Sheet metal cutting templates for enclosures

I’ve run into a bit of a snag here.
I need to get some custom pieces cut—specifically 480 mm and 360 mm sizes—to house my water cooling radiators. What’s the best way to prep these dimensions so I can send them off to someone for laser or waterjet cutting?

I’ve been scouring the web for dimensions, but I can't seem to find any ready-to-go templates or schematics that you can just plug straight into a computer to automate the process... anyone have any tips? Thanks!

Can you drop a link to where you found that?
It’s not exactly clear what you’re actually trying to do here...
Usually, things go a lot smoother if you just draft it out at a 1:1 scale first.
And I'm sorry, but since when did IT support become an expert in sheet metal cutting?

jadebison17 said:I've got a bit of a dilemma.
I need to cut out some pieces—480 mm by 360 mm—for my water cooling radiators. How should I set up the dimensions so someone can actually laser cut or water jet them for me?

I found some measurements online, but I can't find actual ready-to-go files, you know? Like, digital schematics you just plug into a computer and it does the work... anyone got tips? Thanks!

Wait, so you're looking for "measurements" (like blueprints??) to hand over to a laser cutting shop?
You can't just show up with a sketch drawn on a piece of cardboard... what would they even do with that? Try to shove it through a USB port?

Seriously, you should hit up the shop first and ask exactly what data they need. They'll need the dimensions and the shape so they can program their machine. It's not like they're going to tape a template to a sheet of metal and cut it out with a grinder...
Nowadays, everything is usually handled in an Adobe Photoshop format if things get complicated enough..

I’m a little confused by what they’re actually asking for here...

I mean, wouldn't it be way easier to just find a custom-built one on eBay? It’d probably end up being higher quality too—plus, it should be cheaper since they can just mass-produce them in those big factories...

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S24 using Reddit

...whenever I need to tackle a project like that, my toolkit usually consists of a drill, a jigsaw, an angle grinder, a hammer, and just a whole lot of grit and patience 😁

I’ve been a bit MIA from this thread lately (work projects have been absolutely crushing me!), but I finally managed to track down some dimensions online. What I really need now are the exact specs to plug into AutoCAD, so I can send them over to the shop for precision laser or waterjet cutting. I learned my lesson the hard way during my last project—I tried to DIY it with an angle grinder and ended up smashing two Cooler Master fans. Those things are pricey, man, and I am definitely not looking to play "break expensive hardware" ever again! 😁

Hope you guys get where I'm coming from! :O

I’ve got these existing schematics sitting here as paper sketches and .jpg files, which I'm trying to figure out how to bridge over into AutoCAD—you know how it goes... :O

I’ve been hunting everywhere, but honestly, I was totally lost on where to even post this topic... -,- "

Man, we were seriously starting to worry you'd had a heart attack or something
just shoot me those links in a DM and I'll save you the headache
just so you know: CAD is the software, and the main file format you're looking at is .dwg