Enclosure box sizes and PCBs - Suppliers suck with dimensions

• Enclosure box sizes and PCBs - Suppliers suck with dimensions
  Posted by philbx1 on 26 Mar, 2011 09:53
• Hi all,
  
  Another annoyance post here.
  
  I'm in the process of creating a relay board and now have most of it done, except
  for one (I thought) minor detail - the enclosure.
  
  I already have about 7 different enclosure box sizes in the cupboard but none actually fit what
  I want, so then it's off to the internet, to a major fail.
  
  Online sales like (Australia) Jaycar & Dick Smith give the enclosure dimensions, whether
  they are external or internal they don't say, also mounting hole dimensions are not provided.
  
  I'd thought that this would be pretty much standard stuff to show these dimensions, but
  found out just how mistaken I was a few minutes ago.
  
  So, now I 'll have to wait until Monday and hope that some salesperson can actually measure
  things accurately, and I'm guessing that's not going to be easy.
  
  I guess my project is on hold for a while now due to lack of info.
  
  FYI, my current board is  77l x 60w x 35h
  
  
  
• #1 Reply
  Posted by deephaven on 26 Mar, 2011 10:02
• Farnell often have data on their boxes, for example: http://au.element14.com/hammond/001102/case-black-abs-85x60x22mm/dp/1244219
  Click on the PDF link on that page. It even shows a 3D rotatable image.
  
• #2 Reply
  Posted by red_mamba on 26 Mar, 2011 18:08
• Next time try to fit the board into the enclosure
  It will save you a lot of time.
  
  And I can confirm that hammond enclosures have excellent documentation.
  The 3D models help a lot to model the board into the enclosure.
  
  
• #3 Reply
  Posted by Hypernova on 27 Mar, 2011 07:14
• Unless you have the means to make your own, always design the board around the case instead of the other way around. Heck make use of altium's 3d modeling feature and do a virtual fit before you even order the stuff.
• #4 Reply
  Posted by philbx1 on 27 Mar, 2011 09:17
• Quote from: deephaven on 26 Mar, 2011 10:02

  Farnell often have data on their boxes, for example
  

  Hey, thanks for the great suggestion.
  
  Didn't have much luck there, although I did have some from Google which l me to
  Altronics, who (apart from Farnell) name the manufacturers so
  I could at least find some dimensions.
  
  At least you offered better advice than suggesting I should start with
  the box first & then do the PCB.
  
• #5 Reply
  Posted by Jon Chandler on 27 Mar, 2011 12:46
• Quote from: hissyfet on 27 Mar, 2011 09:17

  
  At least you offered better advice than suggesting I should start with
  the box first & then do the PCB.
  
  

  
  I think anybody who has done a few projects will tell you this is the best advice you're going to get on this subject!
  
  Most enclosures have mounting bosses - if you want to mount the board using the option (and to avoid screws sticking through the side), you need to know the size before you start the board.  Some advanced planning makes using nicer enclosures possible.
  
  
• #6 Reply
  Posted by Bored@Work on 27 Mar, 2011 14:41
• Quote from: hissyfet on 27 Mar, 2011 09:17

  At least you offered better advice than suggesting I should start with
  the box first & then do the PCB.

  
  Those who ignore good advice are bound to repeat their mistakes. Have fun repeating your mistakes.