Design a 3D-printed enclosure for your board

Once a circuit works, it needs a case. Instruments → Board & enclosure… describes the board mechanically and builds a two-part, 3D-printable enclosure around it: a base with standoffs and connector openings and a lid that snaps, presses or screws on. The dialog uses the same engine as the ohmforge-enclosure-generator tool, so the app and the tool produce identical STL files.

Start from an example

Open Instruments → Board & enclosure…. The first time, the dialog shows the example sensor board. To try another one, choose it under Start from an example board and press Load the example. Below the tabs you see two previews: a Top view with holes, parts (dashed outlines are parts on the bottom side), connectors and keep-outs, and an Isometric view of the board and its parts. The status line counts holes, parts and connectors, or explains what is wrong with the board.

Describe the board

Work through the tabs from left to right. All sizes are in millimetres; x runs to the right and y upwards from the lower-left board corner.

• Board: the Board name, Board thickness (mm) and the Outline. A Rectangle needs Width (mm) and Height (mm), a Rounded rectangle also a Corner radius (mm), and a Polygon takes Outline points, one x, y pair per line.
• Mounting holes: press Add a mounting hole and enter the centre and Diameter (mm). Every hole gets a standoff.
• Parts: every part is a box. Choosing a Kind fills in typical sizes, for example 8 × 8 × 12 mm for a radial electrolytic capacitor. Enter the centre in X (mm) and Y (mm), then correct Width (mm), Depth (mm) and Height (mm) from the datasheet. Side puts a part under the board.
• Connectors: choose the Board edge and the Position (mm) of the connector centre along it. Overhang (mm) is how far it sticks out past the edge; a USB-C socket typically overhangs by 0.6 mm.
• Keep-outs: areas that must stay free of enclosure material. Tick Lid opening to cut a window into the lid, for a display or a button.

Use the × button at the end of a row to remove it. Changes appear in the previews as you type.

Choose the enclosure settings

The Enclosure tab holds the box parameters. The defaults print well on most FDM printers: 2 mm walls, a 1 mm Gap between board and wall (mm), 5 mm standoffs and M3 heat-set inserts. Under Lid you can pick:

• Snap-fit lip with bumps and grooves: small bumps on the lid's lip click into grooves in the walls.
• Friction lip only: the lid is pressed in and held by the lip.
• Corner screw posts and an alignment lip: four screws through the lid into posts in the corners. The box grows so the posts clear the board.

Tick Ventilation slots in the lid for warm boards. Board fixing chooses between Heat-set inserts (typical hole sizes) and Self-tapping screws into pilot holes.

Generate and check

Press Generate the enclosure. For the sensor board the status reads Enclosure 76 × 56 × 24.6 mm ready: all 18 checks passed. The preview shows the base in green with the lid lifted above it in blue.

Read the Verification list. It confirms that both meshes are watertight and still print-ready after an STL round trip. It also reports that every connector opening and standoff was probed on the final mesh and that no part touches the base or the lid. When something collides, the line names the part and the overlap. Try it: add a part with Side set to Bottom and a height of 8 mm. The check reports that it goes through the floor. Raise Standoff height (mm) to 10 and generate again.

Download and continue

• Download the base (STL) and Download the lid (STL): the lid file is already turned over, plate down, for printing.
• Download the drawing (SVG): a top view and four side views with every opening measured from the outer corner.
• Download the assembly (OBJ) and Download the report (JSON).
• Open in Renderloom hands the assembly to Renderloom's Mesh Lab for inspection.

When you close the dialog, the board and settings are saved in the project as one step that Undo reverts. Tolerances depend on your printer, so print a corner with one opening as a test before the whole case.