Guess I'll start things...my pursuit of the perfect electronics enclosure.

So I was daydreaming, and got a handful of connectors and misc electronics parts from work, which made me think I needed something to put them in.

So I jumped the shark and decided to design the perfect "industrial" Shapeoko control package with the electronics that I pretty much already have.

I am still firmly in the design phase. I have attached two 3D PDFs - one with the full chassis, and the second has the lid and side panels hidden so you can see the goodies inside.

There is a ton I still have to do - I have to:

[ul][li]figure out the electrical connections for the teensy++2.0 using Generic HID to interface the switches, LEDs in the buttons, and the two relays for AUX A and AUX B. (Not exactly my area of expertise)
[/li][li]do the legends for the rear panel[/li][li]Add the fans to my power interconnects[/li][li]design all cables[/li][li]and buy a 19" rack.[/li][/ul]
I am planning on putting my CNC PC into a 3U or 4U enclosure as well. Wondering if I should try to find a keyboard tray and rack monitor to complete the look. A small toolbox or drawers in the rack would be nice as well.

I'd love some input from the community. I'm more of a LRU integration guy than a transistor and resistor guy.

Name of the game is cheap! My total cost for the machine was 400, and have about 200 into electronics.

http://www.40mmdesign.com/stuff/Shap...ol_Unit_4U.PDF

http://www.40mmdesign.com/stuff/Shap...U_No_Cover.PDF

Edit: Apparently the 3D PDFs aren't working for most people...

Here are some screengrabs:

http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_1.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_2.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_3.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_4.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_5.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_6.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_7.JPG
http://www.40mmdesign.com/images/CAD...nclosure_8.JPG

My biggest problem with some of this is mounting the main control board (the big blue one) - It is a Chinese 5 axis CNC controller, that only has the 4 mounting holes on the board. the heaviest components are dead centerline horizontally across the board. It sags in the middle when mounted to standoffs. So, I added a piece of non-conductive high temp rubber (6" square) under the PCB to help support it. Couldn't think of any other cheap ideas to safely support it and keep it from shorting.

My next problem is the teensy++2.0 - I'm planning on using it to to interface the control panel to PC - I have one pin from a 20 pos pin header to attach 18 wires to, and I'm not sure the best method to do so.

I've decided to go with the Chinese wireless pendant as the primary controller, and have eliminated the left two thirds of the control panel shown, with the exception of the e-stop and the superPID display. (Next batch of screenshots will reflect the change)

And yes, I am building what would be regarded as a toy by some - its a Shapeoko 3 axis router using a DW660 trim router as a spindle. Eventually I'd like to save up enough to snag a G0704, and use this electronics package to run it, along with the NEMA 23s I'm using on the Shapeoko.

I would love your input!

What tool did you use to model and draw the 3D illustrations? They look extremely cool.

Also, are you building the enclosure from scratch or are you using a commercial cabinet of some sort?

I have same question about software.

Why are you building the "Perfect Enclosure" around the cheapest drive available?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doorknob

What tool did you use to model and draw the 3D illustrations? They look extremely cool.

Also, are you building the enclosure from scratch or are you using a commercial cabinet of some sort?

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SolidWorks. I'm a mechanical designer/lead draftsman for one of the Army UAVs for the day job.

Going to use a 4U 19" rack mount enclosure from Hammond. Little pricey, but I'm definitely not a sheet metal guy. Usually, I'm working on payloads for the AV - fitting 50 pounds of LRUs into a space meant for 10. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ger21

Why are you building the "Perfect Enclosure" around the cheapest drive available?

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Because it's what I have. Eventually, I do plan to upgrade to a geckodrive.

Jeez, I thought working on wind turbines was neat... Lol

So no comments on the actual enclosure? C'mon gentlemen! :-)

I'd be interested in more details on how you intend to use the teensy++2.0 (having both USB and parallel interfaces and software running?) as well as a list of the controls/switches and functions (I can read the legends from the renderings, but I'm not certain of all of the intended functions - feedrate multiplier?).

Often the estimated enclosure size turns out to be far less than is actually required, Murphy's law!
There is also the method used for wire dressing and troughing or wire duct, if used.
Which also takes up room and is dependent on wire capacity. :devious:
Al.

Well, you're certainly putting my case to shame and made me think that I probably need to add a whole bunch more junk to it lol. No idea how to wire up all of the over ride controls you have there with a Gecko drive so I guess I'm gonna have to look into it.

Case looks awesome! I use Catia but I'm gonna have to start learning Solidworks. I imagine the only things I'll model up will be the front and back panels for laser cutting. I wasn't even planning on having a front panel until I saw this. Awesome job, looking forward to seeing the next renderings.

What are the connectors you have in there for the motors?