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Extruded Aluminum Low-Profile Portable Enclosures

post #1 of 9
6/26/10 at 5:40pm
Thread Starter 

Hammond 1455C801 is a true veteran of DIY portable amps, but I am moving on to designing Li-Ion powered DIY amps so I am looking for something thinner (like half inch).

I like tubular extruded aluminum enclosures like the Hammond so I'd want my new choice in enclosures to be like that as well.

I'd appreciate all suggestions about how to go about acquiring such enclosures.  I am located in United States so I would much prefer something I could order from here .

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post #2 of 9
6/26/10 at 6:54pm

I think lansing enclosures offers something that's marginally thinner.

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post #3 of 9
6/26/10 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 

Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesL View Post

I think lansing enclosures offers something that's marginally thinner.


Indeed the Lansing DN1 MicroPak is slimmer, measuring .75" thick (versus .91" for Hammond 1455C801), however it is 2.75" wide which is slightly wider than desired for portable.  Nevertheless its a good start for the thread, and I want to see more!

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post #4 of 9
6/27/10 at 4:57am

Would a 2.5 hard drive enclosure be too large? They are slim and you can get them in many colors. It would be about the same size as a ttvj slim.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5-IDE-USB-2-0-Hard-Drive-HDD-Enclosure-Aluminum-Case-/270551287185?cmd=ViewItem&pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item3efe1d0591

 

here's an example on ebay, you could use the micro usb for charging and use the existing panels making the holes and whatnot!

 

also, what designs are you thinking about, please share that with the rest of us! :)


Edited by MASantos - 6/27/10 at 5:03am
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post #5 of 9
7/17/11 at 12:56am
Thread Starter 

Just a quick update, since I started the thread, Hammond came out with an addition to the 1455 series in .47" and .75" height as can be seen here:

http://www.hammondmfg.com/1455ptbla.htm

Personally I find them too wide...  But perhaps they will work for some.

I have found a few nifty Li-Ion charge circuits I'd like to try out, and so I found some appropriate 1.8" hard drive enclosures on eBay.  Those are more suitably sizes for a portable amp in my opinion.

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post #6 of 9
7/17/11 at 1:25am

this is an interesting thread, indeed..

 

but i think if you already all out to build a slim portable amp, you need to go the SMD route, it's almost impossible to fit through hole-based pcb in those enclosures (1455A1202 for example)

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post #7 of 9
7/17/11 at 1:34am
Thread Starter 

Yep,  I kind of like SMD to be honest.  I've worked with a couple portables and DACs that were all SMD, and I found them quicker to assemble.  I have a temperature controlled Weller soldering station with nice tips, that makes working with SMD a joy.

Also, as much as I want to bring Li-Ion to the DIY crowd, its necessary to remind everyone of the dangers involved in mishandling the Li-Ion cells, meaning the folks that should attempt Li-Ion amp builds will likely not have any problem with SMD anyway.

I've also found some very reasonably priced PCB services for as low as $8 a board in a batch of 10, but that's a subject of another thread.

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post #8 of 9
7/17/11 at 5:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FLACm0nkEy View Post

Yep,  I kind of like SMD to be honest.  I've worked with a couple portables and DACs that were all SMD, and I found them quicker to assemble.  I have a temperature controlled Weller soldering station with nice tips, that makes working with SMD a joy.

Also, as much as I want to bring Li-Ion to the DIY crowd, its necessary to remind everyone of the dangers involved in mishandling the Li-Ion cells, meaning the folks that should attempt Li-Ion amp builds will likely not have any problem with SMD anyway.

I've also found some very reasonably priced PCB services for as low as $8 a board in a batch of 10, but that's a subject of another thread.



what smd-based portable amp projects have you done? i find it quite rare to get DIY project that only supports smd components in order to fit in slim enclosure

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post #9 of 9
7/17/11 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by i_djoel2000 View Post





what smd-based portable amp projects have you done? i find it quite rare to get DIY project that only supports smd components in order to fit in slim enclosure

You are quite correct.  They aren't DIY.  I've done extensive repairs on several high priced retail amps.  However, SMD does exist in DIY realm, consider grubDAC, Bantam DAC, and the good old Alien DAC.

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