Guys, I’m sick of boxes. I’m sorry. I don’t want to be unsupportive, and I understand about the practicality of the box. Your board is a rectangle, your box is a rectangle. Maybe your whole project is a rectangle, and you can nest all of these rectangles inside of each other like a cubist matryoshka doll. That’s really satisfying, and I don’t begrudge you that satisfaction.
But for myself, I want more.
Maybe this stems from my predilection for craft and wearable projects, which are very often mutually exclusive with traditional enclosures.
Not an important part of any outfit, ever.
So let’s talk for a moment about other things that are enclosures, which is to say, pretty much everything.
This horse is an enclosure! My dogs are enclosures as well. (“Horse microchiping 3” by Izvora - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Is it hollow?
If there’s room for a critter, there’s room for a gadget! (By Uberprutser (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
…Can you make it hollow?
Yes you can! (“Chalcosoma atlas m” by JohnSka - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
Then it’s an enclosure!
Is it soft enough to morph around some bits? That’s how you get an Orvillecopter!
Maybe you don’t want an Orvillecopter.
Why not Zoidberg? (Image by MostlyNerdyCrochet, used with permission)
That’s definitely an enclosure!
Obviously a lot of enclosure choice is driven by the project. A box is, at times, the only thing that will work. But especially in the case of projects with remote independent sensors, consider kicking it up a notch. Why have a box on your dryer that sends you a text when your load of laundry is done when you could have an orphaned sock on your dryer that sends a sad text when your load of laundry is done and his compatriot is still MIA?
I leave you with this: Your enclosure is your call, but don’t forget the world of bizarre possibilities that awaits you out there. And the first person to leave a “Now that’s thinking outside the box!” comment will get a free prize.
The prize will be an eyeroll you can hear from your house.
Our very own Derek wrote a book! While we wait for the June publishing date, we asked him how it went.
Products from both sides of the tracks. A new kit with Microview, and a bunch of cast-offs from production.
