OK so some people might look at this and think it’s just a box, but when you stop and think that 2 hours ago this “box” had never before existed in the entire span of human history, and that it was made on my desk, with a printer, well that’s pretty cool!
That might be over-dramatising things just a little, but there really is something very rewarding about 3D printing a custom enclosure to contain your electronics. I have quite the collection now, for example an Arduino enclosure and a Wiiduino. In this particular case a custom PCB has been manufactured, and we need to contain it in something for trials, keeping all the wires and mess tidy and giving the appearance of a real wearable product as it one day could be.
The PCB is about the size of an Arduino Uno, with a lithium battery that needs to be housed inside as well. I started by modelling the PCB in Solidworks, just as I have done in previous projects. While many people would only bother creating a simple block model of the overall dimensions, I’ve gone to the trouble of accurately modelling all of the key components like LED’s, buttons and connectors as shown above. This means that in the enclosure design, I’ve been able to play with form, giving the design tapered edges to make it seem slimmer, and accurately place holes and details for the various components. In doing so, the first 3D prints fitted successfully, saving time stuffing around later. These were printed on my Cocoon Create, which is still going along nicely, thanks Aldi!
I’ve also opted to use 2 screws to secure the enclosure halves, as snap details on such small enclosures can be fiddly when using desktop 3D printers – if you don’t print them in the right orientation, they just snap off. With holes already placed on the PCB, it makes sense to use these to both secure the 2 shells, and hold the PCB in place. So you get the full picture, here’s the 3D model for you to spin around.
Lastly my tip is to always add some sort of logo or name to the enclosure – it just makes it really pop, and takes no time at all to add. Even a rough prototype should look good!
– Posted by James Novak
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