Metal GC2 Enclosure

[andygg1986]

I have had several people ask if I could design a metal enclosure since Foresight discontinued their "shank tank". I have a preliminary design that I was hoping to get feedback on. To try and minimize the cost, I was thinking about leaving the back open. In my view, the main advantage of covering the back was that you could lock the GC2 inside for retail locations. I don't think it adds any protection from an errant shot, so my thinking is that most home users wouldn't care. It looks like I could sell this design for around $150 + shipping if I get them made in batches of 10. They would be powder coated black. It has slots for the HMT arm as well. Since the plastic shield sells for $200, that seems like a good value to me, but if you guys think that price would be too high I won't move forward with having them made. I would be using a local metal shop that I have done business with in the past rather than outsourcing it overseas, and I don't want to sink a whole bunch of money into inventory by ordering a large quantity, which makes the manufacturing cost a little higher than I was hoping. (ignore the black line on the left top part of the enclosure, that is an artifact of my CAD software)

[Mxwoodman]

I'll buy one

[mitchbeerwatch]

Im in for one if this moves forward! Have you thought of having an alignment stick holder or some indicator on alignment?

[andygg1986]

I thought about the alignment rod holder but I was concerned that the tolerances for bent sheet metal might not get it straight enough to be useful.

[wbond]

This should easily sell at that price. There have always been people looking for the metal one and when they come up, they sell quickly. This would be way better than the ebay plastic/wood jigsaw puzzle one that is available as well. Good on the HMT slot. I had to modify my metal shank tank to get the slot for my hmt arm.

Is there anyway to design it to allow the lcd screen to be propped up? That is one thing i miss from the ebay one, it was very easy to see when it's propped up and the metal strips block the reading some on the foresight metal one.

[andygg1986]

It *might* be doable to have the LCD propped up. I hadn't really considered that. If that is something other people would like I can work on re-designing for that.

As far as the metal bars blocking the screen, I tried to measure so that they fall in between the data lines for ball data, but I agree it does block the screen somewhat. Their spacing is constrained by keeping them close enough that a ball can't reach the screen below. I considered doing a piece of plexiglass instead. I'm not sure if I could get it glued/epoxied well enough from the back side to hold up to a ball falling on it repeatedly. Gluing it from the top would be ugly in my opinion.

[bm11]

Andy, I had the original Shank Tank and one suggestion for you if I can- make the flash cutout bigger. I was going to cut mine if I didn't upgrade to the GCQ, because my GC2 wouldn't read half or more of the shots with my 56 degree wedge. I upgraded to your flash in the hopes of fixing it but it didn't make a difference. That is, until I took it out of the Shank Tank. The cutout on the original is for the original style flash.

[andygg1986]

Already got that done! Great minds think alike :-)

[gohandbz8]

I would be in for one but would like for it to have the display popped up.

[andygg1986]

Ok my concern is that the case would interfere with the cameras for either the GC2 or the HMT. I will play around with mocking up something with cardboard

[Captargo]

I would buy one

[fortysixandtwo]

I’d be in for one, especially with having the newer players over and I could just take off the hmt.. I don’t need the data screen raised up since I look on the tv for all the data.

[cooke23]

I’ll need one too.

[andygg1986]

It looks like it is possible to have the screen tilted up in the second slot (not all the way up). I would still have one made and test it thoroughly before producing any for sale, but does anyone have any objections to this design?

[gohandbz8]

That design nailed it. Just wondering, is it possible to have adjustable feet similar to the skytrak FMJ or would it be cost prohibitive?

[andygg1986]

gohandbz8 I was considering something like this. There are a ton of variations, but I think that could give you around 1/4" of variation from corner to corner. Are you thinking about trying to get it level, or trying to raise it up to the height of your mat? https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Ru.../dp/B00WZRPL4G

[gohandbz8]

Both actually. my Simulator is in my garage and garage floors are purposely unlevel for water drainage.

[Ronsc1985]

A few years ago I modified the factory piece for a friend. It involved cutting the offending strips out and covering the hole with a piece of Lexan I had around from a previous race car build. The Lexan was held on with four or six ( I don't remember) 2-56 SS screws threaded into tapped holes in the factory case. The factory metal thickness was sufficient to get a decent thread count.

I never modified mine since when I'm on the simulator practicing I'm always in club fitting mode (FR1) which puts up the shot parameters every shot in tabulated format.

[andygg1986]

I hadn’t thought about screwing it in but that’s a good idea to get a better hold.

[FNBogey]

I'd take one too

[wbond]

Don't forget about the cable that goes from the GC2 to the HMT. I had to cut out a portion of the old metal shank tank in the front because of the angle of the cable and the cable is not long enough to go around the back. Not sure if this design would work with HMT, even though i was the one who brought up the angled screen. Go figure. I think they say to route the cable under the display when it's in the upright position. Maybe you can create a path for it.

It looks like it is possible to have the screen tilted up in the second slot (not all the way up). I would still have one made and test it thoroughly before producing any for sale, but does anyone have any objections to this design?

[andygg1986]

My HMT cable has a right angle, so it would fit inside the side flange. Do you know if Foresight used to ship straight ones too?

[Ronsc1985]

https://shop.foresightsports.com/products/hmt-replacement-cable

[wbond]

andygg1986 I don't know about that? I know my cable has 90 bends on both ends. I tried ordering another cable (not from foresight) that was straight at each end, but the GC2 would not recognize it.

[taylor310]

I'd be interested in one.