3D printed enclosures and cases for electronics
Custom enclosures for your board, sensor or instrument, printed in Barcelona. Materials, wall thicknesses, threaded inserts and what to expect on sealing.
A printed enclosure solves the problem almost every small electronics project has: the off-the-shelf box never quite fits. The connectors land two millimetres off, there is no hole for the LED, or the board rattles inside. Printing the box means the holes are where your board actually is.
Which material to choose
| Material | When | Max temp |
|---|---|---|
| PETG | The default. Tough, slightly flexible, handles damp and sunlight. | 75 °C |
| ABS | If the box heats up inside: power supplies, drivers, output stages. | 95 °C |
| Carbon fibre PLA | Premium matte finish and maximum stiffness. For kit that gets shown. | 60 °C |
| PLA | Form and fit prototypes. The cheapest way to iterate. | 55 °C |
The four details that decide whether the box works
- 1Wall thickness: 1.6 mm for a box that gets handled, 2 mm or more if it takes knocks. Below 1.2 mm the box creaks as you close it.
- 2Board standoffs: leave 0.3 mm clearance around the PCB hole and use M3 threaded inserts rather than tapping the plastic.
- 3Connector cut-outs: add 0.4 mm per side. A USB-C drawn to exact size will not fit the printed part.
- 4Ventilation: if there is more than 2 or 3 W inside, add slots. A sealed plastic box is a thermos flask.
On sealing, plainly
An FDM part is built in layers, and between layers there are micro-pores. With thick walls and PETG we can get something that shrugs off splashes and rain — enough for a sensor under an eave. What we cannot give you is a certified IP rating: that needs laboratory testing and, almost always, a gasket and a screwed closure designed in from the start. If your project needs IP67, tell us first and we will say whether printing it makes sense.
Can you make a custom enclosure for my board?
Yes, it is the most common job in this category. If you have the 3D model, it gets printed; if not, send the board dimensions, the mounting hole positions and which connectors must poke through, and it gets designed. The design is quoted before any work starts.
Is a printed enclosure watertight?
We certify no IP rating. A gasket channel and screws with washers can be designed in, and that resists splashes reasonably well, but a printed part has layers and layers are where moisture eventually gets in. Guaranteed sealing needs an off-the-shelf certified box.
What does a 3D printed enclosure cost?
It depends on the box’s volume, not on how complicated it is: complex geometry costs nothing extra in printing. A project box that fits in your hand lands near the order minimum; an instrument housing goes higher. Upload the file to the configurator and the price appears instantly.
Can I use metal screws in a printed enclosure?
Yes, and for anything that opens and closes repeatedly it is what you want: brass threaded inserts, heat-set into the plastic. A screw driven straight into plastic survives a few openings before the thread chews the material away.
Where it works well
- Enclosure prototypes before committing to a mould
- Runs of 1 to 500 units, where tooling never pays for itself
- Front panels with custom cut-outs for connectors and displays
- Project boxes for indoor, lab or workshop installation
- Fast revisions: move a cut-out and reprint the same day
Where it stops
- Certified sealing. We can design a gasket channel, but we certify no IP rating.
- EMI shielding. Plastic does not shield; you will need conductive paint or a metal box.
- Equipment running above 95 °C inside. Not even ABS holds up there.
- Electronics assembly. We print the box; you fit the board.
Recommended materials
Related guides
Got the file for your part?
Upload it to the configurator for an exact price in seconds. If you do not have one yet, we can design it.