Most of the projects here involve some kind of electronic product, and some kind of box for storing them. The same is true for almost all commercial electronic products.

Still, choosing a shell is far from solving the problem. For simple electronic products, it is entirely possible to spend more time to make the housing just right, rather than working on the circuit itself. But in most cases, we need to avoid getting stuck in the exact location of our hardware.

There are many options for your house, and although many people use 3D printers by default, there are usually better options. I have wandered on this issue countless times and hope to share the options I have seen and help you determine which is right for you. Let's talk about the shell!

You need something fast, dirty, and temporary for proof of concept or short-term projects. Why not use some cardboard placed around you?

The cardboard is easy to use, and you can quickly insert holes and slots for interfaces and connectors. Paint it, shape it, whatever it needs. Use card stock (such as cereal boxes) for higher-quality fine-sized work. In the world of rapid prototyping, cardboard is an excellent choice for generating rapid iterations to test usability and rough ideas. It also has a thickness similar to a 0.062 inch PCB, allowing you to quickly and easily print your design, paste it on the cardboard, cut it out, and wait for the real ones to arrive by mail.

When you need to be more sturdy or waterproof, reusable plastic food enclosures, including yogurt containers and Tic Tac packaging, can also do a lot. This high-five mobile disco turtle robot was made under the guidance of a 5-year-old child. The yogurt container is equipped with batteries, speakers, Arduino and all wiring to ensure that the sensitive components are safe enough to cope with this monster with a limited lifespan.

Find something that roughly fits the size and shape you need, and trim and drill as needed. The utility blade is the only tool needed to make a higher fidelity housing. Carefully heating or using glue can seal and glue the parts together. Unless your goal is kitsch products, you should not expect to make more of these products, and their durability is limited, so it is expected that such products will only last a little longer than cardboard and are more suitable for wet conditions. environment.

If you have molding skills and can shape a piece of material according to your ideas, clay or oven-baked polymer (Sculpey) may be a good choice. InstaMorph is another tool made of plastic that softens and becomes malleable at low temperatures. It comes in flake and granular form, which can be softened with hot water or air, and then processed by hand until it cools.

This option has not received enough attention. Existing enclosures are very suitable for small batch production and bridge the gap between prototype and mass production. Polycase, New Age Enclosures, Takachi, Bud, and Hammond are all places I used to use for injection molding, extrusion, or otherwise prefabricated enclosures, and can be easily modified to meet your exact needs (and no, we won’t mention it. And get paid for any of them).

Once you are familiar with their product line, you will begin to recognize their shells in other products. You choose the right size and type of housing, most of which provide some form of CAD (or at least a PDF design drawing with relevant dimensions), and often even suggest PCB outlines. Order one or a few, and you can have everything you need for just a few dollars. When you need to put it into production, you can even provide these companies with any milling or drawings printed on any surface, and they will handle these for you, with only a small set-up fee and each part cost.

There is no shortage of articles about 3D printing, even if there are faster, cheaper, and cleaner options, this seems to be the default choice for people.

If your needs go beyond a box, and you must have some kind of special enclosure to fit a specific shape, or you are trying to make it fast or miniaturized, then 3D printing may work. You will have to eliminate the CAD program of your choice, or find an existing design, which is one of the reasons why this option is not available to many people, and it can be very time-consuming. On the bright side, there are a variety of materials available, some services can 3D print and mail parts to you, and many public libraries even use 3D printers as a service they provide.

If you can use it, laser cutting is also a good choice. Usually these are acrylic or plywood shells, although cardboard also works well, with interlocking or straight edges. Simple customizable boxes such as MakerCase and Boxes.py have online generators, and you can modify them after downloading to add holes and cuts.

Injection molds are the industry standard for mass production, capable of ejecting plastic parts at an amazing speed and running continuously. They can be designed to precise specifications and can be used anywhere from thousands to millions of parts. The downside is the upfront cost. The cost of a basic mold can be in the thousands of dollars, while a real high-volume hardened steel with slide rails, multiple cavities and cooling lines can cost millions of dollars. We have covered injection molding in detail, but the main thing to remember about injection molding is that it is not a one-off, and once the tool is cut, you will not be able to easily change the design.

There are countless other options. You can use CNC in the shop to make the housing out of wood or metal. There are various casting techniques, including 3D printing a mold and casting in the mold, or 3D printing a positive film, creating its silicone mold, and then casting the part in the mold. You can put everything in a temporary enclosure and pour it in (basically pour epoxy in and fill it up). You can use a variety of methods to make different parts of the enclosure, and even sub-components. I have used 3D printing and laser cutting brackets in existing enclosures.

Before you spend a few hours designing a box and 3D printing it directly with CAD software, consider other options that may be faster, cheaper, or look better. Of course, this article is not an exhaustive list, but if I am missing something important, please mention it below.

Let us not forget the shells that are manufactured and reused for other purposes. Altoids cans are popular cans for small electronic projects; they are cheaper than special boxes like Hammond, and you can also eat Altoids. There are many other commercial metal or plastic product containers that can be used in a similar way.

Ammunition box instead of pelican box...

Last time I was in a second-hand store, I found a wooden recipe card box, which looked just the size to fit an amateur radio PCB. More detailed information will be released upon completion. You can find a lot of weird things in thrift stores, and it looks like they might make interesting fences.

The index card file box, also suitable for recipes, was once metal. I remember a built-in transistor transmitter, but it has at least two stages.

Plastic seems to be their current material. The larger size can fit a 3.5-inch floppy disk, but it is not very practical now.

I have a 5-1/4-inch floppy disk box, I transformed it into a 3-1/2-inch floppy disk box, then a CD box, and now...waiting for the next media fashion. Maybe it's a solid state drive.

When taking a walk in a small mom-and-pop shop considering alternative uses, the fun is halved.

The Tic Tac Toe box is also great!

My last project was carried out in an abandoned ATX power box.

I did not use the project box, but used the plastic in-wall junction box from the hardware store. Comes with beautiful catheter-sized punches, but it is easy to drill for anything else you need. Screw cap. And it's quite cheap.

This is also my solution. Available in many sizes, durable, cheap and very strong.

I once made a quick and dirty sum blender from some salvaged jars, and then packed it in a first aid kit. Glorious years.

I have saved various shells and containers to meet future needs. It is the gateway to hoarding. guard against…

I can confirm. A few years later, the reality I faced was that everything I "saved" from the trash can should be there in the first place.

In other words, confirmation bias tells me that every time I get rid of something, I will find it useful in a few days. In rare cases, if you discover its purpose before pitching, you will not be able to find it.

I like the cardboard PCB layout skills Bob mentioned. I have finished it with paper and supported the components, but being able to actually place the through holes and then install it into any enclosure you are considering is a brilliant move I haven't tried yet.

Minimalism costs more, but it can improve your life.

You mentioned Polycase: They will also process and screen print the case for you. Due to the setup cost, it is unreasonable to make only one, but it is worth a visit if it is run on a small scale.

Your town is likely to have a local sign or vehicle packaging shop: they are good places to make professional-looking, very durable labels. Get the cad file from polycase or hammond, design your label from it, and then give it to the sign shop: you will get a very beautiful pre-cut label at a reasonable cost, and it fits your shell perfectly.

I also have to endorse Protocase.com. They make custom shells, which are excellent in workmanship, very fast, and reasonably priced. Accurate dimensions and excellent surface treatment options. I even use them for one of the parts. You may have seen their work before: they are behind 45drives.com

I also have to install one for Polycase-they will not only machine the openings and do custom pad printing, they will also do all this work printing from a sample PCB with appropriate externally accessible components (such as switch and connector mounting components) The number of sketches is as low as 1 (one). Perfecto is suitable for very low-volume constructions, such as trade show prototypes.

Combine it with Paul's label suggestions and you can get something very good, while still having full control and quick turnaround.

I have completed most of the work. Before 3D printing, I used to like my cardboard box... I would fold a custom-sized cardboard box, and then I would fill it with stacked cardboard and cut out the holes in it, a bit like an empty book collection. So it can cling to the printed circuit board without glue, usually without any fasteners at all, so I can eject it and continue working, but it is still durable enough to be pulled out on site.

I have a big bag in the basement with plastic and tin containers, which looks promising. I still fish from there a few times a month, but I don't go to the project fence as often as before.

When I need a good case, I just 3d print it. But for the pi located under the TV, I found myself laying out a dozen connectors in openscad, and I realized that I just don't care about that many. To this day, it just floats in the middle of a shoe box, and I drilled a few holes in the side of it with a knife. There is nothing more like cardboard.

I would take a cereal box or something similar, open its seams, and reassemble it from the inside out to use it as a mailbox... (lots of tape!)

Yet another process involves CNC machining a piece of flat plastic (such as ABS), then "folding" it into a shape (by thermal bending), and then bonding it together by chemical welding.

There are professional services like envplastics.com, I have used them before and I am very satisfied with their results, but the price may be beyond the budget of amateurs, but if the right tools and processes are used, the process may be easy to obtain.

You can also use the V-shaped cutter in abs or polycarb to make a box that is folded and closed along the V-shaped cut. A little dichloromethane can fold into a permanent thing, and you will also get almost clear joints.

Using cheap metal brakes, cheap scissors, printers and glue sticks from port freight, you can make almost any shell you can imagine with a little aluminum plate from a hardware store.

And don't forget to use copper clad circuit board materials to make small enclosures.

I even wrote it here: https://hackaday.com/2015/06/03/how-to-build-beautiful-enclosures-from-fr4-aka-pcbs/

Modern connectors are too small and too bad, and many projects are suitable for DB-25 housings. A microcircuit board is clamped between the pin rows.

You can use Lego bricks to make a variety of solid shells of various shapes and sizes. If you want the Lego shell to be permanent, you can weld the blocks together with acetone.

Little known fact; the size of the beaglebone black fits into the k'nex roll cage, as if it was made deliberately.

I used (waste) wood to make many shells for quick projects. Just screw a few pieces together to form a shell, sand the edges with sandpaper, if you feel good, you can add a little oil, it's even good.

Hey, I sometimes use luan, it's really too thin for the screws on the edge, and it's not that fun to glue it together...so in order to fix it together, I just drilled holes on it, and then attached the wire ( Such as fence wire) through the hole, a method of kinking. Never looks even semi-decent, but always super easy to use!

I have a case of items purchased from RadioShack over the years. Still waiting to use any. (Maybe I will use some earlier, if the project PCB they sell is indeed suitable for them.

I can't 3D print ABS, but the smell reminds me of the blue Rat Shack box when I was a kid. That and cancer.

My favorite fence right now is a small wooden box from a nearby handicraft chain (Michael's). They are easy to use, a relatively soft wood, but feel very strong and hard. My current project focuses on home automation, so making the case look good is a major plus. With a little stain and a few layers of polyurethane coating, they look handsome.

It depends on what you need. Tin cans may be useful, but there is not much space for the panel, even if you pat a circuit board on the open end. Sometimes you just need the protection of a temporary project. I

But the can can be used to shield the back part of a more beautiful box. Think of the small can of pizza sauce.

Or the cookie jars that appear around Christmas.

If you want a beautiful 3D printer shell and don't want to design a new shell for every project, there is a great parametric shell on Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1355018

It has many choices regarding size, ventilation slots or decoration.

We have actually written about this project before, and it is definitely a great resource. In hindsight, it should probably be mentioned in this article.

You can find cheap wooden boxes of various sizes in dollar stores, which are easy to cut, easy to paint, and look good.

For me, this is usually the hardest part of an electronic project. I use cardboard multiple times and reuse takeout containers. I have made a folding box, printed it out in full size, and then used the printout as a template to cut it into scrap cardboard. I also use fiberglass cardboard boxes for other purposes and have considered doing so to make more durable/weatherproof electronic project boxes.

I have started designing things for 3D printing, but haven't tried it yet. I like the idea of ​​moldable plastic-we have some of these ideas. I might try it next.

The outdated electronic box looks much better, very sturdy, and may have connectors on it.

Usually they need a new front panel. But yes, they may have a power supply.

I use a comouter power box, and the front is covered with a circuit board.

I recently fell in love with the 5mm Sintra PVC foam board for quick customization of the enclosure. It is cut, polished and painted like a dream, and CA glue glues them together cleanly and immediately. It reminds me of some kind of homogenous plastic version of balsa wood. I usually use wood screws or very coarse plastic screws to fix the cover and PCB. It is soft enough, and I also mount the circuit board on it by pressing a few header pins into it.

With just a square ruler, a utility knife, an emery board and some super glue, you can piece together a weatherproof, somewhat sturdy box in 10 minutes.

I started using it because it was free scrap from another department, but when the supply runs out, I will use more because it is very convenient as a prototype material.

completely! If you heat it with a heat gun or stick it in boiling water, it will bend nicely when you need an organic shape.

There are also core flutes from elections or real estate signs. It's a bit difficult to stick, but I was lucky with PU glue (American gorilla), especially if you make a few holes in it first-then the glue will form small rivets as it expands. Hot glue is suitable for fast and dirty people. I am sure that there is a "appropriate" glue for polyethylene or anything else. A waterproof outdoor enclosure was built for the Raspi/IR camera and lasted for two seasons.

"It's also the core of the election or real estate logo."

Coroplast! My other beloved material. I have never used it for electronic product enclosures, but spent a few years using it to make boxes and various things at work.

In the past, hot glue has always been my preferred adhesive, but only because it meets the archival storage standards I follow. It is polypropylene, so there are some glues available, but I haven't tried it. I mainly use Chicago screws and Tyvek tape.

Even for self-made personal projects, it is best to consider the flammability of the shell. Especially for power-powered projects or projects that use large batteries, I will use metal casings or prefabricated non-flammable plastic casings. Many electrical fires stop at the enclosure.

There is nothing cheaper and easy-to-use all-metal casings than old Bud boxes, although they can be ugly. Just make sure to use the grommet, otherwise you will immediately test the chassis grounding.

At first I thought you were talking about [writing] Budweiser boxes. B^)

They forgot to mask the tape shell.

Just apply hot melt glue

Another good technique for laser cutting is to build the housing in units of a few millimeters and then clamp it together. A very flexible and fast method, but of course it is difficult to make very thin walls or many free hanging functions.

Due to the blockade, I couldn't access the makerspaces I used frequently, so I ended up trying some new things.

There is a clothing called Evergreen Scale Models that can be made of a polystyrene film; it is sold in art supply stores (used for building models) and toy/hobby stores that cater to model train lovers. It has various thicknesses and various textures. It is very easy to cut by scoring with an X-Acto knife and bending/breaking on the incision. Using it (without power tools), I was able to handle a project in the layered sandwich method often used for laser cutting acrylic-screws on each side of the circuit board to hold the whole thing together. In another project, j uses a soldering iron as a heating element to form a bend in the material, wrap the sheet into an inverted U shape, and control it through a face.

I really like the KiCAD 3D STEP export -> Fusion360 or OpenSCAD -> 3d printing process, especially if you need the shell to be used for cooling or to retain other components.

thanks for your reminder. I have been looking for a box for my indoor weather station project, and now I remember that I bought a box from AliExpress a few years ago, they are very cheap, I bought 10 of them. I just went to my trash can and there are extras there.

RadioShack HT-204 Nibbling Tool is your friend. Reduce confusion and your wife will not complain about dust and noise.

I saw/used a nibbler for the first time in a technology school. I didn't know that such a great tool existed. But it took me decades to buy my own.

wtf ......is there no mention of tape anywhere? shame! :-D

Sorry for being late, but I developed a method (and open sourced the template) to create a professional-looking control panel shell using a very affordable* project box and basic tools that almost everyone has: https://github .com /oelgern/box_underlays/wiki

*: This is 4 years ago, and I can see that the price of the casing has risen from the price recorded there, but they were as low as $4 in the beginning, and the number of single pieces delivered to North America.

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