Did somebody try this gigantic enclosure?

[Elijah-Baley]

Hello,
Did somebody try this kind of enclosure: https://www.banzaimusic.com/Enclosure-ATPH1865-300.html



This thing could be nice to build a pedalboard with some circuit inside.
I don't know if this enclosure is easy to drill and to work to put inside some circuit and to get a kind of extra large multi pedal station.

Thanks!

[Kipper4]

No mate but it's giving me ideas.
Cool.

[Elijah-Baley]

It looks a different metal from the classic 1590B, 1590BB, etc. Eddystone/Hammond pedal enclosures. It should be aluminum, maybe not diecast, even I don't know what it really doesn't mean.

I bought this kind of boxes a couple of time: https://www.musikding.de/TEKO-4A_1
It's been not so easy to drill. The metal was soft, but I guess a bit thin, so when I tried to "punch the spot" to drill, do you know? The surface got a dent around the spot. I drill by my hand every time without too problems, but with this boxes it was hard to keep the center and the surface didn't make "crumble" like the classic pedal boxes, but spreading the hole the surface bent inside. I am not sure I told it well, but, it wasn't so easy to drill it.

Considering that I'd make a lot of drill in a so large enclosure I want to be sure it done to drill.

[Kipper4]

Yeah I know what you mean EB. If the aluminium is too thin the case distorts on drilling it.
I've only use one such box, never again.

[stallik]

Looks like steel rather than aluminium to me and the recess on top is meant to accommodate a face plate so that's double the drilling.
I'd support the front on a wood block, drill small and enlarge either with a reamer or step drill

I'm tempted by these

[GibsonGM]

Maybe you could pre-drill a piece of 1/2" plywood, then use it as a template placed over the face of the pedal to keep your drill aligned without skipping all over...that has worked for me in the past for various uses where you can't center-punch.

[duck_arse]

56 euro squids! that's too much for a box - far too much for something you might skid a drillbit across. it says aluminium, so the top would be an extrusion, and the sides are plastic. it would be strong and rigid, except if you were going to drill holes in the top, and then tread on it.

[Elijah-Baley]

Thanks everybody for your replies.
This is the datasheet: https://it.farnell.com/bopla/atph-1865-300/cassetta-alluminio-68x300x181mm/dp/1843600

[...] it says aluminium, so the top would be an extrusion, and the sides are plastic. it would be strong and rigid, except if you were going to drill holes in the top, and then tread on it.

Duck_arse, the surface should be 2mm, I think.
Do you mean that the aluminum front side, or the structure, it's not good to press the footswitch all the time?

[duck_arse]

I mean that large top-panel. once you have 6 or 7 large holes drilled in it, it will tend more to bend/sag with all the footswitch "stomping".

[Ben N]

Looks more like a desktop kind of enclosure to me--no stomping, just twiddling 'n' tweaking.  I'm sure there can be some fine applications for this at hand level.

[stallik]

Sag can always be counteracted by fitting support blocks but, at the end of the day, it does look like it would be more at home on a bench than the floor

Ahh. Ben beat me to it

[slashandburn]

Yup, I've built with boxes like these(rs-online in the UK were selling Takachi branded enclosures like this, 2mm extruded aluminium in handy stompbox sized dimensions, better still they didnt need sanding and took decals with minimal effort.) They looked nice n and wooden blocks made drilling easy without bending or denting.

Only trouble is as already noted, they don't take much abuse. Kick them too hard or step on them too heavily and not only are they likely to dent, bend or buckle but there's also the added risk of the innards shorting out as the enclosure flexes. I went as far as to consider reinforcing them with some kind of supports but it really made more sense to either move over to sheet steel or carry on with Hammond style cast aluminium boxes.

[Ice-9]

It is an aluminium extruded chassis with plastic end plates, the top ali is 2mm thick

[Elijah-Baley]

Ok. I got it's not really fit to use with stompswitches. Too bad.
I find some Hammond style large enclosure like this:
https://www.banzaimusic.com/Hammond-1550G.html Size: 222,00 x 146,00 x 55,09mm
or this:
https://www.banzaimusic.com/Hammond-1550J.html Size: 275,00 x 175,00 x 66,60mm

Neither of them are wide like that big enclosure I show in the first post. And, especially the 275mm wide one, maybe is a bit too high. It's 66,6mm. I don't know. What do you think?

[Ben N]

2 mil isn't terrible, but maybe at that width it's not enough. Don't people use 2 mil for like Eurorack panels?

[Rixen]

gummy extruded aluminium needs plenty of lubricant when drilling. Kerosine is the usual one to use, but is not the only one.

[PRR]

The datasheet *does* say "desktop enclosure ....desktop and wall application".

Does not say "stomp proof" or even "vandal resistant".

I run into the same thing with hot air heating registers. Most of them are NOT for use in floors, you can't walk/stomp them. I have to hunt, and accept too-small or way-too-expensive. 

[pruttelherrie]

gummy extruded aluminium needs plenty of lubricant when drilling. Kerosine is the usual one to use, but is not the only one.

Isopropanol works good, too.

[tubegeek]

The datasheet *does* say "desktop enclosure ....desktop and wall application".

Does not say "stomp proof" or even "vandal resistant".

I run into the same thing with hot air heating registers. Most of them are NOT for use in floors, you can't walk/stomp them. I have to hunt, and accept too-small or way-too-expensive.

Custom laser-cut perhaps? Might not be TOO horribly expensive. Maybe.

[aelling]

You could try the Hammond 500 or 515 series enclosures, a little different but same idea I guess. I have a few, never gotten around to using them yet, but they are thick aluminum so they won't collapse in on itself when you center punch or drill it.

You can find what sizes they have here
http://www.hammondmfg.com/dwg16Steel.htm

500 series


515 series