Basic internal layout / Space saving tricks

[HOTTUBES]

How does everyone decide on what size of enclosure for the intended project ?

Does anyone have some space saving tricks they would like to share ?



I have been building the circuit board first , then using a rough guess on the enclosure , and hope it all fits in  ...lol !!!

just wondering if there's a better method .

[CurtisWCole]

I like to go with mock ups. Paper usually does the trick. And if you use eagle software you can make digital mock ups. Not sure about other software but that's the one I use. I'm no expert by any means. But hopefully someone could shed some light for us.

Curtis

[smallbearelec]

How does everyone decide on what size of enclosure for the intended project ?

M. Cole's suggestion of a "mock-up" is good. However, I don't create the board first. I use paper templates to build a mock-up of a "shell" with all of the off-board components installed. I have done several of these for enclosures of various sizes and with different numbers of pots, and you can see the results on my site in Projects and How-Tos. If you fish, you can find many other ideas for shell designs at other DIY sites.

By doing it this way, the layout of the shell will dictate the size of the board that will fit. Learn to use Eagle CAD, or something similar, and create an actual-size outline of the board. Now you can begin the virtual stuffing process with some assurance that things will fit. You'll still have to do some thinking in three dimensions, and that's part of the fun--and frustration--of building pedals.

[Earthscum]

How does everyone decide on what size of enclosure for the intended project ?

See Below

Does anyone have some space saving tricks they would like to share ?

See Below

I have been building the circuit board first , then using a rough guess on the enclosure , and hope it all fits in  ...lol !!!

Works for me

just wondering if there's a better method .

Me too.

lol. I spend a bunch of time making sure my layout is good, in is where I want it, all wires are on one side, etc... then I go to put it in the enclosure and find out that the pots+populated PCB+wires=thicker than I planned on. Or, I forgot to account for the DC jack. Or... lol, I have to find a work-around to something in every project. I like the challenge, so it never bugged me much, but if there's a better way than just planning (better than I do), I'm always down to try a different method. I love making my own enclosures, because I can either design board first, or case first.

ETA: (steve posted while I was typing) I've done the cardboard trick to hold my pots for wiring before... it worked great to not have the sides. They weren't projects that would've had fitment issues, though. Some heavy tagboard would work perfect for this, easy to cut and fold, and heavy enough to still hold pots, bezels, and switches while you solder.

[HOTTUBES]

I like to go with mock ups. Paper usually does the trick. And if you use eagle software you can make digital mock ups. Not sure about other software but that's the one I use. I'm no expert by any means. But hopefully someone could shed some light for us.

Curtis

Where does one find this Eagle software ??
I assume online .....

[Earthscum]

If you run Linux, it's in the depository (I don't know how far from Debian the depository stuff works... I use Ubuntu).

Otherwise, here: http://www.cadsoftusa.com/

[smallbearelec]

Where does one find this Eagle software ??

A few notes on making use of EAGLE CAD:

--The free version that you download from the Cadsoft site is the same in every respect as what professional designers use for Very large multi-layer boards, but the free version only supports a limited number of pins. For building effects, it will do everything you need.

--Because EAGLE is designed for professional use, its controls are necessarily fairly complex. Cadsoft doesn't provide tech support for the free version, so you are on you own when it comes to going up a fairly steep learning curve. However, if you fish (again), there are on-line tutorials that will walk you through learning the (relatively few) functions that you need to be familiar with to do a simple, one-layer board.

Another tool that you can investigate is the DIY Layout Creator program. The link to it is at the top of the Forum. This tool is good, and easier to learn to use than EAGLE, but you have to be aware of one limitation: EAGLE will convert your drawings into industry-standard Gerber and NC drill files from which any PCB fab will make you a board if you want. The DIY program won't do this. I am glad that I took the trouble to learn to use EAGLE, but I really needed to do so for business purposes. If your need a layout tool strictly for making your own boards at home, the Layout Creator might suffice.

[phector2004]

http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/

Very easy to use, and a lot of typical stompbox parts are in google's "warehouse"

As with all mockups, always leave extra room for wires and offboard components!

[davent]

I've drawn up drilling templates in CAD software as shown on Geofex for the various boxes i use then fit the various pieces i'm using to a template to see what box i'll need to fit the project.

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/boxtemplate.htm

http://www.geofex.com/FX_images/hmbbtpt.pdf

dave

[HOTTUBES]

Does anyone know the current prices of some of these programs ......?
Cause i read that the Google Sketch Up costs 495$ ....for real - OUCH !!!!

[DavenPaget]

Does anyone know the current prices of some of these programs ......?
Cause i read that the Google Sketch Up costs 495$ ....for real - OUCH !!!!

It seemed free to me 

[HOTTUBES]

Got any links ?

Thanks ....

[DavenPaget]

Got any links ?

Thanks ....

Oops was thinking about normal SketchUp not the pro edition :
http://sketchup.google.com/ Press download Google Sketchup

[phector2004]

?? it's free... don't bother with the Pro edition. It's for nerds

[HOTTUBES]

?? it's free... don't bother with the Pro edition. It's for nerds

LOL ......are we not Nerds ? !!!

[HOTTUBES]

Got any links ?

Thanks ....

Oops was thinking about normal SketchUp not the pro edition :
http://sketchup.google.com/ Press download Google Sketchup

Thanks !!!!!!

[HOTTUBES]

i have now downloaded both the Google Sketch Up & Eagle CAD , now to learn how to use them .....


Thanks for the info boys !!

[DavenPaget]

?? it's free... don't bother with the Pro edition. It's for nerds

LOL ......are we not Nerds ? !!!

... We aren't .

[HOTTUBES]

I had a few extra hrs last night to have a look & read on the new Eagle CAD stuff i down loaded !!
ahhh Holy crap !!  i think it may take awhile to learn to use it .........

[Mark Hammer]

Ironically, one of the more effective strategies for economical use of internal space is not on the inside at all, but on the outside: knobs.  Many knob types, despite how nice they feel and look, are space-hogs, requiring spacing of pots much farther apart than you might otherwise prefer, just so you can get your little fingers in those spaces and turn the damn things, or put in legending on the chassis that you can still see.  The slender Davies knobs that Small Bear and others started getting in (and which Steve Daniels tells me are very big with the analog synth folks who love their 16 and 24-step analog sequencers).

Another useful strategy is to leave a little more "leg room" for caps so you can bend them over sideways and lay down flat.  Certainly there are many cap types and form factors that are low profile, but sometimes you find yourself with a value that demands a little more vertical space and precludes situating a toggle where it can do you the most good.  So, sometimes your horizontal space is aided by making better use of vertical space.