Monochron Case Design Rant

For RTC breakouts, etc., use the Other Products from Adafruit forum

Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
User avatar
neutron spin
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 6:11 pm

Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by neutron spin »

This is just a comment on the design of the enclosures. Please do not take offense with this comment. I built three Monochrons and they are well engineered and work well but the case design in my opinion is flawed. I was extremely careful in assembling the cases but as some have more than likely have learned they are fragile as designed. Two of the panels cracked off the thin interlock tabs. I will more than likely put them in a different designed case and try to retain the black panels but they will not be a structural component. If the plastic was thicker or the interlocking edge tabs were a little wider this may not have happened. Please do not tell me I was not careful in assembly...I was and have assembled the Ice Tube Clocks with no problems. Perhaps they were defective but I believe the design could be improved...thank you....

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by adafruit »

neutron spin wrote:This is just a comment on the design of the enclosures. Please do not take offense with this comment. I built three Monochrons and they are well engineered and work well but the case design in my opinion is flawed. I was extremely careful in assembling the cases but as some have more than likely have learned they are fragile as designed. Two of the panels cracked off the thin interlock tabs. I will more than likely put them in a different designed case and try to retain the black panels but they will not be a structural component. If the plastic was thicker or the interlocking edge tabs were a little wider this may not have happened. Please do not tell me I was not careful in assembly...I was and have assembled the Ice Tube Clocks with no problems. Perhaps they were defective but I believe the design could be improved...thank you....
hi neutron spin - that's pretty rare, in fact you're one of the few who have had any issues with the case. it's possible folks aren't letting us know, but our customers are really good at telling us things and giving feedback :)

with that being said, thanks for the post and feedback - as we do future versions we'll see if there's anything more we can do to improve the design, so far hundreds are out there and maybe 2-3 people have had problems, but those problems (from what they tell us) are from dropping the entire unit on the floor, or as you said - not being careful with assembly. same goes for the ice tube clock.

User avatar
neutron spin
 
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 6:11 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by neutron spin »

adafruit wrote:
neutron spin wrote:This is just a comment on the design of the enclosures. Please do not take offense with this comment. I built three Monochrons and they are well engineered and work well but the case design in my opinion is flawed. I was extremely careful in assembling the cases but as some have more than likely have learned they are fragile as designed. Two of the panels cracked off the thin interlock tabs. I will more than likely put them in a different designed case and try to retain the black panels but they will not be a structural component. If the plastic was thicker or the interlocking edge tabs were a little wider this may not have happened. Please do not tell me I was not careful in assembly...I was and have assembled the Ice Tube Clocks with no problems. Perhaps they were defective but I believe the design could be improved...thank you....
hi neutron spin - that's pretty rare, in fact you're one of the few who have had any issues with the case. it's possible folks aren't letting us know, but our customers are really good at telling us things and giving feedback :)

with that being said, thanks for the post and feedback - as we do future versions we'll see if there's anything more we can do to improve the design, so far hundreds are out there and maybe 2-3 people have had problems, but those problems (from what they tell us) are from dropping the entire unit on the floor, or as you said - not being careful with assembly. same goes for the ice tube clock.
I understand your position and the reason not to make a design change for a few minor complaints. Funny I recall that the "Woz" wanted to make the panels slightly wider to give the tabs a little more strength but she was overruled by the boss...lol...maybe I was dreaming when I read that. I did assemble the second one with no problems...sooooo maybe I am just Mr. Butterfingers....now only if you had more cases...thanks...... :D

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

Got my Monochron today (thanks!), and I just finished assembling it.

I too managed to break off one of the long tabs on the front panel. My fault entirely. Too big a rush.

This did start me thinking on a slight redesign of the case though.

Keep the top, bottom, and back panels the same.

Change the front panel by eliminating the slots for the side panels. Cut two small tab holes on each side, like the ones in the side panel for the top and bottom panels. I don't know if your laser can do blind holes, but they would look nicer.

Change the side panels by eliminating the the slots, and instead put two tabs on each side panel which would fit into the new tab holes in the front panel.

This would have the added benefit of making the assembly easier, as the front panel would just screw onto the display, without the need to hold on the sides.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by adafruit »

hard to visualize what you're describing, do you have a sketch or something to look at?

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

I'll try to throw something together shortly...

Here goes...
monocase.jpg
monocase.jpg (51.3 KiB) Viewed 3104 times
For the front panel, if you can make the new slots blind (i.e. they don't go all the way through), things would look neater, imho. Easier to clean off the fingerprints. :wink:

For the back panel, if you shorten the tabs, you will get much better strength, as there is reduced leverage.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by adafruit »

there's no way to do blind slots - laser either cuts or doesnt :)

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

adafruit wrote:there's no way to do blind slots - laser either cuts or doesnt :)
I wasn't sure if you could -- I thought that perhaps it could be done like really deep printing. Just a thought.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by adafruit »

nope!

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

Any thoughts on the other changes to the Monochron case? I think they would make the case more robust. Obviously your product though, so your call.

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by adafruit »

Rotzog wrote:Any thoughts on the other changes to the Monochron case? I think they would make the case more robust. Obviously your product though, so your call.
thanks for the comments and feedback, we're always reviewing and considering updates to our products.

Algolosaur
 
Posts: 67
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:29 am

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Algolosaur »

I can't help wondering, based on my own experience, if the breaking tabs might be a confusion of "laser cut" with "perfect". Plastic parts are never perfect, and I keep a nail file and X-acto knife handy for removing flashing and burrs. Test assembly of the case parts for my own Monochron showed a burr that needed removal before the parts would slide easily together.


Algolosaur

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

Not in my case -- things slid together just fine. I just twisted the case a bit, and leverage took over, snapping off two of the tabs. User error, compounded by the physics of the design.

pstemari
 
Posts: 310
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by pstemari »

The front tabs are a lot like the Ice Tube enclosure. Shortening the rear tabs isn't going to make much difference--the thin neck is still a weak spot. You possibly could use a tab and slot w captive screw arrangement there like the Ice Tube, but those can be a pain to get together.

If the plastic's opaque, I would personally prefer drilled and tapped blocks to make the corners, but those might require custom machining and be entirely too expensive. Something like a little piece of 3/16" square aluminum bar stock, drilled and tapped for 4-40 machine screws.
Last edited by pstemari on Sun Aug 22, 2010 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Rotzog
 
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:10 pm

Re: Monochron Case Design Rant

Post by Rotzog »

pstemari wrote:Shortening the rear tabs isn't going to make much difference--the thin neck is still a weak spot.
Shortening the long tabs makes a huge difference.

It is a matter of leverage. The strength of the joint itself remains the same, but you can apply less torque on the joint with shorter tabs.

Try turning a bolt with a socket wrench. Now try turning the same bolt with just the socket. Same principle.

Try breaking off one of the short tabs on the top or bottom panels of the Monochron case. Same width and thickness as the big tabs, but you can't do it (as easily) because you have no leverage. The same principle applies to the longer tabs, just to a lesser degree.

Locked
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.

Return to “Clock Kits (discontinued)”