Control Panel - ABS - how to cut holes best

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virgil1

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I have most of the parts I need for my eBIAB control panel. I have three holes to drill for the outlets(240V power, pump, element) at 2 3/8", 1 1/2" and 1 3/8". I also have several 22mm holes for my switches and the square hole for the PID. I bought a ABS case ( http://amzn.com/B005T990I0 ) , trying to decide how best to cut the holes. the square hole for the PID should be fine with a jig saw(drilling a hole to start). It is too hard to cut circles in the ABS with a jigsaw? I don't have a drill press. How about hole saws? Would that work well with ABS?
 
I found the easiest way is with a Dremel tool with a drywall cutter, The one that looks like an odd drill bit. It's best to have a template because freehand can really go wild.
 
I used a saw-toothed blade for a dremel that came with a 300 piece kit. Seemed like a good opportunity to try it out. Worked well. Not a ton of dust and just as easy to control as one of the standard discs. Just be careful or it will start to melt / burn.

For the switches I had a great time using the step bits that I had used previously to drill my kettle. It's a good idea to use a sharpie on the notch when you need to stop drilling or risk going one step too many. Then hit it real quick from the opposite side for a "deburring" of sorts and you're good to go.

Here's the end result:

20150324_221007-65363.jpg


Alright, just realized that the OP was asking about control panel. This is a ferm chamber. However the panel in question is made from ABS. That's the important part.
 
I used a regular drill to drill pilot holes in the center of each 22mm button/buzzer. Then I drilled the holes with a step bit. Worked great. I drilled holes in 4 corners for the PID hole and then used a jigsaw. That worked as well. Not super clean, but there is plenty of 'fudge room' with the gasket and bracket.
 
I have most of the parts I need for my eBIAB control panel. I have three holes to drill for the outlets(240V power, pump, element) at 2 3/8", 1 1/2" and 1 3/8". I also have several 22mm holes for my switches and the square hole for the PID. I bought a ABS case ( http://amzn.com/B005T990I0 ) , trying to decide how best to cut the holes. the square hole for the PID should be fine with a jig saw(drilling a hole to start). It is too hard to cut circles in the ABS with a jigsaw? I don't have a drill press. How about hole saws? Would that work well with ABS?

How many things are you putting in there? Trying to gauge if that box will work for my panel. I like the ABS idea, much cheaper than those metal NEMA boxes.
 
How many things are you putting in there? Trying to gauge if that box will work for my panel. I like the ABS idea, much cheaper than those metal NEMA boxes.

I am putting in the same amount of gear as this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=282235
Based it on that. 4 Switches, 1 PID, 1 alarm on the front. Outlet for the pump, outlet for the heating element, inlet for the 240V power cord. I put the 240V inlet and element outlet on the bottom, the pump inlet is going to go on the right side.

The bottom/inside of the box wasn't flat. I ended up buying the sheet metal panel to mount everything on. That was another $14. It was a lot harder drilling holes in the sheet metal panel then I thought. I don't have a drill press, so I bought some drill bits to drill through metal. It worked, but it was hard to get the holes right where I wanted them. See pic.
2015-07-29 18.04.00.jpg
 
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