Introduction
A considerable part of the development of the Super Smart Home business logic is dedicated to the Control Center (Raspberry Pi based device) and the PSoC6 covering the double role to connect to the AWS IoT Cloud and managing some local data through its own sensors. Before the next steps I dedicated some time to create a small cover case to protect the PSoC6 avoiding damaging the board exposed.
Digging into the quantity of board PDF documents available on the Cypress site I have not found a clear design of the board; I don't exclude it is my mistake but, as far as I know, most of the documentation is dedicated to the hardware specifications, interfacing and protocols, and the firmware and software APIs.
I have not investigated deeply searching for the mechanical documentation of the board because the PSoC6 is an all-inclusive kit that is expected that a custom design should be developed. So, I got the dimensions manually, at least for what I was trying to do.
The sketch above shows the measure points I have checked. I have tried to design a protective case considering the specific needs of the software that will be used on the board. The left side – with the annotation OPEN SIDE – can't be closed in this development phase: this side gives access to the Kitprog3 USB C plug and the two switches to reset and set the programming and debugging mode (about under the TFT board). For the same reason, I left accessible the Capsense area and the USB where probably I will connect d memory stick to be used as external storage. A production case will be created when the device development is completed.
By the way, I also forgot to measure the distance between the top edge of the screen board and the TFT display, as it does not appear on the sketch.
Making the Case
First Design and First Issues
The images below show the rendering of the first design, created with Fusion360.
The design seemed pretty good, so I started a 3D print on the large Elegoo Saturn LCD resin 3D printer. The images below shows the result:
The number of issues seemed limitless!
- I have not considered the transparent plastic over the Capsense, 1 mm thickness.
- I have added round corners to the top surface: as the case is only thick 1.5 mm the curved corners made it too weak.
- The light and sound sensors rectangular hole below the screen is too thin and the sensors are not exposed.
- I have not considered the difference between the rectangular TFT screen hole and the window of the image
Second Design: a Better Result
Take a look below to the rendering of the second version of the case:
I solved all the previous issues;
- Removed the rounded corners from the top plane.
- Doubled the height of the sensors' rounded rectangular hole.
- Added 1mm cut to the base border in correspondence to the Capsense transparent lid.
- Designed the TFT screen cover (in the fourth image shown to the bottom side) with a 1mm engraving to add a transparent protective surface.
Wrong 3D Printing (Sic!)
The first 3D printing try due to my mistake on the support definition went partially broke but it was sufficient to see that the new version can do its job well.
Above: the top-view of the case, partially broken to the left side. Due to the missing piece the screen frame does not fit very well, but the sizes are correct.
Below: details of the Capsense area of the board and the sensors hole.
The Final Build
For correctness I should say that the final build passed through two phases: the first I 3D printed the model but then it broke while removing; this was my mistake and too few experience on using the Elegoo Saturn LCD 3D printer. As it is considerably bigger than the popular models like the Elegoo Mars and the competitor Photon, the printing supports should be applied slightly differently. A small difference that changes the game. After a couple of failed experiments, I found the right way to 3D print the new version of the case, that fits perfectly on the board as shown in the image below:
The last step has been 3D printing the screen cover (at the moment I have not a plastic sheet to glue on the back but it will be added further) and gluing it on top of the case with a couple of drops of cyanoacrylate glue. The two images below show the case assembly and how it appears after painting it.
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Above: the PSoC6 WiFi Bt kit "dressed" with the custom case.
Full Content
Already Posted (until now)
Super Smart Home #1 The project
Super Smart Home #2 The Door Opener
Super Smart Home #3 Designing the Control Center
Super Smart Home #4 Activating the Door Opener
Super Smart Home #5 Connecting the First Node to the Control Center
Super Smart Home #6 PSoC6 On the Cloud
Super Smart Home #7 From AWS IoT Core to AWS SiteWise
Super Smart Home #8 The Kitchen Node: Parts, Design and Components
Super Smart Home #9 The Kitchen Node: Circuit and Software
Super Smart Home #10 Building IoT nodes with PSoC6-WiFi-Bt and Mbed OS
Super Smart Home #11 Project Summary, Highlights, and More...
Super Smart Home #12 PSoC6 Local Node: Application Skeleton
Super Smart Home #13 PSoC6 Protection Case
Sources, Circuits, and Documentation
All the software sources, scripts, circuits schematics, and more are available as Open Source material on the SuperSmartHome GitHub repository.
The video episodes of this challenge are repurposed on the blog posts of the site we-are-borg.com
Thanks to
Element14, AWS, and Cypress, main sponsors
Elegoo for 3D printers ad printing material
Digitspace for sensors, actuators, and boards
The friends and community members Jan Cumps and shabaz always available with advice and suggestions.
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