Author Topic: Cheap(old) consumer gear as a source for enclosures? (Read 8765 times)

george graves · « **on:** March 21, 2012, 07:28:15 am »

Does anyone have some interesting examples of cheap (ebay, etc...) obsolete consumer products, that are readily available, that would then make for interesting/cool enclosures with out too many modifications?

Pics or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

T4P · « **Reply #1 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:01:30 am »

I don't really know about using old enclosures , but i have turned a PIR sensor's body to place something .

Psi · « **Reply #2 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:06:36 am »

If you come across an enclosure that's good but has holes in the front panel which you don't want.
- Get a piece of aluminum plate
- Cut it to the same size as the front panel
- Brush it in all directions with a wire brush (This gives a nice brushed aluminum look and covers up scratches)
- Bolt it on top of the real front panel.
- Cut any new holes you want.

Works really well.

amyk · « **Reply #3 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:29:19 am »

VCRs. The ones that come with lots of front-panel buttons are especially useful if you need controls, and almost all of them will have a display you can use.

G7PSK · « **Reply #4 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:31:06 am »

I have seen that done by the manufacturer. I had a Sinclair digital mullti-meter for a short time until it blew up, when I took it apart the case turned out to be the Sinclair calculator enclosure with a thin piece of self adhesive plastic stuck on the front to cover the key pad holes that they did not use.

siliconmix · « **Reply #5 on:** March 21, 2012, 08:38:34 am »

Quote from: george graves on March 21, 2012, 07:28:15 am

Does anyone have some interesting examples of cheap (ebay, etc...) obsolete consumer products, that are readily available, that would then make for interesting/cool enclosures with out too many modifications?

Pics or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

if your after a load try www.alibaba.com.if you dont mind plastics try plastic welding and homebrew.

sonicj · « **Reply #6 on:** March 21, 2012, 12:32:59 pm »

external modems (dail-up, cable ,etc)

Dago · « **Reply #7 on:** March 21, 2012, 01:00:34 pm »

Here is a neat tip for cases made out of aluminum profile

kripton2035 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 21, 2012, 01:46:29 pm »

nice !!!

SeanB · « **Reply #9 on:** March 21, 2012, 02:21:57 pm »

I did a PSU years ago using an old 10Base2 hub, plenty of space inside for the simple regulators and heatsinks.

PSU by SeanB_ZA, on Flickr

Jon Chandler · « **Reply #10 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:18:51 pm »

Parallel and serial port switch enclosures can work nicely for re-purposing and usually only have one hole in the front panel to deal with. Here's a power supply I built in one of these enclosures.

The back of the enclosure has a lot of holes, but out-of-sight, out-of-mind

david77 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:26:23 pm »

Things I've used to get enclosures and what I've used it for:

- HiFi tapedecks, tuners -> custom built hifi equipment
- SCSI storage controller -> RIAA amp
- UPS -> huge power supply
- jam jars -> kitchen timers

Just look around there's lots of things that can be put to good use for no or very little money. The local dump / recycling site is a good place to look for stuff (If they let you have it - our's don't, they're staffed with miserable, bossy OAP's who try to be as rude to you as they can get away with).

deephaven · « **Reply #12 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:57:01 pm »

A very cheap enclosure can be made by using a 'back box' which is a surface mounted box which normally takes a 13A mains socket or a cat5 socket. They are available in a couple of depths. They are normally wired to, but come with various 'knock out' holes which remain intact if you don't knock them out! These are from the UK, I don't know if other countries have the equivalent.

What I then do is design a PCB so that it fits exactly onto the back box, using it as the front panel in style of Mike.

george graves · « **Reply #13 on:** March 21, 2012, 04:15:17 pm »

Very good sugessstions!

I was also looking at some external HD enclosures. They can be had for $20-$30. A bit more than you might pay for a similar sized hammond enclosure(?). But MUCH sexier, me thinks.

T4P · « **Reply #14 on:** March 21, 2012, 04:39:20 pm »

Quote from: george graves on March 21, 2012, 04:15:17 pm

Very good sugessstions!

I was also looking at some external HD enclosures. They can be had for $20-$30. A bit more than you might pay for a similar sized hammond enclosure(?). But MUCH sexier, me thinks.

A similar sized hammond enclosure is much more expensive then that , i'm definitely hunting one down !

Zyvek · « **Reply #15 on:** March 21, 2012, 05:56:29 pm »

+1 on the DSL modems, just this weekend a friend of mine gave me at least 50 old DSL modems that have nice metal cases and the old Belkin KVM (Keyboard Video Monitor) switches make nice cases as well. The VGA/PS/2/Mini-Din models are very heavy duty.

Both have the potential for reusing the existing front panel switches and LEDs depending on your project. And both are ready for a DC power jack on the back panel as well.

rollatorwieltje · « **Reply #16 on:** March 21, 2012, 07:02:15 pm »

Old computer power supplies

Dirt cheap, comes with a power socket, cooling fan and sometimes a power switch on the back. The old power supply print may contain some useful parts as well, like heat sinks and fan controllers.

sonicj · « **Reply #17 on:** March 22, 2012, 03:31:58 am »

slightly off topic... but if you want effortless perfectly spaced holes in your panels, a fan spacing tool helps tremendously.

http://www.yardstore.com/browse.cfm/2,460.html
-sj

NiHaoMike · « **Reply #18 on:** March 22, 2012, 05:05:10 am »

I once turned an old 802.11b router into an audio amplifier and an old 802.11b adapter into an iPod cradle.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/appliances-gadgets/358-amanda-harris-prius-home-audio.html

buxtronix · « **Reply #19 on:** March 22, 2012, 05:23:07 am »

Aluminium stock (from Bunnings, etc) can be turned into some pretty cool stuff, especially when you add green LEDs:

My brewing stirplate:

Did a writeup of it too: http://www.buxtronix.net/2011/09/brewing-stir-plate.html

george graves · « **Reply #20 on:** March 22, 2012, 05:37:05 am »

This is another idea I'd like to try. (sorry for the huge pic) - hard drive "case" top and bottom with some nice stained wood. Kinda cool to see the metal and wood together.

This guy put a big rotary encoder on top - but if you loose that, and add some rubber feet - they would make a nice stackable enclosure. Maybe a home made power supply on top, and a dummy load on the bottom

Wood is cheap - and easy to work with - and old drives are a dime a dozen.

Dago · « **Reply #21 on:** March 22, 2012, 08:21:02 am »

Quote from: george graves on March 22, 2012, 05:37:05 am

This is another idea I'd like to try. (sorry for the huge pic) - hard drive "case" top and bottom with some nice stained wood. Kinda cool to see the metal and wood together.

This guy put a big rotary encoder on top - but if you loose that, and add some rubber feet - they would make a nice stackable enclosure. Maybe a home made power supply on top, and a dummy load on the bottom Wood is cheap - and easy to work with - and old drives are a dime a dozen.

That looks awesome! Great idea

FreeThinker · « **Reply #22 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:46:51 am »

Quote from: G7PSK on March 21, 2012, 08:31:06 am

I have seen that done by the manufacturer. I had a Sinclair digital mullti-meter for a short time until it blew up, when I took it apart the case turned out to be the Sinclair calculator enclosure with a thin piece of self adhesive plastic stuck on the front to cover the key pad holes that they did not use.

I can't believe Uncle Clive would sell a meter that blows up or would be cheap enough to recycle a old enclosure like that.You must be mistaken!

G7PSK · « **Reply #23 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:43:33 pm »

Quote from: FreeThinker on March 22, 2012, 09:46:51 am

Quote from: G7PSK on March 21, 2012, 08:31:06 am
I have seen that done by the manufacturer. I had a Sinclair digital mullti-meter for a short time until it blew up, when I took it apart the case turned out to be the Sinclair calculator enclosure with a thin piece of self adhesive plastic stuck on the front to cover the key pad holes that they did not use.
I can't believe Uncle Clive would sell a meter that blows up or would be cheap enough to recycle a old enclosure like that.You must be mistaken!

Most of his stuff was made with components that did not meet the manufactures specs and were therefore rejects. I grew up in Cambridge and bought many of Clive Sinclair's products and many of them failed to work straight out of the box I used to take them back to his office He would chuck them in the bin and hand me a new one.

FreeThinker · « **Reply #24 on:** March 22, 2012, 10:43:21 pm »

Most people just put them in the bin as soon as they received them Lol. Sinclair 'consumer' products were mainly crap but His Thandar products were very nice....go figure!


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Author Topic: Cheap(old) consumer gear as a source for enclosures? (Read 8765 times)

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