Another option may be to use the MicroRAX T-slot rails (http://www.microrax.com/) as the support pieces and fill in the rest with the sheets. A piece of 72" rail is only $18.30 and can be easily cut with a small saw.
-- Anthony DeStefano [email protected] On Sat, Jun 6, 2015, at 12:04 PM, Andrew Bingham wrote: > There are a few options for the machining, I have a friend with a mini CNC > mill, I have a kit for one of the desktop CNC routers that I never finished > assembling.... Or having the plastic vendor do the work. Even if the > machining was another $40/kit it would come out around $100 which is a lot > less than some of the custom steel or aluminum enclosures I looked at making. > Plus the savings on shipping vs shipping a large metal case. > > The CAD model was just my first hour of thinking about it and sketching > something up.... One thought I had was extending the card guides and gluing > them to the base, then only gluing the "U" of the base and sides and having > the front and rear panels bolt into the upright posts the same way the lid > does. Then those panels would be completely removable and customizable, > could be replaced with other materials, different panels as time goes on, > etc. I think I'd need to build a prototype and see how strong the material > and the bonds are to know what might be needed. > > On Saturday, June 6, 2015 at 7:48:30 AM UTC-7, bob wrote: >> Hi Andrew, >> This certainly seems like an idea worth exploring. >> I'm still unclear as to who would do the required machining. Would ePlastics >> also be able to provide that service? >> On their webpage, near the bottom right hand corner, it says: "We cut >> everything we sell - straight, curved, holes, slots, rings, and custom." >> There are definitely some folks who would like to incorporate a front panel >> (and probably other options as well). >> Thank you, >> Robert Greenstreet >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Andrew Bingham >>> Sent: Jun 6, 2015 1:05 AM >>> To: [email protected] >>> Subject: [N8VEM-S100:7190] Re: A thought on enclosures - G10 FR4 >>> >>> I did a quick sketch showing what I am thinking. It's incomplete (needs >>> more interfaces, spots for fans, etc) >>> >>> Material used would be (http://www.eplastics.com/Paper_Phenolic_Sheet): >>> 1 - 0.25 x 1 x 48 inch bar @ $8.66 ea (for the reinforcing "posts") >>> 2 - 0.125 x 24 x 24 inch sheets @ $22.20 ea (for the base plate, sides, and >>> card guides >>> 1 - 0.063 x 24 x 24 inch sheet @ $13.10 (for a lid) >>> Total material cost - ~$66. >>> >>> Groves and holes would be precut in the front and rear panels for >>> interfaces, etc and the mating of the card guides. Groves would be cut in >>> pieces of material to create card guides. The upright posts would have >>> press-in inserts installed for fasteners for the lid. >>> >>> Everything would be shipped flat. The receiver would get some epoxy >>> (http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/epxy_plstc_s/overview/Loctite-Epoxy-Plastic-Bonder.htm), >>> epoxy the posts to the sides, epoxy the sides to the base, epoxy in the >>> front/rear plates, and then epoxy in the card guides. (Possibly a section >>> of the front and or rear plates could be cut out to allow for front panels >>> or changes to ports on the back). >>> >>> I might build a prototype to see if those material thicknesses work. It >>> seems like this could be a good way to make an S-100 enclosure kit without >>> breaking the bank. >>> >>> Andrew >>> >>> On Thursday, June 4, 2015 at 11:15:15 PM UTC-7, Andrew Bingham wrote: >>>> Actually, paper-based Grade XX Phenolic would be about 1/2 the cost of >>>> G-10. I get about $60 in raw material cost for a case with a design that >>>> could be epoxied together at home reasonably well. >>>> >>>> On Thursday, June 4, 2015 at 10:36:40 PM UTC-7, Andrew Bingham wrote: >>>>> Several people have asked about different S-100 enclosure options. >>>>> Custom enclosures are often time consuming to get, heavy to ship, etc. >>>>> >>>>> There was an article on Hackaday about making enclosures from FR4 PCB >>>>> board - >>>>> http://hackaday.com/2015/06/03/how-to-build-beautiful-enclosures-from-fr4-aka-pcbs/ >>>>> While I think doing it with etched-copper clad board and a soldering >>>>> iron as shown in the Hackaday pieces is not really an option for an >>>>> enclosure large enough for S-100 systems (and a waste of copper board) - >>>>> plain G-10 FR4 is readily available. >>>>> >>>>> One could purchase a single 36"x36"x0.093" piece of black G-10 FR4 >>>>> (http://www.eplastics.com/G10BLK-093X36X36) and cut it into the pieces >>>>> required to make a 17x17x7" enclosure, and still have about a 5"x36" >>>>> section of material left to make card guides, drive cages, etc. 5-minute >>>>> epoxy from the store could be used to bond the pieces into the final >>>>> configuration. With a simple PCB mill like the X-Crave, holes, ports, >>>>> etc could be added (and maybe groves to guide fitting the pieces >>>>> together). >>>>> >>>>> An advantage here would be if someone made a kit, the G-10 pieces could >>>>> be shipped flat-packed similar to the way we ship our PCBs and the epoxy >>>>> purchased locally at a hardware store by the builder. Thus avoiding the >>>>> shipping costs of a heavy and volumetrically large metal enclosure, which >>>>> end up being a significant portion of the cost of any hobby enclosure >>>>> project. >>>>> >>>>> Andrew >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "N8VEM-S100" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "N8VEM-S100" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "N8VEM-S100" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
