Yesterday I printed up a low resolution (meaning less fill) plastic case for my LTE project. It is really low quality and not very structurally sound. I needed a quick print so that I could look at the design, hold it in my hands, and decide what needed changed.
Overall, I like it.
But, there is room for improvements. The Arduino and LTE shield are in a great spot with easy access to the USB/power plugs, which is great. But, the Nokia screen is larger than the hole I made for it to slip through, so I need to adjust that. Also, my screw holes are twice the size that I thought they would be, so I need to shrink those down. Also, the button holes, for the six functional buttons and one switch are a little too small, making them difficult to use.
I’ve been using FreeCad to build the case, and either my knowledge of 3D modeling is so low, or this program is really tough to use, but this is very difficult. I’ve actually taken more time on building the case (not designing, but actually building) than any other part of the project thus far. If you know of easier to use programs, please let me know in the comments.
The case will be rather large, about 7 x 4 x 1.5 inches. Seems a little overkill, but I need to fit the battery, the Arduino, the LTE shield, the Nokia screen, and the buttons all in there. I went with the raised sides to protect the buttons, so they wouldn’t get slammed or pushed when not in use. We’ll see how well that works.
Linux – keep it simple.
What about OpenScad?:
* http://openscad.org/
I’ll have to check it out! Thanks for the suggestion!
Hey, try out Autodesk Fusion 360. It’s very intuitive, has great features, and is constantly kept up by Autodesk!
Thanks! I’ll check that out. 3D printing turned out to be a bit more complicated than I thought, but lots of fun!