Or a plaster/sand mold and cast it from aluminium I've seen people use PLA 3D prints for alu casting with great results, as the molten metal just burns it away as you pour.Another option (depending on how complicated the part is) would be to print it, make a silicone mold and then cast the final piece out of a more heat resistant material.
Sounds cool! If you're looking at just a simple 2d bend profile (with 3D printed end pieces for the ports, vents etc.), that could probably be done by hand with reasonable precision for such a small part. Something like this plus some clamps and supporting materials could probably do the job. Wouldn't be that expensive either@robbee Is PETG rather fussy to set up for good prints? I've only used ABS so far and I know some better heat-resistant materials need more precise tuning in the printer and also lower tolerance in environment temps while printing.
@Valantar I have been toying with the idea of making the case with a combination of aluminum and plastic. The aluminum would be bent sheet metal though, and wrap around the top, bottom and sides. It would look more "pro" and could be done, although cost a lot more which is just the bigger obstacle here.
On a side note I have ordered a PC stick with Intel Atom to try my hand at what can be done with a smaller, less powerful handheld PC. It should arrive tomorrow, and I'll be testing the capabilities of that.
That tool could work. A vise grip that's at least 3 in. wide and 1 in. deep is enough to make the bends I need for this project. I still need to have the sheet laser cut for the screen and button openings, but doing bends myself can save me more in costs in the long run.Sounds cool! If you're looking at just a simple 2d bend profile (with 3D printed end pieces for the ports, vents etc.), that could probably be done by hand with reasonable precision for such a small part. Something like this plus some clamps and supporting materials could probably do the job. Wouldn't be that expensive either
I use this stuff on my motorcycle for reflecting heat away from plastic parts. I'm pretty sure this is used in laptops as well.I did about an hour of gaming with the NUC inside the shell and did see the drawbacks of PLA+ when part of the bottom shell started bending under the heat.
Yeah, that could be useful in the future. The heat mainly was coming from the RAM and warping the thinnest parts of the base. I would just have to cover the entire base where the NUC standoffs are.I use this stuff on my motorcycle for reflecting heat away from plastic parts. I'm pretty sure this is used in laptops as well.
Is that link going to something? I have trouble with it, doesn't take me to another page.@CC Ricers , I've got some good news here..
Is that link going to something? I have trouble with it, doesn't take me to another page.
Choidebu said:Sometime ago I stumbled upon a blog post in arduino project hub.
It's a GPL3 hid ups implementation!
This is the github project, by Alex Bratchik.
I see it now. So this is a way to get a HID power status readout and leave it open for a program in the host computer to interpret and display data, I take it. This does occupy a few I/O pins and will crowd an already crowded setup which I expect 20 buttons for the controls... I'll think about it the more I progress.My bad.. here it is..
One: Two:
[ PC ] [ PC ]
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[ step-up 5V to 12V ] [ 12V+ in ]---- DC plug
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[ 5V+ in ]---- DC plug [ step-up 3.7V to 12V ]
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[3.7V to 5V charger] [ battery ]
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[ battery ]