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Project housing
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Monstertov:
Hi all!

I was wondering what you guys use and what would be a cheap way to create custom housing for projects/prototypes.

Things  I've seen are wood. Easy to manipulate and customize. Also 3d printing but that seems expensive to start and maintain, slow but also highly customizable. I've also read you can use a laser to CNC acryl but I'm not really sure if that is a viable/cheap way to make things for a hobbyist. Please correct me if i see things wrong or if i need to see it as an investment.

I like how panels like these look but I have no idea how these are made and where to start.




Kasper:
My prefered quick and cheap solution is to buy enclosures from digikey.

I like tupperware for ugly 'waterproof' cases.

At work for something a little more custom and closer to something we'd go to production with, I usually pay people to 3D print low quantities, urethane cast qty of 10 - 200 and injection mold for larger quantities.

Laser cutting acrylic or thin wood works well too.  You can even make wood flexible by cutting a living hinge into it.

Label makers are handy for labelling things.  You could engrave labels while laser cutting but that's extra work and is harder to change.

Local maker spaces, sign shops or engravers often have laser cutters that are easy to use.  3D hubs and FacFox are good for 3D printing.  Your local library might have a 3D printer.
Kasper:
You can also make enclosures out of PCBs.  That seems like a particularly nice solution if you want silkscreen labels.
pcprogrammer:
Way back I used those rub on letters on an aluminum plate and cover it with clear sticky plastic that was used to protect school books. (In Dutch it was named "boeklon")

No idea if you can still get this, but it did give a nice looking result.

The case itself I usually made out of laminated wood and then screw the aluminum front panel onto it.

Edit: Added picture of a panel I made.
eti:
I thought this was a thread about Brooklyn housing projects.
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