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plastic enclosure

Started by pipporan, May 19, 2016, 09:35:47 PM

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pipporan

hello everyone
for the stomps that i want to build, i bought (to save money, obv:-) ) several plastic enclosure, in particolar these two models:
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/hammond-manufacturing/RL6215/HM1070-ND/2094808
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/bud-industries/CU-1941/377-2068-ND/439228

but now i've red several times that plastic can be give troubles of noise and hums :-\ :-\..is it true? what is your experience???
thanx

pipporan

ehm...sorry, FOR THE MODS: maybe this topic should be better in "beginner" section :-[ :-[

blackieNYC

Plastic will give you no shielding. You will pick up noise, especially in high gain circuits. But you can glue aluminum foil to the interior. There are also aluminum and copper tapes. Keep the ground integrity in tact. This Might do as well as an aluminum enclosure.
Can you start off with aluminum first? Then switch to plastic after you get the circuit under control?
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antonis

Also, strength..

A plastic box have to be either much smaller or much thicker than an aluminium one to have the same strength..

If you try to break a stomp switch (by trampling hard on it) mounted on a plastic box it's most possible that you'll firstly break the box..
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Mark Hammer

I've built plenty of pedals into plastic boxes, and even own a few commercial pedals built into them as well.  A few things to consider:

  • Sturdiness of plastic depends on thickness and the extent to which the design of the box anticipates higher impact.  If it is an effect you don't expect to be stepping on, that's not a problem.
  • If you DO expect to step on it, make sure you situate any stompswitches where the box will have the least "give" or flexibility. Inserting a spacer of appropriate height to support the top is also a good backup plan.
  • In most instances, sources of electrical interference will come from above the stompbox (if it's on the floor).  On mine, I cut out a piece of copper shim to fit the underside of the chassis top and the pots and switches hold it in place.  It provides acceptable shielding for me, and is also a nice surface to solder ground connections to.  Just be careful, because the edges of such material can be VERY sharp.  Though it can look heroic, I try very hard not to legend my pedals in blood.  Another route is to use some of the copper shielding tape that folks buy to shield guitar control cavities.  Finally, there is also shielding paint.  But you can't solder to it, and it stinks bad when you apply it.

PRR

If you have hot-air heat, you should get a roll of REAL "duct tape". Heavy aluminum foil, not that cloth-crap which rots off the second heating season.

A few inches of this inside the plastic box, clamped by pot and jack, is ample shielding for many things. (The rest goes to seal the leaks the contractor left in your ductwork!)

Still and all, I like metal boxes for any performance (not temporary or test) gear. Shielding is better. Less likely to shatter when kicked (oops). It's worth the cost, not just for the box but for the tools needed to drill and hack metal. (Then again, I get power-drills for my birthday, so I may be better set than a younger guy in an apartment.)
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deadastronaut

buy cheap...pay twice.  ;)

stick with metal.... :icon_twisted:
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pipporan

Quotebuy cheap...pay twice.
in italian there's a popular expression: "chi più spende, meno spende" that means: "who's paying more, is paying less":-)

well, thanx everyone for the advices...i'll box a couple of effects and i'll try to understand if there's hum/noise troubles...
about th strenght of the stomp, that shouldnt be a problem, i'm not used to jump on them;)

anyway, so it's most of all a matter of shielding...good to know

tubegeek

Quote from: pipporan on May 21, 2016, 09:45:35 PM
anyway, so it's most of all a matter of shielding...good to know

One other thing that might come back to bite you, so be mindful:
Some wiring schemes use the metal box as a conductor - usually for the ground circuit to the output jack, but there are some other ways it might be substituted for a plain old wire.

SO - if you are buildng in a plastic enclosure, and your ground connection disappears, add a wire to give the function of the metal case that was originally expected to be there.
"The first four times, we figured it was an isolated incident." - Angry Pete

"(Chassis is not a magic garbage dump.)" - PRR

pipporan

until now, i always wired ground to jacks, both input and output, all grounds connected together...anyway, you did well underlining it;)