The diyAudio Store (USA) soon to stock chassis – requesting your feedback!

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(i'm not into flat bottoms)

To get the hole bottom levelled, one could use an endmill, but those are pretty costly and a snap hazard in the hands of a regular DIY Joe.
Prepping one for hole diving is out of DIY league too, e.g. how many here can say they really know how to freshen up a used drill bit by hand on a wet stone ?

(the broken drill bit is the oldest trick in the book)
 
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6L6

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The option I would love to see is a pre-drilled back panel on the bigger amp chassis. This would include:

Rectangular opening for a Power Entry Module, said module would have an IEC socket, power switch, and fuse. You would probably want to stock the PEM and include it in the package with the pre-drilled back.

Holes for speaker posts,

Holes for RCA input jacks,

Holes for XLR input jacks.

A simple set of holes with provisions for the above, as well as the pre-drilled heatsinks and the DIY-friendly holes would make it possible to build an amp (using the universal mounting scheme PCB) and not need to do any metalwork other than screwing in fasteners.


That would be a major boon to the community and will get many beginners off the fence to build something, as it will be very similar to a kit.


(Oh, to answer your other questions, It's my suggestion to only stock the thick faceplate models in silver.)
 

6L6

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Oh, one other thing --

If you stock a solid, non-perferated aluminum top piece for the 2U 300 it could be easily used as a base for a tube project with top mounted transformers and tubes. You would only have to stock one additional piece.

Aluminum is much easier to drill and make clean holes than the mild steel that the supplier uses.
 
If you stock a solid, non-perferated aluminum top piece for the 2U 300 it could be easily used as a base for a tube project with top mounted transformers and tubes. You would only have to stock one additional piece.

Aluminum is much easier to drill and make clean holes than the mild steel that the supplier uses.

+1

Thicker, non-perf top piece for tube projects would be welcomed. 3 mm aluminum would be nice, provided that it'll look good on the chassis. But 1.6 mm would work as well. I can add stiffeners under the heavy top-mounted parts.

Good initiative!! I was looking to order out of East Asia but I'll wait around for the 2Ux300 chassis to materialize.

~Tom
 
This is a great idea!

Also, I woud suggest that you reduce a bit the countersinking of the tapped holes.
Quoting from ESP - Heatsink design and transistor mounting :
"It is vitally important that any recess or countersinking is only large enough to prevent metal "stretch" - overly large recesses will do more harm than good, either by reducing the available surface area, and/ or allowing the transistor flange to be distorted."

The countersinking is just large enough to fit the protruding nylon bushings that will be used with TO-220 package devices (drivers, diodes, etc) to isolate the bolt. It is also just enough so as not to have any transistor flange/tab distortion. Besides, the standard M3 bolt head is still bigger than the diameter of the countersinking. :)
 
regarding screws for outputs - it's clever to use max possible dia - M3.5 or whatever is in non-metric size

Store can scavenge and sell small packages of these , but in greater quality (hardness?) than usual metal store generic ones .

either torx or wrench heads

same for big washers and spring washers

One of the reason M3 bolts were chosen was to allow a bit of slack for mounting the outputs, and any expansion that may occur.

High tensile M3 bolts with allen/torx or hex heads are widely available also.

:)
 
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I prefer all-black chassis in general, as black blends into the background and has fewer reflections in a darkened room. OTOH, if only non-anodized aluminum faces were available, one could DIY (or local shop) the anodizing in any color. (It would prob be unwieldy for DIYAudio to offer a 'faceplate delete' option, so one could DIY only the face?)
 
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Efforts to add additional top cover vents for this special DA batch is in the works. However, this is not suitable for an all alum casing because the the die cut press machine will ruin he alum.

Also, efforts to give you guys an all alum chassis has been under serious consideration and it's pricing is now being prepared to be integrated to this feedback thread.

Seriously, the mild steel sample I had to work on is not that hard to drill or file. Cooling is also more than enough considering I live in a tropical country where it's hot when it's hot and cold when it's cold.

Do you guys really need an all aluminum chassis just for the fact it's easy to drill/work on? I'm more inclined for the mild steel for it's strength because an alum with those 1KVA toroidal transformers can be a problem. Increasing the alum gauge won't solve any problem because it will not be fit for the die cut press machine.
 
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You might review this thread
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/103815-aluminium-vs-steel-chassis-5.html

If a panel needs to be cut, I would prefer aluminum, but if a panel was pre-cut, I think either would be fine. I'm not sure you can get away from steel in the hifi cases as the chassis bracing is not aluminum, in fact i think you need more bracing for the 5u chassis as the top/bottom/rear aluminum panels flex too much. Even on the 2U panel, if ordered with the rear aluminum plate, it might bow.
 
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