Mounting an enclosure?

General Discussion
107

@Mitch Yes you have to ventilate the ones with fans. @cmatson is right about the fanless ones, though. They do fine in a sealed enclosure.

I had two fanned 6S escs in an enclosed box and now I only have one. I’m not 100% sure that the lack of cool intake was the culprit in this particular case, but there’s a good chance of it so I wouldn’t risk it.

If you’re running one with a fan that claims to be dust and water proof/resistant than my suggestion would be to isolate it inside its own compartment within your box. This could be as simple as hot glueing a barrier between the ESCs and the battery/switch compartment. As long as no bare copper is present within the SC compartment, you should be able to ventilate the ESC compartment with some vent holes in the sides and bottom of the box. Just make sure that if any water splashes in there that it can drain out.

108

Thanks for the advice, I’ll be using the VESCs, so looks like I should be fine to have it completely sealed.

I’ll be sure to post my build and see how the 3D case turns out.

109

I usually just cut a hole for the fan in the box like this:

I have even removed the fan from my “fan-ESC” and just run the heatsink

http://esk8content.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/uploads/db2454/optimized/1X/8fb80b1905833e559bc45cf9bc056a7f348ca73d_1_690x388.jpg

over 300km on this one never had an issue.

110

Yeah cutting a hole for the ESC to just poke through like that is fine in most cases. It rains almost every day here though, so i’m kind of anal about keeping my box sealed. Even on days its dry, there still seems to be mud and moisture caking up everywhere. There’s just always water on the ground in Florida.

111

http://www.amazon.com/Mounting-Kit-Marson-Removable-Chock/dp/B003OK4ZM2

so those are obviously to big but i was thinking if i could find them in a smaller size it would be ideal for mounting an enclosure. anyone know what those are called? i searched what they say it is with no results. It would eliminate the t nut option on the top of the board.

112

I believe the term for those t-nut type things there is Threaded Inserts. I googled a wiki and ended up on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16410701

113

Think that would work well?

114

I’m not sure. I think if you got them in there tight and used some epoxy to make sure they stayed in and didn’t back themselves out (they are just hollow screws with threads on the inside as well as the outside) then they should work out pretty well.

I saw these but then I thought maybe I needed something with more teeth so I ordered a bag of the regular style t-nuts for my boxes.

115

okay. going to go check out fastenel this week and see if i can come up with anything else.if not i will attempt those.

116

These are great. Of course, better below the grip tape but on the top it’s not too bad either. 10/32 3/16th

Then you got a ton of thumb screws to choose from http://www.mcmaster.com/#thumb-screws/=zlflqb

Plastic thumb screws.

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117

okay, so i decided on wood insert nuts. let u know how they work out in my build thread. http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/818384-national-wood-insert-nut.html?feedsource=1&gclid=CNu68q2268gCFQoXHwoddqMMmQ

118

I have used those on one of my decks, but not to hold the enclosure, just to hold the wiiceiver to the board. worked quite well.

1 Like
119

Whats a good length for the thumb screws to go with the 10-32 3/16th Tee nut? That site has 1/2", 5/8" and 3/4" lengths for the hex screws I was looking at. It looks like some of the other hand screws have other lengths as well.

120

@disastorm - I would use 1/2" for both.

121

Hmm didn’t you post 10-32 3/16th for the Tee nut earlier ? Doesn’t this mean 3/16 inch length of Tee nut ? What do you mean both should be 1/2" ?

122

1/2" for thumb or regular screws with T-nuts. If you go longer than 1/2" the screw will poke through the board and not be flush.

123

Ok, the t-nut is 3/16" long though right ? Just wanted to make sure.

I’ll get these:

I think these should be compatible right ?

Thanks.

*edit didn’t realize the hex thumb screws were so expensive. I can just use any of the following with the t-nut, right:

I wonder why the http://www.mcmaster.com/#90113a150/=zoqiv8 are so expensive.

*edit actually @psychotiller do you know how many screws you actually need for the enclosure that I got from you. I know it has a total of 20 holes along the edges, is it best to have them all?

124

As long as you get it secured and to your liking it is fine. Spacing the screws evenly is the main thing.

125

I would say 1/2" or smaller. If it’s longer than 1/2 even 1/2" is pretty long so will take you a while to unscrew. As psychotiller mentioned I’d say 3/16" is a good size for both.

126

Remember that the enclosure flange is 1/8" thick too.