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let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 4:49 pm
by AndreyB
%subj%

Something sealed & weather-prof, I guess?

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 5:13 pm
by kb1gtt
I tend to like the idea of bolting the PCB to an aluminium plate, the epoxy encapsulate the entire thing. It would be weather tight and minimal sized, not to forget that it would look very custom.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 7:32 pm
by puff
depends upon the final board. probably a diy one, made of aluminum flat bars.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2014 4:08 am
by blundar
I vote for this too... bolt the board to a case, pour with epoxy. It makes the whole affair somewhat of a throwaway piece in the event you blow something up, but it's a great inexpensive way to make something waterproof. Plus a lot of the decent connectors (MX123, MX150, AMPSEAL, etc.) come with vertical variants that make doing this sooooooo easy.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:12 pm
by hasse.69
If you still want a box to fit your ecu in , here is a couple:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-Electronic-Metal-Aluminum-Project-Box-Enclousure-Cases-DIY-200-147-61mm-/271406590380

~20$ aliexpress.JPG
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19.56$ aliexpress.JPG
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20$ aliexpress.JPG
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Best regards , Hasse.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:17 pm
by hasse.69
And this one:
33$ aliexpress.JPG
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33$aliexpress.JPG
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And here is the link....
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/new-design-anodizing-aluminum-extrusion-enclosure-133x48-8-150-mm-wxhxd/1377394373.html

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:48 pm
by AndreyB
Hasse I want a link to the last one, the 133mm one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Project-Box-Enclousure-Case-Electronic-DIY-Mid-/250597854445 - this one is nearly perfect, it has grooves to hold a 100mm board and Frankenstein is 100mm. The only problem if we would choose to have a second 100m wide PCB above the primary one.

So I'd say the inner size should be ~100 by ~150

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:55 pm
by AndreyB

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 2:12 pm
by hasse.69
This was also nice:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Project-box-Enclosure-2-X5-X5-Model-GK5-5-/271391510043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3031ce1b
21.50$ Ebay.JPG
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ThatĀ“s if your in the States , europe not so good.
12$+44.80$ freight , ouch. :(

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:55 pm
by AndreyB
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/ECU-shell-Connector/409259_211839563.html

Some pretty OEM-looking ECU shells. I've contacted them to check if they come with connectors as shown on the picture. Same seller has some harness options also.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:05 am
by mobyfab

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 10:30 am
by puff
not sure but it seems to me that metal enclosures are better in terms of emi resistanceā€¦

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:38 am
by AndreyB
$5 at my local junk yard: empty bosch ECU shell

It would be hard to beat this price :)

Image

ECU box

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:37 am
by jfive

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Thu May 14, 2015 8:34 pm
by AndreyB
That $5 box above is a bit too small, here's the winner in my view: MEC85-561

MEC85-561 ECU was used on 2005 Nissan Sentra, there is a lot of these on eBay, they work work with that popular 121 pin connector and these are waterproof. I've got one of these already and the board size is pretty much the same as current Frankenso.

Image

I guess the board for this enclosure would be called Frankmec? :)

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:21 am
by chingon
I'm a fan of the alibaba enclosures. I know they seem to be producing a ton of bosch/OEM hardware under license, so maybe if they have a denso clone you'd be set?

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/56-Pin-ecu-aluminum-enclosure-box_1954699359.html

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:43 am
by AndreyB

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:50 am
by chingon

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:59 am
by kb1gtt
Can these enclosures be purchased with a pre-made harness cable? Something with several wires of a fixed length, similar to the below pigtail.

Image

The harness typically requires crimped connections which is a large issue for many people. Getting a pre-crimped harness is a huge + for an enclosure shell.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:06 am
by AndreyB
chingon wrote:I know there are intermediary houses that purchase for you on taobao for a marginal fee....
I've used engtaobao and it pretty much was x2 price between shipping and their fee.

What i like about the used Nissan case is that it probably less chance that the supply would suddenly stop. It would be nice to find a source for the 121 connector and, more importantly, new wired 121 plug though.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:12 am
by chingon
[quote="kb1gtt"]Can these enclosures be purchased with a pre-made harness cable? Something with several wires of a fixed length, similar to the below pigtail.

[im

aliexpress lists quite a few offerings in small quantities (alibaba has way more), it'd be a matter of discussing it w/the supplier I reckon.
http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?initiative_id=SB_20150531170623&site=glo&shipCountry=us&SearchText=ecu+harness&page=2

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:24 am
by kb1gtt
We've had our eye's on that 121 connector harness. http://rusefi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=208&hilit=121&start=17

However it's still kind of pricey and it's noted as "end of life not recommended for new designs". As it stands now most connector options with pigtail costs as much as the entire Frankenso board. This low-ish cost German connector seems to cost about $75 for 121 pins, which is getting better. I believe a matenlok can be obtained for about $50, and will be available tomorrow. However I would prefer a better weather seal.

Getting a harness with pigtail has proven to be very costly. This is why we have been scavenging from salvage yard ECU's. We can buy an OEM ECU with part of the harness for around $30. Also the enclosure has proven costly.

I often wonder if we are best off with a 3D printed enclosure and or harness connector.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 3:51 am
by chingon
I believe russian found a nissan enclosure/connector on taobao? Plenty of sentras were made to harvest a pigtail from.

Honda enclosure/connector and use the prefabbed alibaba pigtail (25$ or so, not fully populated, but 50+ pins)

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:17 am
by kb1gtt
This company has some nice enclosure. I kind of like the WS-4517 but I don't know how much it costs. See part numbers found here

http://www.cbttechnology.com/resources/pdf/Aluminum%20Enclosures-IP-11-9-11.pdf
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Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 4:43 pm
by stefanst
Why don't we use standard aftermarket aluminum enclosures like this one https://www.zoro.com/box-enclosures-enclosure-6-1964-in-h-6-1116-in-w-b4-160bk/i/G3428144/?

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 7:00 pm
by kb1gtt
It costs about $47 and requires machining to get the connector to fit in the opening. Typically for about $30 you can get an existing ECU enclosure with a connector and some times even a pig tail for the other side of the connector. A salvaged ECU enclosure is typically low cost and easier to work with.

If we were to choose our own enclosure, I would likely suggest mounting the PCB to an aluminium plate, then potting the entire PCB assembly. If we want to be under bonnet, you really need to fully POT the entire board. As well some potting materials can be easily removed if you need to do re-work.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:10 am
by stefanst
I'd say use inside the engine compartment is a special use case. Most cars will have the ECU somewhat protected from the elements. So water-proofing is probably not top-of-the-list for standard application.

From a price standpoint it appears that early 90s Honda Accord boxes are the cheapest on Ebay. Around $10.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ITS760-1990-90-HONDA-ACCORED-ENGINE-CONTROL-MODULE-37820-PT3-A51-/361541086986?hash=item542d872f0a:g:SUIAAOSwKfVXG42X&vxp=mtr

Looks like it's the standard 64 pin Nippondenso, so we should have sufficient pins for most applications.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:16 am
by AndreyB
stefanst wrote:From a price standpoint it appears that early 90s Honda Accord boxes are the cheapest on Ebay. Around $10.
Exactly, I was looking at these a week back! Also these are 50% larger so we can maybe go 2 layer or at least have a bunch of available space for optional stuff like stepper motor etc.

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:22 am
by puff
pottingg - including the discovery board?

Re: let's choose an enclosure

Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 12:49 am
by stefanst
If we need waterproof under-hood, I'd vote for the Molex MX123 connector series: http://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=mx123_sealed_connection_systems&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&utm_source=ds&utm_medium=lit&utm_campaign=general

Of course that doesn't solve the enclosure issue....