3D printable Dreamcatcher Case - First completed Case

:thumbsup: very nice! :slight_smile:

Hi everyone!

Here is the Link to the Case on thingiverse, so have fun printing :slight_smile:

Universal Dreamcatcher Case

A Video will follow soon.

regards,
Manuel

3 Likes

Very good contribution !! thanks for sharing!

I just had this printed out, and the bottom of the main definitely still needs to be at least 2mm deeper due to the switch pins. Also the antenna lower case needs to be a couple of mm widerā€¦I had to file a lot of material out of the grooves to get the antenna in. Actually, now that I think about it, the USB openings needed to be widened by about 2mm each side, The other side of the case fit perfectly, the top of the antenna could have been maybe a mm wider, but it fit.

I donā€™t know if it shrunk because of the material usedā€¦

After I did a bunch of ā€˜machiningā€™ it looks pretty goodā€¦but the lower main case still needs a lot more ā€˜machiningā€™ to fit those switch pins.

Thanks for the work, is there a editable lower main case file available? I canā€™t edit .stl files.

Hi, i would guess that your 3D printer is not dimensional accurate at all.

Could you send me some pictures of the case?

My printed case has more then enough room for the buttons, so iā€™m curious what your exemplar looks like.

regards,
Manuel

I had it done through 3D hubs.

What I did is put the DC on 1/4" hobby board with stand-offs, drilled a hole for 1/4-20 off center away from the DC, to mount on camera tripod with adjustable elevation. That way I adjust elevation with the tripod. The antenna rests against a cell phone reading stand, mounted on the hobby board. I know it is not a flat package, but it works for me right now.

seems laright to me 3d printing wise, but you should mount your dc with something thinner.

If there are some solder bumbs on the bottom, just remove them with a side cutter.

It isnā€™t mounted with anythingā€¦the PC board is sitting at the bottom of the case.

Then you should remove the solder bumbs/pins on the bottom with a side cutter to clean up the bottom of the pcb.

After that it should fit way better :slight_smile:

No it needs to be a couple of mm deeper, I have already removed a bunch of material below those pinsā€¦but it is not mechanically, or electrically wise to cut off mounting pins. Besides the point, I can see the circuit board at every opening because it sits too high. You donā€™t have an editable main board bottom file I can use to make it deeper?

Sorry but I canā€™t provide you the file, but you can edit the STL with fusion360 or some other free piece of software :slight_smile:

See the note on RF Shielding in this review about metallic paint on the
inside of a plastic case

sounds like a good cost saving idea

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/a-review-of-the-sdrplay-rsp1a/?v=7516fd43adaa

Cool idea, but i would rather use aluminium tape for shielding.

More metal = more shielding :slight_smile:

regards,
Manuel

Is there a design use case for outdoor ?
If you want to out the antenna outdoor for good reception
you will have to consider weather proofing the antenna etc.
Is there a design case for that ?

Hello,
Can you share the design files and what software you used to design the files?

I used Fusion360 for designing the case. 3D prints are not watertight, so i would rather buy a electronics box in the next hardware store for a few bucks :slight_smile:

1 Like

Ooh okay thanks for the tip

Just as a Note:

3D prints can be watertight, but it is way more complicated because of the layers. If you print at 100% infill it should be okay, but this wastes a lot of plastic. You would also need to make your own seal and so on to get the cover waterproof.

I use boxes like theese that are made for putting mains wiring outside. They are even IP65 rated or similar :slight_smile:

https://twitter.com/Tysonpower/status/949993848775823360

regards,
Manuel

1 Like

Thanks i will try to get that box from a local store