Our work / Master Flo SmartVue FC
Featured at OTC 2018
Master Flo Smart Vue FC: PCB Enclosure Design
Master Flo SmartVue FC
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Written by Konstantin Dolgan, Ph.D., NPDP
Founder & CEO, Product Development Engineer
Published August 10, 2026
Master Flo, an oil and gas valve expert since 1979, had finished electronics for the SmartVue FC choke valve product but no casing — and one week before the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. We delivered the PCB enclosure design, photoreal renderings, and the banner and flyer materials in time, and the heavily praised product was properly showcased at OTC.
Project at a glance
- Client
- Master Flo — global oil and gas equipment maker since 1979
- Category
- Industrial electronics enclosure design
- Starting point
- Completed electronics needing a housing and marketing visuals
- What we delivered
- PCB enclosure design, mechanical packaging around the existing board, product renderings for launch materials
- Key constraints
- Oilfield environmental durability, fit around fixed electronics, one-week turnaround before the Offshore Technology Conference
- Outcome
- Enclosure and renderings delivered in a week and shown at OTC in Houston
The client
The challenge
Our solution
The result
PCB enclosure design at a glance
| Industry | Oil and gas instrumentation |
|---|---|
| Scope | PCB enclosure design, industrial design, CAD, photoreal rendering |
| Inputs from client | Populated PCB, connector locations, display module, environmental targets |
| Deliverables | 3D CAD, 2D drawings, material and finish spec, marketing renderings |
| Typical timeline | 3-5 weeks for an enclosure of this complexity |
The problem: a finished board with nowhere to live
Master Flo had working electronics and no housing that could survive the field or look like a finished product. Enclosure design for a populated PCB is not a box exercise: connector cut-outs, display windows, standoff placement, sealing, heat paths and service access all have to be resolved against the board that already exists.
What we designed
We modelled the enclosure around the board, kept mounting bosses aligned to existing hole patterns, placed the display and connectors where the operator actually reaches them, and specified materials and finishes suited to the installation environment. Photoreal renderings were produced from the same CAD so sales material and engineering never diverged.
What a PCB enclosure design project involves
- Board-first modelling so tolerances stack from real hardware, not sketches
- Sealing, ingress and thermal considerations for the installed environment
- Serviceability: how the unit opens, what gets replaced, what stays captive
- Manufacturing route selection - 3D printing, machining, or injection moulding
- Drawings, material callouts and renderings released together
Frequently asked questions
How much does PCB enclosure design cost?
A single-board enclosure with a display and a few connectors typically runs $2,500-$8,000 in design, depending on sealing requirements and whether tooling-ready files are needed.
How long does enclosure design take?
Three to five weeks is normal from a populated board to released CAD and drawings, plus prototype build time.
Can you design the enclosure and the board?
Yes. Our electronics team handles schematic capture and PCB layout in-house, so the board and the housing can be developed together instead of one constraining the other.
Capabilities used on this project
Electronic design and PCB engineering
Schematic capture, PCB layout, firmware and electromechanical integration for connected hardware.
Rapid prototyping services
3D printing, CNC machining, urethane casting and functional prototype builds with published materials, tolerances and lead times.
Concept design
Sketch exploration, form studies and CAD concepts that turn an idea into a buildable direction.
How the SmartVue FC enclosure went from bare PCB to OTC in one week
Enclosure around finished electronics
Master Flo had already designed the SmartVue FC electronics. Our job was the PCB enclosure design — the electronic casing — built around their populated board, connector locations, and display module, with the environmental targets oil and gas instrumentation demands.
A one-week deadline driven by a trade show
The entire engagement was compressed into the week before the Offshore Technology Conference, the largest oil and gas expo. We prioritized the project and delivered the enclosure CAD alongside photorealistic renderings.
Renderings and booth materials
Because the product had to be displayed before physical units existed, we produced the renderings plus the marketing materials for Master Flo's banners and flyers at OTC — where the SmartVue FC was showcased and heavily praised.
| Input from client | Our deliverable | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Populated PCB, connector map | 3D CAD enclosure | Fit, mounting, environmental protection |
| Display module and targets | 2D drawings + material/finish spec | Manufacturing-ready package |
| Product photos impossible pre-build | Photoreal renderings | Trade show, banners, flyers, web |
Questions about this project
Straight answers from the engineers who ran the build. Have a different question? Ask us directly.
Talk to an engineerWhat is PCB enclosure design?
Engineering the protective casing around a finished circuit board — mounting, connector cutouts, display openings, sealing, and material selection. For the SmartVue FC we designed the enclosure around Master Flo's completed electronics for oil and gas field use.
How fast can an enclosure be designed?
For an instrument of this complexity, typically three to five weeks — but when Master Flo needed the SmartVue FC ready for the Offshore Technology Conference, we delivered the enclosure design and renderings within one week.
Can you render a product that doesn't physically exist yet?
Yes. The SmartVue FC was showcased at OTC with photorealistic renderings on banners and flyers before physical units were available — a standard approach for trade show deadlines.
Do you work with client-designed electronics?
Regularly. Master Flo designed the SmartVue FC electronics in-house; we handled the enclosure, renderings, and marketing materials around their board.
Industries this project belongs to
See how we approach development in each of these categories, and the other products we have taken from sketch to production there.
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