I just ordered the mini2440 development board with a 7" screen and then realized it is actually a low-cost netbook/PDA platform. The only problem is a case that would suit the board, its hardware ports and the screen. Could anybody please point out to where one could look for such a case? Many thanks!
have you get any answer? I am looking for a case as well regards
No, but I'm still looking for. I would happy if one of the quick Chinese guys from eBay offer something suitable for, say, $20-40. We probably should ask those who sell the boards to let them know there is a demand for the cases.
We are looking for a case. What material do you prefer aluminum or plastic?
I would prefer Aluminium of course (i know that aluminium is more expensive, but thats okay) What about a aluminum case for the 3,5" touch modell? Thx Stephan
I second that - would be great to have a case to use for our project! At the moment I am investigating getting one made, however I think this may push the price up too much. Would be interested to hear if anyone has success in finding one. Rgds Paul
Yep a field case and battery system would be great. I've proposed the mini2440 for a project at work and just know it's gonna die on the cost of designing a case. Alternatively can anyone suggest another handheld linux based device that supports wired ethernet and RS232 serial that doesn't cost the earth.
The only other vendor of similarly priced items is a company out of Israel - http://www.compulab.co.il/all-products/html/products.htm . Their products look pretty good. They've also got a smart phone dev platform that looks like it might offer RS232 :-o That might be more your flavor; though they do have a 1K-unit price of $327, with a 1.4 factor for a single unit.
I am looking for a case as well. Plastic or aluminium both suits me. I would need a case with a wall mount option. Regards Florian
It would be easy enough to make a case from some sheet steel or aluminum stock and even something like a dremel. It might not be pretty, but perforating and bending a light stainless steel and/or aluminum isn't difficult at all.
Hi, andahammer comes with the new design plastic white case and probably it will be available very soon. Just a comment, I'd like to see if andahammer can able to change the material to a crystal clear transparent plastic or perhaps to would have at least 2 materials for selection when it release to the market. Thanks, Puma
We are close to going to manufacturing with an aluminum enclosure for the mini2440. It will entail a faceplate for the Chameleon 1 chassis and a special lid cutout for the 3" FriendlyARM touch LCD. See http://www.esawdust.com/blog/notreadyforprimetime/files/faceplate-design... for how the faceplate was designed and pictures of the prototype (without lcd.) The basic Chameleon 1 chassis is here: http://www.esawdust.com/products/encl/encl-cham1-basic.html We'll offer it configurations with or without the LCD lid cutout (if you're running the mini2440 without a display.) We should be going into manufacturing within a day or two and I believe these will be available for sale within 3-4 weeks from now. Thanks, Landon Cox www.ESawdust.com
My suggestion would be 3d printing. Once the case design is input (the hard part) the parts can be produced inexpensively. Estimated price could be in the 50$ range for top and bottom which would screw together depending on the thickness of the case. If you want to do it yourself you could go to www.shapeways.com. That is the best most inexpensive option I have found over the years for parts. They actualy do metals now also. Pricing is $2 per cm3 pretty much. Depending on material of course. Check it out and if your willing post your model so that we may share. Thanks, Vince
Yesterday we released the metal enclosure for the mini2440 I referred to above. There are two versions of it - one that accommodates the 3.5" LCD and one that is "headless". The version with the LCD in the lid is here: http://www.esawdust.com/products/encl/encl-cham1-mini2440-lcdcut.html I shipped units yesterday to Watterott Electronics (this site) so they should hopefully be available shortly in Europe. Industrial ARMWorks ( andahammer.com ) in the US will have them as well. Both vendors will have stock probably by late next week. We have a few left available now if you need one immediately. Shipped from the US. Vince, I have made a couple of stabs at uploading models to shapeways.com and have further to go to see how it works - my 3D models continuously have "non-manifold object" errors I need to find and fix before I can even see what price it would be. I would like to use that service, particularly for prototyping, but I'm not sure how it would be economical to 3D print for even small volumes....will have to see. Landon Cox www.ESawdust.com
Will be available a 7" LCD version... soon? TIA Clemente.
We're considering a 7" design now, but "soon", no - we have it on the drawing board and it's too soon to predict a release date. Be assured we're looking hard at making something to accommodate the 7". Clemente, can I ask you and anyone on this forum: "What applications do you use the 7 in. LCD in?" Industrial control, building/environment sensing and control, manufacturing, medical? What kind of mounting requirements do you have? Does it need to be portable or will it be fixed? I'm trying to get a sense of what and where the 7" is used as a way to help guide a design or designs. Thanks for any feedback you may have, Landon Cox www.ESawdust.com
Hello Landon, thanks for your time and effort. For my use I need a portrait case, that can be mounted on a wall. I need space inside for a wireless dongle too; but I do not need keyboard or mice. The idea is to use the mini2440 like a "TouchInfoStation" connected to a wifi network to deliver Info&Internet to people. For office or home use... may be... thanks again. Best Regards Clemente.
Good info, Clemente. Helpful, thanks for that. Other common applications for 7" LCDs, anyone? Landon Cox www.ESawdust.com
Hi Landon, I am also interested in an enclosure for the mini2440 with 7" touchscreen. The particular application domain we're looking at is medical, i.e., in a hospital e.g. at a nurse's station or in a room. For the latter case, it's important that the device can be (a) secured (e.g., either with a tether/cable, or mounted on a stand that's bolted to the table); and (b) cleaned. I can imagine other similar applications. For example, restaurants could have a device at each table where customers could see their current order, add to it, ask for the check, etc. You would need security and cleanability here too. The general idea/vision here is cheap, network-connected, dedicated devices that can put very application-specific software and functionality "on location". One of PoE or WiFi is also a requirement in these scenarios. Re screen size, I think 3.5" is too small in general for "normal people" (e.g., patients or restaurant customers)... that's why 7" is (IMHO) a minimum requirement for general use.
Hi Landon, a mounting frame with water protection for the display could be a nice thing. With this frame, thie display can putted in any waterprotected box. So it would be independ on mini/micro. Much applications maybe, medical, on a boat. I use my micro 7" on a boat.
Thanks again for the feedback on 7" display enclosure applications you envision. Good food for thought. Still cogitating about it, but glad to know waterproofing (or water resistance) is a requirement. Landon Cox www.ESawdust.com
My $.02 worth is that a vesa mounting pattern on the back would make a lot of sense. The universe of vesa swing-arms and other off the shelf mounting solutions is vast.
Hi Shannon Can you please put in contact details for those suppliers you know well? Regards Satish khire_s at vsnl dot net
im near here and my mini arm hasnt arrived yet. im planing to use mine for hand held applications and have a small metal brake + milling machine and lathe. this will be my first time using an embedded arm processor. i have some experience with win ce on pocket pcs and handheld pcs using win ce im also into pic type microprocessors, electronics and ham radio. the existing case really isnt very good for a hand held device i might even use a combination of plastic and aluminum. i dont have a copy of visual studio 2005 i havent decided yet whether to use win ce or try to get into linux. ive always found linux hard to use since im on my own i like to keep engineering time to a minimum. laypeople seem to forget the amount of engineering that goes into a mass produced consumer product.
they are all industrial type of enclosures. for a handheld device more or less useless. i would suggest to design a case based on acrylic layers. that can easily be shared and producted simply by lasercut. instead of acrylic you can of course use wood or mill aluminium. here is an example http://dangerousprototypes.com/wp-content/media/2010/04/3d-buspirate-cas...
of course it would be best to have a shared project of a cad file a bit more user friendly with rounded edges. that file coud be hostet with revisions so it would be possible to cooperate on the work. would be nice to have a unibody enclosure similar to the aluminium macbooks. everyone could take the file and mill an enclosure out of a preferes material, plastic, wood, metal. maybe with a simple frontplate to keep production costs low. i will wait to get my friendly arm first and then suggest some more ideas.
