Product Idea

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I can’t be the only person who wants my little microcontrollers scattered around the house to be in cases. The problem then comes when have to rig up supports and cut holes for power cables. Most small microcontroller boards would happily be almost entirely supported by their MicroSD slot.

A product I would buy a bunch of would be a combo microSD plug and socket, with a small flare that could be used to make a decent seal in the side of a case, so the plug points into the case, allowing a microcontroller card to be plugged into it, and the socket sat outside, allowing easy connection and disconnection of a USB cable for power/programming.

Basically, this, but without the cable:

How about it, Core Electronics?

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Interesting product idea @Politas like a male-female micro USB adapter with mounting flange.
My concern would be mechanical stress on the connector from a rigid cantilever support.
We’ll see what we can dig up! What do you think, @Liam ?

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That’s a cool idea. I usually 3D print my case with the USB port sticking out or hot glue a connector in.

Is this what you’re thinking of?
image
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004671345072.html

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That looks a little on the bulky side compared to what I imagined, but yeah, that’s the idea.

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Hi Politas,

Super cool idea!! Making your projects look nice while keeping deployment quick can definitely be an issue when closing out a project.
The panel mount cables have been great for many Makers projects so I’ll take a look into making them more affordable!

Michael raises a great point Re: mechanical stress, while the connectors would be fine for very static mounts any vibration would start to cause cracks in the solder joint (for both the mechanical and electrical pads on the microcontroller).

Addressing some of your frustrations with power and re-programming boards I’d check out Jim’s and Ben’s projects where they used waterproof enclosures with some exterior connections.

Another way to conserve power would be to use a Nano power timer, it works much like the timer mains switches you might use to turn lights on and off when you go on holidays: Makerverse Nano Power Timer | Core Electronics Australia

As for programming, a lot of newer wireless microcontrollers allow for OTA programming, the ESP32 allows for a web REPL to be opened and programmed without a USB cable: Quick reference for the ESP32 — MicroPython latest documentation

If I have misinterpreted anything please please hit the reply button and let me know, its a super interesting idea that would undoubtedly solve problems.
Liam

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I can see mechanical stress being an issue for devices being moved about, but:

A) a lot of small box devices like this would be tucked onto our of the way shelves or drawers and wouldn’t be experiencing any regular vibration.

B) It’s pretty simple to add a mound of glue that a board can be screwed into or some other padding to anchor the far end and neutralise the torque.

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Hi Politas,

Great points - we’ll try to source some products like you described.

We’ve got a fair bit in the pipeline in terms of new products so if you find anything before then definitely send through a link so we can fast track it!
Liam

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