Arduino UNO modular warm electronics box for outdoor projects

thingiverse

This project, named "Operation Snowflake," is part of my GardenSpaceProgram, a simulated space mission in my garden, as described on my blog at http://cavac.at for details. The warm electronics box is designed to keep Arduinos and your projects' electronics warm during winter. This is especially important if you have sensitive components like lithium ion batteries or fluids that could freeze. The central cavity in the main body module holds an Arduino Uno along with a number of stacked prototype boards. The two side "pockets" hold heaters (or the cool end of a liquid cooling setup during summer) and also serve as a way for air to flow downwards. If you need lots of electronics, you can stack two or more main bodies to give you more room. You can even fit a Raspberry Pi (I only tried a Pi 2) if you only use the top connectors (GPIO, Camera). The "fan cavity" holds an 8cm PC fan to suck air from the electronics upwards and into the side pockets. The lid is just that - the lid on top of the stack. The bottom cavity serves as the stand of the stack and can hold an additional heater/cooler. It also has the only hole in the casing for cables to come in through a short downward pipe to try to keep water out. The bottom cavity/stand also has two attachment points for external sensors/antennas. I'm still working on those "arms," which may take a few days or weeks to design, test, and upload. I also included a test stand that I'm using to test my DIY 4 Watt heater modules outside of the project (more on that on my blog in the coming days). For outdoor use, the modules need to be stacked, the gaps somewhat sealed (duct tape will do), and packed in a thin layer of insulating material. I plan to use pieces of polystyrene insulation (leftover pieces). The outer layer will be a cut-to-size piece of a rescue/space blanket that keeps UV and rain out. The main body, lid, and heater test stand won't need supports. The stand/bottom heater cavity as well as the fan module require supports. I only have experience with my Flashforge Finder, so I can't give you really good advice on printer settings. But with my printer and Simplify3D, I ran about 15-20% infill (more on the lower parts for rigidity) and on the medium setting. I also run four outer layers to make it more airtight. This should be enough so I can avoid painting the thing (it's winter outside, and I really don't want to deal with freezing paint or dealing with paint fumes in my living room). And yes, sorry for the bad quality of the photos. My SLR is on the fritz, and I had to make do with my "smart" phone. Update: Added holder arms for the antenna and the external DHT (temperature+humidity) sensor. The arms require supports for building. Update 2: Added a new, better lid with airflow diverters and a proper roof with guy-line attachment points. This needs supports for building (you might try flipping it upside-down to check if you need less material - this depends on your printer). Also added full- and half-height main body extensions (these can be printed without support).