garygid said:
How do you plan to use the 6 supports that you included
on the back wall, presumably for the PC board?
Yes, those are for the PCB. I will add pins to them like I did for the displays on the next rev.
garygid said:
In the v2 enclosure, you might want to consider adding:
1. A cutout to mount the USB full size port, and two screw holes.
2. A cutout to insert a mini-USB plug into the Mbed board.
3. A 9/32" hole, or "knockout", on the side for a cable from the OBD port.
4. A 0.25 inch hole, or knockout, for one switch on the side,
positioned so that there is room for the switch body
and possibly solder contacts on the inside.
5. Some small (1/16" perhaps) heat ventilation holes on each side,
perhaps 2 or 3 near the top edge, and the same near the bottom edge.
I didn't add any holes because drills work really well for that, but the USB punchout is a good idea - I could put several options (back, top, side). Also I may do something for ventilation as you suggest since an array of holes would be tedious to drill and I could do something that looks nicer. For the OBD cable, I intend to come out with a flat flex cable so it can slide easily under the trim so no need for a hole for that:
This isn't the flex cable I intend to use - just a random piece I had lying around. I have a 20 conductor flex with zif connectors ordered for this project (~$5).
garygid said:
6. If any edge is too flexible, add a bit of thickness near/at the edge.
All the walls are .125" thick and seem pretty sturdy.
garygid said:
7. Make the non-bottom edges slightly rounded instead of "sharp" edges.
done
garygid said:
A "knockout" would really be a hole/slot that is easy to cut
out with a sharp "hobby" knife, but still a flat outer surface
for cosmetics. So, a less-thick area surrounded on the inside
surface with a "groove" (wall perpendicular to the surface on
the outside of the groove, but something like a 45 degree wall
on the "inside" edge of the groove) that goes almost all the
way through to the outside surface. Holding it up to the light,
one should be able to see the "cutout" location easily.
great suggestion - I will do that.
garygid said:
Super work.
Is it easy to mount the two displays, connect them to
the breadboard, and take a "real" picture?
sure. I didn't want to mess with the breadboard setup while I was debugging so I used a display I accidentally dropped on the concrete floor for the previous photo. I don't have a PCB to go inside yet but I can put the two displays in.
garygid said:
Thanks for your continued efforts, Gary
I discovered a few other things I need to address in the next rev.
1) the surface behind the console is not flat. The enclosure rocks on two corners with about 3/16" gap on one corner when the other three are touching. Adding feet so they can be filed down to rest flat
2) displays are not quite aligned with the opening - need to shift the alignment pins a bit (25mils)
3) modified the shade to extend further and clear the console lip
4) adjusted the display angle
Here's what I've got so far: