luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Well, I'm looking at finalizing a project board that is currently 6.17" x 7.3". The 6.17" needs to be the width of the case, and the 7.3" needs to be the depth. I've looked at a few vendors, as I'm trying to find a width that will accommodate a few of the Hammond 1455 type cases. The Hammond unfortunately is too shallow. I looked at Context Engineering and notice they have one that supports a 6" card width, that might be able to work, with a 8.5" standard depth. I poked around a bit at Teko as well. Anyways, I know a few of you have gone through this and was wondering if you might have a few suggestions? The main deal is I need to finalize the size of the board before going much further and I'd like to support more than one case (if possible). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looser101 Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 There is Lansing, but don't see anything that would suit your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 How about FPE? It costs a little more, but you can make them any size you want. If it is only for a few, it seems like a decent deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 How about FPE? It costs a little more, but you can make them any size you want. If it is only for a few, it seems like a decent deal. I've done this a few times. It's very expensive as it turns out to require four panels. For a project this size, I'd expect it to be around $150-$175 per case. edit: I'll spec it out though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 I've done this a few times. Do you have a pic of how they came out? I am thinking about using them for this but am a little unsure of the quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Do you have a pic of how they came out? I am thinking about using them for this but am a little unsure of the quality. heh, I can try and find one. One thing I've learned is that you have to be very careful with the edge that gets milled to insert into the extrusion. I put this case together about 20 times and once or twice snagged the corner and had to reshape it. I did screw up a few times placing the little angle pieces that secure the front/rear the top and bottom, seems simple enough, but... One thing I didn't like was having a screw head on the front of the panel, so I blind tapped it from the back of the panel... the problem with this is that then you have a threaded hole in the panel, and a threaded angle bracket, which doesn't join so well together, so there were further modifications. I'm not sure how much you've looked at the .pdf FPE provides, but I'm hoping this is somewhat clear. Things get expensive fast though with this approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 There is Lansing, but don't see anything that would suit your needs. I think Micropak "C" might work, it works with a 7" wide PCB. Looks like there is very little room under the board though? Trying to find out how much room, but it isn't clear. Maybe it's an option you specify when ordering? hm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beefy Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Well, I'm looking at finalizing a project board that is currently 6.17" x 7.3". The 6.17" needs to be the width of the case, and the 7.3" needs to be the depth. I've looked at a few vendors, as I'm trying to find a width that will accommodate a few of the Hammond 1455 type cases. The Hammond unfortunately is too shallow. The Hammond 1455T2201 (default M3 case) accommodates boards 6.319 inches wide, and up to 8.661 inches deep. http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1455T2201.pdf Unless I have misunderstood something, it should be perfect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 The Hammond 1455T2201 (default M3 case) accommodates boards 6.319 inches wide, and up to 8.661 inches deep. http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1455T2201.pdf Unless I have misunderstood something, it should be perfect? yeah, how did I miss that? I get an extra inch in height with the Context Engineering case though: http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/thescienceshop/the-2228/8.5%22-L-x-6.15%22/Detail ... keep 'em coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 (edited) something like this would be cool: or this with the bottom mount heat sink: Edited August 5, 2009 by luvdunhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Bottom mount? Heat rises. Maybe turn it upside down when you're done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Bottom mount? Heat rises. Maybe turn it upside down when you're done? where would the tubes go then Bottom mount is okay to dissipate a few watts, heat will conduct to the case as much as possible before starting to "rise", as it has a lower thermal resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 something like this would be cool: That one is kind of cool looking IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 where would the tubes go then Bottom mount is okay to dissipate a few watts, heat will conduct to the case as much as possible before starting to "rise", as it has a lower thermal resistance.It still strikes me as kind of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 ok, I give. How much room is under the PCB for these cases for the widest, tallest, deepest option (CW2X90-XXXX-XXXX): http://www.lansing-enclosures.com/main/media/micropak_c_techdata.pdf Some pics show more than one slot, and I cannot find a dimension anywhere that shows these, so it's probably one of those engineer things of let's see how few dimensions we can put and make the reader have to do as many calculators as possible to find what they're looking for Has anyone used these cases before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 Looks to me like 1/4" minus the thickness of the extruded bottom which I'd guess to be about 1/16". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 (edited) So, I think this will work. My only concern is that this has the same vinyl clad steel top as another case I used.... and drilling this was a massive fail. This time, I need to drill tube diameter holes, so I'm a bit worried about that, because if I mess up the top, the case is more or less ruined. I definitely don't have the equipment to do this, so I'm wondering what are the chances of me finding a way to cut the holes cleanly? Perhaps a punch would be the ticket here? Edited August 8, 2009 by luvdunhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 A punch will have a tough time with steel. What diameter hole do you need to drill/cut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 A punch will have a tough time with steel. What diameter hole do you need to drill/cut? I need to have room to slide the case on, then insert a 6SN7, so roughly 1.5" or larger, depending on how accurate I can center it over the socket location. I think the other top was 50 mil thick, so I assume this is about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Break out the water jet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvdunhill Posted August 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2009 ok, to answer Doug's question, the case from FPE is $165 shipped. The ends are 3.0mm thick and 181.2mm x 56mm and contain ~30 holes and some text. The front is $24 and the rear is $35. The 2.5mm thick bottom panel contains a few vent holes and the necessary cavity to fit into the extrusion. It is $44. The top is approximately the same price and contains two larger holes for the tubes. Total size for each is 167mm x 228.6mm. The extrusions themselves are $7 each and are 228.6mm long. I didn't include any hardware, as I would want fancier fasteners than what they sell. Grr.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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