4 ms·

3d printed enclosure?

davidw 3y ago
That sounds like one of those "I have a problem... now I have two problems" jokes. I wanted something simple and cheap and now I need to go deal with this whole other thing I don't know much about and either rent or buy into it?
- krasin 3y ago
  JLCPCB would 3d print high-quality enclosures from a variety of UV resins: https://3d.jlcpcb.com/ https://3d.jlcpcb.com/ and decently cheap. The next best option is injection molding with PCBWay (or other similar provider): https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4&reffercode=TOP https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4... An alternative is a sheet metal enclosure: https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4&reffercode=TOP https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4... But 3d printing with JLCPCB is really the most convenient way unless you need a lot of parts (thousands) or the material properties of the UV resins would not be enough (high-temperature, outdoors, etc).
- Zetobal 3y ago
  You can also pay someone to do it.
- lostapathy 3y ago
  As somebody else mentioned, you can hire it out. There's a lot of files running around with existing models for common projects, so you probably don't need to design your own enclosures a lot of the time unless you want to. And printers have gotten cheap, like $99 gets you a jumping off point into the hobby.
  - davidw 3y ago
    Do people not just sell like "complete package" things? The board in the article is $13.49 ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072HBW53G https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072HBW53G ). If you could get an enclosed, complete thing for $20, including the board and whatever you need for it to run, that'd be much less of a PITA than "brand new hobby" or "find someone to 3D print stuff for me locally and deal with that whole hassle".
    - kps 3y ago
      There are things like M5Stack (also ESP32-based) that suit some purposes.
      - davidw 3y ago
        Yes! That looks pretty cool and more like what I'm talking about.
    - kube-system 3y ago
      The thing about enclosures is that they are pretty design dependent. Nobody knows what you are hooking up to your board or what the intended purpose is. Some boards do have generic type cases, e.g. raspberry pi cases.
  - szundi 3y ago
    $99 is just enough to jump into the hobby of fixing your printer all the time - and that's what hobbyists are actually looking for solving something would be like $700 calibrated out of the box, like the old prusa 3 something or the bambu p1something.
    - lostapathy 3y ago
      I'm well aware. I think of the $99 printer as a filter - either it's going to catch your interest enough to justify jumping to a $600+ printer, or 3d printing isn't for you and you aren't out much.
- bluGill 3y ago
  That is why so many amateur projects look ugly: making a pretty package is a whole new skill set. 3d printing is the easiest acceptable solution, but it isn't the best. Best would be a custom designed injection molded housing, but that is even more work to design. Nothing about making a nice presentation is beyond what amateurs can do. However it is a lot more effort and so most decide it isn't worth it.
  - davidw 3y ago
    I don't care if it's "beautiful" or ultra-compact or looks as nice as some Apple device. All I want is to buy one thing without wires and an exposed board.
    - bluGill 3y ago
      There are not enough of you to make it worth the effort most likely. If you disagree then you should invest in the business opportunity.
- fnordpiglet 3y ago
  There are plenty of enclosures available on AliExpress and Amazon. But a cheap reprap 3d printer is a general tool like a screw driver or hammer, albeit more complex for sure. But the learning curve isn’t absurd, it’s basically buying something plugging it in and loading filament then printing a downloaded STL. It gets harder when it needs calibration and maintaining, but it’s not an unknown dark art - there are a billion helpful discord groups. But once you have it and know how to maintain it, anything where you’re like “man wouldn’t it be nice if I had a physical object like X” becomes a relatively solvable problem. There are lot of materials with many different properties. When you skip into a zone of material or print you can’t afford the equipment for, there are a bazillion print shops. The harder skill frankly is the 3d modeling. But I find openscad is sufficient for almost everything and then for the rest I use Build123. They’re both parametric code driven design tools so fit well inside a software project (better than GUI tools, and more easy to be precise with). Openscad is absurdly easy, build123 is more advanced and requires Python skills as well as effort to learn the conceptual model. I sort of felt the way you seem to once upon a time until I said screw it and figured it out one day. Now I feel like I lived most my life hobbled for want of this tool. So, yeah, overkill for printing an esp32 enclosure. But doing so unlocks a lifetime of possibilities.
- Johnny555 3y ago
  If you're looking for an enclosure for your hobby ESP32 project, there are lots of off the shelf, small enclosures available: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=esp32+enclosure https://www.amazon.com/s?k=esp32+enclosure If you want to sell a more finished commercial quality project and don't want to print your own, there are places that will fabricate one for you (but in low quantities, having them 3d print it probably cheaper)
- dekhn 3y ago
  The simplest I can think of is this: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electronics https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electron... use a step drill or other large-diameter bit to cut holes for cable glands, dremels to cut rectangular holes for power switches, and drill and tap holes for standard brass standoffs. IMHO everybody should have at least one cordless drill and drill bits, as well as an M3 tap. Then use Cable glands for wires going in/out, and nylon sheathing for the cables outside the box. If you take the time to make the holes nicely, the result often looks good enough that non-makers will think you are a god of manufacturing.

That sounds like one of those "I have a problem... now I have two problems" jokes. I wanted something simple and cheap and now I need to go deal with this whole other thing I don't know much about and either rent or buy into it?

krasin 3y ago
JLCPCB would 3d print high-quality enclosures from a variety of UV resins: https://3d.jlcpcb.com/ https://3d.jlcpcb.com/ and decently cheap. The next best option is injection molding with PCBWay (or other similar provider): https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4&reffercode=TOP https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4... An alternative is a sheet metal enclosure: https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4&reffercode=TOP https://www.pcbway.com/rapid-prototyping/manufacture/?type=4... But 3d printing with JLCPCB is really the most convenient way unless you need a lot of parts (thousands) or the material properties of the UV resins would not be enough (high-temperature, outdoors, etc).
Zetobal 3y ago
You can also pay someone to do it.
lostapathy 3y ago
As somebody else mentioned, you can hire it out. There's a lot of files running around with existing models for common projects, so you probably don't need to design your own enclosures a lot of the time unless you want to. And printers have gotten cheap, like $99 gets you a jumping off point into the hobby.
- davidw 3y ago
  Do people not just sell like "complete package" things? The board in the article is $13.49 ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072HBW53G https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072HBW53G ). If you could get an enclosed, complete thing for $20, including the board and whatever you need for it to run, that'd be much less of a PITA than "brand new hobby" or "find someone to 3D print stuff for me locally and deal with that whole hassle".
  - kps 3y ago
    There are things like M5Stack (also ESP32-based) that suit some purposes.
    - davidw 3y ago
      Yes! That looks pretty cool and more like what I'm talking about.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    The thing about enclosures is that they are pretty design dependent. Nobody knows what you are hooking up to your board or what the intended purpose is. Some boards do have generic type cases, e.g. raspberry pi cases.
- szundi 3y ago
  $99 is just enough to jump into the hobby of fixing your printer all the time - and that's what hobbyists are actually looking for solving something would be like $700 calibrated out of the box, like the old prusa 3 something or the bambu p1something.
  - lostapathy 3y ago
    I'm well aware. I think of the $99 printer as a filter - either it's going to catch your interest enough to justify jumping to a $600+ printer, or 3d printing isn't for you and you aren't out much.
bluGill 3y ago
That is why so many amateur projects look ugly: making a pretty package is a whole new skill set. 3d printing is the easiest acceptable solution, but it isn't the best. Best would be a custom designed injection molded housing, but that is even more work to design. Nothing about making a nice presentation is beyond what amateurs can do. However it is a lot more effort and so most decide it isn't worth it.
- davidw 3y ago
  I don't care if it's "beautiful" or ultra-compact or looks as nice as some Apple device. All I want is to buy one thing without wires and an exposed board.
  - bluGill 3y ago
    There are not enough of you to make it worth the effort most likely. If you disagree then you should invest in the business opportunity.
fnordpiglet 3y ago
There are plenty of enclosures available on AliExpress and Amazon. But a cheap reprap 3d printer is a general tool like a screw driver or hammer, albeit more complex for sure. But the learning curve isn’t absurd, it’s basically buying something plugging it in and loading filament then printing a downloaded STL. It gets harder when it needs calibration and maintaining, but it’s not an unknown dark art - there are a billion helpful discord groups. But once you have it and know how to maintain it, anything where you’re like “man wouldn’t it be nice if I had a physical object like X” becomes a relatively solvable problem. There are lot of materials with many different properties. When you skip into a zone of material or print you can’t afford the equipment for, there are a bazillion print shops. The harder skill frankly is the 3d modeling. But I find openscad is sufficient for almost everything and then for the rest I use Build123. They’re both parametric code driven design tools so fit well inside a software project (better than GUI tools, and more easy to be precise with). Openscad is absurdly easy, build123 is more advanced and requires Python skills as well as effort to learn the conceptual model. I sort of felt the way you seem to once upon a time until I said screw it and figured it out one day. Now I feel like I lived most my life hobbled for want of this tool. So, yeah, overkill for printing an esp32 enclosure. But doing so unlocks a lifetime of possibilities.
Johnny555 3y ago
If you're looking for an enclosure for your hobby ESP32 project, there are lots of off the shelf, small enclosures available: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=esp32+enclosure https://www.amazon.com/s?k=esp32+enclosure If you want to sell a more finished commercial quality project and don't want to print your own, there are places that will fabricate one for you (but in low quantities, having them 3d print it probably cheaper)
dekhn 3y ago
The simplest I can think of is this: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electronics https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sparkfun-electron... use a step drill or other large-diameter bit to cut holes for cable glands, dremels to cut rectangular holes for power switches, and drill and tap holes for standard brass standoffs. IMHO everybody should have at least one cordless drill and drill bits, as well as an M3 tap. Then use Cable glands for wires going in/out, and nylon sheathing for the cables outside the box. If you take the time to make the holes nicely, the result often looks good enough that non-makers will think you are a god of manufacturing.