happyopossum
5 hours ago
Fun writeup! I was surprised by the part about styrofoam boxes though:
Despite their popularity, they have a few disadvantages:
They come in predefined sizes which mandate a certain weight allowance
They cannot be flexible for your specific payload, making it hard to be efficient with payload layout
They are expensive compared to more custom solutions
Buying a styrofoam box and just accepting that it's gotta be that shape and size feels like a huge waste.
rtkwe
5 hours ago
Seems like the simple solution is a Styrofoam sheet, a $10 hot knife and some glue solves the customization problem almost trivially.
radeeyate
3 hours ago
I think another point I hadn't included was the flexibility I had with prototyping different boxes. The hardware was changing all the time, and being able to just 3d print another revision was very convenient.
If I did something like that with styrofoam, it probably would have gotten pretty expensive. The precision you get from printing was also a plus, as there needed to be slots for cameras, antennas, and circuit board mounting holes.
wlesieutre
2 hours ago
You can get a 4' x 8' sheet of 1" EPS insulation from Home Depot for under $20 (thicker available if you need it, costs more) along with compatible construction adhesives.
You do have to be careful with glue selection because a lot of solvents will dissolve it, but there's plenty that will work.
TylerE
3 hours ago
What's expensive? You can buy a medium sized cooler for $5 at Walmart. That's a fair bit of foam.
nkrisc
4 hours ago
In my intro Industrial Design class long ago we fashioned styrofoam and many other kinds of foam into every shape imaginable with a hot wire, some utility knives, and contact adhesive. A wood rasp worked well for organic and rounded forms (wear a mask), though that’s probably not needed in this application.