels and save a whole lot of finicky work.

A plastic Dynon blanking plate would be a nice idea too.

 

[mrdaud]

Thought I might add a few comments here. If at all possible, get a simple CAD program that can format in .dwg. or .dxf format. It's not always simple, but learning basic 2-D drawing for a panel is not too hard. There is a free CAD program that is exactly like AutoCad offered by ProgeCAD, for personal use only, but only runs on Windows XP. I have a modified 5-insert Glasair panel on my Tango 2, and used ProgeCAD for all inserts. I have a fairly complicated panel with 10", 7", D-6, AP panel, Comm panel, 430W, circuit breakers, PS Engineering intercom, switches, and other goodies. I used local water jet cutting and they are local to just about anyone these days. The cost of water jet cutting was about $150 for all inserts, and about $100 for powder coating. It is also a major time saver if you have to make a new panel when Dynon comes out with a new gadget, and locating holes is very precise on a crowded panel. One other advantage of using a CAD format is for panel labels. The labeled insert file can be taken to any trophy shop that has laser engraving. They import the CAD program into their laser and etch the insert. So far, I have only etched powder coated inserts and the laser only cuts into the powder coat. The engraver uses a special masking tape to verify the location, then burns completely through the tape into the powder coat. Make sure the engraver leaves the tape in place as the powder coat is somewhat porous and will retain paint and show ghosting around letters without keeping the mask. Then just squeegee white (in my case) acrylic paint into the etching. Let dry and remove the masking. Perfect lettering. My entire panel lettering was about $100, which is very inexpensive vs. a commercial panel manufacturer.

 

[mmarien]

I used Front Panel Express for a couple of panels. They do a nice job except the lettering styles. I used my own style. They powder coat in several colors also.

http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/

 

[swatson999]

Where'd you get that Engine Start button? I like it...is it internally lit, as well?

 

[jakej]

Steve

I've used a few of these, are not internally lit but do not need to be IMO. You should be able to get them at one of the suppliers like Digikey,

Jake J

 

[swatson999]

Thanks...I'll take a look. I have on internally lit "START" button which is not bad, but I'm always on the hunt for a better one.

 

[mmarien]

I can't remember where I got that start button. I just did some searching on the internet for automotive start buttons. It's in my brothers Glastar. It is lit. I wired it so that it comes on with the left mag only.