enclosure: plastic or metal ?

[igor12]

I'm working on a project that I would like to sell one day. Do you guys think a metal enclosure (hammond 1590, for ex.) would sell better than ABS plastic? I kinda like the ABS plastic, because it's easier to machine and much cheaper.

[JimRayden]

It's up to you which league you want to be in:

http://www.woodbrass.com/images/woodbrass/BOSS-BD-2.JPG

http://images.misupply.com/products/original/Behringer/156783.jpg

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Jimbo

[reverberation66]

            If you're working on something you are planning on selling, I'd definitely go with a metal enclosure.  People just sort of expect it, they're more heavy duty and it just seems more professional rather than something you just hacked together and threw in a box.  I've found that with a decent drill most metal enclosures I've used have been easy to work with.  So that's my two cents worth, the only way I'd use plastic for something to sell would be if it's a really cool looking enclosure  I scrounged up rather than just a generic plastic radio shack box. 

[zachomega]

To be perfectly honest...The metal boxes cost about the same as the plastic enclosures depending on who you order from...and the ABS plastic cracks so easily.  Go metal.

-Zach Omega

[Seljer]

the commonly available aluminium enclosures aren't really hard to machine at all either, my drill goes through them like butter

[igor12]

"commonly available aluminium enclosures aren't really hard to machine "

I agree they are pretty easy to drill but what about if you use slide pots?  I put an end mill bit in my drill press and it works well for plastic, but aluminum is a bit tougher.  I will try anyway. thanks

[Mark Hammer]

I've made a lot of pedals in plastic enclosures (here's a few: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/mhammer/Cleanprocessing.jpg ), and provided they are used properly they are terrific.  Easy to machine.  Just poke a hole with the tip of your utility knife and make a hole with a hand-held reamer.  I line them with copper shim material for shielding (holes for pots and switches punched with a hand-held paper hole punch from the dollar store), so no worries about interference.  The box doesn't really need finishing, and the colour never chips off.

Trouble is, they are light.  That's a great thing if you are shipping them, or if you have to carry a bunch of them around.  But people evaluate the solidness of the build based on the weight of the box.  Superficial, yes, but true.  I pick up one of those Line 6 Tone Core "battleships", and my first impression is "Wow, solid build!", even though the real brains of the thing sits in a little plastic package that is no more solid than your typical NES Duck Hunt cartridge.

Now, if using plastic boxes means you can provide lots of features and great tone for less bucks, then I imagine the strategy can work out for you the same way it has worked out for Behringer and Danelectro.  But if you have no real choice but to charge near-boutique prices, I suspect people will balk at plastic.  If you are content to simply get your own costs back, plus a couple of bucks, plastic is fine, and occasionally even gig-worthy.  If you need to price to pay rent and/or university tuition, then go metal.

[R.G.]

Metal.

[John Lyons]

To sell you will be better off with metal. Although I have had good success with ABS plastic. Granted the thickness was 1/4" and would almost never crack. The stuff is designed for pretty rough use...

Here are the ones I made:





They are shielded with Foil tape.

John

[mac]

... some say that AL boxes has some "mojo", that AL boxes sound better than steel ones...
... somethnig to do with the EM fields inside the box...
... I also heard theories about the way the gravity field interacts with the EM emision of the circuit insde the Al box...
... maybe my dist+ is like CERN accelerator? Is it unifying Gravity and EM?

I do not sell nor gig, but I would not consider plastic.


mac

[GibsonGM]

I spent as much or more time shielding a PVC endcap enclosure I made than building the actual circuit to go in there!  I'd only do that again for 'wow' factor, to impress the ladies.  Pain in the a**, at least to me.  For $10, you can't beat the al enclosures at Small Bear.   Easy to work, durable, take finishes well, and provide nice solid shielding 

For slide switches or square holes, I get out the Dremel and slot the box w/a reinforced cutting wheel...takes a steady hand but the results are nice.  And it doesn't break later...

[DDD]

Steel.
A little bit harder to drill, but you can propudly say "... made of STEEL... never breaks..."
People prefer to think they buy the most reliable thing.

[JimRayden]

... some say that AL boxes has some "mojo", that AL boxes sound better than steel ones...
... somethnig to do with the EM fields inside the box...
... I also heard theories about the way the gravity field interacts with the EM emision of the circuit insde the Al box...

I think it's rather that black plastic box looks like a Si tranny, whereas a metal box seems to have that Ge-look to it.

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Jimbo

[mac]

I think it's rather that black plastic box looks like a Si tranny, whereas a metal box seems to have that Ge-look to it.

I'm going to buy a cylindric AL enclosure, put 3 wires on the bottom and paint NKT275....

[JimRayden]

I think it's rather that black plastic box looks like a Si tranny, whereas a metal box seems to have that Ge-look to it.

I'm going to buy a cylindric AL enclosure, put 3 wires on the bottom and paint NKT275....

Ahh, that calls for a big hunk of Germanium to make it work...

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Jimbo