Need Help Designing Your Front Panel?
Just print the layout on paper and cut out all the holes using a box cutter or scissors.
Since 19" layouts do not fit on a single A4 sheet, you'll need to print them across two sheets and tape them together.
Using this method, you can check the following:
-
Insert the mechanical parts through the paper to see if they fit.
-
Ensure that mechanical parts actually fit next to each other when mounted on the panel.
-
Insert a potentiometer into its hole and place a knob on it to verify:
-
The scale is not covered by the knob.
-
The rotation angle of the scale is correct.
-
-
Check if the holes for mounting the front panel to the enclosure are in the correct position and have the correct diameter.
-
Make sure mechanical parts are not too close to the enclosure’s side panels (otherwise, they may not fit properly inside the case).
Printing Tips:
You might not get a correct 1:1 scale if you're using a PDF viewer in your browser. It's better to download the file and open it in the Adobe Acrobat desktop app, which offers more precise printing options.
Be aware that some printers may scale drawings slightly larger or smaller. To verify accuracy, print a layout with known dimensions and measure it to ensure the printed size is correct.
Generally: A part with 6mm diameter can't fit into a 6mm hole! It's impossible. Either the hole needs to be bigger, or the part needs to be smaller.
There are so many different potentiometers out there and they all have different shaft diameters. Make sure the hole diameter works for the pots you want to use!
If you want to use a potentiometer with a 6mm shaft.. make the hole like 6,2mm or so.
If you want to make a hole for a 2mm LED... make it 2,1mm in diameter.
Potentiometer scales:
Different potentiometers have different roation angles! (the rotation angle from fully counter-clockwise to fully clockwise) It can be 270°, 300° or anything else!
