Luckyduck
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2020
- Messages
- 827
- Reaction score
- 567
- Location
- Webster, NY
- What state or country do you live in
- New York
I've been reefing since 2004. I've always had an affinity for organization. When I worked at my LFS my boss would always put me on cable management for moves or new installs. My current setup (WaterBox 110.4) is decent but I know I could do better. I think one of the biggest offenders is ballasts. So for this tank I decided to build a power board for all of the ballasts, drivers and control boxes (return & skimmer).
I grabbed an 1/8" sheet of DI-bond I had kickin around in my sign shop. DI-bond board is aluminum faced with foam core. Took the measurements of the inside panel of my sump where the board will go. I hopped onto Adobe Illustrator and started laying out all of my devices to make a blueprint. I got them organized in a way I liked and placed holes for wires to enter and exit the board. Upon completing design I open the file in Adobe Acrobat to print in poster mode. I taped all, of the sheets together and taped it to the board for a template. I used hole saws and my Jigsaw to cut the holes out.
Now that the sheet was cut and holes were in place I wrapped the face of the board in satin black vinyl to match the stands interior. Seeing as I already had the measurements of the holes I created grommets in CAD for all of the holes. I then 3D printed them in Black TPU which is a rubber-like material. Afterwards I designed a 3" surround in CAD for a perfect fit for all 4 sides to bump it out 3" from the wall. I printed all the pieces in white PLA to match the exterior of the stand.
After assembling all of the pieces and popping them on I stepped back for a look. I love how it came out! Purpose built for a perfect fit with matching colors. Love it!! I'm so blessed to have the skills and tools to make these jobs possible.
I grabbed an 1/8" sheet of DI-bond I had kickin around in my sign shop. DI-bond board is aluminum faced with foam core. Took the measurements of the inside panel of my sump where the board will go. I hopped onto Adobe Illustrator and started laying out all of my devices to make a blueprint. I got them organized in a way I liked and placed holes for wires to enter and exit the board. Upon completing design I open the file in Adobe Acrobat to print in poster mode. I taped all, of the sheets together and taped it to the board for a template. I used hole saws and my Jigsaw to cut the holes out.
Now that the sheet was cut and holes were in place I wrapped the face of the board in satin black vinyl to match the stands interior. Seeing as I already had the measurements of the holes I created grommets in CAD for all of the holes. I then 3D printed them in Black TPU which is a rubber-like material. Afterwards I designed a 3" surround in CAD for a perfect fit for all 4 sides to bump it out 3" from the wall. I printed all the pieces in white PLA to match the exterior of the stand.
After assembling all of the pieces and popping them on I stepped back for a look. I love how it came out! Purpose built for a perfect fit with matching colors. Love it!! I'm so blessed to have the skills and tools to make these jobs possible.
