Modular 3D printed Arduino case

3D Printing & Imaging Arduino
Modular 3D printed Arduino case

I like this nifty, 3D printed Arduino case that I saw on Shapeways:

shapeArdCase.jpg

IHeartEngineering says:

This is a modular case for the Arduino Microcontroller. It has been designed to fit 6 across in a 1U Rack with a little room to spare. M3 Screws are suggested and not included. The holes have not been drilled or tapped, so you can use #4-40 screws as well.

You can have one made in a variety of materials with prices starting at $77.71. Now, that seems pretty expensive for a project case, but I imagine it’s much cheaper than having an injection mold made.

I like the rounded corners, in fact I’m jealous of them. Since I tend to make stuff for laser cut construction there are certain unavoidable 90 degree angles. Unless I bust out a router or get crazy with the sandpaper.

18 thoughts on “Modular 3D printed Arduino case

  1. theknack says:

    You can purchase prefabbed enclosures for pretty much exactly this purpose. They look almost as nice, are either injection molded or reaction injection molded enclosures (think nice rounded corners). A fraction of this cost (like 10-20 bucks). You should be able to find them on digikey or Google “pcb enclosures”. Only problem is that you have to make sure the board fits and you may need to work out a way to mount it if the mounting hole locations on the Arduino are different than what’s provided on the enclosure. That, of course, shouldn’t be too big an issue…

  2. pete says:

    Way expensive. Here is one similar in size off the shelf in aluminum for ~$22. http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Hammond/1455R1602BK/?qs=hqiflzyWMtXyvyHYN5fmbA%3d%3d

    These are my favourite enclosures and there are a lot of sizes and options – like watertight! http://www.hammondmfg.com/1455V2.htm

  3. John Park says:

    Hi theknack and Pete, I know what you mean about getting general purpose cases for much less money, and that’s exactly what I do, too. Thanks for the links, I like the look of that black anodized one. In fact, I wish they had it in stock, I’d buy one today! I have one of the Chameleon cases and really dig it: http://www.esawdust.com/product/encl-cham1-basic/ or http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9682

    That said, I’m still really excited to see people designing and manufacturing custom objects that suit their exact needs. Sometimes that one prototype can lead to larger-scale manufacturing, which inevitably lowers the cost.

  4. I Heart Robotics says:

    Yes, I am very aware that the case is expensive. I’m trying to make it cheaper but still sturdy enough for your projects.

    The point of the project is to develop a case for the Arduino that meets the needs of 80% of the projects out there.

    You can checkout other versions here
    http://www.iheartrobotics.com/search/label/A%20Case

    If you have a 3D printer you might like to know that the STL Files are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike license.
    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1664

    I am planning on using kickstarter or something to fund injection molding once some beta testers help me work out the bugs.

    1. John Park says:

      Thanks for the additional info, and glad to see that you’ve published the STL files. I didn’t know when I wrote my comment above that you were already thinking of using this to get some momentum for funding/injection molding, etc. Very cool!

  5. Colecoman1982 says:

    I think the comments about the price are missing the point. Of course he/she could have used an off the shelf project box (or even a recycled box from old stuff that would have been thrown out) but there are times when you want a custom case that _exactly_ matches your project and/or is unique looking. For example, if you are developing a project to sell commercially and need to pitch it to investors/companies then you would want it to look professional because first impressions are important. Also, if you are making something artistic and need a project box that matches the rest of the piece this would allow that.

    1. John Park says:

      I agree with you Colecoman, and ought to have made that point in my post as well as you just did in your comment.

  6. pete says:

    @John Park & Colecoman1982. Nope, not missing the point of custom enclosures for production or preproduction prototypes. But, this is an arduino enclosure. I am not aware of any commercial products based on the arduino hardware platform. It’s more of a hobby hardware/software platform that almost certainly the hardware in a production environment would take a different form factor for size and cost considerations.

    I am not taking anything away from the accomplishments of the guy who made the arduino case. I was just saying that there are cases off the shelf that can house an arduino just as well, look every bit as stylish and cost roughly 1/4th of the price that maybe he or other makers reading this post might not know about.

    It was more of makers community spirit comment on my part than anything else. Freely sharing our knowledge of products, methods etc, between each other should be viewed as a good thing.

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John Edgar Park likes to make things and tell people about it. He builds project for Adafruit Industries. You can find him at jpixl.net and twitter/IG @johnedgarpark

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