{"id":1080,"date":"2016-04-28T01:30:22","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T01:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/enclosure-design-101\/"},"modified":"2021-08-23T13:54:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T20:54:46","slug":"enclosure-design-101","status":"publish","type":"cpt_blog","link":"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/articles\/enclosure-design-101","title":{"rendered":"Enclosure Design 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the power of a hardware product comes from its internal components, a product is typically recognized by its enclosure, the outer shell that encloses electronic products, making them appealing and user-friendly.<\/p>\n

In this post, I\u2019m going to walk you through the steps for designing a basic enclosure, using the design of a IoT plant monitor product as an example.<\/p>\n

The design is based on\u00a0this awesome project<\/a>\u00a0by Ryan Madson\u2014using just a couple of sensors, a WiFi-enabled Photon developer board from Particle, and an online cloud platform called\u00a0Fathym<\/a>, he\u2019s able to continuously monitor the moisture and temperature of his plant at home.<\/p>\n

For the purposes of this example, we\u2019re not going to worry about how the enclosure looks, but rather just focus on functionality.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Start with the Product Requirements<\/h2>\n

With any design, I like to begin by thinking about requirements, which can help you keep your development in scope and avoid adding cost and complexity where you don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

At this stage, you should ask yourself,\u00a0what does my enclosure need to do and what are its most basic functions?<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are the requirements for our plant monitor enclosure:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The enclosure will house a Photon board, a temperature sensor, and a soil moisture sensor.<\/li>\n
  2. The soil moisture sensor will penetrate at least one inch into the soil.<\/li>\n
  3. The enclosure will allow for interaction with two buttons on the top of the board.<\/li>\n
  4. The onboard LED will be visible through the enclosure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The above features are necessary for a successful design. Notice how the requirements don\u2019t go on to include more specific design decisions such as wall thickness dimensions at this point. In the beginning, keep your requirements as streamlined as possible so you can have flexibility in your design later on.<\/p>\n

    Pro Tip:<\/strong>\u00a0Enclosing electronics tends to increase the temperature of the system. You may need to add a fan or some sort of heat rejection method if your components are getting too hot.<\/p>\n

    Step 2: Model the Internal Components<\/h2>\n

    Now on to the enclosure. I generally start a design such as our plant monitor example by thinking about how the innards will be held.<\/p>\n

    Ideally, you have a good idea of what\u2019s going inside the enclosure so you can accurately design around it. In our case, we have a\u00a0Photon Particle board<\/a>, a\u00a0temperature sensor<\/a>, and a\u00a0soil moisture sensor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Modeling the larger parts\u2014the Photon board and the soil moisture sensor\u2014will make the 3D design easier and more relevant. You can often find some sort of dimensional drawing from the manufacturer, if not an actual 3D model.<\/p>\n

    I was able to find dimensions for both the Photon board and the soil moisture sensor, allowing me to create some simple 3D models.<\/p>\n

    \"enclosure<\/figure>\n
    <\/figure>\n

    The placeholder models don\u2019t need to reflect every feature of the part. The outer dimensions and any mating features are important to model, but everything else can be left out.<\/p>\n

    For instance, my models of the soil moisture sensor and Photon board are pretty blocky, but the extents of the parts are accurately represented.<\/p>\n

    \"model<\/figure>\n
    \"model<\/figure>\n

    Step 3: Create the Shell<\/h2>\n

    Now that we have models of the electronic parts, we can design our enclosure around them. I start by shelling out a rectangular prism, creating an open box shape.<\/p>\n

    As we create features, we are striving for uniform wall thicknesses because injection molding<\/a>, the process we\u2019d use for mass manufacturing, requires it.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m going to use .040\u201d wall thicknesses because that will be 3D printable as well as injection moldable.<\/p>\n

    \"rectangular<\/figure>\n

    Step 4: Add Slot and External Holes for Soil Moisture Sensor<\/h2>\n

    One of our requirements states that the soil moisture sensor must be inserted at least an inch into the soil. One option is to just run wires from the board to the sensor outside of the enclosure, but I like the idea of a fully packaged product.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m going to add a slot that will hold the moisture sensor vertically, allowing the probes to pass through the bottom of the enclosure.<\/p>\n

    \"enclosure<\/figure>\n
    \"side<\/figure>\n

    Step 5: Create Cutouts for Wire Connections and Micro-USB Connector<\/h2>\n

    We need to leave room for the wires to be soldered on the top of the moisture sensor, so let\u2019s remove some material while still maintaining a slot.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ll also add a cutout for the micro-usb connector. The board will rest with the connector inside this slot, providing some alignment.<\/p>\n

    \"enclosure<\/figure>\n

    Step 6: Create Support Ribs for the Photon Board<\/h2>\n

    The Photon board is currently being held on one side by its micro-USB connector, but we should add supports on which the board can sit.<\/p>\n

    Luckily, there is nothing mounted on the bottom of the Photon board, so we don\u2019t have to worry about hitting anything. A pretty simple way to create supports is to add ribs of our uniform thickness, where the board can rest.<\/p>\n

    \"support<\/figure>\n

    Here\u2019s a current view of the assembly so far:<\/p>\n

    \"assembly<\/figure>\n

    Step 7: Add Lid Fastener Features<\/h2>\n

    Now we need to think about how the lid will be attached. I\u2019m a big fan of the socket head cap screw, so let\u2019s add some extra features around the outside of the enclosure to allow a fastener to pass through.<\/p>\n

    \"fastener<\/figure>\n

    The features you see here are typical in injection molding. Bosses surround the fastener holes and have additional ribs to the outer structure for support. All geometry has our same uniform thickness of .040\u201d.<\/p>\n

    Step 8: Add Nut Features<\/h2>\n

    A trick for using metal fasteners in plastic parts is to countersink, or cut, the exact size of the nut on the bottom side of the part, keeping it from rotating while you screw in the fastener.<\/p>\n

    \"nut<\/figure>\n

    Step 9: Fillet Outer Corners<\/h2>\n

    Finally, we\u2019re going to radius the outer corners, which will decrease the stress concentration there and also make the enclosure look a little more friendly.<\/p>\n

    We are still keeping a uniform thickness, so for the outer corners the outer radius (0.140\u201d) will be slightly larger than the inner radius (0.100\u201d).<\/p>\n

    While we\u2019re at it, let\u2019s radius our internal corners, too. It\u2019s important to keep these small to avoid adding too much material and increasing wall thickness.<\/p>\n

    \"outer<\/figure>\n

    Here is the completed bottom half of our enclosure:<\/p>\n

    \"bottom<\/figure>\n

    Step 10: Lid Design<\/h2>\n

    Now on to the lid! We\u2019ll use the same types of features in the lid, shelling a box, adding bosses for the fasteners to pass through, countersinking the fasteners into the top, and radiusing the outer corners to match the bottom.<\/p>\n

    \"basic<\/figure>\n
    \"lid<\/figure>\n
    \"lid<\/figure>\n

    The bosses for the fasteners look as they do above because we are maintaining our uniform wall thickness, and that\u2019s what a countersink looks like from the other side.<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve also made the bosses slightly shorter than the outer wall height so that there are no interferences.<\/p>\n

    Step 11: Fillet Corners and Top Edge<\/h2>\n

    Just like in Step 9 for the bottom of the enclosure, we will radius the outer corners of the lid to decrease the stress concentration and make the lid match the bottom.<\/p>\n

    \"lid<\/figure>\n

    Step 12: Add Protrusion to Hold Top of Micro-USB Connector<\/h2>\n

    This little boss will mate with the top of the micro-USB connector, securing it in the slot in the bottom of the enclosure.<\/p>\n

    \"lid<\/figure>\n

    Step 13: Cut Holes for Buttons and LED Light<\/h2>\n

    As per our requirements, holes are created for interacting with the buttons on the board and seeing the LED light.<\/p>\n

    \"lid<\/figure>\n

    Step 14: Add Rib for Holding Moisture Sensor<\/h2>\n

    While the moisture sensor is being pushed into the soil, it will probably come up to contact the lid, which is less than ideal.<\/p>\n

    To remedy this, I\u2019ll add a rib that will hold the moisture sensor down in a more secure position.<\/p>\n

    \"plant<\/figure>\n

    Step 15: Radius Internal Corners<\/h2>\n

    The final step is to radius all of those sharp corners that are not only aesthetically unpleasant, but have large stress concentrations. Again, we\u2019re going to keep the radii small (.005\u201d) to avoid adding too much material.<\/p>\n

    \"radius<\/figure>\n

    Now let\u2019s add the lid to our full assembly and throw in some hardware.<\/p>\n

    \"plant<\/figure>\n
    \"plant<\/figure>\n
    \"plant<\/figure>\n

    Be sure to leave space for wires and their bends! It\u2019s easy to forget about wire routing while you\u2019re designing until you\u2019re trying to assemble the product. You can see from the above section view that I\u2019ve left plenty of room (nearly half an inch) above the board for wires and the small temperature sensor.<\/p>\n

    Final Notes<\/h2>\n

    Hopefully this gives you some helpful guidelines for designing and prototyping your own product enclosure. To start 3D printing<\/a>\u00a0your enclosure design,\u00a0hop on over to\u00a0Fictiv<\/a>\u00a0where you can get 3D printed parts delivered in 24 hours.<\/p>\n

    For more detail on enclosure design features, check out our posts on\u00a0how to design snap fit components<\/a>,\u00a0choosing the best fasteners for 3D printed parts<\/a>,\u00a0how to conduct a tolerance analysis for 3D printed parts<\/a>, and\u00a0how to design light pipes<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While the power of a hardware product comes from its internal components, a product is typically recognized by its enclosure, the outer shell that encloses electronic products, making them appealing and user-friendly. In this post, I\u2019m going to walk you through the steps for designing a basic enclosure, using the design of a IoT plant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":1055,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","fictiv_role":[29],"fictiv_topic":[28],"fictiv_industry":[40],"fictiv_manufacturing_process":[],"coauthors":[77],"class_list":["post-1080","cpt_blog","type-cpt_blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","fictiv_topic-mechanical-design"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nEnclosure Design 101 - Fictiv<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We walk through the steps for designing a basic enclosure, using the design of a IoT plant monitor product as an example.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/articles\/enclosure-design-101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Enclosure Design 101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We walk through the steps for designing a basic enclosure, using the design of a IoT plant monitor product as an example.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/articles\/enclosure-design-101\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fictiv\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-23T20:54:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/enclosure-design.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1669\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1183\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"John Kreisher\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/articles\/enclosure-design-101\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fictiv.com\/articles\/enclosure-design-101\",\"name\":\"Enclosure Design 101 - 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