Bezels for professional looking instrument displays? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Jester
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 12:58:04 pm
content: I have built a fair number of "one of" instruments over the years and they often have some form of display, typically some sort of color TFT style lately. I sometimes use an old HP chassis for the case, with a new front panel to accommodate the project du jour. However getting the front panel to look professional for a one of has always been a bit of a challenge, particularly when it comes to the display area.One method that works so so is using a PCB for the front panel, however having a display spaced back 60 mils does look a bit cheesy. In one case I ordered a 60mil board for the actual front panel and a really thin version placed in front so I could get the display tight up against the front cover. This almost looks like something for production.I suppose 3D printing a bezel would be a good start?So what great Ideas have you come up with?Please post an image if you have one.Really dusty and slightly cheesy example.Thanks,J

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 04:27:44 pm
content: I've had good success making nice front panels and bezels by going to a sign-maker's shop. You know, the ones that make engraved signs for office buildings and also private houses.They are geared towards making one-offs, and the result is usually excellent, eg, engraved text with colour fill and free choice of base material type and color.You'll need to talk to then directly about file type for text, outline and and graphics, some like .bmp, some like plot files...3D print is a possibility, but I find the surface texture lacking in quality and "feel".

author: Dave8266
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 06:56:51 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on November 06, 2021, 04:27:44 pmTextured build plates have made huge progress toward solving that!I used to print almost all of my parts face-up for quality, but since I got a new Prusa with the textured build plate, I've switched most of my parts to be printed face-down now if the model allows it.

author: Dave8266
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 07:03:13 pm
content: Quote from: Jester on November 06, 2021, 12:58:04 pmHave you considered a display with the oversized adhesive bezel, that mounts from the front side of the panel?They are really nice to use for touchscreen applications, as you have full interactivity all the way to the edge - no raised physical bezel at all to run into.They all call them different things, but quite a few of the major display providers offer them now.

author: m98
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 07:14:35 pm
content: You can even get these tempered glass display lenses custom made in China, costing you in the order of $ 150 for 10 samples. Did that for a recent project, you'd have thought the product was straight up designed in Cupertino.

author: Jester
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2021, 10:57:48 pm
content: Quote from: m98 on November 06, 2021, 07:14:35 pmLink please?

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2021, 04:57:41 pm
content: Not a fan of the 3D printed panels I've seen but info above seems to indicated advancements there. Given that 3D printing should be in every shop for one offs.As for front panels there are services like Front Panel Express that hopefully is still in business. The reality though is that if you can find somebody locally with a CNC router capable of machining aluminum you may be good. Somebody mentioned sign shops and that might be a good start, but there are many businesses employing these machines. Some are better than others when it comes to one offs and software.One option, that is not well used, is to etch a thin sheet of metal to act as a cover for the old panel. This is doable in shops that have etching supplies already. There is a rather big sub category of machine shops that do this sort of work for all types of customers. One offs might be a problem with a commercial job shop but again if you are already set up for PCB work you likely can pull off etching a front panel overlay. Google Metal Etching Services for more information, sometimes this is called chemical machining and probably has other names.When you got to get it done a drill press and a file can do wonders. This is a learned skill and it helps to be able to do layout work like a tool and die maker. You still have issues with how to label or other wise mark the newly fabbed panel but then you can resort to etching the metal. There are many ways to do this so again a little time on Google and these days youtube, can leave you with a few options. You could also resort to a CNC engraver to mark up that panel. Usually though if you have access to a CNC engraver you have a machine that can do everything in thin sheet metal. If not the CNC engraver can mark out the drill points.If you are rich you can look for machine shops with a laser. Some of these shops do work for the electronics industry already, for stencils and the like. You really want a shop that can do one offs well though and you may need to up your game as far as CAD drawings go. The last thing you want to do is to walk into a shop unprepared as that just gives them more reasons to charge more.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2021, 05:50:12 pm
content: What I do when I want a nice front panel is print it out on paper, then cut the window for the display and then laminate it. Works really well for one-off projects.