How about a rotozip?

I noticed that everyone seems to be using a dremel (not ranking great tool a little messy)for many case moddings. Has anyone tried a rotozip. Ive cut perfect holes in wood and I believe theres a special bit for almost all materials. i havent tried so if anyone knows Let me know

Nope Nope Nope

Rotary bit's such as the little ones that RotoZips use will do one of the following things...

A)Metal cuts NOTHING like wood and a RotoZip is VERY hard to control when you're trying to cut shapes out of metal
B)If you have an Aluminum case the RotoZip bits will get gummed up in a matter of seconds with what you're trying to cut out
C)The Metal will most likely resist so much that the bit will not move in the direction you are pushing.

A dremel works best depending on what you want to cut out.
A JigSaw would probably catch and end up bending the edges of your cut.
A SawZall is just too HUGE for that kind of cut and isn't agile enough
A Side-Cutting Drill bits are only meant for wood
A Hole Saw would work perfectly if you wanted perfect circles, BUT you can only use them(safely/accurately) with a Drill Press.

I'm still not sure as to weather you mean abrasive blades or the rotary cutter tips, but either would not work without being ineffective and\or awkward.

I dunno, I've seen the rotozip used on automobile panels (hoods and doors and stuff) and it seems to cut pretty well. I would guess if it can cut that it should be able to cut the case.

I'd say if you've got the rotozip, go find out what metal-cutting bits if any they have and try it on a scrap case or something.. I have an old 486 AT case that I use to "test" my new ideas on

I have no problems using a hole saw with a hand drill, you just have to be careful and use a ton of cutting oil.

IMHO, the best way for 80mm+ size holes is the dremel and fiber blades

I have the rotozip revolution model, comes with the right angle cutter and stuff, as well as the circle cutter tool, and it doesn't get any better than this thing. i've done all my case mods to my system and they look professionally done. i also built my bong with it, cutting all the necessary holes in the 5gallon igloo to put the pipe in and tubing cuts, etc. the regular model with just a spiral saw bit is kinda tricky to use, but you should practice before you use the thing on a final project. it's a touch that you just can't get the first time around with it. once you get used to the feel of the tool, you'll be cutting perfect every time. using the attachments makes it more refined. dremels suck, take a long time, and the tools cost more than they're worth if you ask me. if you are looking for a lower cost spiral saw, dremel put out a spiral saw just recently and i've used it, not as many attachments for it just yet as the rotozip, but it works much like the zip, just slower and a little less controllable since the speed is lower. the rotozip has speeds from 10k to 30k rpm, and the vice attachment works well. as with any tool, to get an exact cut, you'll need to clamp the workpiece down so you can use both hands on the tool and not have to hold the piece. do this and you'll definitely have better results in all your modding ventures.

Mmmmmm, rotozip and plastic, will it work???? I want to cut circel to the front of my case.
And is there somebody enought nice to explain to non-english guy what is dremel???
Thank you.

Dremmel is a high speed all purpose rotary tool. There are cutting, grinding, sanding, and polishing attachments made for it (bits). It turns much much faster than a dril can, and is held as if you were writing with it.

You can cut almost any shape, grind to smooth out openings in metal, sand the edges very smooth, and even polish to a very shiny finish (like silver).

Here's a picture of the pro model, note the speed setting on the back.

Oh thanks. Adding a pic an so, thanks. Must say that I have seen these "things" in shop...but for now I didn't know what for the're used...LOL
Thanks for the inf. But still as I don't have money to buy a dremel right now then how about cutting plastic with rotozip???

Rotozip should work fine on plastic, try the bit for wood first, and use a lower speed.

RotoZip and the Dremel are the same just made by different people. You can use either attachments in both. I have the Dremel and the other day I used a RotoZip attachment and it ran fine.

Ok, thank you guys very, very x10(...) much.

For fan holes I use Greenlee knockout punch kit. I have two sizes and can make 80mm and 120mm holes with no problems. Also for case mods for windows try finding womeone who has a electric or air driven shears. I have one at work and it makes quick work on all metals. Just got to make sure you cut to the inside of the line though as the metal being cut is 1/4" wide. Cutting corners is not a problem.

DodgeViper said:

For fan holes I use Greenlee knockout punch kit. I have two sizes and can make 80mm and 120mm holes with no problems.

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Where did you come by those? I've been looking around for some for just that purpose. I only have some small ones for wiring and such.

You can get them at most large Electrical supply stores. They are not cheap. I just purchased a new 2 1/2" die which works for a 80MM fan. Just the die was $96.00 without the bolt and bearing.

A Side-Cutting Drill bits are only meant for wood

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nope, sorry, they make many side cutting bits for sheet metal, aluminum, 1/2 inch steel, etc

abrasive blades or the rotary cutter tips, but either would not work without being ineffective and\or awkward.

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on the contrary, both are quite effective and are used by many of the top modding sites out there, pcmods uses a combination of a laser cutting table and a spiral saw of some sort to make their case sidepanels. the folks at designcomp.com use these tools to refine their cuts to exacting standards where the laser cutter cannot be used. you mentioned dremel as being the best, dremels tend to chip aluminum big time, even on the highest speed setting, and the bits wear out so fast, you spend 2x the amount on bits than it would cost to take it to a machine shop. dremels are great for very small details, hence their size, but for a large opening or window type of cut, i'd definitely go with a larger tool of some sort.

for holes, a holesaw works pretty good, gets a little hairy when the saw busts through the other side, just gotta be careful. a mandrel and saw blade can be had for as little as 20 bones, then you can buy different size saws to fit the different fans, i use a 3in (76mm) for an 80mm fan, works perfectly for the best flow and mounting ease. don't remember the size for the 120, i use the rotozip's circle cutter for that now. I know 4.5inches will work really good for a 120mm. good luck with the modding, remember to wear eye protection when using power tools, would suck to have a greatly modded case and no eyesight to admire it with! hehe!

FrozenInHI said:

you mentioned dremel as being the best, dremels tend to chip aluminum big time, even on the highest speed setting, and the bits wear out so fast, you spend 2x the amount on bits than it would cost to take it to a machine shop. dremels are great for very small details, hence their size, but for a large opening or window type of cut, i'd definitely go with a larger tool of some sort.

for holes, a holesaw works pretty good, gets a little hairy when the saw busts through the other side, just gotta be careful

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I've cut bunches of stuff with my dremel, and had no problem, no chipping of the aluminum, etc... I actually just cut off a couple of fins off the heatsink I just put on my vid card, after I had attached it to the GPU. There's nerve wracking for ya. When I cut holes in panels using a holesaw, I place a block of wood underneath it, so it doesn't "bust through", when I'm cutting. It also makes for a smoother cut, less burrs to file off if any.

good tip with the wood block Crystal! I meant that when the saw actually penetrates the metal, it tends to grab and stutter a bit until it gets all the way through the metal. it's still the best way to cut holes though imo.

hmm, cutting metal while on a circuit board, eh? as a 2m tech i'd have you for lunch! metal flakes + microcircuits = expensive mod! yikes.

I use an rotozip to cut holes for my 120mm fans. It didn't work, had to use an jig saw. The bit burn up in less then a min. Maybe I wasn't using the right bit, but it said for wood and metal. The tool is great for making subwoofer box and dywall.