PPP Drill Template

[electricb]

Hi everyone,

I'm debating ordering some enclosures from PPP and getting them custom drilled. The problem is that I'm not exactly sure how to best send them the template and I don't want to waste money if I screw it up. Is there anyone that can share a template that turned out as they expected? Thanks!

[bcalla]

Several years ago I had them drill out an effects loop pedal.  Their site said to provide measurements from the edges, but I called them and they said it was OK to give measurements from center lines.  Their drilling was perfect.  I sent them a Word file, but I uploaded it here as a PDF.  Template attached.

[Bret608]

Yep, I measure from two sides of the enclosure to the center of the hole. I usually just hand write it onto a Madbean drill template, scan and pdf it, then send it to them right after placing my order. Comes out great every time. The only time there's been a goof, it was my fault! I somehow transposed a number and found that 9/32" for an in/out jack doesn't quite cut it!

[Chi_Boy]

I've never had a problem with PPP.  I used to use their pre-drilled enclosures, but the custom drilling is pretty easy to deal with so mine are all custom now.  You just need to be sure you show all of the dimensions as if you were drilling yourself.  I always order more than one box at time, usually 5 or more.  I've always used the attached form and have always received what I asked for.

[electricb]

Thanks everyone! This is really helpful. Given that enclosures vary slightly in size, I wanted to make sure everything was measured from center rather than from the edges, which appears to be no problem.

[electricb]

Two follow up questions:

1. How accurate can your measurements be. My PCBs are laid out for board mounted pots, which are approximately 650 mils apart. This translates to .65" or 16.5 mm apart - can PPP do drilling to a tenth of a mm/hundredth of an inch? I've sent them an e-mail but maybe someone else can chime in.

2. 16mm pots have little anti-spin tabs that I usually break off. Has anyone tried having small holes drilled next to the pot mounting holes to use these tabs for their intended purpose? It looks like 7.8mm ought to do it - anyone have any experience?

[Chi_Boy]

Two follow up questions:

1. How accurate can your measurements be. My PCBs are laid out for board mounted pots, which are approximately 650 mils apart. This translates to .65" or 16.5 mm apart - can PPP do drilling to a tenth of a mm/hundredth of an inch? I've sent them an e-mail but maybe someone else can chime in.

2. 16mm pots have little anti-spin tabs that I usually break off. Has anyone tried having small holes drilled next to the pot mounting holes to use these tabs for their intended purpose? It looks like 7.8mm ought to do it - anyone have any experience?

I regularly request drilling to the nearest .5mm without issue.  Anything less than that is well within the wiggle room of the pots and the board.

[pickdropper]

Two follow up questions:

1. How accurate can your measurements be. My PCBs are laid out for board mounted pots, which are approximately 650 mils apart. This translates to .65" or 16.5 mm apart - can PPP do drilling to a tenth of a mm/hundredth of an inch? I've sent them an e-mail but maybe someone else can chime in.

2. 16mm pots have little anti-spin tabs that I usually break off. Has anyone tried having small holes drilled next to the pot mounting holes to use these tabs for their intended purpose? It looks like 7.8mm ought to do it - anyone have any experience?

I regularly request drilling to the nearest .5mm without issue.  Anything less than that is well within the wiggle room of the pots and the board.

If they are doing CNC drilling .020" tolerances on the holes is actually pretty significant.  I would hope they could hold it much tighter than that.  Some boards mounted parts, like toggle switches, don't allow for that much maneuvering.