Hardware
Smart Health Band Enclosure (v16)
A fully parametric, 3D-printable enclosure for a wrist-worn health-monitoring device, generated entirely from a Python script and exported straight to STEP and STL.
Technologies
Hardware
Software
Why I built it
Draft: I wanted the enclosure fully defined in code rather than sculpted by hand, so every dimension could be tuned precisely and the whole design regenerated from scratch after a change.
The problem it solves
Draft: Off-the-shelf enclosures don't fit custom wearable electronics — a specific battery, buzzer, LED, button and strap — and hand-sculpting a case in a CAD GUI makes it slow and error-prone to iterate on exact dimensions.
How it works
Draft: The script builds a base shell sized around an internal cavity (checked against breadboard dimensions), cuts wall openings for USB/cable, a side button and a square strap-side button, then builds an external snap-cap lid with four flexible tongues and barbs that snap over the base. The lid also carries a speaker/vent grille, an LED window, and an engraved ECG-waveform motif.
Challenges
Draft: Getting the snap-fit right — the script computes the tongue's free length and barb strain and prints it at export time, and includes a small outward lip so the lid can be released with a fingernail rather than pried off.
Development process
Draft: This is version 16 of an iterative design (comments reference changes back to "v6"), moving from an internal-clip lid to an external snap-cap, then widening the case and enlarging the cable/USB opening across later revisions.
Results
Draft: The script exports the base and lid as both STEP (for further CAD edits) and STL (for printing), plus a combined assembled-preview mesh, and prints a fit report confirming the internal cavity clears a standard breadboard.
What I learned
Draft: Parametric, code-first CAD with CadQuery, designing a snap-fit mechanism with a real strain estimate rather than guesswork, and designing for 3D printing (no-support orientations, wall/floor thickness for FDM).
Future improvements
Draft: Print and assemble a physical unit, mount the real electronics (microcontroller, buzzer, LED, battery) inside, and field-test the strap and snap-fit for durability.