If you remember, the first attempt at getting a front panel laser cut for my LCD clock didn’t work out so well. I don’t think it was a tolerancing issue. I think I just screwed it up.



Although the holes cut for the LCD and the switches were spot-on, they weren’t where they were supposed to be.



I tweaked the file...



…converted it to SVG...



…and printed it out once more.



I also cut out a hole for the LCD potentiometer. I hadn’t cut out a hole on the last one since I didn’t think I’d ever need to tweak the contrast again. However, if I cut a hole out for it, I can push the acrylic that much closer to the PCB. That’ll bring the buttons closer to the acrylic, making it easier to press them.

Since I also wanted to make a front panel for the SpeakJet board, I combined both files into one order and submitted them together. Having something laser-cut is really cheap; it just takes forever to have done. It was only $6.77 for the acrylic and the cutting, but it took 19 days to receive it!



Ahhhh, that looks much better!



I used a few 1” screws, some standoffs, and some nuts to assemble everything together.







It looks awesome. It’s just like I pictured it 6 months ago a when I designed the clock. It’s great to see everything finally come together like this. I think this clock is finally done-done.



I sent the 2nd one to my Dad so he could also upgrade his clock. He sent me a picture so show me how it turned out: Awesome!



See this project from start to finish:
We Have a Clock
Setting the Clock
Clock Code is Complete
Clock Design Decisions
New DS1307 Kit
ChronoDot Breakout Board
Arduino LCD Clock PCB Complete
Making the LCD Clock Stand - Take 1
Arduino LCD Clock PCBs Arrived!
Arduino LCD Clock Assembly
Making the LCD Clock Stand - Take 2
Another Clock Stand
Arduino LCD Clock: New GUI
Laser Cut LCD Clock Enclosure: Take 1
Laser Cut LCD Clock Enclosure: Take 2