SpiExtende

[yahav tenne]

Hello, I wanted to know if you have stl files or something to print a SpiExtender box.

[Jorge Solano]

Hello Yahav

At the momentwe don't have STL or DWG enclosure file available for the SpiExtender.

As a temporary solution, the mechanical dimensions are available in the documentation:

Overall size	Approx. 46 × 29 × 16 mm
Mounting holes	2 × Ø4.2 mm

If you need an enclosure immediately, you can use these dimensions as a starting point for a simple 3D printed box. I would recommend leaving some additional clearance around the PCB and keeping access to:

• RJ45 connector
• 4 pole SPI terminal connector
• Tx/Rx selector switch
• Status LED

The PCB should also be mounted on spacers so that the pins and components underneath cannot touch the enclosure.


There is also some good news. We are currently working on an official 3D printed enclosure for the SpiExtender.

If you can wait approximately one week, we may be able to provide one of these enclosures instead. I cannot guarantee availability until the design is finished, but this will probably be a better option than spending time designing your own enclosure now.

Hope this helps!

[yahav tenne]

Thank you very much for your response,

I have a production on Tuesday with 64 units, maybe you could send me something in the meantime for me to print at my place?

[yahav tenne]

Testing for first version

[Jorge Solano]

Hello Yahav,

Thanks for the update 

Your version actually looks very neat, and great to hear that it worked well for your production!

We have now progressed further with our own SpiExtender enclosure design. The intention is to make the STL file available on request, so users can print the enclosure themselves.

Our design uses the two existing mounting holes of the SpiExtender, which allows us to keep the enclosure quite compact.


We are currently working on the final version and expect to have the STL available towards the end of next week.

Once it is ready, we can send you our version as well so you can compare it with your current design.

For the meantime, if your current enclosure is working well, it looks like a perfectly good solution for your installation.

Hope this helps!

[Jorge Solano]

Hi Yahav,

A quick update: we have now released the first version of our official SpiExtender 3D-printable enclosure.

You can find Spi Extender enclosure V1.0.zip in the Miscellaneous section of our Downloads page.

https://www.visualproductions.nl/downloads/miscellaneous

The V1.0 package contains:

Bottom 1 unit V1.stl
Top 1 unit V1.stl
Read Me.txt

For assembly, the design uses 2 × M2.5 × 6 mm screws, with an M4 screw for mounting.

Since your own enclosure already seems to be working nicely, feel free to print our version as well and let us know how it compares. Feedback from your 64-unit setup would definitely be useful for us.

We are also looking at improvements for future revisions. One planned addition is the possibility to connect multiple SpiExtender enclosures side by side, so several units used with the different outputs of one SpiNode could be joined into one compact row.

This interlocking feature is not part of V1.0 yet, but is planned for a future version.

Thanks again for sharing the pictures of your solution!

[yahav tenne]

Hi, thank you very much for everything.
My model is very small, I didn't make any screws, the lid fits in a little under pressure. I printed it in two colors, so there will be about 30 units of rx and 30 units of tx.
I can send you my file with an assistant and more pictures

I am now printing your model.