Make your own enclosures(case)for your projects

[Ziddik]

Good day all..

Finally i found a solution to make my own enclosures! These are some of the photos which i made for my Fm transmitter and For a Remote control operated 220vAC switch! The fm transmitter uses only a mobilephone battery thus i designed it in such a way lol and it has a little socket to recharge the battery directly from an ordinary cellphone charger! I was in such a big trouble to put all these circuits somewhere safe and also tried lots of other methods such as some old plastic enclosures and buying readymade enclosures from market which is quite expensive and will not get in proper size or cant attach parts on a very right place as there is no holes or cant make a hole..etc and those old plastic enclosures looked very very ugly and the problems when put all the parts in a little or too large enclosures so i just thought of this idea! Usually this aluminium sheet is used as an external covering for some doors its easy to cut in our desired shape and the cutting could be done easily with some ordinary scissors! I used a chinese made scissors which i bought from market for a very cheap rate and have uploaded its photo below Besides that sheet is not that expensive and is very useful for some circuits that doesn't require a very strong enclosure, but this sheet is quite strong exactly after made the shape of the exact design! I used it and found a very good result! Moreover the enclosure doesn't need any paintings as it looks very nice after i built it and you can make any kind of holes on it using a little and sharp spike or anything that is useful to do, i spent only a few of money only for sheet and some nuts and bolts! Very cheap than a ready made enclosure! Now i could make any kinds of cases for my projects! The reason of to post this topic here is i just wanted to inform you people who are having troubles with their circuits due to the lack of proper protection enclosures and give you a little help from those expensive cases! So if anyone of you want to try my way would be nice and be a virtual support for me (means i am not alone on this) lol

please try it yourself too if you want, and also you may ask me to know more! Please write If you have any comments.. Thanx for your time..

 

[carbonzit]

Pretty neat.

A few more details, please? How thick is the aluminum? (Looks pretty thin and flimsy to me.) How did you bend it? (Edge of tabletop, I'm guessing?)

Ideas like this to make your own stuff are always appreciated, at least by some of us.

 

[cr0sh]

If you used similar gauge steel sheet (like used for sheet metal duct work, perhaps?), and had access to a bending brake (or made a simple one from some hinges and wood - or used a vice and some steel angle) - you could cut the steel with snips, file it down, bend it, clean it up, then use acid-core solder to secure the seams, rather than nuts and bolts. Another possibility would be to use rivets. Or - if aluminum is easier to get, its possible to solder it, but it takes a lot of effort and some really high heat (and in some cases a particular solder). You can also buy a kind of aluminum welding rod that is rather expensive, but supposedly makes joining aluminum much easier.

 

[Ziddik]

Pretty neat.

A few more details, please? How thick is the aluminum? (Looks pretty thin and flimsy to me.) How did you bend it? (Edge of tabletop, I'm guessing?)

Ideas like this to make your own stuff are always appreciated, at least by some of us.

u cant bend that sheet with the edge of tabletops! and the thickness is good enough to make nice enclosures

--Z!dd!k--

 

[Ziddik]

If you used similar gauge steel sheet (like used for sheet metal duct work, perhaps?), and had access to a bending brake (or made a simple one from some hinges and wood - or used a vice and some steel angle) - you could cut the steel with snips, file it down.....

why joining aluminium together? Mine has 2 parts and could be open by removing some screws when you need repairing on the circuits

 

[carbonzit]

u cant bend that sheet with the edge of tabletops! and the thickness is good enough to make nice enclosures

So you never answered my question: how do you bend it?

If you can cut it with scissors it can't be all that thick.

 

[Ziddik]

So you never answered my question: how do you bend it?

If you can cut it with scissors it can't be all that thick.

just get a piece of iron or wood with straight and sharp edge and ram it on something solid so you can bend it in the shape you want! Its easy than you think If you could buy that sheet.. Wait i will upload some pics of the way i bent it..

 

[Ziddik]

this is how i bent it using an iron rod

 

[Ziddik]

i think i started my own case factory

 

[Mr RB]

These little metal benders are $45 at robotshop.com;

**broken link removed**

I have a similar one from the 70's but it has slots on the top clamp, as it was designed for making metal electronics enclosures which have 1/2" bent "lips" all the way around. It would be easy enough to cut some slots in that $45 unit too.

 

[Ziddik]

well.. I will try it.. thanx mr.rb

 

[chemelec]

You Might Try making Plastic Boxes, using Sheet ABS plastic.
See My Article here:

**broken link removed**

 

[Ziddik]

how could i make plastic cases? These metal cases are not perfect with RF circuits!!

 

[chemelec]

how could i make plastic cases? These metal cases are not perfect with RF circuits!!

Do you have any plastic Suppliers in your country?

Where is: "Location: Tirur,kerala"????????

 

[Ziddik]

plastic supplier? ..i dont think there is.. but there is a beggar in my area who picks old plastic for a living

 

[KJ6EAD]

Tirur, Kerala is in India on the Southwest coast. If you have difficulty getting ABS, MEK should be really challenging. You could use ABS pipe glue but the results won't be as clean looking.

https://www.acrylicsindia.com/ is probably your best shot but there's a manufacturer that uses plastic sheet materials in Kochi listed below.

Dymo Plastics: Dr. Karth Complex, Opp. Town Hall, Banerji Road, Ernakulam North, Kochi, Kerala 682018, India +91 484 239 1375 ()   +91 85 47 091375 (Mobile)
Manufacturers of Acrylic sheet articles like engraved control panels, charity boxes, tokens, badges, labels, mementos with photos, wind shields for weighing scales, podiums, hylam switch boards etc.

 

[carbonzit]

You can certainly glue together plastic sheets to make boxes. In fact, I just made one the other day, out of pieces of an old cassette box (the clear part).

But the results might or might not be good. Unless you use the right kind of cement with thick enough material, you're going to have weak joints that will break open easily. Plus it's very difficult to get a box to look decent, especially using clear material, since the cement clouds and dissolves the plastic. You can polish the plastic after gluing it, but you'll never really get in those corners, and it'll just look ... ugly.

I'd stick with your metal boxes, since you seem to be happy with them.

Now wood boxes, that's a whole 'nother story. Much more difficult to make, but can be beautiful. (You can also make wood boxes with plastic panels.)

 

[Ziddik]

You can certainly glue together plastic sheets to make boxes. In fact, I just made one the other day, out of pieces of an old cassette box (the clear part).

But the results might or might not be good. Unless you use the right kind of cement with thick enough material, you're going to have weak joints that will break open easily. Plus it's very difficult to get a box to look decent, especially using clear material, since the cement clouds and dissolves the plastic. You can polish the plastic after gluing it, but you'll never really get in those corners, and it'll just look ... ugly.

I'd stick with your metal boxes, since you seem to be happy with them.

Now wood boxes, that's a whole 'nother story. Much more difficult to make, but can be beautiful. (You can also make wood boxes with plastic panels.)

yes the metal boxes i make is perfect since i could bore holes,design and bend it anyway i want plus it looks very nice after built it, as u said i am very happy with them beause it's inexpensive,easy to design and build and is strong enough for our circuits.. I think u should try it too
...

 

[alec_t]

It's also cheap and easy to make small rectangular boxes from the plastic trunking used for electrical installations.

Alec

 

[carbonzit]

Please translate "trunking" for those of us on the other side of the Atlantic, please.