Finally got some PLA and fired up the new printer on the 1st of September. The good news is I was able to print the JouleBox files and test to see how well they fit together. The bad news is that they kinda don't. The files have been pulled until revisions can be made.

A lot has been learned about 3D printing in the last few days. I've successfully printed the first draft version of this case and before even testing it on an actual Joule Expansion Board I can already say that major revisions need to be made. The PLA plastic I printed the case with is strong but more brittle than my expectation. The thinnest pieces need to be about twice as thick. The panheads of my M2.5 bolts won't sink into their insets either. The print time is quite a bit longer than the slicer was predicting: not 5 hours, more like 7+. That can't be helped but the other problems will need to be fixed before I can asked anyone to bother testing the case with their Joule.

My other project, the PocketPi, had similar issues but the connectors all lined up well which boosts my confidence about the JouleBox substantially. I've revised the PocketPi to as close to perfection as I can muster and will be applying the lessons learned to a revised Joule case. I haven't gotten any feedback about the JouleBox so I don't actually know if the ports line up. I think I'll make a stencil of where I've decided the ports are that won't take seven hours to build so a volunteer can let me know how they fit. If I can come up with $370 I'll buy a Joule and test it myself. I might as well since I designed a case for it and all.