Arduino - chipKIT enclosure, fancy

grabcad

This is the fourth Arduino housing design, featuring a top shield intended for an Adafruit 1.8" TFT. Below it, there's an Adafruit prototype shield and a Seeedstudio Mega. The middle layer support cage ensures that the bottom of the Arduino stack remains in place, preventing connectors from being pulled away from the top shield. The bottom layer cutouts enhance rigidity in the 3D printed model by acting as gothic-style column indents, resolving issues with layer adhesion during ABS 3D printing. The top lid bolts to the housing using M3 screws and features SD card cutouts for easy removal and updates. It hinges with two pins into the middle layer, providing practical use in conjunction with the 3D printed ABS. A recent update to the very top piece (lid) adds more support for the PCB when screws are tightened, addressing flexing issues that affected TFT functionality. This updated version is available as its own stl file (lid_v2.stl). Adjustments can be made based on specific needs, and different file formats (STEP, dwg, dxf) will be provided upon request. All bolts, except the top three M3 screws, are M5 and can be tapped after 3D printing. The hole size is sized at 0.190" to accommodate various applications. Tapping the holes before use significantly enhances screw strength. A removable middle layer door slides into place and will become a permanent fixture once updates via USB are no longer required. The power connector for the Seeedstudio Mega protrudes from the housing due to space constraints, while the unique layout of the Seeed Mega can be found on its product page. The designer also recommends the Goldilocks Arduino-compatible as a potential alternative. A project write-up is available here: https://forum.sparkfun.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=36254. An update to the MCU chip has been made, switching from Arduino to chipKIT platform, which quadruples SRAM from 8K to 32K. More information can be found here: http://www.chipkit.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2530