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  • Author Author: fvan
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Gizmo2: 3D Printable Enclosure - First Iteration

fvan

 

Introduction

 

To protect my brand new GIZMO 2 board from the pointy and metal objects (and the rest of the mess) scattered around my desk, I decided to design a simple 3D printable enclosure for it, which would still expose all interfaces. I'm no professional designer, so it's more a functional enclosure rather than a fancy looking one image

 

I took various measurements of the board, especially around the ports and started porting this to SketchUp.

 

Design

 

This is what the first version of the design looks like:

imageimage

As I said, the focus is more on the functional side of things. The enclosure has following "features":

  • access to microSD card
  • 1cm standoffs, allowing room for mSATA/mini PCIe device
  • opening for high and low speed card edge connectors
  • opening for all ports: power, hdmi, USB3, audio, USB2 & ethernet
  • removable lid with an opening for the fan

 

I've attached the SketchUp files to this post in case anyone wants to build further from this. After printing, I'll check which adjustments need to be made and

 

Print

 

Having finalised a first version of the model, I tried to print it. The heated bed on my Printrbot was barely large enough, but it fit.

 

I enabled support material when slicing the model because of the many openings. After printing, I was able to easily remove it using small pliers.

There was a little lifting during printing, so the enclosure isn't totally straight, but it's still functional.

 

Here it is, in all its glory:

imageimageimage

Power, USB and Ethernet access is OK. HDMI and audio are a bit off. I'll have to work on that for the next iteration.

 

Hope you like it! Feel free to provide feedback on the enclosure or make your own based on the files attached.

Attachments:
gizmo-bottom.skp.zip
gizmo-top.skp.zip
  • in reply to peteroakes

    Yes the thin walls of my middle part have less area in contact with the bed so are easier to pull off and curl due to the thermal contraction forces as the upper layers cool. Adding a brim helps this as long as the brim has good adhesion to the bed. Keeping the lower layers soft and flexible with a heated bed and a higher ambient temperature helps with this too.

  • in reply to fvan

    I tried the other design too but same problems (Worse actually) probably due to the very thin walls and no base on the middle part, the top and bottom have minimal curl but it is there

  • Also, keep in mind this as a firs version of a case, I have yet to apply some improvements and corrections. As can be seen in the pictures of the printed case, I had to adapt the opening for the audio jack. You might want to consider Brian's case which appears to be more professional image GIZMO 2 another 3D printed enclosure

  • in reply to peteroakes

    Hi Peter,   Welcome to the world of 3D printing.

    ABS is a lot more prone to curling so adding a brim should help and many recommend no cooling too.  My printer is open so when using ABS I put a large cardboard box around it to keep it warm inside, that helped, but I see the Robox is enclosed anyway.  I am currently designing / building a new printer that is enclosed with internal temperature control.

    Like Frederick I have a glass plate on the heated bed and I give it a thin coat of UHU glue stick and I haven't had any problems with ABS, PLA or PET filaments with this set-up.  For ABS I have the heated bed set to 110C and hot end at 240C but settings for your printer may be somewhat different.

  • in reply to peteroakes

    Hi Peter,

     

    I always print in PLA, as I find it easier to work with. Had some bad experiences with ABS image

     

    To prevent lifting of the print, I always use brims between 5 and 10mm wide. This is easily removed once the print has cooled down.

    Recently, I also put a piece of glass on my heated bed and this has so far solved all my lifting problems.

     

    image

     

    Not sure if configurable in the Robox software, but my first layer is printed at 30% of normal speed, without cooling. After that, the rest of the print is done at 100% with cooling. Bed is heated at 70°C and extruder at 195°C for PLA. I always print at 0.2mm layer height and manually calibrate using a piece of paper to ensure a consistent distance between bed and nozzle in all four corners.

     

    You may want to check with Inderpreet, I believe he even sent his printer back due to inconsistent prints.