DIY casing for your projects?

[Basicboy]

This is not exactly an Annex/electronics question so I decided to place it here separately from my Noob questions (which was already quite diverse in its questions to the point of confusion)

My question is: Alternative to 3D printing, what else do you use for casing for your projects? Does anybody here manually make a casing like this youtuber here:



Or what other tricks have you thought of throughout the years?

Does anyone know tricks to recycle plastic for DIY projects? or any other tips?

[BeanieBots]

To be honest, I think that video looked like a lot of hard work.
Also, he demonstrated a high level of skill with both cutting and shaping with a soldering iron. Not as easy as it looks!
I have the luxury of a laser cutter which is great for cutting 3mm ply and/or acrylic sheet but can't cut clear sheet.
As with 3D printers, laser cutters come all shapes and sizes but can be quite affordable for a smaller less powerful version that is still useful.

For quick and easy, I use small cardboard boxes. Takes seconds to cut a few holes and make everything fit.
More often than not, I buy ready made 'project' boxes. They can be found quite cheap and are often cheaper than the raw materials needed to DIY a small box.
I've litterally just made a few 'enclosures'. Not for electronics but for mechanical assemblies. I'll try and post some pics later.

[Basicboy]

That's quite interesting. Looking forward to seeing these pics!

Are they sturdy enough to last? It's the only thing that makes me reconsider cardboard

[BeanieBots]

Ok, I'll make a point of getting some pics done today.
Most are not specific to electronic enclosures but they might give you some inspiration.
You'd actually be surprised how strong cardboard can be with a little thought and some PVA glue!
Have a browse around for a 'cheap' laser cutter. Do NOT look at anything below 5W optical power. The lower power ones can only engrave.
5W can easily cut cardboard and with many passes will cut through 3mm birch ply but I'd suggest 10W if you want anything large and/or intricate or you'll be waiting all day while it does multiple passes. Also, cardboard can of course be cut with simple scissors or a basic blade, so a laser cutter is not essential but does open up many other options. It can also be used to engrave and write on your creation.

[Basicboy]

Thanks for your input Beanie
I think cardboard should be fine as long as the case is small (ie no longer that 12cm or so) in which case I assume cardboard should be indeed good.
Looking forward to your pics! Today, I bought 10 boxes of these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006022845640.html

I think this will keep me going till I decide what to buy next: laser cutter or 3d printer

[BeanieBots]

OK, first off. The "spare no expense enclosure".
Nothing more than a BOX. That simple.
I was invited to a party and as I was putting on my coat, the host called and asked if could bring a bluetooth amp.
3 minutes later, I produced what is shown in the pics. It remains that way to this day.

[BeanieBots]

A cheap purchased enclosure from BitsBox.
No circuit board inside. Just a Nodemcu hardwired to a BME280 plus 1.8" TFT glued behind a rectangular cutout. Very simple and cheap.
The TFT is low-res and I used jpg images to produce the digits and trend indicators so it looks like antialiased text.
The pressure is converted to mmHg so that it is the same format as the other two indications.

[BeanieBots]

Same enclosure but with a simple board cut to fit.
It's a fully self-contained remote sender for my workshop, again using BME280 sensor.
The 3 * NiMh batteries give about 6 weeks when sending data every five minutes.
The second picture is the receiver. That's an enclosure from AZ-Delivery. Not very cheap but does include the 2.8" TFT disply.

[BeanieBots]

Not really 'enclosures' but included to give an idea of possibilities.
One is a support for a piston made from a syringe.
It's made from an old corrugated cardboard box. More than strong enough to support the piston when running and extremely quick to make.
The second gives an idea of how intricate you can get with a laser cutter. The little squares on the steps are 0.3mm wide!
The bannisters are wonky because I've not yet glued them in place.
The staircase is made from cereal boxes and the center is a plastic straw.
Next the piston support is a crankshaft. Included to show that you also engrave precision text. In this case to show stroke length and dwell angle.

[BeanieBots]

If you need something more substantial, then use 3mm birch ply.
Pictured, water pump and butane controller. Parts of my never ending Stirling engine project.
The project does include Annex, to measure power in/out, RPM, flywheel wow & flutter, and a bunch of temperatures.