Aluminum Extrusion Enclosure

In this Instructable, I will take you through my processes of designing & building a CNC enclosure for my small custom CNC. This enclosure is a simple but very effective product that helped me prevent all of the wood and aluminum chips from getting everywhere in my basement. As a student, I don't have a huge budget for this project, so I tried to use as many random pieces of material as I could find around the house. Although I will be using mine as a box to house my CNC machine, I see many different options that this could be used for; 3d printing enclosure, storage display box, Sound dampening box, or even a winter greenhouse.

Tools:

1. Cutting Tools
2. Circular saw
3. Handsaw
4. Jigsaw
5. 3D Printer
6. Woodworking Square
7. Measuring tape
8. Drill (Assorted Bits)
9. Tap M5 & M6
10. Vice
11. Folding table

Materials:

1. T-Nuts
2. M5 Screws
3. Acrylic Sheets
4. Cabinet Lights
5. Hinges
6. 3D Printed Door Handle
7. Aluminum Extrusion
8. MDF

Optional:

1. Paint / Finish
2. Side Brackets (metal or 3d printed)

There are a few important steps to keep in mind when designing your box:

1) How much space do you have available? I recommend keeping a moderately sized box that doesn't fill up your entire space in order to keep a organized and productive workstation.

2) What materials do I have / what is my budget? This is an important question because keeping your materials under a specified margin is important or else it will easily explode as you add new features.

3) What are the features that I need for my box? There are many different options to keep in mind for this, here are a few examples that I took into consideration:

1. Wiring organization holes & strips
2. Lights in the box
3. Size of windows
4. Materials on hand
5. Access to tools

I decided to use Autodesk Fusion 360 to design my enclosure because of the usefulness & simplicity for quickly importing standard parts. Using components from McMaster-Carrs fusion Add-on, I was quickly able to add in industry standard parts that I could easily access from their website or the local Home Depot. For more info on adding components see the following (Autodesk Assistance). For the frame of my design, I decided to use 20x20 aluminum extrusion because it is easily accessible & I think that it is quite aesthetically appealing. I included the option of spray painting the side materials of the box, however, I decided against it because I enjoy the raw & functional look of the box.

To make sure that everything lines up and creates a perfectly dimensioned box, I was very careful when cutting my material to length measuring twice so that I would only have to cut once. To start, I laid out a spreadsheet of each dimension of material that I would need for my box and marked them off as I finished cutting those lengths.

I measured out my aluminum extrusion using inches because that was the measuring device on hand, however, if I were to redo this I would have liked to use CM because that is the measurement I make all of my projects with. To cut the aluminum extrusion, I used a simple circular saw to cut on marked lines on the extrusion. Additionally, I clamped down the extrusion into a vice to ensure the most accuracy of my cuts. To start, I tried to cut a little bit outside of the ideal measurement that was needed for each extrusion, before lining up all remaining pieces and cutting them together to ensure the same length for each.

There are two simple ways that I thought up in order to secure the box together; 3d Printed brackets secured by m5 T-nuts or drilling and tapping holes into the ends of each piece of extrusion. I decided to use the ladder because it utilized much fewer materials and ended up looking very clean. Here are in-depth instructions on assembly through drilled & tapped holes with aluminum extrusion.

1. Tap M5 holes into the end of the extrusion.
2. Line up a hole for the 2 extrusions to line up flush.
3. Screw in the M5 screw until there is about half a cm remaining.
4. Slide the screw and extrusion into the opposing slot until the top lines up with the previously drilled hole.
5. tighten down the screw in the correct position & move to the next side.

After prepping all pieces of aluminum extrusion, you are ready to start putting together your enclosure, I started by creating two large rectangles and then connecting them separately using the remaining extrusions. After having an outside frame, I separately assembled the doors of the enclosure and lined them up to make sure they fit, do not install them yet as it will make it very difficult to add in the acrylic windows.

With this step complete we are beginning to see the beginnings of our lovely enclosure. I made sure that all pieces fit together well and made any minor adjustments as needed.

To create the walls of my enclosure, I used 1/4 inch MDF because using a little bit of elbow grease, you can get it to perfectly friction fit within the slots of the aluminum extrusion. Just like in the measurements of the Aluminum Extrusions, I used a spreadsheet to map out the size of each piece I needed. I used the length & width of the box minus 1/2 inch on each side to get it to perfectly fit within the frame.

Now, with all of my measurements in front of me, I carefully measured and cut out each of the pieces. With all of my perfectly sized pieces, I then removed one of the sides & slid the MDF into position before placing the extrusion side back into place to securely hold it still. For the windows, I used 1/8 inch acrylic which does move around a little bit within the extrusion, but I created 3d printed mounts to make sure that the movement was minimal.

Finally, to finish the walls, I drilled and cut holes in the box to route my wires & my vacuum hose so that the box could be sealed during operation. The best part about working with MDF is that it is super moldable material that is easily cut & drilled into for the perfect size holes, For my holes, I used a drill bit in all corners before cutting out the rest with a jigsaw. I checked the fit and then sanded it out to finish.

Before restricting our working room by placing the doors on the box, I recommend installing your lights on the roof of the box. To secure mine, I used the provided adhesive pads with additional gorilla glue to make sure that the heat generated by the lights would not knock it out of position. These lights that I linked to in the materials above are very good because they provide a lot of light in a very small form factor.

Finally, it's time to install the doors onto the frame, for my enclosure, I used Home Depot hinges with t-nuts to easily adjust the height and angle of the doors. In my process, I found it much easier to install the hinges onto the frame itself before putting the doors on the frame. Once the doors were loosely connected I closed them and lined them up to make sure they were in the proper position when tightened. Once I was happy with the layout of the doors, I screwed in the 3d printed door handles to finish off the enclosure.

Last but not least, it’s time to add the small details that make this enclosure as amazing as it can be. For mine, I added in the 3d printed door handles along with some small pieces that ensure the doors always close completely. For some extra fun, I added a ESP32 camera so that I can remotely monitor my machine. If you are looking for some other ideas and additions to add to your enclosure here are a few ideas:

1. ESP Camera
2. Door Handles
3. Magnetic Door Stops
4. Soft Close Mechanism
5. Probe Holder
6. Shelves / Organization

Finally, it’s time to get milling!!!