im making an enclosure to have it printed with ABS and as you can see the images depicts a box and lid which will be fastened with 4 fasteners of the nut and bolt type. Are there any snap fit or some other form of fasteners which would make the box corners whole and not extruded out to permit tightening the nut up to the bolt?
Can you make it easy to squeeze the long sides of the enclosure, so it releases the lid? Mold tabs or ribs at the edge of the lid. Short, a half-inch long.
Or if you intend for the enclosure to be rigid, then put a tab (or indent) in the lid, so a screwdriver can pop it out.
Almost anything is easier than using nuts and bolts, and having to find a screwdriver, pliers, cup to store loose parts in, etc.
Can you make it easy to squeeze the long sides of the enclosure, so it releases the lid? Mold tabs or ribs at the edge of the lid. Short, a half-inch long.
Or if you intend for the enclosure to be rigid, then put a tab (or indent) in the lid, so a screwdriver can pop it out.
Almost anything is easier than using nuts and bolts, and having to find a screwdriver, pliers, cup to store loose parts in, etc.
I know about those methods, the trouble is I dont know the thickness demands, I am likely to over do the material and the ribbon or other method would be too rigid. I dont have the printer so I cannot experiment with various dimensions so if you know of a standardized table then let me know about it.
Almost all enclosures I've purchased are held together with sheet metal screws:
Only a few threads need to engage the plastic. You can do a similar thing for machine screws. Just a small rib molded inside the hole for the threads to bite into.
Only a few threads need to engage the plastic. You can do a similar thing for machine screws. Just a small rib molded inside the hole for the threads to bite into.