Hi, welcome back to the Circuit Playground Express online workshop, in this section we're going to learn about 3D printing a housing for your Circuit Playground Express.

So, a 3D printed a project box here for a Circuit Playground this still allows you to have access to all the buttons and sensors on the surface of the board and I put a potentiometer that changes the speed of the light and a switch that changes the direction of the photon animation moving around on the board. So, a project like a box like this is simple, it's just in a slip fit lid on a base and the Circuit Playground Express is mounted on standoffs so one of the first considerations when making a project box for a Circuit Playground Express is having a nice open top. So, you can still get at the Circuit Playground Express unless you don't want to be able to use the sensors and buttons on the surface of it but it's nice to be able to retain that ability in case you repurpose your box or something else later.

So, the next thing that you want to consider when making it is having an access port, so you can plug in a micro USB cord without taking the Circuit Playground out so in this particular instance the Circuit Playground is bolted into the box, so if I had to unbolt it to plug it in to change your little thing about the code it could get really frustrating with it really quick and maybe you just end up not using the box at all. So, let's look at the inside so in keeping with Circuit Playgrounds use reusability and its alligator clip pads I've taken my switch in my potentiometer and I've soldered alligator clips onto them and then clip them onto the board and I've left just enough room in the box. So, you'd be able to use those alligator clips and still be able to close the lid. Inside we have a battery pack I would suggest that if you made a box like this that you'd wire you that your power up through this.