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Enclosure for Proto board? — Parallax Forums

Enclosure for Proto board?

RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
edited 2007-10-30 15:10 in Propeller 1
Anybody found a nice enclosure for the proto board?· I wish Parallax would sell one with cut outs for VGA/PS2, USB, and power...

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Comments

  • dandreaedandreae Posts: 1,375
    edited 2007-10-03 14:03
    We use our local plastic store for the boxes we make regarding different demos.· If you have a Dremel it makes the job a lot easier.

    Dave

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    Dave Andreae

    Parallax Tech Support·
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2007-10-03 14:45
    I've been working on enclosure ideas over here as well... Except I like enclosures with keyboards..

    I've got a protoboard running inside a C64 case, with a PICAXE keyboard interface.
    I'm working on same thing using an AppleIIe case/keyboard. (Running down Apple keyboard specs)

    I figure the AppleII case is about as protoboard friendly as there are plenty of slots in the back and
    40 acres of room for extras.


    (No working 8bits were harmed in these experiments)

    Oldbitcollector

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    Buttons . . . check. Dials . . . check. Switches . . . check. Little colored lights . . . check.

    — Calvin, of 'Calvin and Hobbes.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-03 15:13
    Dave: Are there any photos around of your demo enclosures?
  • dandreaedandreae Posts: 1,375
    edited 2007-10-03 17:01
    I don't have any pictures at this time.· However, this will be something that you will need to design (experiment).· We do not have anything that is pre-designed, we custom make our boxes depending on the project.·· You can also search Google and find different enclosures and then modify them.



    Dave


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    Dave Andreae

    Parallax Tech Support·
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2007-10-03 20:12
    I go about things in the opposite direction, when I can. It costs thousands of dollars to design and make a plastic injection mold for an enclosure. Compare that with a hundred or two for PCB tooling. I prefer to take advantage of the enclosure company's massive tooling investment: pick an enclosure and design a board to fit it. It's almost always cheaper to leverage something that already exists, than to start from scratch every time. An excellent example of this philosophy can be found in Tracy Allen's OWL2pe system of boards and accessories.

    -Phil
  • deSilvadeSilva Posts: 2,967
    edited 2007-10-03 21:48
    It's not only eBay but some (internet) shops selling remainder of stock; I was able to get 10 high quality aluminium cases for the price of one some time ago ... 8 still unused smile.gif
  • MarkSMarkS Posts: 342
    edited 2007-10-03 23:58
    SparkFun has an enclosure design service. It costs $60 per hour, with 30% down and the rest paid out. They use a rapid prototyping system. I'm considering this for several upcoming projects.
  • scottascotta Posts: 168
    edited 2007-10-04 00:12
    Menards, Home Depot:

    They have gray plastic enclosures. They are used as junction
    boxes for electrical work.

    Not pretty, but great for many applications. I'm pretty sure
    they have o-rings. $5 to $12 a box and you can get the
    same box day after day after day.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-04 00:47
    I'd really like to find one something like this one (attached photo) from mini-box.com that I could just screw the prop proto board into, like a motherboard...

    I've made plenty of enclosures up myself.· But, doing one for the "Norcomp" connector and the USB and the power looks particularly painful.

    On a tangent, I really wish the proto board had a place to but an RCA video and audio out connector.· Maybe it's just me, but I think the audio/video capabilities of this chip and software are the most interesting and important features.· I can't imagine why they didn't put a place for a solder in RCA jack on the proto board![font=Tahoma,Bold size=2]

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  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2007-10-04 01:23
    Lansing Instruments may have something that will work for you.

    -Phil
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-04 01:43
    Thanks Phil! Those do look good. Now, I have to hope that the proto board is one of the "standard" sizes... Going to check tomorrow...
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-04 02:26
    Ok, I couldn't wait to look... Sadly, the board width is not a "Lansing" standard. Still, I could use the PCB supports on one side and 0.25" "self-clinching" standoffs (assuming I can find those) on the other side. I really like that those enclosures can be rack mounted!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2007-10-04 02:59
    You could also make a full-with blank board from .06" aluminum or some kind of laminate (G10, paper/phenolic, etc.) and screw the Proto board to it, using a thin spacer — assuming there's enough additional vertical clearance inside the enclosure.

    -Phil
  • Fred HawkinsFred Hawkins Posts: 997
    edited 2007-10-04 03:02
    A bit pricey, but looks like it will do the job. About an inch longer than needed (internally) but very close to the proper width for the protoboard holes along the short side.
    http://www.pactecenclosures.com/Plastic-Enclosures/CM3-100.html
  • Jim FouchJim Fouch Posts: 395
    edited 2007-10-04 03:32
    Funny that this topic would come up today. I was thinking of offering a service to make a custom enclosure for the Protoboards. I have a small CNC router that can pretty easily cut flat plastic sheets. I use a product called Haysite. I have used it for many things.

    Basically I would cut the six sides of the enclosure and the end user would glue them together. I could offer custom holes for connectors and even make enclosures out of Plexiglas.

    If anyone is interested, just contact me.

    Thanks,

    Jim Fouch

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    Jim Fouch

    FOUCH SOFTWARE
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2007-10-04 17:34
    Rayman, the picture you showed is a standard box with a stamped inset, getting something like that (a generic box with a single standard opening for an inset) and a custom stamped piece of steel should be alot cheaper than doing a custom injection molded plastic box.

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    Paul Baker
    Propeller Applications Engineer

    Parallax, Inc.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-26 20:39
    Here's my first cut at an enclosure· (see photos).· My lack of machining skills shows, but this only took me about 30 minutes to do.· Would have been faster if I could have found our Dremmel tool...

    It's a Hammond extruded aluminum case with metal end plates.· I sliced and diced a Vector proto board to mount it on using computer motherboard standoffs...

    I think this is going to work out well for me...
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  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,793
    edited 2007-10-30 14:05
    I'm very happy with this type of enclosure.· The way the top cover slides out makes it very convenient for making connections to the opposite end before buttoning up...

    Here's a look at the inside and business end of my first deployable Prop based device:
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  • hippyhippy Posts: 1,981
    edited 2007-10-30 14:51
    For production or quantity runs it's one thing but for one-off home enclosures I find you cannot beat garage sales, car boot sales and eBay; grab them when you find them. Broken and outdated technology is often cheap and you get a lot for very little cash.

    My favourites are ISDN bridges and modems. These often have 100V-250V PSU's with good quality, high current, 5V supplies, nice cases and usually HD44780 LCD's and a variety of push buttons and LED's. Plenty of room inside and rear panels can be cut out and replaced with plastic for those of us who don't have metal working skills.
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  • JT CookJT Cook Posts: 487
    edited 2007-10-30 15:10
    I used a piece of tupperware for mine and just dremelled some holes in it.·smile.gif
    Maybe tonight I will see if I can·find some pictures of it.
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