I installed Ryan’s Jackpot case and tidied up the wires somewhat and I made some observations for things that I might prefer for my use case.
Some of my wires have extra length and it’s cramped. The side holes are too small for my X wires and I am reluctant to punch holes in the lid. There are no tie downs for the extra wire so it wants to escape when I’m closing the lid. The endstop indicators are not visible (not a big deal).
Small things generally.
I have extra room between the braces so why not use that space, and add some features while I’m at it.
This started with very much the same spirit as the Jackpot case, and I went crazy with little zip-tie features:
Extra length can get tucked away in any of several places. The opening for the ESP32 and fans is effectively the same. One of the goals is to allow a modular lid (not done) that could be multiple pieces. The idea is for a hinge but it may just end up being a clip-on, if the hinge doesn’t work well.
Having multiple pieces will make it easier to handle the fan wire as one example. The fan wire could be short, and it could be plugged in after the fan portion of the lid is closed, for example. It also allows experimenting with different options and features without redoing the whole thing every time.
A multi-part segmented lid also allows for an opening so the X wire or 4th axis can exit through the lid, without having to replace the entire lid, and the hole can be small (smaller than the connector) if it is on the boundary between lid segments. When not using the 4th axis, the lid segment can be replaced with a segment with no hole.
I also included extra posts, three to the left and three to the right, for possibly mounting extra stuff, like a buck converter or a physical relay or whatever.
Also the left, right, and front edges are all straight and co-planar, which would allow for an acrylic lid that offers visibility to the endstop status.
And one small touch, the holes in the side align with the braces. I have little clips that hold the wires along the bottom inside of the braces, so these will line up nicely.
All those zip-tie anchors are pretty ridiculous. The wires will be secure like never before!
Now I just need to do the lid.