A hole in sub metal

[Bob Davis]

Ive just received a request for a quote on a thousand 100 x 50mm sublimation plates.Sound like a bread and butter job, except that the client wants an 18mm hole at one end (apparently so the tag can be bolted to the machine).
Any ideas on how i can produce a relatively clean 18mm hole in sublimation metal? A punch would be ideal, but I don't have that sort of gear and I am reluctant to sub the job out.
I believe the sublimation metal is actually 0.6mm aluminium with a coating, but any drill bit I may be able to find will likely leave a rough edge which would not be desirable. Would a spade-bit (the type used for wood but which extends to a point on either side of the spade) do the job, bearing in mind the aluminium is very soft? Maybe an auger-bit? Is there a cutter I could use on a rotary engraver that would achieve the required result reasonable quickly? Any ideas welcomed.

[Rodne Gold]

Drill and use a rotating deburring tool, to deburr would take about 2-5 seconds
Actually drilling with an 18mm bit might be problematic , so whatever you use to make the hole easily is what works , the worry you have is about the edge , the deburring tool will take care of that

[Randy Digby]

Rodne is correct, the only thing I would add is to build a jig to prevent the part from riding up the drill bit as it goes through the part. Your jig could easily locate the drill center as well as hold the part down without having to vise or clamp each part. A 45 degree, three or four fluted countersink workd very well as a deburring tool. The deburring operation would not require a jig and is very fast, as Rodne stated.

[Mike Null]

I would find a machine shop to punch the holes. I think drilling would be risky due to the thickness of the material. You may have to pay for a die but the punching should be a breeze.

[Rodne Gold]

I also think drilling this is risky , been there done that and had sheets of anacoil or thin ally with sharp corners flying around on the bit like those ninja stars (shuriken?).....

[Peter Meacham]

Bob

I agree with Mike N. on a machine shop solution - or, I have found a couple of punch sets used in the jewelry trade on eBay (one on the AU eBay - Disc Cutter Punch Set Jewelers Tool). So, perhaps a jewelry shop may be able to punch the holes.

The punch set on the AU eBay has a 5/8" (16mm) as it's largest punch - is there any tolerance from your customer on doing smaller holes?

Pete

[Dan Hintz]

Harbor Freight has an inexpensive 6-ton hydraulic press for $90... any chance of making your own cheapy die? Line up a number of them, punch, repeat.

[Lee DeRaud]

For holes that size on wood, a plunge router with a straight bit makes a cleaner hole than any drill I've ever seen. Never tried it with aluminum, but at reasonable thicknesses, I suspect a carbide router bit wouldn't even notice it was there.

[Mark Ross]

Maybe Greenlee has some ideas...here is a link...

http://www.mygreenlee.com/GreenleeDotCom/Products/main.shtml?greenlee_category_id=2

[Larry Bratton]

For holes that size on wood, a plunge router with a straight bit makes a cleaner hole than any drill I've ever seen. Never tried it with aluminum, but at reasonable thicknesses, I suspect a carbide router bit wouldn't even notice it was there.
Yes, you could also use a CNC router bit for non-ferrous metals with a plunge router. Need to be able to control the speed of the rotation if possible.

[Ed Lang]

Does a leather hand held punch have a hole that will work?

Does Tandy Leather have a punch that is the right size?

A block of hard wood under and you are all set.

If you are going to do the sub dye work, you can put a dot for the hole location and go from there.

[James Jaragosky]

Does a leather hand held punch have a hole that will work?

Does Tandy Leather have a punch that is the right size?

A block of hard wood under and you are all set.

If you are going to do the sub dye work, you can put a dot for the hole location and go from there.
I have used a hand held punch when installing aluminum gutters. You punch the holes and then rivet the end-caps in place. Try a roofing or gutter supply business. I say roofing because they do a lot of commercial gutters as well.

[Lee DeRaud]

Does a leather hand held punch have a hole that will work?He (or his customer, actually) needs an 18mm hole: just shy of 3/4". I don't see any kind of hand-held widget being able to do that, at least not with human hands driving it.

[James Jaragosky]

He (or his customer, actually) needs an 18mm hole: just shy of 3/4". I don't see any kind of hand-held widget being able to do that, at least not with human hands driving it.
I missed the dimensions.
You are correct I do not see the hand held as a option.
In this case I would jig up as many as possible, and drill through them all at once. Then use a de-burring tool as suggested. Make sure that the stack is clamped tightly together or you will have problems.

[Randy Digby]

Bob...My Bad...I read the thickness as 6mm and not .6mm. Completely different problem. Please scratch my previous comments about drilling and deburring. Sorry for the error.

[Richard Rumancik]

You can drill thin sheet metal if you use a step drill. They are probably available in metric and "American" sizes (guess I can't say Imperial here) so you should find a size that is close enough. Regular drill bits will leave a lot of burrs and you will end up with a trilobular hole. If you are only doing a few this would work - but I don't know if it is practicable for 1000.

If you punch, you need close-fitting dies for thin metal (maybe a few thou clearance). Otherwise, the metal will extrude into the gap between the dies and you will have a sharp ridge around your hole. Plus it will distort the sheet.

For 1000 pcs probably a small press would be best but I'd be inclined to be there if at all possible so you can tell them what is a pass for quality. Otherwise you may end up with a "hole" bunch of scrap.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:VJ75YzYtvS8n_M:http://www.drillspot.com/pimages/1497/149773_300.jpg (http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.drillspot.com/pimages/1497/149773_300.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.drillspot.com/products/306242/Irwin_10234_3_16X7_8_Step_Drill&usg=__GTCRsTa0YgD0aXHOqrz5Dzy8phg=&h=300&w=300&sz=40&hl=en&start=5&tbnid=VJ75YzYtvS8n_M:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstep%2Bdrill%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den)
step drill
great for drilling thin metal and plastic