Arduino Box
For my college Cornerstones of Engineering class, we were challenged to make a laser cut box to protect our arduino for future programming project. I needed to make a box to encase the arduino, but would leave all indicating lights visible and all ports, pins and the reset button easily accessible. I wanted to make my box as compact as possible while including some convenient funcitonality and a personal touch.
CAD
I used AutoCAD to design the parts for my arduino box. The adjacent image depicts the final AutoCAD file to be laser cut. I created a cut layer represented by the red lines and a raster layer represented by the green lines.
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I determined the dimensions for my design by measuring the dimensions of my arduino with calippers. I included tabs on the sides of the box to make easier to glue together and made the tab indent equal to the thickness of the wood I was using to avoid unneccessary gaps.
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I cut a long slot into two of the sides so the box can slide open. This way the arduino can be accessedc even more easily and can be removed from the box when needed. I also cut parts to make a wooden button extending into the case over the reset button. I decided to add a button so I would not need to stick my finger, a paperclip, or any object into the box to access the reset button.
Laser Cut Box
I am really happy with how the box turned out! The box did not have any unintentional gaps and the pieces fit together well. I used screws to secure the arduino to the box and prevent any rattling. The slider works great as demonstrated in the adjacent image.
When the box is closed, the button also works very well. I just glued a wooden peg to a few laser cut squares places both inside and outside the box to center the peg. This keeps the peg located over the reset button, and I can reliably use the wooden button to reset my arduino and run altered code when testing a circuit.
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I'm also very happy with my rastered design. I wanted to decorate the box as if it were the death star plans from Star Wars. I feel that rastering the label and the Empire logo was simple and makes for some nice decoration.
Relevant Skills
AutoCAD
Used to design the layouts for all laser cut piece
Laser Cutting
Used to manufacture the aurduino box design