The control panel is making slow, steady progress.
The lower panel is still waiting for the rest of the components to be swapped from the two Duette controllers. Some drilling of rivets and rewiring required first.
I mocked up the display, printing the design onto ordinary A4 paper, the idea being that I could then mark out the positions of all the points switches and LEDs, rather than trying to drill through a freshly lacquered panel and risk ruining the final finish.
The left panel has been redesigned as I wasn't happy with the look.
Mocked-up and refitted to see how it looks...
Time to mark out the holes, I centre-punched these in an attempt to stop the drill from moving when I cut the holes. Once all the holes were punched, I removed the template...
After lots of drilling (pilot holes, followed by 3mm LED holes and 6mm switch holes) I ended up with what looks more like a pin cushion. The ammeters were also cut in using a series of drilled holes and a reamer.
It's fair to say that using 2mm aluminium sheeting was way over the top for this, 1mm would have done the job. Drilling aluminium creates lots of swarf, which needs to be removed from both sides or it'll ruin the final look. I found that the easiest method to remove the excess metal was to carefully re-drill each hole with a larger diameter drill bit. After all the drilling, filing and reaming, I ended up with this...
The original plan was to finish this panel in exactly the same way as the transformer panel, however there are problems with the method I used - basically printing onto glossy vinyl and lacquering in place. The vinyl isn't too happy with the inkjet printer, the ink doesn't fully dry and smudges with ease - even if left for a few days.
I tried several times to print and stick the vinyl overlays into position but found it impossible to do this without creating air bubbles underneath, I can't apply any pressure as this smudges the ink! - I've experimented with applying a thin layer of lacquer prior to application, this worked reasonably well but I've now run out of vinyl. Not to be beaten, I've printed all of the control panel again onto photo paper and have experimented with using PVA glue to stick the panels to the aluminium, once dried I'll apply several coats of lacquer which should eventually give me the same look as the bottom panel. This has also proved troublesome and for now I'll have to wait for the glue to dry to see if this was a good idea or not.
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