Question for people who make things | GTAMotorcycle.com

Question for people who make things

TwistedKestrel

TwistedKestrel

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Can you think of a simplish way to make/adapt a water resistant housing for this thing? Introducing Adafruit CLUE

Say for maybe... affixing to a motorcycle to use as a simple programmable gauge (i.e. GPS speed/gear indicator/voltmeter/oil pressure if I can find an appropriate sender)

I realize this is non-trivial and the easy solution I want may not exist... on the other hand it turn out some garbage I had lying around made a nearly perfect housing for an Arduino clone on a breadboard
 
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People have 3d printed cases for them.

EDIT Here's one: CLUE Slim Case
 
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Vacuum formed clear plastic :geek:
 
Do you need to be able to press the buttons? At first glance, size seems similar to go pro. Worth a test fit (although cable may deep six that plan).
 
My first search would be google. Then 3D printing. Then saran wrap ... duct tape is too strong!
 
 
mimico_polak said:
My first search would be google. Then 3D printing. Then saran wrap ... duct tape is too strong!
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How water resistant are 3D printed objects? Are they sealed out of the printer or do they rely on a coating to provide a film seal?

The cheapest answer is almost always something like upside down tupperware with some desiccant and some foam to locate your object.
 
Trials said:
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I've done lot of vaccuum forming in the past. I don't know why you would do it for this project. He has a reasonably flat rectangular object. Sealing the front and back half made of vacuum formed objects is not easy.
 
GreyGhost said:
I've done lot of vaccuum forming in the past. I don't know why you would do it for this project. He has a reasonably flat rectangular object. Sealing the front and back half made of vacuum formed objects is not easy.
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When you put something in a clear plastic blister pack you can still push the buttons ;)

New-Sealed-Ice-Blue-Funtastic-N64-Controller-TRU-Blister.jpg
waterproof game controller, right up until somebody removes it from the packaging ;)
 
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GreyGhost said:
How water resistant are 3D printed objects? Are they sealed out of the printer or do they rely on a coating to provide a film seal?

The cheapest answer is almost always something like upside down tupperware with some desiccant and some foam to locate your object.
Click to expand...
I'd assume it depends on the tolerances. Make the top slightly larger and bottom fit into it and should be fairly tight. Or you can always add some sort of seal/gasket.

I've got a 3D printer I'm looking at here beside me, but a few friends have them and love it. Especially one buddy who has 4 humming away all day/night in order to sell 'junk' as he calls it.
 
mimico_polak said:
I'd assume it depends on the tolerances. Make the top slightly larger and bottom fit into it and should be fairly tight. Or you can always add some sort of seal/gasket.

I've got a 3D printer I'm looking at here beside me, but a few friends have them and love it. Especially one buddy who has 4 humming away all day/night in order to sell 'junk' as he calls it.
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I was thinking about water going straight through the spaghetti. I am sure it can get better or worse based on the density used, but it would seem that there would be a ton of pin holes in the part. Sealing two 3D printed pieces together should be easy.
 
No need to reinvent the wheel, they make cases for this type of thing..... once you know the size find a case like this:

1591BBK Hammond Manufacturing | Boxes, Enclosures, Racks | DigiKey

Order today, ships today. 1591BBK – Box Plastic, ABS Black Cover Included 4.409" L x 2.441" W (111.99mm x 62.00mm) X 1.213" (30.81mm) from Hammond Manufacturing. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.
www.digikey.ca www.digikey.ca

They come in lots of different sizes. Drill some holes in the case for the wires that need to go in and out and connectorize them on the outside of the case so it can be easily removed from the bike, seal the holes with silicone. Leave some slack inside to allow easy access/removal...

Replace the cover with Lexan or Plexy so you can see through it. Drill holes in the cover for the two buttons and attach the device to the cover. If the buttons are close enough cover the two holes with some cut used bicycle inner tube glued to the drilled holes in the cover that will allow you to press them. Seal the cover to the case with a gasket. The two buttons are the only complicated part but the inner tube should work if they are high enough.

Total cost in the $20 range...

Electronics guys use these cases all the time to house builds etc. Tools needed are a jig saw with fine blade, a drill, and a razor knife.

For prototyping or trying it out a freezer grade zip-lock bag with a small hole sealed up for the wires (pigtails and connectors like above) will also work.

Since you are asking I think it is safe to assume you don't have a 3D printer, a CNC machine, or a vacuum mold set-up for carbon fibre :)...
 
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Thanks for the suggestions folks, even the "obvious" ones. My imagination sucks so it's all helpful

Edit: I will point out that I did look at designs for 3D printed cases - my problem was that they all leave the buttons and screen completely exposed. There may be a common technique/trick to deal with that, I'm not super familiar with 3D printing assembly hacks
 
Imprint a colour pattern on the inside of the blister pack.
 
J_F said:
what a neat little gadget to geek out with
I likes
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Agree. If you want to get really fancy, it looks like it includes a humidity sensor. You could use an output to drop the relay powering the device if humidity reaches 100%. Easy enough to dry electronics out as long as they werent powered when wet.
 
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don't see if you can, within SW, set your own parameters to switch things?
must be able to I guess

interesting array of sensors
some seem suitable for mobile application, some stationary

think I'm gonna order one to just to geek out with
 
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