Tooling the Altoids tin.

Minty so good. Minty so tasty.

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Have you actually built a working Minty?

Yes
2
29%
No
3
43%
I built one, but it doesn't work.
2
29%
 
Total votes: 7

xoxota
 
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:31 am

Tooling the Altoids tin.

Post by xoxota »

Can anyone give pointers on how to drill/tool the altoids tin to make room for all the buttons and widgets that stick out? Has anyone figured out how to insulate the board from the case? Should I line it with electical tape? What about mounting the board inth ebox (so it doesn't move when I push a button or something)?

So many questions....

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Post by adafruit »

i used a dremel/drill press. and yeah electrical tape is just fine

chaostic
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:16 pm

Post by chaostic »

The poll should change to include a building option, and a getting parts inorder to maybe build if I ever get around to it.

Anyway, I tend to use anti-static bags to provide insulation. I got a couple of altoid tins with a-s bags wrapped around the inside to use as extra battery holders. But, since I am only basing the insulation property with the anti-static property, can anyone confirm that the bags can not short out a battery (While both are inside a altoids tin)?

adafruit
 
Posts: 12151
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Post by adafruit »

!!! anti-static bags are conductive! you should -never- put powered electronics in them!!!!

chaostic-offline
 

Post by chaostic-offline »

Thank god I but a bit of packaging foam to stop the rattle of the batteries, preventing the postitive terminal to touch the a-s bag. And that I keep them all facing the same way. As soon as I get home, the a-s bags go bye bye.

chaostic
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:16 pm

Post by chaostic »

Now that the bag is gone, can anyone recommend something nice that isn't conductive that I can put in the tin? Do those rubber in a bottle spray stuff conduct?

backass2
 

Altoids tin Box manipulation

Post by backass2 »

I recently did a bit of machining to an altoids gum container. I am lucky enough to have a small Roland CNC machine at my office, so machining the container is easy. Here are a few pointers and suggestions. Before you start to mutilate the tin box, tape it together with some clear packing tape. This will stabilize the the metal box and allow you to cut it easier. A dremel will work well. There is a jig that holds the dremel in a vertical position with the chuck facing down like a small CNC machine, this is a good thing to have for this project. Once the Dremel is secure you can place the tin on the base, plunge the dremel and move the tin with your hands to cut your slots and holes.

Eric

drewish
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:10 pm

dremel it

Post by drewish »

i'm a huge fan of epoxy it doesn't conduct and it'll keep you stuff in place (just make sure everything works first ;)

i used a dremel to do all the cutting on my minty mouse project:
http://flickr.com/photos/drewish/7836107/in/set-171310/
i cut out the big holes first and then made the narrow button cuts. i found that a lower rmp worked best.

chaostic
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:16 pm

Post by chaostic »

Not one to steal an idea, but I can't find out who came up with it. So anyway, Pour water into the altoids case, freeze, then do your case work before the ice melts. Prevents the metal from getting all twisted up when drilling big holes.

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