Some Tips for Mounting your 3D Printed Ecto Containment Unit

So you've printed out all of the Ecto Containment Unit parts and assembled them. Now what?

There is a lot of "builder's discretion" in this step. I found a mounting strategy that works for me but some of you might have other ideas...

Step 1. Find (or make) a Wall

First, you need a wall! Unlike all of the other props here, the ECU is a wall-mounted prop. You might opt to make a temporary or moveable wall so you can transport your ECU to conventions. Alternatively, you might find a permanent home for your ECU in your home.

I built my ECU to be part of a Halloween setup in my garage so I opted to make a moveable wall out of 2x4 lumber and OSB sheathing, and screws. The overall dimensions for my temporary wall are 48" wide (4 feet) x 84" tall (7' feet).

These dimensions gave me a good mounting height for the ECU with enough room to position lights and cabling above. The width gives some nice proportional excess off to the sides of the ECU. You will want to mount your ECU in such a way that it feels comfortable to your height and ability to access the trap door.

Step 2. Cut a Backing Board

The ECU parts are designed to mount to a backing board. If you have made a proton pack before, think of this board as a 'mother board'. You have some options for what to cut your backing board out of. I have attached a DXF CAD file that has the general layout and size I used. I hand cut my backing board out of some hardboard and then painted it red to match my ECU print material.

Step 3. Mounting the ECU to the Backing Board

The strategy I used to mount my ECU to the backing board is identical to common approaches to mounting a proton pack to a mother board. I cut 1" L-bracket out of aluminum extrusion and tapped holes to support 1/4" machine screws. After attaching the L-brackets, I then simply screwed the backing board to my wall.

Here are some images of my setup...

After locating and attaching the L-brackets to the backing board, I then drilled mounting holes into my ECU main case so I could screw in bolts from the side.

Tip: One thing you'll notice is that I deliberately kept my lower "duct" portion separate from the main case. This made mounting a bit easier. It also gives me a bit of a ledge' to rest and position the main ECU.

Other things...

I made this mounting strategy knowing that I would be disassembling my ECU and continue working on it and likely move it to a more permanent home in my basement. I will also be installing electronics soon which will require more modification to my ECU and to the mounting board + wall.

I'm sure you will have thoughts and questions here. Comment or ask below and I will do my best to advise on an approach.