Nice-looking permanent projects with esp devboards?

I’m out then :grin:

For my multi-sensors, I’ve bought some cheap black plastic enclosures and use hot glue liberally.

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I think I’m out too.

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I like it! :grin:

There are a lot of 3d printed things out there that line everything up nicely.

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the “nice looking” criteria is really one of the biggest issues :smiley:
Right now, I am only using ONE ESP32 board in ‘production’ - and this only acts as a Bluetooth proxy for now…

I am still need to consider to design a case for it… and then, maybe a battery power supply for it.

Other projects are in planning phase - but have the same issue… a case… ok, one of the devices will (hopefully be hidden and integrated into another device)…

Generally I try to hide my stuff as much as possible.
Sometimes it has to be in the open but most can be hidden.

In the lower right corner of the TV you can see an arm sticking out from behind the TV, that is the IR transmitter.
And on the center of the TV there is a white (sadly) LED strip that I can turn on to tell my son that time is up, turn off the TV. (off course I can also turn it off but it’s better if does it himself)

A 3d printer really opens up what you can do.

Also if you peruse the show-off section of the ESPHome Discord you’ll see some slick stuff as there’s more advanced users over there. Although quite a lot of PCB stuff.

I’ve create Clip & block and work with it since 2 or 3 years :

I’ve try to share it with others with no success :slight_smile: but if someone want to try it, i would be happy to help him :slight_smile:

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honestly - having a 3D printer here with me, I could print my cases… but… I don’t like their look… ^^
I do print some wall mounts and other stuff some time… but these cases are nothing I really want to have in my living room… :-/

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I’d like to see a good solution, too. I agree that the 3D printed objects I’ve seen aren’t what I’d call attractive, but I don’t have a printer so that’s not an option for me anyway.

The best I’ve come up with are those project boxes @zenzay42 mentioned, above. The nice thing about them is you can make whatever openings you need using a drill, XActo knife or even a soldering iron.

As for the connections, I really like these expansion boards with the screw terminals:
image

The best part is it fits in one of those project boxes with room to spare for, in the example below, the board from an ultrasonic sensor:


Admittedly, this is still not an attractive piece of decor, so I’d love to hear other ideas.

I think, one of the major issues with “cases” is, that the boards we’re using are development boards.
So they aren’t really considered to be used in any kind of product… it is for prototyping purpose - so the main issue is: you can do what ever you want to do - and therefore, there are plenty of possible designs and hardware options… which will make it hard for any company to provide “nice cases” that would fit your particular case.

I would like to know, if - for example, the ESP32 S2 BOX would / could be supported with ESPHome…
That’s a nice device… comes with an microphone - and some basic Voice Control… IF it would be possible to implement this within ESPHome - and for example use the voice control / microphone with ASSIST later on… that would be great… it would be a perfect fit for using the ESP as an bluetooth proxy, while having a HMI sitting on your desk… (to show Weather information, or whatever and do voice control :wink: )

Else:
Whenever possible, I would see how I could ‘extend’ the ESP…
I think it is a bit different building something like this:

Maybe - with a printed or Wooden case - and using the ESP inside for additional stuff like bluetooth proxy - or whatever else… I think, such things have a better “family acceptance factor” :wink:

There are areas, where you can probably hide your ESP within an exsiting Hardware - or where a printed case doesn’t matter… but everywhere in your living room, kitchen or similar… I would search for ANY other option :slight_smile:

Maybe: also consider to take cases from other hardware appart before throwing them away…
I think, then there are plenty of options on how to hide this hardware

saying this: I remembered that I still have an old (gen1) Amazon Echo here…

An ESP32 dev board seems to fit nicely - so I removed the whole inlay of the Echo… put the ESP32 in it.

Now, I can consider to create an LED “ring” which will be controlled by the ESP … and maybe use some “custom” buttons to make them also usable I will search for some inspiration :slight_smile:

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Maybe you could be lucky enough to find a ESPHome device that looks nice, is cheapish and has a few buttons/leds you like, and then you just hijack the whole thing for your project?

If the esp inside isn’t enough you could swap it I guess.

Or maybe you could find an SSD enclosure you like?

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Or a Bluetooth speaker.
AU $3.02 80%OFF | Outdoor Subwoofer MINI Portable Speaker Fm Radio Music Sound Box Aluminum Alloy Wireless Speaker
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Some of these might be wasteful, but perhaps you can find something with reusable parts.

Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned that I don’t have a 3d printer. I think I would first need to make a bunch of esp devices that end up being really useful, then if that works out justify making room in my house for a 3d printer.

I think there are basically several stages:

  1. Leave your ESP32 hanging off a wire
  2. Put it in some kind of plastic enclosure with wires coming out of holes
  3. Put it in an enclosure, but where you’ve fixed the board so the USB port is sticking out and maybe there are a few buttons you can press on the outside of the house.
  4. Do custom 3d-printed boxes.
  5. Do custom boxes that somehow look nice.

So right now I’m at stage 1, and I guess I’d at least like to find some inspiration to get to stage 3. Once I’m there for a while and my crazy esp projects prove useful, I could see getting a 3d printer and moving to stage 4 and aspiring to 5.

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I have used my local library for 3d printing. Small charge, quick work, I go past the door on my way to work.

Perhaps only useful if you find a design online that you are confident will work. Protoyping and repeated prints to get something right would be tedious.

Anyway, my point is that you don’t necessarily need your own 3d printer.

I also like @Mahko_Mahko 's idea of re-using something tidy, but originally designed for something else.

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This is precisely what I did.

3D printing is for patricians, regular people make do with sturdy plastic boxes, drill holes in it for wires and buttons:

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How did you mount the red button?

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These are the two button types I usually go with if it helps.

Easy to mount.

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Drilled a hole, superglued it in place from the inside - the button cap comes off, so the hole can be smaller than the cap.