SUSTAINABILITY:
To many this item might just be a used lump of Aluminium but I am big on reusing or repurposing old electronic components and hardware, particularly from the point of view of sustainability, and this enclosure is a perfect candidate for repurposing.
Sustainability is far more than NOT burying waste material back into the earth but consciously recognising the energy expended to create the item through it's various "stages" in life, beginning with the raw materials being extracted from the earth, processed, finished and then fitted into equipment - every single step used energy which is referred to as embodied energy (Ee).
Coming up with an Ee value for EVERYTHING us humans create is an attempt to take into account the energy used for extracting and processing of the raw materials, forming the metal into the desired component, distribution of the component(s) and final assembly of the component. In fact the measurement of Ee can become extremely complicated and technical, many tertiary institutions are involved in this specialised field of science.
The sole purpose of establishing Ee values is to raise awareness of the extraordinary energy consumed in the creation of various items - it may give you cause to think twice before wasting all that energy and burying it in the ground, with the possible side-effects of poisoning the environment due to leeching.
HERE is a page I have created which gives some tables and more detailed information about specific Ee values for different materials plus a link which you can use as a starting point to investigate Ee for yourself.
The creation of formed Aluminium, such as this item, is one of the most energy intensive processes, then add the energy used to form and shape the raw Aluminium, ship it to the manufacturer, assemble and ship to the distributors of the finished product and if a consumer product, ship it again to the retail outlets for sale ... this all adds up to a LOT of cumulative energy has been used to create this "lump of metal" and present it as a finished product, then guess what happens?
The "clever" humans use the product for a while and when it has finished its useful life, go and bury it in the ground - that's not a very intelligent choice!
BACKGROUND TO THIS ITEM:
Both of these enclosures were once part of a DVS (Germany) digital audio system, they were the "breakout" boxes. The equipment has become obsolete due to technological advances so I had to sit down and work out which items may offer the opportunity of being repurposed.
These two enclosures are perfect candidates!
Of course, repurposing requires some effort on the owners part - while the sides, top & bottom are immediately reusable, the front and back panels will need to be re-created to suit the user's needs.
Onwards and forwards ... the description ...
ENCLOSURE CASE
Country of origin is unknown but most likely to be Germany or an EU nation at least
Material: Extruded Aluminium
Provides a physically strong, RF or EMI shielded enclosure for general electronic equipment.
Actually it is the polished Aluminium side sections that are extruded, the top and bottom panels are plain 1.75mm thick Aluminium
Top panel has no holes or cut outs
Bottom panel has ONE central bolt which threads into a socket that is built into the Aluminium sheet - you can remove the screw but this will leave you with a hole to fill. The screw was originally intended as part of the physical mounting of the enclosure.
To make the enclosure stable and secure you need to fit at least one front or rear panel, or both. The user will need to produce their own panel for this. I will be supplying the original front & rear panels but these are only to be used as templates ... in the majority of cases, the existing cutouts are not going to be of much use (DB25 & XLR 3 pin connector cutouts)
The two supplied panels for the front and rear, which will probably need to be re-created, measure 218mm L x 44mm H and are 1.3mm thick. Four holes need to be drilled in the new panel, one in each corner, for the bolts that fit into the extruded Aluminium sides. I will be supplying the original panels for use as templates.
The original 8x screws (4 for the front and 4 for the back panel) are supplied.
DIMENSIONS (ASSEMBLED)
218mm wide x 102mm deep x 42mm height
The measured depth includes the thickness of the current front & rear panels, if your own Aluminium or sheet metal is thinner or thicker, the depth would of course vary slightly.
WEIGHT (2x sides plus top and bottom sheets only) 230g total
If you know your audio world, this is just slightly smaller than a "half rack" enclosure, two of these would sit comfortably side by side on a 1RU rack shelf.
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
Clean
NO scratches or user markings
I have left the "stick on" FCC Safety label on the bottom panel - this is easy to remove if you don't want it on the case.
NO bent sections or other physical damage
Actually on this point ... when assembled with the 8x screws, this is one very tough case! I could stand on this case and not bend it and the sides certainly will not collapse!
I have now packed this "enclosure kitset" in sealed, clear plastic to keep it in the current very good condition while awaits an enterprising person to make use of it once again.
