3D-printed enclosures for the KryoFlux boards

I was recently asked to install two new KryoFlux floppy disk controller boards, replacing an older revision KryoFlux and an even older Catweasel controller board. The awkward thing about the KryoFlux is that unlike the Catweasel, it does not sit inside the computer, but on the outside, so we have the funny setup of a floppy disk ribbon cable coming out of a hole in the back of the computer into the KryoFlux and then a normal USB cable connecting it back to the computer.

Since this is just a bare electronic board sitting on the table, we thought it would be a good idea to find some way of protecting it. And then I thought about the 3D printers that Yale just got as part of the new Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Design! I took a KryoFlux, made a bunch of measurements, and designed an enclosure on my computer. The next day, I brought in a prototype, made some adjustments to my design, printed another enclosure, and voilĂ !

We really do live in the future! And in the spirit of the 3D-printing community, I have uploaded all of the enclosure’s files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:64058 [originally posted by Aschi Haggenmiller]

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

One thought on “3D-printed enclosures for the KryoFlux boards

  1. Thanks Acshi. It has been great to work with you. For the audience’s benefit, Acshi Haggenmiller is a Yale student working for Beinecke Library. Acshi was responsible for creating our ingest workstations about a year ago. This project creating temporary housing for the Kryoflux boards was truly unique, utilizing Yale’s Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Design (http://ceid.yale.edu/). It was surprising just how quickly he was able to create these two enclosures with the 3-D printer.

    Next, the plan is to create a more permanent enclosure that houses the two disk drives, the Kryoflux floppy controller, the power supply, and the ribbon cables into a single case. We are working from a prototype displayed on the Kryoflux users forum (http://forum.kryoflux.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=467). Acshi’s plan is to build this using a new Addonics Storage Tower (http://www.addonics.com/products/st.php). We will post an update on this once this work is completed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *