Those do look like a handy kit for profesional work, but generally I would look for off the shell cans and design my board around that. There is almost certainly one availiable that is close to the size you need. I know Laird and Wurth Electronic have a range.
Yeah i looked, and might go down that route for this project. I just come accross this quite a few times and was hoping for an easy way to manufacture them myself in any size on the spot: Saves me having to order them, design around specific sizes, wait, etc.
Hammond cases (cast aluminum, e.g. the 1590B) seem to be pretty commonly used in the RF world, and are pretty cheap. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/kx-reference/msg1390978/#msg1390978
TEKO makes some steel cases, which will also shield against magnetic fields, and are pretty cheap. You have to call a human using a telephone in order to buy them though (how archaic!): https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/px-reference/msg1446980/#msg1446980
If you need something a bit larger, you can also use an ammo can (smaller ones are $15-$20 on ebay) if you replace the gasket with an RF gasket: - VIDEO -
I use an aluminum dutch oven (fitted with a BNC adapter) for noise-sensitive measurements: https://github.com/cellularmitosis/logs/blob/master/20180324-ltz1000-1f-noise/README.md
Those would be the easiest option, but sadly my project is size constraint in having to fit into an existing piece of gear - There is barely enough room for the parts, let alone shielding
Thanks for the input thought.
Why not just use regular copper sheet? Better then copper is nickle silver (not zinc sorry) sheeting material, does some H field attenuation.
0.025 copper sheet you can cut with scissors and form. You can roll this stuff with a rolling pin to flatten it if you want.
I have made some shield before, the #1 thing is to make sure your bends are good. What will fuck you up is getting frustrated with laying out your bending tools, then doing half assed bends. If you take your time cutting it out, and make nice square edge forms to bend it on (plexiglass will work with a clamp), you can make some nice stuff.
I think the clips will be compatible with something you make yourself. Idon't know how you would make reliable clips though, I typically solder the shield on. The problem with the clips is that you want it springy, You can make copper springy by banging it with a hammer/peening it, but it might be a pain in the ass.
You're probably better off investing your money in a small sheet metal folder (also known as a brake), ideally a box and pan folder, and then you can fold small metal sheet to your hearts content without relying on having any special pre-scoring or similar. Thin sheet metal, in most alloys, is as cheap as chips of you can pick it up from a local stockist.
This looks like a promising route.
Regarding the material: I am guessing copper is easily soldered to the board, and nickle silver shields better but probably requires clips?
I was planning on using clips anyway for maintenance/tuning reasons. I can pick up nickle silver sheets fairly cheaply.
Regarding breaks:
I can get normal breaks relatively cheaply (Both the kind that sits in a vice () and a standalone press ()), but am relatively inexperienced with this kind of tool. Because of the small size of the shields, they will need relatively small bend radi. Will any medium to small break be able to do this, or will I need specific small die?
Regarding a box and pan break:
I was not able to find any pan&box break with "clamping teeth" (Dont know what the technical term is
) thin enough to actually fit into the sides of the 1-2cm big cans I am making. Am I missing something, or ar those tools more for large fabrications?
Same question as above - will a standard box and pan break be able to form a tight enough bend?
Thank you for all the help!