Project Enclosures

Searcher7 · May 25, 2016

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

Ralph Mowery · May 25, 2016

In article <5dca17d2-0b5d-40e0-9453-d601485f9697@googlegroups.com>,
Searcher7@mail.con2.com says...

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

Piece of PVC pipe and end caps. If needed you may be able to split a
piece or two longways.

Michael Black · May 25, 2016

On Tue, 24 May 2016, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others.
Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I
might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

A tin can, with some sort of front panel on the opened end of the can.
Though if the panel is the empty end of the can, you don't get much panel
space.

I still have a something surplus, a transmitter in the spectrum between
100 and 150MHz, I'm not sure the exact purpose. But it used a circular
enclosure, I can't remember if the front panel was round too, or square.
I think it wsa intended to fit into an airplane.

Michael

Jasen Betts · May 25, 2016

On 2016-05-24, Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that
would equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

beans, paint, or coffee can.
a section of plastic pipe with plywood ends ?

--
\_(ă)_

George Herold · May 25, 2016

On Tuesday, May 24, 2016 at 7:12:27 PM UTC-4, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

For project boxes look for some consumer item that comes in a nice metal can.
JL likes Danish Butter cookies, I've used a paint can. (on line prices for a bare
metal can seem ridiculously high...)

George H.

Phil Hobbs · May 25, 2016

On 05/24/2016 08:47 PM, Michael Black wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2016, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from
others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and
where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

A tin can, with some sort of front panel on the opened end of the can.
Though if the panel is the empty end of the can, you don't get much
panel space.

I still have a something surplus, a transmitter in the spectrum between
100 and 150MHz, I'm not sure the exact purpose. But it used a circular
enclosure, I can't remember if the front panel was round too, or square.
I think it wsa intended to fit into an airplane.

Michael

Surplus Shed sells some nice plated steel cans from 70-mm reels for
super cheap. I use them a lot for shielding RF protos.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

Tim Wescott · May 25, 2016

On Tue, 24 May 2016 16:12:23 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others.
Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I
might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island,New York.

How good looking does it need to be? 4" PVC drain pipe, with caps,
wouldn't cost much. But it'll look like PVC drain pipe.

--
Tim Wescott
Control systems, embedded software and circuit design
I'm looking for work! See my website if you're interested
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Jim Thompson · May 25, 2016

On Wed, 25 May 2016 12:02:46 -0500, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.com>
wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2016 16:12:23 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others.
Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I
might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island,New York.

How good looking does it need to be? 4" PVC drain pipe, with caps,
wouldn't cost much. But it'll look like PVC drain pipe.

Tim Wescott · May 25, 2016

On Wed, 25 May 2016 10:17:52 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote:

On Wed, 25 May 2016 12:02:46 -0500, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.com
wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2016 16:12:23 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from
others.
Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I
might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island,New York.

How good looking does it need to be? 4" PVC drain pipe, with caps,
wouldn't cost much. But it'll look like PVC drain pipe.

Use ABS... looks more "professional" ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Well, yes. I could actually see markets where a product package made
with a PVC sewer pipe with labels slapped on wouldn't be the least
obstacle to sales. It would certainly send a message that the customer
is spending their money on performance, not looks.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

I'm looking for work -- see my website!

Searcher7 · May 27, 2016

On Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 1:34:13 PM UTC-4, Tim Wescott wrote:

On Wed, 25 May 2016 10:17:52 -0700, Jim Thompson wrote:

On Wed, 25 May 2016 12:02:46 -0500, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.com
wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2016 16:12:23 -0700, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from
others.
Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I
might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris Staten Island,New York.

How good looking does it need to be? 4" PVC drain pipe, with caps,
wouldn't cost much. But it'll look like PVC drain pipe.

Use ABS... looks more "professional" ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Well, yes. I could actually see markets where a product package made
with a PVC sewer pipe with labels slapped on wouldn't be the least
obstacle to sales. It would certainly send a message that the customer
is spending their money on performance, not looks.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

I'm looking for work -- see my website!

Thanks everyone. It seems that Ralph's and Tim's PVC idea is a good one, though Jim's idea concerning the use of ABS may be better since I want it to look clean. No end caps will be used. But I'll need to make end covers out of some flat stock. I assume I can use glue for this.

(I'll also need to cut slots in the cylinders to allow PC boards to stick out).

Any ideas on the available wall thickness of PVC and ABS cylinders and best place to get this?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Jasen Betts · May 27, 2016

On 2016-05-26, Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote:

Thanks everyone. It seems that Ralph's and Tim's PVC idea is a good one, though Jim's idea concerning the use of ABS may be better since I want it to look clean. No end caps will be used. But I'll need to make end covers out of some flat stock. I assume I can use glue for this.

(I'll also need to cut slots in the cylinders to allow PC boards to stick out).

Any ideas on the available wall thickness of PVC and ABS cylinders and best place to get this?

3 to 17mm in standard 100mm pipe sizes.

best place depends on how much you want.

--
\_(ă)_

Searcher7 · May 28, 2016

On Friday, May 27, 2016 at 8:31:14 AM UTC-4, Jasen Betts wrote:

On 2016-05-26, Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote:

Thanks everyone. It seems that Ralph's and Tim's PVC idea is a good one, though Jim's idea concerning the use of ABS may be better since I want it to look clean. No end caps will be used. But I'll need to make end covers out of some flat stock. I assume I can use glue for this.

(I'll also need to cut slots in the cylinders to allow PC boards to stick out).

Any ideas on the available wall thickness of PVC and ABS cylinders and best place to get this?

3 to 17mm in standard 100mm pipe sizes.

best place depends on how much you want.

--
\_(ă)_

Well, I'm starting off with several of these projects, so not a lot at first.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

o pere o · Jun 1, 2016

On 25/05/16 01:12, Searcher7 wrote:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

A cheap 3D printer can print (plastic) enclosures with reasonable
quality. If you don't own one, perhaps you can find one nearby and test
it... For prototypes this works good enough.

Pere

Beauvine · Jun 12, 2016

Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote in
news:5dca17d2-0b5d-40e0-9453-d601485f9697@googlegroups.com:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from
others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and
where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

Are you still looking? We get some catalogues from a couple of places that
sell to pharma and other industries (my pertner is a biopharma consultant),
so I can see whether we still have any hanging around. But there are all
sorts of potential cylindrical and nearly-cylindrical containers. Even
more if you can use a cube-shape.

First and foremost, though, How many do you need?
Second, is appearance important?

Do they absolutely need to be cylindrical, or is the shape unimportant as
long as it fits into that 4"X4" space?

Do they need to be corrosion-resistant, and/or water-proof, and/or crush-
resistant?
Can it be metal, or wood, or does it have to be plastic?
If it has to be plastic, does it need to be opaque, translucent, or clear,
or does it not matter?
Can the size be smaller than a 4" X 4" cylinder, or do the outer dimensions
need to be flush to that?
Do you need jar-style screw-caps or "snap"-type caps, or some other means
of securing the caps?

There are all sorts of plastic and glass containers from all sorts of
sources, but especially for food, water, and chemical storage.

Depending upon the answers to the above questions, you could look at
"disposeable" Ziploc(R) etc. type food containers; office or hardware
storage things; or art containers.....

- Kris

Searcher7 · Jun 13, 2016

On Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 9:34:37 PM UTC-4, Beauvine wrote:

Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote in
news:5dca17d2-0b5d-40e0-9453-d601485f9697@googlegroups.com:

I am in need of "project boxes" and was hoping to get ideas from
others. Specifically what I need are recommendations on material and
where I might find it for enclosures that are cylindrical.

I will basically need to place a lot of switches in an area that would
equal a 4" long by 4" diameter tube.

What I found so far is cost prohibitive, so any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island,New York.

A cheap 3D printer can print (plastic) enclosures with reasonable
quality. If you don't own one, perhaps you can find one nearby and test
it... For prototypes this works good enough.

Pere

I had assumed that 3D printers would be cost prohibitive. Now it's someone that I'll have to take a closer look at. Thanks.

Are you still looking? We get some catalogues from a couple of places that
sell to pharma and other industries (my pertner is a biopharma consultant),
so I can see whether we still have any hanging around. But there are all
sorts of potential cylindrical and nearly-cylindrical containers. Even
more if you can use a cube-shape.

First and foremost, though, How many do you need?
Second, is appearance important?

Do they absolutely need to be cylindrical, or is the shape unimportant as
long as it fits into that 4"X4" space?

Do they need to be corrosion-resistant, and/or water-proof, and/or crush-
resistant?
Can it be metal, or wood, or does it have to be plastic?
If it has to be plastic, does it need to be opaque, translucent, or clear,
or does it not matter?
Can the size be smaller than a 4" X 4" cylinder, or do the outer dimensions
need to be flush to that?
Do you need jar-style screw-caps or "snap"-type caps, or some other means
of securing the caps?

There are all sorts of plastic and glass containers from all sorts of
sources, but especially for food, water, and chemical storage.

Depending upon the answers to the above questions, you could look at
"disposeable" Ziploc(R) etc. type food containers; office or hardware
storage things; or art containers.....

- Kris

It'll serve as an enclosure for electronics. It will have to be durable and opaque, so you wouldn't be able to crush it with your hands or see the contents. It'll also have to be dimensionally stable and not rust, so wood and metal are out.

I'll need to drill/machine strategic slots/holes in it and the idea was to machine some flat stock into end covers/caps.

the cylindrical shape is important because of the way the internal electronics will need to fit around a center. And a dozen slots will accommodate PC(fingerboards) that will connect the electronics inside to the outside.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Kris · Jun 18, 2016

Searcher7 <Searcher7@mail.con2.com> wrote in
news:f9d7e7c8-3314-4d6e-af69-c0cb7b828030@googlegroups.com:

[snipped for space]

It'll serve as an enclosure for electronics. It will have to be
durable and opaque, so you wouldn't be able to crush it with your
hands or see the contents. It'll also have to be dimensionally stable
and not rust, so wood and metal are out.

I'll need to drill/machine strategic slots/holes in it and the idea
was to machine some flat stock into end covers/caps.

the cylindrical shape is important because of the way the internal
electronics will need to fit around a center. And a dozen slots will
accommodate PC(fingerboards) that will connect the electronics inside
to the outside.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Hi Darren,

I don't think that 3D printing will be an inexpensive solution, even if it
can produce something strong enough.

There are cylindrical jars used for all sorts of packaging, but I don't
think glass will be the right material, either, since it's clear - I saw
colored glass, but the contents wold still be visible; and if it did break,
ugh.....

I had looked at various other sorts of things, such as paint-brush
cylinders, but those would require a lot of "re-working".

The various plastic cylindrical jars I've been seeing are the same things
that are used to package stuff like facial creams or Shea Butter or the
like - the hard plastic ones are clear, but could be made translucent (some
light going through but contents not visible) by sanding. Plastic lids are
usually available. The plastic would be reasonably easy to drill, and
shape by hand with a wood-carving type X-Acto knife, which has a heavier
blade than the "regular" kind - the #2 blade is the "regular" shape, though
I personally prefer a #104 3/4" concave blade or the #25 large curved
(convex) blade, because the tip of the #2 is very fragile and breaks
annoyingly easily; also, if you do slip with one, that slender tip
functions just like a scapel. Hard plastic is conducive to slipping,
believe me on that! =

, so the concave blade would IMO be best for
shaping a hole or slot drilled into hard plastic. This setup would be my
recmmendation, FWLIW:
http://www.texasart.com/group/2568/x-acto-woodcarving-knife.html

The sticking-point regarding the clear straight-sided wide-mouth jars is
the size. I didn't see anything that is exactly 4" - I saw 3.75", and
4.25", but so far, I haven't seen anything that is spot-on 4". I'm still
looking, though.

Tim Wescott had suggested PVC pipe, and I'm really thinking that might be
the best solution. It's fairly easy to drill, once you figure out how to
make it not roll around, Heh! =

and easier to shape than are the hard
clear plastic (?PET?) jars, which tend to "craze" when stressed. I thing
the markings can be removed with acetone or even rubbing alcohol. You can
give them a light sanding, and paint if you need a "fancier" look. The PVC
pipe is fairly easy to cut to whatever length you need.

Just be careful regarding "couplings" - it would seem that a "coupling"
would be great, but they're designed for the pipe to fit *inside* them,
meaning, the outer diameter is larger than what you specified.

Looking at the Home Depot website, they have "sewer pipe" (as low as $9.73
for 10') and "schedule 40 pipe" (plain end for $17.19, and up to just over
$20, for 10'). If I recall correctly, "schedule 40" means that it has a
certain level of burst resistence, though I've forgotton what the numbers
are. Sewer pipe OTOH has more resistance to chemicals - but appear to have
at least one flared or "bell" end, which would be larger than 4" in
diameter, and would have to be sawed off.

So, for $9.73 + tax , you get at least 25 4" X 4" cylinders (more,
actually, but remember to allow for saw thickness and for removing any bell
end...)

===>> NOTE!
Be careful about the End Caps. You probably want what is called a "Test
Cap", which is designed to fit INSIDE the pipe.
Regular End Caps usually fit OVER the end of the pipe and, like the
couplings, would be more then 4" in diameter.

I hope that helps!
I can continue to look for jars if that's what you've decided upon, but I
personally think that Tim Wescott's PVC suggestion is the best combination
of affordability, obtainability, strength, opacity, and adaptability....

Good luck!
- Kris

Michael A. Terrell · Jul 16, 2016

Kris wrote:

Tim Wescott had suggested PVC pipe, and I'm really thinking that might be
the best solution. It's fairly easy to drill, once you figure out how to
make it not roll around, Heh! =

Make a long 'V Block' and lay the pipe in it. The block can be
bolted to the table of a drill press, the jigs used to adjust the
centering in the groove to maintain the proper spacing. That can be as
simple as blocks cut to the tight length, or inserting a pin into a
series of holes that you have drilled into the block.

Project Enclosures

Searcher7

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Ralph Mowery

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Michael Black

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Jasen Betts

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George Herold

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Phil Hobbs

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Tim Wescott

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Jim Thompson

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Tim Wescott

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Searcher7

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Jasen Betts

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Searcher7

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o pere o

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Beauvine

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Searcher7

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Kris

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Michael A. Terrell

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