I want to make a board that has: 1. ethernet socket 2. two rs232 ports 3. one rs485 ports And put an enclosure around it. Do you guys know of any enclosure companies that sell plastic enclosures that look like your small typical Netgear or Linksys hubs, which i can just get the holes cut out? I need that "cool" look, rather than just going to Digikey and getting a simple plastic rectangular box. (Nor can i afford to put $25K down just to get custom plastic molds :-( Thanks, Mike
Empty Hub Enclosures?
Started by ●March 24, 2004
Reply by ●March 25, 20042004-03-25
> out? I need that "cool" look, rather than just going to Digikey and > getting a simple plastic rectangular box. (Nor can i afford to put > $25K down just to get custom plastic molds :-(If you don't find exactly what you want, I suggest a custom-tooled metal box, either bent steel or an aluminum extrusion with steel or aluminum ends. Cheap (low setup) and easy to modify if your connectors change. Looks reasonably cool.
Reply by ●March 25, 20042004-03-25
Why not just buy a hub and gut it, putting your suff inside ? Heck I can buy hubs for about $20 and a Pactac box is at least $15 ! With the hub you'd probably get a wallwart.... I've done this several times for R+D prototypes to show clients what their product will look like. hth jay
Reply by ●March 25, 20042004-03-25
> Why not just buy a hub and gut it, putting your suff inside ? > I've done this several times for R+D prototypes to show clients what theirThis is fine for prototypes, but it is an earthly hell to do this for production. Consumer electronics, including computer peripherals, are revised every few months.
Reply by ●March 25, 20042004-03-25
valemike@yahoo.com (Mike V.) wrote in message news:<8188616d.0403241336.4743fd61@posting.google.com>...> I want to make a board that has: > 1. ethernet socket > 2. two rs232 ports > 3. one rs485 ports > > And put an enclosure around it. Do you guys know of any enclosure > companies that sell plastic enclosures that look like your small > typical Netgear or Linksys hubs, which i can just get the holes cut > out? I need that "cool" look, rather than just going to Digikey and > getting a simple plastic rectangular box. (Nor can i afford to put > $25K down just to get custom plastic molds :-(Does it have to be plastic? Are you making 1 or 100? I have had a good experience with http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/ You download a program to design your own front panel. And http://www.lansing-enclosures.com/ has some really beautiful extruded aluminum enclosures. Alan Nishioka alann@accom.com
Reply by ●March 25, 20042004-03-25
Thanks Lewin, Jay, and Alan for your input. We definitely have to design our own metal enclosures for the motor driver project we're doing, especially since it has to fit in a very thin but long cavity. so we've already looked into Lewin's metal extrusion method. As for the hub-like box... I particularly like Jay's way of "gutting" some hubs. The prototype can't get any prettier than that. In the long run, I do have to think of whether i go plastic vs. metal. They'll both look pretty if i get anodized black metal, or even black plastic. For you guys interested in sources for enclosures, i found www.tekoenclosures.com after browsing thru EEPN.com I'll be looking at the URLs that you guys recommended too. valemike@yahoo.com (Mike V.) wrote in message news:<8188616d.0403241336.4743fd61@posting.google.com>...> I want to make a board that has: > 1. ethernet socket > 2. two rs232 ports > 3. one rs485 ports > > And put an enclosure around it. Do you guys know of any enclosure > companies that sell plastic enclosures that look like your small > typical Netgear or Linksys hubs, which i can just get the holes cut > out? I need that "cool" look, rather than just going to Digikey and > getting a simple plastic rectangular box. (Nor can i afford to put > $25K down just to get custom plastic molds :-( > > Thanks, > Mike
Reply by ●March 26, 20042004-03-26
Mike I forgot to add that I had a custom metal shop makeup my energy control boxes. Roughly 5 by 8 by 2 inches,bottom was 50thou Cold Rolled Steel, top was 60thou Stainless Steel. Minimal holes and slots.Each was about $15 in per 100 order. That was 20 years ago. If you go metal, talk to the fab shop about size and shape. Mine was really liked as it left very little scrap.With today's cadcam it's probably a bit easier than the pencil and paper route I took. I still have a case or two of the boxes as I'm now retired thes past 5 years. hth jay
Reply by ●March 26, 20042004-03-26
Yeah, $15 per 100 seems typical for a chassis that size; probably gets down to $10 for thousands. I have found plastic boxes that go for around $5-$10 each. I just wonder what is the typical cost to cut 3-4 holes for the RS232 sockets and ethernet for. I guess it's a few hundred for initial tooling, and who knows what the per-100 quantities' labor costs for cutting. "j.b. miller" <invalidjbmiller@cogeco.ca> wrote in message news:<5sV8c.9165$R37.6332@read1.cgocable.net>...> Mike I forgot to add that I had a custom metal shop makeup my energy control > boxes. > Roughly 5 by 8 by 2 inches,bottom was 50thou Cold Rolled Steel, top was > 60thou Stainless Steel. Minimal holes and slots.Each was about $15 in per > 100 order. That was 20 years ago. If you go metal, talk to the fab shop > about size and shape. Mine was really liked as it left very little > scrap.With today's cadcam it's probably a bit easier than the pencil and > paper route I took. > I still have a case or two of the boxes as I'm now retired thes past 5 > years. > hth > jay
Reply by ●March 27, 20042004-03-27
On 24 Mar 2004 13:36:06 -0800, valemike@yahoo.com (Mike V.) wrote:>I want to make a board that has: >1. ethernet socket >2. two rs232 ports >3. one rs485 ports > >And put an enclosure around it. Do you guys know of any enclosure >companies that sell plastic enclosures that look like your small >typical Netgear or Linksys hubs, which i can just get the holes cut >out? I need that "cool" look, rather than just going to Digikey and >getting a simple plastic rectangular box. (Nor can i afford to put >$25K down just to get custom plastic molds :-( > >Thanks, >MikeCheck out the variety of enclosures at http://www.hammondmfg.com/ Regards David
Reply by ●March 27, 20042004-03-27
If you can use he shops 'regular' dies instead of 'custom' ones, the price will be cheaper. It's not common for a fab shop to have a DB-37 die for example. In my case we had a rectangular window punched that was really 4 punches in a row. That saved us having to buy the tooling for a 'one punch' die. Also consider using an open slot for the RJ stuff if the RJ are PCB mtg. Will make it easier to assemble the case and again may be easier to fab. Anything that makes it easier for them makes it cheaper for you! hth j