Hello from Mod Crate

[alee132]

scoopy said:

Is there any way to make or modify the mamu faceplate to fit the reference buttons......I absolutely hate them round buttons on that faceplate especially matching color....It looks cheap imho......I would love a B or G box with the cutouts already milled for the square reference buttons or a faceplate with them in it......Of course I would want the recessed 510 as well.....I like where u guys are going though and will have my business once a bigger box is offered

Actually yes because mamu herself made the same faceplate that uses the same looking buttons as reference case now. Here is a link http://www.shapeways.com/product/8FDTBB3NZ/dna200-v2-faceplate-screen-holder-buttons?li=search-results-1&optionId=57829490 She also has one that doesnt come with buttons. That way you can use the option that she posted for differed colored seperate buttons or the metal printed button option which is only another $10-12. I have used the previous faceplate and this one looks even better. Looks to same dimesions as before and comes with same great screen holder.

[Brandon]

blueridgedog said:

Mod Crate and Evolv:  What is the story with the availability of screens?

Have heard a number of stories from suppliers but it seems that the supply chain is temporarily overwhelmed.  No worries we'll figure it out.  We knew there was a shortage back in July and have been working diligently to source wider ever since.  It's not just us, it seems to be everyone using small oleds.

[digatel]

Russ ModCrate said:

Hey Evolv Modders,

Just wanted to show some of what we have been working on. Currently we have Mod Crate Tallboys being milled for the Mamu faceplate. We went this route vs something more fancy and refined as we though it would be a great entry level enclosure for new modders. It offers plenty of room and the Mamu faceplate is incredibly easy to install brining the difficulty level down significantly. 

In the future we will have some boxes with integrated mounting points and cut outs for the reference case button actuators.

Is there anything specifically this community of DNA users would like to see? What gives you guys a headache when building DNA/DNA200D mods? We like running our machines but we like solving problems even more.

Russ 
Mod Crate

When are these Tall Boys gonna be available on your website? I keep visiting your site, but haven't seen anything yet...please give an update. Thanks.

[Podunk Steam]

I'll show you what I mean. 

I posted this in the wrong thread but it's related to the topic so I left it. I still have the interior parts to mill but here's the general idea.

Edit: I'll finish up with this one first and do a 200 watt later, should be room for either in the 1590A box. Routing the wires and connectors would be the trick for the 200. I would have started with the 200 but hand cracking a 2 on a mill, I'm just not at that skill level and if I ever get there I'll be surprised!
 

[Russ ModCrate]

Just an update Mod Crate is going to do a run of the beta reference enclosure. We want to make a few functional alterations but I would like some community feedback.

1. Currently the case is designed to use the Evolv 510. Is that something everyone prefers or would you like the countersink removed and have a hole drilled so you may use FDV and other 510 connectors.

2. We also want to have multiple options for the rear half of the  case so that users can choose larger capacity lipo batteries.

These are all the changes we have planned does anyone have any suggestions?

[VapingBad]

I would keep the Evolv 510 cut-out, will you have affordable shipping to the UK and when so you think they will be available, I have an Evolv 510 & DNA200 waiting for a good home.

[mikepetro]

Russ ModCrate said:

Just an update Mod Crate is going to do a run of the beta reference enclosure. We want to make a few functional alterations but I would like some community feedback.

1. Currently the case is designed to use the Evolv 510. Is that something everyone prefers or would you like the countersink removed and have a hole drilled so you may use FDV and other 510 connectors.

2. We also want to have multiple options for the rear half of the  case so that users can choose larger capacity lipo batteries.

These are all the changes we have planned does anyone have any suggestions?

1) I would drill a hole to accommodate any commonly used 510. Drill/tap it to the smallest common hole and let the user enlarge it if they so choose. I am VERY partial to the Evolv 510 myself, but not everybody has access to them, or even cares for them.

2) The changeable back half is great, however I also suggest an additional 5mm in height, or at least an additional 2.5mm below the board. This allows for a XT30 or similar connector to fit under the JST connector.

For example, in this enclosure I added 2.5mm both above and below the board. See how pretty the XT30 sits in there. Sure beats directly soldering the bat to the board.


Something else I did was lower the window 2-3mm (though not shown in above photo). This reduces the danger area where people are pinching the ribbon cable under the Fire Button tang, versus when the window is centered between the fire button and the +/- buttons.

A paper template showing people where to tape the screen to the board, to match your window placement, would also be helpful. I had a friend mill me a jig to do my boards, but for a one-off DIYer correct screen placement with double back tape is a bit of a challenge.

[Willy]

Offering optional back halves and selling them separately would be nice, that way if someone has a mod and wants to switch to a bigger battery they could just purchase a battery and new back half, of course not just depth will allow any battery but it would allow some variance. Adding room above and below the board like Mike suggests and some width to the case will allow a much lager choice of battery's. I know a lot of folks like bigger battery's for longevity, myself I like smaller mods that fit easily in the pocket with a 800-900 mah battery because with a 1 amp charger it only takes 2- 2 1/2 hours to fully recharge and balanced. I'd also like the Evolv 510's but if you had a recess that would be nice, the Evolv 510 is tall. My 2 cents.... 

[digatel]

Russ ModCrate said:

Just an update Mod Crate is going to do a run of the beta reference enclosure. We want to make a few functional alterations but I would like some community feedback.

1. Currently the case is designed to use the Evolv 510. Is that something everyone prefers or would you like the countersink removed and have a hole drilled so you may use FDV and other 510 connectors.

2. We also want to have multiple options for the rear half of the  case so that users can choose larger capacity lipo batteries.

These are all the changes we have planned does anyone have any suggestions?

I think it's a fantastic idea! I would be more than happy to have one of these available. I also agree that optional back-plates would be welcomed with praise, considering everyone has their own preference. As far as the 510 hole; although I would like to use an Evolv 510, I'm not sure I would have access to them, thus, FDV or other 510 connection might be my only choice. I am not sure if Modcrate has access to the Evolv 510's, but if they do, they might consider including this with the case upon purchase.

[VapingBad]

The issue with making it for the smallest diameter 510 and allowing customers to tap the thread is that the VT, FD and Evolv all require different depths for the 22 mm top section, 1 mm, 2 mm & 3.2 mm IIRC.  And it is another tool to buy, I have the taps for VT and Evolv but a guy making one mod?  You could do the deepest 3.2 and provide shims, but especially the FD is going to take up room for the battery, that may not be a problem, but they are longer than the VT which is longer than the Evolv.  In an ideal world you would make the Evolv 510 as the design is open source and supply the cases with these fitted.

[Morphoys]

Hi Guys, I´m Patrick from Germany and I want to show you what I´ve done with the help of Mamu´s Faceplate. For me it is an easy Way to mount everything. The Lipo  that I´ve used is a 3S 2400mAh 20C and it works well.The Box is Hammond 1590BBk   Greetings from Germany  

[ericsimpson12]

I bought and built on of the Mod Crate reference enclosure and I did see that the screen and screen ribbon are the trickiest thing about this build. I forgot to get some thick double side tape. So I will have to take it apart today and fix it. The screen flops around and in scared to damage my screen ribbon. Other than that I love it. I would like to be able to buy the back half for the 1300 mah version so I can switch my 900mah and my 1300mah back and forth depending on where I go. The other mod I built has a 1300mah turnigy in it and I can get through the whole day with it. The 900mah is not a big deal if I stay in the office all day but if I have to go on a road job it would be nice to swap them out so I don't have to worry about a charging source. You really should make a screen template for people to mount their screen to their board. It can be trick if they never did it before. You could even make it a downloadable pdf so they can print it and you don't have to do anything after that. You could also run the case analyzer so the people purchasing the enclose does not have to wait on it to do it. It's just a thought. Sorry for the long reply.