Do any of you Arduino Gurus know of a Arduino Card Cage for the UNO or MEGA? I’ve done dozens of Google searches without any results.
If not I guess it’s time to make my own card cage. It looks like I’m going to end up with at least 4 UNOs and 2 MEGAs to mount. I put together a quickie CAD drawing of a Mel made 8 slot card cage.
I figure I could use 1/16” Styrene sheet for the shelf and 1/16” angle for card guides. I might even use slot 8 for a 5 volt power supply.
Mel
If you do, I’d appreciate if you’d share it. I’m at a single UNO right now, but it looks like I’ll be getting a few more (or more likely MEGAs, more pins) for my yards.
Mel,
I picked up a mounting cage at Radio Shack for mine…
Jim
I searched their site for everything I could imagine and came up blank. Do you know how it is listed?
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is
Thread moved.
And right in the middle of my submission! [:'(] [;)]
Surprisingly, Google doesn’t turn up a ton of cages for these.
If I have to build up a shelf/cage I’ll figure out a method to hold both the UNO and MEGA. The basic boards are the same width.
Edit:
Deep enough to hold a MEGA with adjustable stops for the UNO.
Mel
Modeling th
I fail to see the advantage of using the Arduino form factor with a card cage. Without any edge connectors, there’s no easy way to interface physically to the Arduino.
I mount my projects horizontally, on a backing made of whatever I have laying around. The connections are modular using a shield if I’m using an UNO or MEGA, and just in-line .100" connetors for anything else. I make my own single-sided PCBs for mounting the Arduino PRO or NANO to give it access to the outside world, but there are shields available that give them a standard form factor and pinouts.
Good luck, but I don’t see any advantage in doing what you propose.
I would shy away from styrene for an enclosure. Athhough modern components are much more resistant to static issues they still exist, and styrene will build significant charges in the right conditions.
The RS holder is listed as a project enclosure under an “Arduino” search. They are pricey. Not available on line - store only.
I would think a couple of wood sides with slots spaced to handle an Arduino in a box, plus a little space for wiring, would be good. The boxes allow mounting a sheild on the enclosed Arduino. Boxes are a buck fiddy for UNO sizes if you search, big 'uns are more. A piece of brass stock or some wire can make an effective stop for the length on 1 end and keep them from pulling out the front on the other .
I’m not a big fan of having a lot of wire running around or having to build dedicated space for a bunch of electronics, and would tend to mount Arduinos close to where they are used. Hanging them off framing with a couple of screws and non conductive stand-offs wouldn’t bother me a bit.
My main reason is for a neat compact easy to remove multiple Arduino board mounting system. For ease of modifications and programming, I’m never happy with anything very long and I change things sometimes daily. There is always something new or a better way just around the corner.
By using a standard Arduino angle connector on the boards (shields) a board should easily slide in and connect. I used a similar card shelf for my home brew Pasiley circuit signal system with ribbon connectors. I’m in the process of replacing my signal system and I’m looking at constant Arduino board removal.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
I built up a mockup using one row of a 20 pin male angle connector and super glued a 20 pin male straight connector to the angle connector to obtain 40 pins. I used some contact grease in the female connectors but it will require a puller on the other end to remove the card.
I tried it with just a single row angle connector before I glued on the straight connector and it worked easily. A UNO Shield with a single row 20 pin angle connector and contact grease works without a puller.
A simple Styrene pull handle attached to a MEGA Shield should work as a puller. At this point I would say it’s a go for a home brew card cage. I called my LHS and he has all the Styrene pieces in stock to make a card cage.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
I would also stay away from styrene - use small wood strips for form the guides. The main issue is that the Arduinos don’t exactly have the board edge perfectly clean of components - some of them have surface mount parts right at the edge of the board - so you need to be careful of not rubbing parts right off the board.
If you want neat - make actual cards, with some sort of connector, and repalce the Unos with Nanos sockedted to the board with connecting wires to the board edge, so that it can then plug in to some sort of backplane. The same code that runs on an Uno will run on the Nano, and it has the same outputs plus 2 more analog pins (which you can use, or just ignore). ANd they are super cheap, especially ones that don;t have the header pins already soldered on. The big benefit though is space, the Uno bard is relatively huge especially if you are just extending the pins and not adding extra circuitry. But even if you are - a Nano plus those driver chips you used on the light control board can be all placed in a footprint smaller than an Uno.
–Randy
OK you convinced me, no Styrene. I did not know styrene was a static generator.
After reading you’re anti-Styrene posts I tried to build up a static charge with a sheet of Evergreen .040” x 6” x 12” White Styrene, I used several types of material (felt, cotton, wool, rayon and silk) and it did not induce any detectable static or become a dust magnet?? I know that Styrofoam is one of the worst at collecting a static charge, maybe Evergreen treats their products to prevent static build up.
I built my existing card cage from Aluminum so Aluminum it will be. Between Home Depot and Lowes I can find enough Aluminum to build my project. Aluminum is also high with static but it’s a standard in the electronics industry as are plastics.
I have a dedicated space for my electronics next to my control panel where the shelf will fit. I have been using ribbon cable for my electronics wiring under my layout, it’s much easier to run and cleaner than bundling. Come to find out ribbon cable on eBay is cheaper than hookup wire anyway.
Most of the industrial project mountings I’ve seen use some kind of plexiglas, as do some computer cases. Maybe start there?
Just found these:
After spending hours experimenting with Evergreen Styrene products I’ve decided to give it a try. The Evergreen Styrene doesn’t seem any worse than any other material I’ve tried for generating static or sensitive to picking up dust. Styrene is much easier to work with than Aluminum.
I used Vector Electronics Card Racks for over 30 years at work and that is the direction I want to go with my Arduinos. You know the verbiage, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. The card cage or rack works for me.
For those who don’t know what a card cage/rack is here is a picture of a Vector CCA105/90 Card Rack that I will use as a go by in Arduino size.
The Vector price is a bit out of my model railroad budget at $195 so it’s a build it my self project.
I had to chuckle after seeing the Vector chassis. I am quite familiar with them and know what kind of costs you are getting into, home brewed or not. It’s quite a contrast to David Popp’s mounting Tam Valley Frog Juicers with stick on Velcro Dots. [:^)]
CG
About 20 years ago we were going through a complete upgrade for the Bakersfield Police Communications System and six Vector racks went into the trash and were gone before I knew it. I wasn’t happy about it back then and now even more so. I could have cut them and resized them to fit my Arduino cards.
Edit:
I think when we bought them back in the 80s they were about
You asked for a cage, and this isn’t a cage, but it might give you food for thought. Din Rails … http://arduinotronics.blogspot.com/2016/01/arduino-plc-or-pac.html
I did check out the DIN rail mounting and that would work better than the normal Arduino offered mounts but I’m hooked on slide rail mounting. That’s the first time I’ve seen a shield mounted on the bottom of an Arduino and that’s very interesting, I’m going to look into that.
Thanks for your input.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield