DIY Enclosures for Home Automation

[papa]

        Home Automation Enclosures

To contain, neaten, & protect our DIY home automation projects, an enclosure is a great final step.

Our project may function wonderfully, but not look so neat. A project may be loosely connected pieces that need holding together & protecting.

What's ideal is an enclosure close to a project's size. A good case could be completely opaque or at least translucent to see lit LEDs & yet obscure not so neat project construction.

This thread offers what some forum members have used & suggest. As for my Cooking Controller, sometimes parts lists include a possible project box to order.

We might order something that seems reasonably close to what we need (& perhaps wait for it to arrive).

If we can access a 3D printer & the right files or a laser cutter, we can (within equipment limits) tailor make an enclosure.
    From what I've read, such machines can be expensive & temperamental.

We might re-purpose some other kind of container though its size, shape, or transparency might make it less than desirable.

What if we could make our own closely-sized enclosure from common plastic & without complicated equipment?

Joshua's recent thread on a custom made enclosure caused me to think about alternative methods.

    Next, DIY Enclosures for Home Automation

[papa]

        DIY Enclosures for Home Automation

I thought "How about a custom-made plastic box?" especially if I could find adjustable templates.

    Note the caution in this post below.

I found this adjustable box template site.  There I used the "(Rectangular) Box with Lid Template with the dimensions 3 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, 1.85 inches high plus lid height of .5 inches.  This box could enclose devices that are an Arduino compatible with a shield on top, namely a lot of my Gateways or end nodes.

    template_boxlid_2.5_x_1.85_x_3_in.pdf (1.89 KB)  << Here is the .pdf of the template in case something happens to that helpful site.

Print the box & lid templates on plain paper.  Cut the template as a complete rectangle around the template's outermost dimensions.  << This makes it easier to hold the template on the plastic & to cut the plastic in the needed shape.

To accommodate the templates, find scrap plastic that is or can be made relatively flat. For example: the flat black plastic bottom of a food container, an opaque lid of larger margarine tub, a translucent plastic ice cream tub, the top or side of a wash tub, storage tub or waste basket.  You want plastic that has a little body, but is not brittle. Find something that will hold shape but will crease without cracking.  Avoid unattractive printing unless it will be seen only inside the box.  If necessary, as much as possible, flatten ridges & dimples (gently use a heat gun, boards, vice, pliers).

Attach the template to the plastic:  Find or make a straight edge on one side of the plastic where you can ape one of the template's straight edges.  Cut the plastic along the template's opposite straight edge.  Now with the template fairly stable on the plastic, cut the paper & the plastic on the template's remaining solid lines.  Except ... square off the narrow strips that will be glued to hold the box or lid together. << This is easier to cut & will make it easier to square the corners during construction.

        Next, Finishing the Enclosure

[papa]

        Finishing the Enclosure

After the Box's Plastic is Cut ... Keeping the template intact, remove it from the plastic, but leave it face up as a guide. Note the template's dotted lines where the plastic will be folded at 90 degree angles.

On what will be inner side of the box, score the fold lines in the plastic (a couple times ??) using straight edge & the tip of a utility knife

Bend the plastic up along the scored lines, forming 90 degree angles. As you go, shape the box & the lid.

BEFORE GLUING, plan & cut needed holes in box & lid for LEDs, power cable, Ethernet cable, etc.

Using clamps, rubber bands, etc., glue the box & lid adjusting them to fit tightly to each other.

    Concluding Next, My Example Just Before Final Construction

[papa]

        My Example Enclosure Just Before Final Construction

Below are 2 images of my example enclosure.  On top & in front of the box is an RFM69 Gateway that can fit inside the enclosure.

For the enclosure's plastic, I used the black bottom of a food container & the inside of a brown lid of a large margarine tub.  For now, a red rubber band holds the shape of the box & lid.  All that remains is cutting the holes & gluing the corner overlaps.

        

PS I made the Gateway's antenna (green insulated wire) into a coil.  This is easier to fit into a box & seems to work about as well as a straight antenna.

Holding the lid on the box:  friction from a snug fit or a couple small screws through the sides or a rubber band.

[papa]

        A caution about this thread's DIY enclosures:

These enclosures may be most appropriate for light weight, low voltage devices.

Devices controlling home mains voltages (110+ voltages, 220+ voltages) should probably be enclosed in more substantial, more protected cases.

This thread's enclosures could serve in indoor locations with little danger of water flooding.
        Outdoor locations or indoor locations that might get flooded probably need better protection.

At the same time, we might regain some protection (& strain relief for cables) by putting a bead of hot glue around holes made for cables.

[papa]

In this post, brump illustrates how he enclosed DIY Home Automation components in a monitor case.