Case for Z67-IDE+

[snhirsch]

For whatever reason my SMTP version of this post never made it. 

I spent a little time learning 'YAPP' (Yet Another Parameterized Projectbox) which uses OpenSCAD to generate printable STL.  Here are some photos of my current working version.  Would appreciate feedback and suggestions from the community.

[glenn.f...@gmail.com]

So first of all well done. This looks great!  Thanks for sharing.

 

I’m a big fan of the Z67-IDE+ (I’ve built 4 of them) and this is a nice stand-alone enclosure. Powering via USB sounds great – what’s the current draw?  Can you use a standard USB transformer?

 

My big wish would be for an ability to remove the compact flash drive(s) externally.  I back these images up occasionally to my PC (and the cloud). So that’s something to think about. A Google search tells me there are multiple solutions for extending compact flash socket connections.

 

You might look into the work that Norberto had done to connect an I2C LCD display to the Z67-IDE+.  He posted some of this work to the email list. 

 

I personally would have brought out the serial port to a DB-9. It is useful for debugging purposes if anything ever goes wrong.  I’ve also worked with Terry and Norberto on some mod’s to the firmware (jukebox support) so being able to update the firmware without opening the box is nice.

 

Can’t tell if you’re planning to have an IDC ribbon cable connector on the box or just string the cable out the back. A connector would be a nice touch.

 

Since the board supports hardware write protect I’d recommend mounting write protect switches somewhere.

 

I’d be interested in a version that could be mounted in a 5.25” half height drive bay.

 

 

 

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of snhirsch
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2024 2:56 PM
To: SEBHC <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [sebhc] Case for Z67-IDE+

 

For whatever reason my SMTP version of this post never made it. 

 

I spent a little time learning 'YAPP' (Yet Another Parameterized Projectbox) which uses OpenSCAD to generate printable STL.  Here are some photos of my current working version.  Would appreciate feedback and suggestions from the community.

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 5/14/24 18:21, glenn.f...@gmail.com wrote:

> I’m a big fan of the Z67-IDE+ (I’ve built 4 of them) and this is a nice
> stand-alone enclosure. Powering via USB sounds great – what’s the current
> draw?  Can you use a standard USB transformer?

I haven't measured current draw yet, but a run-of-the-mill wall wart USB
supply maintains a solid 5.02V and it's running fine. The box barely gets
warm enough to even notice so I may eliminate the vents on the top. They take
a lot of time to print!

> My big wish would be for an ability to remove the compact flash drive(s)
> externally.  I back these images up occasionally to my PC (and the cloud). So
> that’s something to think about. A Google search tells me there are multiple
> solutions for extending compact flash socket connections.

The case snaps open very easily if you need to get to the CF cards. I back
mine up the same way.

> You might look into the work that Norberto had done to connect an I2C LCD
> display to the Z67-IDE+.  He posted some of this work to the email list.

I sort of remember that, but never got around to building it up.

> I personally would have brought out the serial port to a DB-9. It is useful
> for debugging purposes if anything ever goes wrong.  I’ve also worked with
> Terry and Norberto on some mod’s to the firmware (jukebox support) so being
> able to update the firmware without opening the box is nice.

For my purposes, it's just as easy to snap open the box. I think your work
flow and use case may be a bit different from mine. I wanted something
completely self-contained that I could just use on a day to day basis.
Getting access to the CF cards or serial port are not things I need to do very
often.

> Can’t tell if you’re planning to have an IDC ribbon cable connector on the box
> or just string the cable out the back. A connector would be a nice touch.

The connector is there, but Norberto's layout placed it in maybe 1/4" from the
edge of the board (hard to see in photos). I need to make the access cutout
taller to accommodate ribbon cables with strain reliefs.

> Since the board supports hardware write protect I’d recommend mounting write
> protect switches somewhere.

That's a 10 minute editing job on the build script. I'll document things as
best I can before posting the design. It's really simple to setup openSCAD
and start hacking away. The real tedious stuff was getting basic dimensions
and connector and mounting hole locations.

> I’d be interested in a version that could be mounted in a 5.25” half height
> drive bay.

Let me think about that a bit. Sounds like you want the CF connector and
anything the user needs to interact with on the front of the case, correct?

That's a lot different from what I was after and may not be best addressed
with YAPP and openSCAD.


Steve

[glenn.f...@gmail.com]

Tx steve. Don't feel you need to respond to these or take action, just brainstorming ideas for possible enhancements. Sounds like this is well tuned to your needs!

- glenn

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[Joseph Travis]

I also like the idea of a mount that fits into a 5.25" half height drive space.  BTW - I use a ribbon cable between my Z67-IDE+ and the IDE-CF adapter board.

Joe

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sebhc/0dc401daa65d%243ee93090%24bcbb91b0%24%40gmail.com.

[Steven Hirsch]

On 5/14/24 20:17, glenn.f...@gmail.com wrote:
> Tx steve. Don't feel you need to respond to these or take action, just brainstorming ideas for possible enhancements. Sounds like this is well tuned to your needs!

It's always interesting what a wide variety of use patterns we have - :-)

The time tested "sled" form factor is probably best for mounting in an actual
drive bay. YAPP is fairly narrowly aimed at producing custom project boxes
and arguably not the best tool for laying out a sled.

I would love to know how long the Bambu Labs printer takes to knock out the
base and lid. Prusa Mk4 is about 3:20.

Steve

[snhirsch]

Forgot to mention:  My little USB checker shows average current demand to be  a modest 300 mA.  Makes sense, since so much of it it is HC logic.  The top vent is almost certainly not necessary.  I'll move the long "grill" vents up to the top of the upper case sides.

[Joseph Travis]

If you wanna have some fun with the slot design, you might try to imitate the louvers of the H17 cabinet top cover.  ;)

Joe

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[Norby]

Nice looking small case. Does it works fine with the USB power input? The board should take about 0.5amps because of the termination. How I can get one to replace my old case?

Thanks,

Norberto

[Steven Hirsch]

On 6/3/24 19:06, Norby wrote:
> Nice looking small case. Does it works fine with the USB power input? The
> board should take about 0.5amps because of the termination. How I can get one
> to replace my old case?
>

Hi, Norberto. So far, so good with USB power.

The case is generated using an OpenSCAD toolkit designed specifically for this
purpose. It's basically a template where you fill in specifics about size,
location, etc. If you need to change anything it's quite simple.

I will post my template and pointers to the project in the next couple of days.

[Norby]

My son has the 3D printer, so you will be providing such files to print directly; correct?

[Steven Hirsch]

On 6/4/24 12:54, Norby wrote:
> My son has the 3D printer, so you will be providing such files to print
> directly; correct?

Here's a zip containing the bgcode print file along with the OpenSCAD template
and rendered design. My decisions may not be optimal for you, so if you want
to change anything you'll need to install OpenSCAD (works on all OS AFAIK) and
grab the 'YAPP' case generating template:

https://github.com/mrWheel/YAPP_Box.git

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

Thanks!

Norberto

-----Original Message-----
From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Steven Hirsch
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2024 8:40 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] Case for Z67-IDE+

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[Steven Hirsch]

On 6/8/24 04:31, norberto.collado koyado.com wrote:
> Thanks!

YW!

BTW, the bgcode file was generated by Prusa Slicer with the Prusa Mk4 printer
as target. Would suggest doing your own slice from the STL if you're using a
different printer.