LushOne Modular Synth Laser Cut Case

This is my case design for the LushOne Modular Synth kit. the designer of the kit also created a laser cut case design but I didn't really like having the open face on the PCB as it doesn't offer much protection. My case also improves the operation of the buttons, without the front panel they feel very flimsy as they're so tall, with my case only the tops poke through the face, holding them in place and making them feel much more reliable.

it's built out of 3mm plywood held together with PVA glue, proper wood glue would be better but PVA was all I had to hand. I decorated the outside of the box with comic panels held on with more PVA, the paper makes the box a bit stronger. The whole construction feels pretty solid despite the glue used.

I am currently using tape to hold the batteries in position in the box, this is not ideal but as I am going to build a mains power supply for it so taping the batteries is only temporary.

Step 1: Construction

The construction of the case was fairly simple, After laser cutting the parts I used PVA glue to hold the body of the box together. I had originally intended to use the 4 corner pieces shown in the vector file to hold the Lush Ones PCB in the box, but when the parts had been printed the holes didn't line up, I didn't have enough time with the laser cutter to design new ones so I drilled 2 more holes and used a right angle bracket from a Mechano set to hold the lid on, I glued a nut to the back of the bracket so once the lid is on it can be bolted into place.This holds the box together suprisingly well.

I had to use a Dremel to enlarge the holes for the LED's buttons and potentiometers as in my original file I didn't leave enough clearance for them, in the vector file file I've increased the sizes of the holes but haven't had a chance to cut a new face out and test it so if anyone does build this project please leave a comment or message me to say how well it fits. I also had to enlarge the MIDI in and 3.5mm jack holes as they're alignment was wrong when I originally cut it. I have moved them slightly but recommend anyone making this case double checks the position of the holes in my vector file.

To create the vector I used a picture of the LushOne's PCB scaled to the correct size as a template for the front of the box, This made it really easy align all the holes so the case fitted. The front of the case is probably the most important part of this Instructable as you could cut it into any enclosure and just bolt the Lush One on. This means that as long as you have access to a laser cutter an effective case can be made very easily.

I built my Lush One before making the case but knew that I wanted a proper enclosure over its front, so I soldered in the LED's so they where flush with the top of the potentiometers housing. This was quite fiddly and I didn't spend enough time to get them all exactly the same height so if possible I'd recommend cutting out the face of the box and using that as a guide when soldering the LEDs.