If you need a beautiful case for your project that will be used on a table, desk, or workbench, these work great.
The stock cases come with a few issues that we did our best to fix for you so they work great right out of the box.
One issue is that self-tapping screws are used. Those don't work well for repetitive use. They could easily strip out the threads they made. We tapped holes and replaced these with #4-40 machine screws for the front/back panels (still working out how to do it well for the top/bottom covers). The tapped holes and machine screws allow the panels to be taken on and off many times with little wear on the holes. (if they do wear out too much, use longer #4-40 screws to reach farther in)
A side effect of the self-tapping screws is that it causes burrs to raise up which make it difficult to put on and take off the covers. The stock aluminum extrusions come with burrs as well which make them sharp when handling. We removed all burrs.
The top and bottom covers need to be aligned properly before the self-tapping screws are installed, otherwise you are stuck with a case that doesn't line up. We have done that work for you and precisely aligned all pieces and installing the hardware so it is all ready for you to use.
Hammond sends stick-on rubber feet. We don't like stick-on rubber feet. Over time they can fall off, slide, and leave a sticky mess. We added holes and included our #4 machine-screw rubber feet.
- Holes drilled for mounting our #4 rubber feet (aligned with holes in the backpanels)
- Holes for front/rear panels tapped for #4-40 screws
- Top and bottom covers aligned and installed
- All burrs removed
- All stock Hammond hardware (self-tapping screws, aluminum front/back panels, stick-on rubber feet, etc)
- A set of #4 rubber feet and required hardware
- Replacement #4-40 stainless-steel machinescrews for the front/back panels
- A 9" long backpanel
These are available with or without vented top and bottom panels. We feel the vented ones are more attractive, they also provide good cooling for the electronics. However, they leave your electronics more exposed to dust or other contaminates.
Compare to Digi-Key's prices for these cases at ~ $60/ea that do not include a backplane or these modifications and initial setup.
Please take a look at our accessories for these cases:
- 9" and 10" long backpanels (10" is full-length, 9" provides extra room for components mounted on front/back panels)
- Blank and 0.5" #4 grid front and back panels. These are made out of PCB material. The ones with 0.5" hole grid allow easy and quick mounting of components.