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Topic starter
2019-07-10 1:31 pm
At our local IOT meetup, there was a group that had a product set to help organize your project mounting a little better. It's called Phase dock.
It gives you a secure way of mounting your projects as you prototype, test, or even longterm.
What you have is a base that you can snap in mounts on that can hold SBC (i.e. the RPI), uCs (i.e. Arduino), sensors. The base can be used free standing or mounted on or in cabinets, project boxes, etc.
As of now, mounts are being 3d printed, but the base is made of acrylic. They are in the process of getting the mounts injection molded. In talking with the engineer, they will probably release the STL's for the mounts so you can add to your base collection or modify one for a particular device you need to mount. There is also a new base in the works, that will be more conducive for robotics projects.
See https://www.phasedock.com/ for more details.
Scott
Topic starter
2019-07-10 3:35 pm
It's their own design. The mounts (not the base) is being printed until they get them molded here in the states. I could see a few uses for this especially once they get the other base done. It will be more bot friendly I think. These would be good to use for prototyping a project them transporting to a remote site for testing and remounting to another box or mounting system or mounting as-is. If you did purchase the base, it would be nice to be able to make your own mounts or modifying them without having to buy more.
Scott
2019-07-10 4:54 pm
Hi Scott,
I can see it has it's uses especially in industry where you need your prototype to look good for the client. I can't see an advantage for an experimenter if you have to print another set of mounts for every new component.
The other thing is the price at $85 (£68) for the full kit. I have trouble affording $5 for a part so this is well out of my price range. You can get:
- 180 nylon stand-offs @ £7.50
- 2 x sheets of acrylic @ £5.00
- Mini drill kit @ $12.50
Total cost £25 ($31) for something that will do the same job, you will have to drill some holes but that is going to be faster then 3D printing a part (I don't have a 3D printer). And after making the enclosure I will still have the drill and lots of stand-offs left over.
I'm not a big fan of expensive items (£68 is more than I earn in a month) so I can't see this being marketed to school age makers.
Sorry, not a fan of this one. ?
The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human... sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot.
2019-07-10 5:18 pm
I hate to make negative posts, but I'm with Mandy on this one. ?
I mean, these would be great for someone who has the cash to invest. And this might not even be all that much if you're only building one project. I currently have at least a dozen or more projects sitting around. All made with plywood bases and tiny wood screws for mounting them. I use aquarium tubing as stand-offs. I just slice off the amount I need with a razor knife and slip it over the wood screw.
I'd rather spend the "big bucks" on parts I can't make myself. Like a Raspberry Pi, or a bunch of SD cards. In fact I'm looking at ordering 10 SD cards as we speak. $25 for 16GB or $28 for 32GB. Trying to decide which size I'd rather have. The 32GB obviously hold more, but they also take twice as long to burn an image on. So if I don't need the space the 16GB cards might actually be more realistic. I'm sitting here torn between getting the extra space versus opting for the faster copying speed of image systems. Twice the space for only $3 more is hard to pass up. I'll probably grab the 32GB cards and put up with taking longer to burn system images. ?
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2019-07-10 5:31 pm
- 180 nylon stand-offs @ £7.50
- 2 x sheets of acrylic @ £5.00
- Mini drill kit @ $12.50
Do you have links to these products? Sounds kind of interesting. I already have a mini drill kit, but I'm curious what kind of stand-offs you use and the size of the acrylic sheets.
Thanks.
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2019-07-10 5:52 pm
- 180 nylon stand-offs @ £7.50
- 2 x sheets of acrylic @ £5.00
- Mini drill kit @ $12.50
Do you have links to these products? Sounds kind of interesting. I already have a mini drill kit, but I'm curious what kind of stand-offs you use and the size of the acrylic sheets.
Thanks.
Everything is on Ebay, I just did a quick look for the prices so you may be able to get a better price.
These are M3 so I also have a box of M2 stand-offs.
The acrylic sheet is 3mm thick A5 clear (other colours cost a bit more).
The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human... sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot.
Topic starter
2019-07-10 6:03 pm
Sorry, I posted it as it seems to have offended you both. Goodbye.
2019-07-10 6:14 pm
Sorry, didn't mean to come across that way. I did say that it would be a good deal for someone who only has a single project. I believe Mandy also said that it would be good for someone who needs to take their project to a presentation. ?
You shouldn't take other people's opinions on things personally. Our objections to the product were never intended to be about you. We were just suggesting that they are a bit pricey for some hobbyists. Perhaps a good deal for others.
DroneBot Workshop Robotics Engineer
James
2019-07-10 6:29 pm
Sorry, I posted it as it seems to have offended you both. Goodbye.
Hi Scott,
I'm not offended in fact I find the Phase Dock quite fun and I'm always interested in new products. I'm just trying to give an opinion from my point of view with a full as possible explanation of my thinking.
Your post has started a discussion on prototyping so it is a good starting point.
This post was modified 5 years ago by Mandy
The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human... sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot.
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