What to put control board in?

MattK wrote: I've purchased the components to build up a control system based upon a mesa 7i96 for a 3 axis cnc, what should I put it all in?

Good question.

One option I have used a couple of times is to build a custom housing out of extruded profile:

My first-ever cabinet was built around a 1U 19" rackmount PC (worked well). Made out of 2020 aluminium rail and MDF board painted black.
photos.app.goo.gl/Pg3Vhsp7xmBBoMTD8

Then I used the same idea again, but this time it was built around the monitor and with aluminium panels.
photos.app.goo.gl/V68iPhqTEty2k12SA
photos.app.goo.gl/SdxJedgkuhPNioAP9

With the round-edge profiles this can get rather fancy (this one is not my builld)
photos.app.goo.gl/o1cFLeBMgmKAdRni9
But I think he spent more than you want to.

I would suggest looking on eBay for "Rittal" and see if you find anything at a good price, possibly used.

As an aside, I put the PC Motherboard in the same box, as just one more component. This lathe already had an adequately-sized equipment compartment.
photos.app.goo.gl/rVm3Lcz9QxqmSN7H6

I use a computer case. Cheapest option by far for the size.

Electronics cabinets are quite expensive for some reason.

ATX computer cases are cheap. May not be quite as strong but work fine

I started with a gutted PC case but out grew it before I had it finished. I ended up with one of these. Not the price range you are looking for but it is not outrageous.

Enclosure

It is barely big enough. I wish I had gotten a deeper cabinet but this one fits my space perfectly.

Just a follow-up - The Dell 2350 all-in-one my parents provided

I put in a new SSD and loaded the buster ISO and the latency was off the charts - 3-6million

I f'd around with it for a while testing every combination of ram, and bios settings and could not get the latency down.

Even though I had vacuumed the fan, the CPU/cooling was always hot - after a few hours of f'ing around the video started breaking down and the latency got worse

later I was getting a electronics burning smell - something cooked off

I will use the SSD in another device - so the only cost will be time and to throw out the computer.

after looking at JohnnyCNC's response seeing a cabinet jacked full of goodies I thought it might be wise to layout items and see how much space things would require before purchasing a case.

I made wires (long) for a bunch of the components and laid them out on a board, I made up a bunch of shielded cables and aircraft connectors (I am horrible at soldering) which leads to more questions

Do any of these components need to be setup in a specific configuration for maximum cooling?
Since the output cables are shielded, do I need any shielding on the input cable?

photos.app.goo.gl/6ZzRhb4tuxTSY7Nd9

thanks in advance for your advice

VFDs and drives typically specify how much space they need around them.

If the drive has fins, then their long axis should be vertical.

Your spacing in the photo is very generous, you can certainly make it narrower. But the drives should probabaly be oriented differently.