Fabrication Week 4: Enclosures

I’m going to start off with my takeaway — I know it breaks form, but I am so beyond done with this project, I just want to get the main takeaway before the mess.  Trying to get the right size is hard for outside components. The digital caliper can only do so much. Honestly If I have to do some enclosure in the future, I might as well just  pay someone to do it or send it out because making it by myself. Don’t get me wrong I like being in the shop and building , just not where I am now, when nothing works and all you want to do is light your project on fire because you’re so done and frustrated .

(I promise I haven’t set anything on fire.)

At any case, here is the sketch, originally I was going to just  drill in the cover and make that the enclosure, but the way the permaboard fit in threw that idea off.

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Originally I was going to pad it with cardboard  inserts, but those were quickly 86’d  in favor of stands. One Cardboard piece was a rough estimate of where they would all go in the board. Did measurements of everything on the digital calipers and recreated them all in Illustrator for laser cutting…

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More trial and error with some more laser cut cardboard, but since it was so giving I was feeling like  it wasn’t helping me determine  my right button hole.

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In retrospect a waste of arcylic, but at the same time I was  still having a hard time figuring out the right hole size.

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Found one that fit the button right, but opted to the one where the outside holes fit the screw instead of the stands, but that wouldn’t matter unfortunately. Because when I attempted to drill the hole in the PCB board, it wasn’t going through, and only making thing burn.

jumpring_sm

On success was I was able to drill  holes on top for a jump ring or two and a lobster clip.

And the final product, insofar as it is. there’s no circuitry, the LEDs were too tall and the PCB board was off on the measurements so things weren’t fitting. I couldn’t even screw it in just right either so it’s just all sitting in there.

finished_1_sm final_2_sm

It opens, it (kind of) closes,  so I am hoping I’ve at least filled the minimum requirement at least.

 

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