[time-nuts] TTimelab question

[Christopher Hoover]

One way to do cheap, short-run enclosure costs is to use extruded aluminum
cases of this sort
<http://www.alliedelec.com/hammond-manufacturing-1455k1201/70166714/?mkwid=sOVPIPHJu&pcrid=30980760979>.
They extrusion only needs to be cut to length.   It is completed with a
front and back panel that is just a simple stamping or lasering of sheet
metal.   You get a lot of pieces out of one sheet.   Add optional silk
screening.

For full stamped and braked enclosures, I've gotten quite decent prices
from United Sheet Metal for short runs (100's).   They often send the job
to Taiwan.

Protocase is good for 1-10 pieces.

-ch




On Wed, Feb 22, 2017 at 6:13 AM, John Ackermann N8UR <jra at febo.com> wrote:

> I really like the setup that Mark is describing.  As to TAPR's plans,
> we've found that enclosures are a challenge -- metalwork is pretty
> expensive unless you get significant volume, and in our niche market,
> that's hard to do.
>
> But I am hoping to find an inexpensive clamshell-type enclosure with flat
> front and rear panels, and then do up designs (perhaps with Front Panel
> Express) for those panels.  That can be done at a reasonable cost, and at a
> minimum we can make design files available so people can order their own
> panels.
>
> For my own use, I'm also going to do a couple of 2U rack enclosures -- one
> to hold two TICCs operating independently, and another for the "megaTICC"
> -- four units slaved together to make an 8 channel counter, with a
> Raspberry Pi controller along the line of what Mark described. (In
> multi-board mode, each TICC outputs on its own USB line, so the RPi's main
> purpose is to deal with the 8 channels of data from 4 USB connections.)
>
> I'll make the design files for those enclosures available as well, but it
> may be a while as my entire lab is now packed up as we are in the final
> stages of moving from Atlanta back to Dayton.
>
> Also, in a day or three I'll be announcing a simple project that sprung
> out of the TICC assembly and testing process that some of you might find
> useful.  We're still finalizing details on that.
>
> John
> ----
>
> On 02/21/2017 11:45 PM, Mark Sims wrote:
>
>> I doubt that it is something TAPR would do.   Building complete systems
>> gets into all sorts of issues (mainly regulatory).   But it is easy enough
>> to build.   They sell a nice case that the RPI3 and touchscreen mounts in.
>> The PI+touchscreen+case sells for around $110.   The TICC(s) connect to it
>> via USB.
>>
>> There are also some Win10 tablets with 1024x600 touch screens that sell
>> for around $60 (apparently Microsoft doesn't charge manufacturers for Win10
>> on tablets with small/low res screens).
>>
>> I  am thinking about laying out a front-end board for the TICC.  It would
>> have some switchable (relay?) 50 ohm input terminators,  switchable PICDIV
>> dividers for PPS/1MHz/5MHz/10MHz/15MHz (or 2.5 MHz)  inputs,  footprints
>> for a decent reference oscillator (MV89/8663/DIP/etc), and a 12V to 5V
>> (3A?) power converter for the  TICC and PI... most of the better surplus
>> oscillators run off of 12V.  Also maybe add a data multiplexer for
>> combining the outputs of two TICC boards into one data stream (but Heather
>> could do that in software).  John has some ideas for a similar board.
>>
>> -----------------
>>
>>   Wow!  If you can persuade John and TAPR to produce that, I would be
>>> there
>>>
>> with my chequebook before the ink had dried on the web-page! :-)
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