Enclosures

Please help us see what technology you are talking about.

I have heard that the technology has improved, but every one I have seen so far just does not look, feel right.

thanks

hamilton

Wouldn't it be a lot more fun to mill a female mold from steel stock, then lay an aluminum or steel sheet on top of the mold and top that with a few ounces of suitable explosive? That way you compress all the hammering into a few milliseconds!

Mark Borgerson

I think I've said it before on c.a.e but don't overlook etching metal sheet for certain mechanical issues. If a simple fold-up sheet metal case will do then it may well be the easiest way to do it with the bonus you may well already have etching equipment on hand. By etching both sides of the sheet you can cut the panel to shape including any panel cut outs. Etching from one side only you can form fold lines or even legends for controls or connectors as part of the same step.

I wouldn't use aluminium though - it is simply too reactive and while it's fast it doesn't etch evenly. Brass works a lot better but keep the sheet fairly thin - 20 or perhaps 25 thou to prevent undercutting issues. If you need sturdier than that I'd be tempted to switch to nickel silver rather than going thicker.

If you want to go the plastic route it seems to me that vacforming would me the way to go. In terms of what you can do it is similar to fibreglass but the cooling time is far shorter than the curing for fibreglass - from a single plug you could easily vacform 20 examples in an afternoon. Of course that needs a vacuum former but I'd be surprised if you couldn't outsource it locally and comparatively cheaply, although I must admit I've never had reason to do this.

Hi Don,

Using a diecast aluminium box slightly bigger than your project would be an easy way to go; get your nearest sheetmetal workshop to do the smart job you need for the slots and holes etc and then powder-coat it.

I do these enclosures all the time; also some variants in sheet-metal, tig-welded at the seems; then the welding-fillet dressed smooth before powder coating.

If there's an easier and cheaper solution,I haven't found it!

Good luck,

T o n y

--------------------------------------- Posted through

Nothing there that will address this particular need :<

(annoying that they don't have their entire catalog online for easy download!)

Thanks!

--don

For small prototype series, you can make a silicone mold from the 3D printed object and make some castings using far better plastics. Not too good on tolerances ofcourse, but a lot stronger than the 3D printed object. Maybe that is the process Dombo is referring too?

Then there is also a direct method using a laser to melt a (nylon?) powder, not sure how tough that output is.

The idea of "vacuform" comes to mind. Do not know anything about the technology behind this, but it seems that: Make a mold of wood, of the shape and inner size; use 3 degree draft for ease of seperation (mold from part), and if mold needs to be multi-part (in your case i do not think so) then engineer the pieces so they can be pulled away easily. Glop mold release on, then vinyl coat (i think a sheet is used and heat for forming).

Then again, once that mold is made, fiberglassing is also an option.

Expensive as all hell; buy sheets of plastic and solvent glue them together.

Yeah, but then you're back with the "box" shape. : I do these enclosures all the time; also some variants in sheet-metal,

So far, I haven't concerned myself with easy/cheap -- except that I don;t want to go the route of a "production" design. In one case, I would actually *prefer* something that is very difficult to do "in quantity" as it adds to the perceived "value"/novelty of the device.

Once tried to do a case with *glass* but mistakes are

Wow! That's one to bookmark! Thanks, I'll see if they have a catalog I can browse off-line...

Mark,

Sounds like a lot of fun!

You also made me realize that this discussion really belongs in the rec.crafts.metalworking newsgroup, where lots of people enjoy talking about hammering, welding, and exploding. And sometimes even about doing those things to metal.

Frank McKenney

Tinsmithing with 1100-T0 aluminum, pop rivets, and Bondo?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

In your position i would get someone to bend up some aluminum,=20 like a local high school / trade school. Of course you would=20 have to dimension it. Now let's see what the others have to=20 say.

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sheet=20

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Well, if you are going to get into it that far, you can do equivalent = things=20 with sheet plastic and a household oven.

The man's trying to help you, so don't be a smartarse.

Am 19.03.2010 18:32, schrieb D Yuniskis:

Have a look at

cheers Gunther

The aluminum can be recycled.

Sheet metal with a box and pan brake is not to hard to do if you don't need exact dimensions. If you use tin-plate you can solder the joints. This makes a very nice looking box if you do the soldering work on the side that can't be seen.

You could go with hydraulic die forming;

ted text -

The lowest cost small enclosure is a piece of plastic electrical conduit capped with a rigid or soft plastic cap(s), or a strain relief inserted in the end. The plastic conduit can be purchased in a big box store for