One of the things that’s kind of a pain about homebrewing is packaging something you’ve built. If you’re like me, you don’t really enjoy the mechanical work that’s involved in choosing an enclosure and designing and building panels.
Well, it turns out that it may not be so bad after all. While reading a recent issue of Electronic Design, I saw an ad for frontpanelexpress.com.
They produce prototype panels and small quantity lots. These are probably too expensive for the average amateur radio homebrewer, but they do offer free software, with which you can “design your front panels in minutes.” I haven’t tried the software yet, but it’s a small download (about 3 Mbytes) and seems to have all the features you’d need. With it you can:
- define the dimensions and material for the front panel,
- pick and place elements from a large library, and
- manipulate these elements to get exactly the design you want.
The panels cost $200-300 for a single unit, so you’re probably not going to have them build it for you, but the software will let you play around with the design before you actually cut any metal. That should help you produce a more professional-looking panel.
Another resource
Another resource is the Bud Enclosure Design Tips Handbook. Bud, of course, has manufactured enclosures forever, and if anyone has tips to offer it would be them.
Unfortunately, it looks as though you actually have to order the paper publication. I searched around their website, but could not find an electronic version of the tips handbook.
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