Non-brittle 1 gang blank plate alternative

James1402

Hello,

I am looking for a 1 gang blank plate that is possible to be drilled into. The most common blank plate is made of a plastic that just cracks when its drilled into.

Does anyone know of a type of blanking plate that I can drill into. I need to drill 2 holes to fit a PIR sensor and a LDR sensor.



Any help is appreciated.

crasy dash

You can get pir occupancy sensors that can be mounted direct to the single back box.

Do you have to mount both pir and ldr on the one plate?

James1402

crasy dash wrote: »

You can get pir occupancy sensors that can be mounted direct to the single back box.

Do you have to mount both pir and ldr on the one plate?

Yes its a custom circuit board I've made. Ive made something similar in the past (picture below) but this time around I want to mount the PIR and LDR sensor on a blank plate to try make it more professional looking.

the_pen_turner

would the metal clad ones fit .
you could spray it white

Armchair Andy

Do you mean bake lite ones OP?

A very sharp 8mm steel bit on a flat soft board always works for me. Slow speed at the end of drilling.

Never drilled a plastic one (or seen them tbh)

Bruthal

Did it crack from.the pressure of the drill bit? I have fitted VGA sockets into them, not easy but is do-able.

You would probably want to start with a small drill bit and gradually drill bigger, and make sure the back side is directly supported rather than drilling down onto the top of plate with no direct support at the back. Or drill through the front with small drill bit, then lay blank face down onto wood and drill bigger from the back.

Armchair Andy

Bruthal wrote:

Did it crack from.the pressure of the drill bit? I have fitted VGA sockets into them, not easy but is do-able.

Literally just the weight of drill. (Milwaukee 18V Li-Ion) Have cracked them too but only if bit is blunt and burning more than cutting. Usually a small chip on the far side where the bit comes through but covered up with fixing of hexnut to F connector.

the_pen_turner

those steped bits are great for this.

James1402

Armchair Andy wrote: »

Do you mean bake lite ones OP?

A very sharp 8mm steel bit on a flat soft board always works for me. Slow speed at the end of drilling.

Never drilled a plastic one (or seen them tbh)

I believe it is a type of moulded plastic. Ive looked online to try find out what type of plastic it is bit I cannot find anything.

http://www.lenehans.ie/1gang-blank-plate.html
http://www.electricalwholesaler.ie/Products/1-Gang-Blank-Plate-White-Clipsal__CLE31XWE.aspx

Bruthal wrote: »

Did it crack from.the pressure of the drill bit? I have fitted VGA sockets into them, not easy but is do-able.

You would probably want to start with a small drill bit and gradually drill bigger, and make sure the back side is directly supported rather than drilling down onto the top of plate with no direct support at the back. Or drill through the front with small drill bit, then lay blank face down onto wood and drill bigger from the back.

Armchair Andy wrote: »

Literally just the weight of drill. (Milwaukee 18V Li-Ion) Have cracked them too but only if bit is blunt and burning more than cutting. Usually a small chip on the far side where the bit comes through but covered up with fixing of hexnut to F connector.

Ive placed a piece of wood that fits inside the plate to support it from the back. The main problem I have is that the plastic keeps chipping or cracking when I drill into it, even with only using the pressure from the drill itself.

The plastic reminds me of porcelain, its a horrible material.

Bruthal

A dremel cuts them easy enough. Keeping the holes neat is the tricky bit. PVC blank plates can be got too which are easy to drill, although I've only seen the flat profile types myself.

James1402

Bruthal wrote: »

A dremel cuts them easy enough. Keeping the holes neat is the tricky bit. PVC blank plates can be got too which are easy to drill, although I've only seen the flat profile types myself.

Do you know of anywhere in Dublin that sells PVC blank plates?

Tuco88

How about metal clad blank plate?

Armchair Andy

Tuco88 wrote:

How about metal clad blank plate?

Would make for a nicer finish alright but would it fit in with the surroundings?

Tuco88

Armchair Andy wrote: »

Would make for a nicer finish alright but would it fit in with the surroundings?

If you surrounding points are white, why not give it a light sand to key it and spray paint it white/gloss.

The mk blank plates are very tough to be fair.

Stoner

Dr. Dre wrote:

Any fellow Irish users of this device?

Dues the OP not just want a cheap plastic surface ko box, the ones that wholesalers have that you can hold and twist in your hand and you can bash out the 20mm holes with a screwdriver, or else get a non ko one and drill it out where ever you need. The boxes to match plastic round conduit.

Explaining same to a wholesaler is all you need to do