Alumodi, A DNA20 Build

[kurtus]

I started this on another forum but thought I would share it here too, I love getting input from all the resources possible




I'm planing on starting the new years with a bang(just a figure of speech not literally lol....I hope lol), heck yeah a dna20 aluminum box mod. I purchased a Hammond 1590b diecast aluminum box for this mod with the intent to house 2x Samsung INR18650-20R batts. They are good for 20a a piece so more than safe and with a parallel load we are looking at 4000mah. Should be good for a few days I think.

Here is a parts list so far from digikey
HM151-ND BOX ALUM 4.41X2.38X1.22" UNPTD(Hammond 1590B) This will be finished with Powder coat.
EG4729-ND SWITCH PUSH SPST-NO 2A 48V(E-Switch PV5S640SS 12mm brushed stainless steel dome switch)
401-1803-ND SWITCH TACTILE SPST-NO 0.05A 50V(C&K Components KSJ0M211 80SH LFT)

Parts from Bogger box mods
510 sealed silver connector prewired with 22awg(should I change this to 20awg or just keep wires short?)
Stainless steel shorty drip cup

Parts from shapeways
DNA20 Cradle, black strong and flexible, polished alumide

misc parts
20 awg wire
Gorilla glue clear 5 min epoxy
Lepage gel epoxy
2.6mm acrylic sheet
18650 battery cradles
.060 lexan for backing boards for aluminum box to prevent shorts

Evolv parts
DNA20D board
dna usb board

Parts to order still
4a resettable fuses, trip current 6.8amps(TE Electronics RGEF400)
20% window tint(not too sure if 5% limo tint would be too dark)

 

[kurtus]

I'm sure I forgot something in the above post but here is some pictures of the start of the build. I am currently waiting on the dna boards, cradles, battery holders and 510 connector.

I have started the box using the pdf for the dna screen cradle, template made life really easy. My method for cutting this out was to drill a bunch of holes thin use the bit layed side to side to make the cuts. I left a mm or so to work at it with a fine file.


Here we are after working it with the drill bit


The final cutout for the cradle, turned out perfect I think. 510 hole drilled and button placement counter sinks in place.


Now to my dilemma, I need to know what the best glue is to secure the 510 connector into the box is. I was going to sand the inside of the box really well to get the best adhesion. I was thinking of using an oring around the 510 connector in the box then using the gorilla epoxy to keep it there. I am not too worried about removing it in the future so I'm wondering if something like jb weld would hold it better.
I don't want to have something like my russian on it and have a topple pulling the 510 connector out of place. I was planning on using the clear gorilla epoxy to hold the acrylic screen into the cradle as per Mamu's advice, using the gel epoxy to hold the screen and board in the box for easy removal if there are any issues. Not too sure on the tactiles but I think the gorilla epoxy would work well here as well?? Here is a picture of the adhesives I have.

 

[kurtus]

buttons drilled out


Space inside


As soon as this usb board shows up I can get this box powder coated. I swung a deal with a local to hit it whenever they are spraying something, I am just leaving it with them and they are letting me know the color of the day for me to decide if thats what I want. Doing it this way gets the box coated for 15 bucks.....pretty damn hard to beat. I'm thinking if i get them to powder coat the inside I should be good to go as far as being non conductive so I wont be to be so concerned about shorts with the circuit boards.

 

[kurtus]

Forgot to get pictures of everything but when I got back to work yesterday from holidays I was greated with a number of presents....and I thought christmas was over lol. Got the dna20d chip, evolv usb board, mamu cradles, bogger shorty drip well, bogger silver pre wired 510 connector, 18650 batt holders, 4a and 3a ptc resettable fuses.

The usb cutout was first on the list of to do's so that I could drop the box off at the powder coaters. It is there as we speak however I am waiting till next week to have it done since they are only doing, saftey yellow, brown, semi gloss black and a grey/green color today......not what I want on this mod so I wait. The deal is too good at 15 bucks not to wait for a better color and I wont just settle on any crappy color.

Thanks for the template too Mamu for the usb cutout, that worked great. Started by drilling holes with a drill and then cleaned up with a small flat and round file.


All done, I'm pretty satisfied with this.


Now my problem comes here, I bought this bogger silver 510 prewire connector not noticing that it comes pre wired with 22awg wire. I would just solder 20 awg to the connector but the whole thing is epoxy potted and the connection points are covered so that wont be happening. My initial thought was oh well I'm only running them 2inches long to the board but maybe this will cause amperage loss? What do you guys think, would I be better off to cut the leads short as possible and tap in 20awg or just go with the 22awg, keep it short and not worry about it.

 

[jmarkus]

that looks awesome so far kurtus! keep goin!!!

 

[bapgood]

Looks great!

I would just run the 22g wire and worry about it if it gives you issues.

Did you sand the Hammond box flat? For some reason I was thinking the Hammond boxes where tapered.

 

[negrete35]

Looks great!

I would just run the 22g wire and worry about it if it gives you issues.

Did you sand the Hammond box flat? For some reason I was thinking the Hammond boxes where tapered.

I also would like to know the answer to this. That slight lean with these boxes when the stand is the only reason that I try and steer clear from this box.

 

[kurtus]

Its got the taper but very slight and no I didn't sand it. I am just going to run it because it is not exaclty a "pretty mod" imo so the lean wont bother me one bit when its sitting flat on a surface, in the hand a non issue. It is super stable with a kayfun on it standing up as is, more so than any of my tube mods. I am probably going to align the 510 in the drip cup so it makes the atty more upright though. I was a little disappointed when I got it but I'll deal with it cause I don't feel like starting over lol.

 

[kurtus]

Just checking the screen cradles and the black testured on fits the screen perfect, the polished alumid one is no good. The screen will not fit into the groove on this one and need to be trimmed out half a mm, tried to file it and this thing is like steel. Gave up on that one and have now sanded and sprayed the black textured one krylon fusion satin black to smooth it out. Looks nice, now the tricky part is to make the screen then spray it with the tamiya smoke lexan paint I have and try to glue it in place......fun

 

[kurtus]

Well crap, big time problems. The dna20 board works just as it should when powered up but as soon as I attach an atomizer no matter what the ohm rating I get "check atomizer" on the screen. I have tried a new 510 connector, new batteries double checked the wiring which isn't much consider all I wanted to do was use the on board buttons to make sure it was good before installing it in the box. I bought this second hand new in package so I really have no idea why this is happening. Soooo dissapointing after what I went through trying to get this board

 

[bapgood]

Well crap, big time problems. The dna20 board works just as it should when powered up but as soon as I attach an atomizer no matter what the ohm rating I get "check atomizer" on the screen. I have tried a new 510 connector, new batteries double checked the wiring which isn't much consider all I wanted to do was use the on board buttons to make sure it was good before installing it in the box. I bought this second hand new in package so I really have no idea why this is happening. Soooo dissapointing after what I went through trying to get this board

This is actually the second case of this problem that I have heard of and both are recent. Evolv has great customer support. I would suggest contacting Evolv via their website and explain the problem and how you purchased the board.

 

[jmarkus]

man, sounds like youve tried everything. try eliminating the connector to see what happens. so sorry to hear this...last resort would be to send brandon an email to see what he suggests. i know mamu posted about issues and possible solutions. bummer.

 

[kurtus]

yeah I honestly have tried everything but I think its just a dud, it is a bummer but .... happens i guess.

 

[kurtus]

Holy .... I AM AN IDIOT......as I was typing a reply on another post it dawn on me that I wrote(i am so ashamed to admit this lol) "I tested the resistance at the fire output of the board" OMG i actually wired the 510 connector to the fire button and not the output. Bahahaha......game on

 

[Visus]

Maybe to give ya an idea for your box before spraying it check out this post and use of that enclosure.
Box mod No2
Its one of the top ten boxes for dna I have seen that box becomes art mon no coating etc just tooling it..

I cant load his personal picture but if you sign up you can see it..

scroll down its his second box mox
Mandro the OP make some beautiful mods..

 

[jmarkus]

dude, nice!!! so glad youre back in action. next time try wiring the output to your nuts. haha

edit: by no means do i recommend wiring the output to your nuts, this was intended as a joke and should only be done if you and your nuts like that sort of wattage.

 

[TheKiwi]

My lord. That is one gorgeous looking mod. Dont give up!!!! You're sooooo close


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kurtus]

dude, nice!!! so glad youre back in action. next time try wiring the output to your nuts. haha

edit: by no means do i recommend wiring the output to your nuts, this was intended as a joke and should only be done if you and your nuts like that sort of wattage.

After what I did I deserve a peepee slap haha.

 

[kurtus]

My lord. That is one gorgeous looking mod. Dont give up!!!! You're sooooo close


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thx buddy, I'm known to loose sleep over issues that I can't fix so I will never give up until I have a working unit in my hand..... Wait, That sounded bad haha

 

[kurtus]

Maybe to give ya an idea for your box before spraying it check out this post and use of that enclosure.
Box mod No2
Its one of the top ten boxes for dna I have seen that box becomes art mon no coating etc just tooling it..

I cant load his personal picture but if you sign up you can see it..

scroll down its his second box mox
Mandro the OP make some beautiful mods..

That mod is very nice but it was not what I wanted to do with this build, I wanted the screen to be horizontal plus have a bit of room for wiring. Aside from that the enclosures are very similar in that they are made with the same alloy and they both slant, trouble with aluminum is that it would need to be polished all the time from oxidizing and will be a fingerprint magnet. My box is already at the coaters and there is no way I'm doing a second box unless I have a second chip....very well could happen lol. Thx for the heads on the box, def a nice looking option for a second build.