What do you guys use to enclose your amps?

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
What kind of enclosures are you guys using for your amps? I see a lot of people using metal chassis but I have no idea how to do metalwork nor do I know where to get the raw materials. I'm decent at wood working but isnt it a bit weird to put pcbs, transformers and stuff in a wood enclosure?
 
Bud box, "rack" chassis, or for big bucks, nice pretty enclosures.
Is wood weird? No, that's where we started turn of the century. Even the Apple One was just a board screwed to a piece of plywood. Wood is not very good at RF shielding though. A bit of foil tape works like a charm.
 
my latest enclosure
 

Attachments

  • echo FB.JPG
    echo FB.JPG
    208.5 KB · Views: 286
For my larger amps I use a pc case.
They are cheap compared to other options.
It also has a mains socket punched out.
It has a fan housing front and back. I use the fans with LED's in them and they look flash.
Hi,
Are you talking about tower/mini tower or desktop cases? Apart from a few holes to cover requiring minimal effort, that sounds like an excellent idea.
 
You, sir, obviously have a $1500 shear, and probably a milling machine also.
I have an electric drill and a vise and a workbench.
For op amp projects like mixers or active filters, I use PCAT power supply boxes. They have the AC stuff already worked out. I have also built some low power supplies into them with transformers and the fan.
For bigger stuff, I have some VFD motor drive chassis in stainless steel boxes with a disconnect and a big aluminum neat sink on the back. You get these out of the dumpster at food factories. They blow them up a lot with the water hose. PCAT towers are good, but rather huge. Only one charity resale shop sells PC's in this county. Goodwill won't sell their donated PC's here, and it is illegal in Florida not to send them to the "recycle facility".
If you want more RF blocking than the stainless box can provide, salvage the heat sink and put it in a hinged top recipe case or file box. I get them for $2-#3 at the charity resale shop, or by the side of the road on garbage day. You can make odd size holes by drawing them out undersized with a sharpie marker, drilling a bunch of 1/8" holes in the outline with an electric drill, add one 3/8" hole in the middle. Then you connect the dots with an $8 Stanley carbide hacksaw blade in a $2 adjustable hacksaw frame. You do need a vise and a dirty workbench for this. Use safety glasses when drilling. Oh, holes over 1/2" dia are best made this way. The expensive 7/8 diameter bits etc with a 3/8" shank tend to break in sheet metal.
 
Last edited:
You, sir, obviously have a $1500 shear, and probably a milling machine also.
I have an electric drill and a vise and a workbench.
For op amp projects like mixers or active filters, I use PCAT power supply boxes. They have the AC stuff already worked out. I have also built some low power supplies into them with transformers and the fan.
For bigger stuff, I have some VFD motor drive chassis in stainless steel boxes with a disconnect and a big aluminum neat sink on the back. You get these out of the dumpster at food factories. They blow them up a lot with the water hose. PCAT towers are good, but rather huge. Only one charity resale shop sells PC's in this county. Goodwill won't sell their donated PC's here, and it is illegal in Florida not to send them to the "recycle facility".
If you want more RF blocking than the stainless box can provide, salvage the heat sink and put it in a hinged top recipe case or file box. I get them for $2-#3 at the charity resale shop, or by the side of the road on garbage day. You can make odd size holes by drawing them out undersized with a sharpie marker, drilling a bunch of 1/8" holes in the outline with an electric drill, add one 3/8" hole in the middle. Then you connect the dots with an $8 Stanley carbide hacksaw blade in a $2 adjustable hacksaw frame. You do need a vise and a dirty workbench for this. Use safety glasses when drilling. Oh, holes over 1/2" dia are best made this way. The expensive 7/8 diameter bits etc with a 3/8" shank tend to break in sheet metal.

I use wood.
dado
 

Attachments

  • 05072012986.JPG
    05072012986.JPG
    146.4 KB · Views: 161
Your enclosure can be as simple as a store-bought Aluminium "box" from countless suppliers........with a single power switch up front. Truly a plain looking thing. We tend to apply our remaining "talents".....We all think we have a deep creative streak...that tends to come out when we finalize out creations when we encase our hard fought.........dreams.
I've seen a chassis created out of a bowling ball, one of those marble looking ones. They had cut it in half & milled out slots/channels for a set of tubes pokin out.
Myself I have an Aluminium plate which was once on of these TV special 'Defrosting plate' 5mm thick. Surrounding that, I have a special local "Ironwood" Quebracho Colorado, wood case.....Big bucks Stateside, but common here.
Mine is a PSE 12b4 tube amp The tube amp crowd seems to be more creative in this regard.
I always thought the SS crowd could work creatively with the various styles of heatsinks.

_________________________________________________Rick..........
 
Sakis...That is a "unique" enclosure. Very nice ;)


Thanks for the comments ...this enclosure is "unique" as you said and it was designed for a commercial application

Eventhough "unique" innovative and futuristic finally it was not very welcomed in the HIGH END community since the design was too spacy

so we are folding back to more classic enclosures

kind regards
sakis
 
I got a couple of steel canisters of the kitchen set variety. The neighbor was going to throw them out. They'll be used for the 10W amp and 24VDC power supply I pulled from otherwise non-functioning gadgets (and currently housed in a single cardboard box). With AC cord and hardware from the junkbox, total cash outlay is $0.00. And it even sounds better than it ought to driving a pair of full-range 8".
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.