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Just make sure the PLA stays away from anything that gets hot

Rich, you are right. PLA should not be heated above 50C. I am not sure, if there is any critical point in my built, where this can happen. I think the heatsink at the rear could get pretty warm. So I made the hole bigger to keep a gap between the heatsink and the plastic.

I also use ABS for temperature critical parts, but at the moment I only have black and natural ABS and I wanted the case to be in a trendy color.

PETG can resist slightly higher temperatures than PLA, but I would not put it into a 60C plus environment. Of course I cannot give any warranty that the plastic case survives the next 50 years, but for me it is just a fun project and if I have to build another case in 2 month, I don't have a problem with it. In fact I love to build that things and the more often, the more fun HI

Was that done in OpenSCAD? I'd be interested in knowing what settings you used for the hole positions, text, etc.

?Rich, that was done in OpenSCAD. To be honest, I am not very familiar with that. I used the script from the ultimate box maker and changed it via try and error so that it fits my needs.

I attached the file to this post (hope attaching it works).

I set the size of the box to a absolute minimum (at least I think it is) to get all the knobs, display and sockets in. Clearance to potis is pretty small though, but should work.

I know next to nothing about 3D printing, but what would you estimate the case cost to produce?

It depends on the filament you use and how much you pay for it.

I used green PETG and blue PLA. For the PETG I paid €36,- per kg and for the PLA I paid €20,- per kg. That makes about €6.10 for the green parts and about €0.50 for the blue parts. A few cents will be added for the knobs.

So if you use cheap PLA for all parts, it should be around €4,- to €5,- for the plastic. I never calculated energy cost, but should be less than €0.50.

Not finished yet, but I think it's ok.

Knobs have to be printed and sockets for mike and PTT have to be installed.

I think, I will shorten the pins of the potis. Otherwise Knobs would be too deep. And I will color the text black.

I did not buy my 3D-Printer just to print an encloser for the BITX40 ;-)

As I already have a printer, I thought I should give it a try for the BITX.

I also 3D printed mine. Did only the bottom part of the case and the front panel so far. I used the scad file of that thing

Scroll down to the Experimental Area to go to the description of the scad file and how to use it.

You can modify the file to get any size of the case you need and every cutout on the front and back panel can be setup in the scad file. So the printed panels already have all the holes for the screen, the potis and the sockets.

I will rty continue the printed case soon even though I have issues with my arduino. Have ordered a spare nano and while I wait for it to arrive, I will print the whole case and try to get all the wireing and mounting of all the potis and sockets done.

Wil post a picture, after I finished my case.

Buy a $59 radio and then buy a 3D printer to make a case, that makes me chuckle.? We'd all love to have a 3D printer, but for now I think most of us are looking for more off the shelf or easily fabbed with common tools solutions.
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I would love to use an old rig case, but they aren't usually available by themselves, they always seem to want to sell them with the chassis and want too much money.? An old HeathKit HW-101, Yaesu FT-101, Tempo One, etc. case would be fun and have tons of room, heck we could probably build an antenna tuner in.
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Plastic seems the cheapest for most, I'm wondering if that thin metal stick on tape used in HVAC would afford RF protection if stuck inside of a plastic enclosure?
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/Steve, KA0NEB