Can anyone provide some (useful, preferably) advice:

My case has 2 front fans and 1 top fan set up so that they're blowing through acrylic panels. The panels are vented in a repeating square pattern (Sorry, I don't have a picture at this time. Maybe later tonight). It seems to me that the vents are a problem, as only about 25% of the total area in front of the fan is actually a hole. Anyway, I want to cut larger fan vents in the acrylic with a hole saw so as to reduce wind resistance.

Can anybody give me advice on the ins and outs of cutting acrylic panels without destroying them?? My case isn't being sold anymore so if I botch this up, I'll have to live with it.




Thanks,
R.

Well, with a hole saw you'll have to be VERY careful and go VERY slowly or you could crack it. Personally, I'd use a dremel if you have one available to you. (And if you don't, it's a handy tool to have anyways )

I explained my process for cutting a hole in plexi with a dremel in my CPU Intake Vent Guide. I would use the same technique for acrylic.

You can use a holesaw in reverse, it's a lot less likely to crack the acrylic as the teeth won't bite. Most drills don't cool themselves in reverse, so be aware of that. An alternative to holesaws or dremels is using a jigsaw with a tooth pitch of 0.8mm or lower (i.e. sheet metal blades). The fine tooth pitch is extremely unlikely to bite and crack the plexi.

I'd only use a dremel when any other tool was impossible to use in the situation, they just seem to take forever to do the same job as a real tool

Verran is correct... most of the factory case windows are very thin material and easily crack but you can still use a hole saw if you are careful. All hole saws use a drill bit in the center as a guide for the saw. So here is what you need to do, get a flat piece of wood (the size of your window for support and at least a half inch thick) use the bit from your hole saw and drill a guide hole through it. This next part is tricky and best done by hand (yes I said by hand). Position your window over the guide hole where you want to cut the fan hole and by hand (you can have it attached to the drill but turn it by hand) drill your guide hole through the window and into the guide hole in the wood. then continue by hand turning the hole saw until you have cut through the window. It takes awhile but you have complete control and should end up with a clean cut and no cracks.