Vander Labs

Skills / Hardware

Enclosures for 3D printing

Cases that fit on the first full print

Your AI designs a printable case around your electronics the way a product designer with a printer farm would: real clearances, standoffs that match the board, port cutouts sized for the plug, and OpenSCAD you can render now.

By Vander Labs. A Vander Labs Original, written by the Vander Labs team with AI assistance. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Claude Code.

What your AI learns

  • Sets walls, clearances and standoffs for FDM and resin printers
  • Writes parametric OpenSCAD with box, lid and a 10 mm fit-test module
  • Plans openings, vents and heat so sensors and batteries stay happy

How it works

  1. List the parts: Every board, connector, button, display and battery with dimensions and which wall each one faces.
  2. Pick the type: Screwed two-part box by default; snap-fit for small light builds; clamshell for handhelds.
  3. Clearances: 2 mm walls, 2 mm of air around the board, 0.3 to 0.5 mm between sliding parts, shrinkage allowance on holes.
  4. Mounting: M2.5 or M3 standoffs matching the board, heat-set inserts if opened often, ribs on long walls.
  5. Openings: Cutouts sized for cable overmolds, thin windows over LEDs, flexure buttons, recessed display glass.
  6. Heat and sensors: Vents placed for convection, sensors away from the regulator and radio, a swell gap for any battery.
  7. Printability: Support-free orientation, overhangs under 45 degrees, PLA indoors and PETG or ASA for heat and sun.
  8. Fit test: Print the lowest 10 mm first, check board drop-in and port alignment, adjust variables, then print the full case.

Limits and safety

  • Anything carrying mains voltage needs a certified enclosure; printed PLA and PETG are not flame rated.
  • Never fully seals a lithium battery; leaves a swell gap and a way to remove it.

Topics: 3d-printing, openscad, enclosure, fdm, cad