Hi Is it alright to put a Black Box and power supply in one of those plastic Junction Boxes? The reason I ask is I am a little worried about heat and air flow. I've seen DIY CNC stuff these guys are using these boxes but I didn't really know what they were exactly. I don't like my electronics out in the open. Also what about these NEMA Enclosures? Are they better than a regular Junction box? https://www.amazon.com/Altelix-Encl...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QSE9ZC8JPSA5NPETMDVV
What Jeff said is right. You can buy that enclosure, or any other that you like, and just drill a few holes into it. 1/4" holes or even 3/16 will by fine.
So you only need holes? I was thinking about adding a Fan like a computer fan but if I don't really need to that'd be great.
I found a metal one at a store that sells used scientific and electronic equipment. I cut a hole in it and put a fan and lights inside. I also knocked out a few of the "knock-outs" on the bottom for air to get pulled in.
The fan is in the units themselves. Having a fan in the box will not contribute much. If you make some holes in the top and bottom convection will do the heat exchange, in the box, for you. Having said that, a fan in the box will not hurt, for sure, except for the extra noise.
I used one of the 24v power plugs. I have to admit, I cheated and that is why there are lights. I only had a 12V fan, so I calculated out how many LEDs on the strip would draw 12V and wired it in series with the fan. The lights use 11.97 volts and the fan gets the rest. Although it does contribute to the overall decibels, I do not hear it over the cutter. My fear was having both the power supply and Blackbox in a metal enclosure without a lot of ventilation. I am not too worried about the noise level because it is on my lathe which is used for carving, so each tool path is at minimum an hour. I just start it and head back in the house and come back out when I hear the router shut off.
