An easy to build cure box has come up many times, and for those without access to a wood shop and/or the skills to build a box from scratch - you’re in luck! Here is a box you can build, using 2 disassembled nail curing stations, and a box from good ol’ IKEA. Heres how she breaks down…
What you need
IKEA “VALJE” w/door - Can be found HERE. They are roughly 13" x 13"
Circuit board mount + On/Off switch mount - Print using the file I made.
Template to drill and mount everything - You can find it HERE.
Heat resistant reflective vinyl (to line the inside of the box)
1-¼" hole saw, drill, ability to splice/solider, soldiering iron, hot glue gun
*If using a different nail curing unit, I can’t guarantee the switches/circuit board mounts will match as I have designed them
Build is pretty strait forward.
Before starting, full disassemble the nail curing devices. If you aren’t sure how to solider, you can choose to run 2 power cords, and 2 on/off switches from the box - or if you don’t mind, combine the on/off switch wires by cutting off the one switch, and soldiering the wires to the other switch. Now you have one switch. Same for the power cord, you can cut and splice them to make one, for simplicity. You can throw out the timer switches too. After that, follow these steps:
1 - Use the template to mark the holes, then drill the thin board used as the back wall (do it carefully)
2 - If adding reflective material, do it to all panels now.
3 - Use hot glue gun to mount the light sockets one a a time. Works best if you insert the socket, then glue it in from the backside. This keeps the front clean looking with no glue mess. **NOTE- there is a notch around the outside edge of each socket, make sure this is pointing to the outside edge of the back wall, so the lights are positioned correctly. For example, lights along the top row, the notch should be at 12:00. Lights on the right side the notch should be at 3:00, and lights on the left should be at 9:00.
4 - Use the template to glue the circuit board mount in the correct position. The position is important so the wiring can reach everywhere, mainly the on/off switch.
5 - Assemble the box as per IKEA instructions
6 - Mount the on/off switch using 2 screws
7 - Mount the circuit boards
8 - Wire up the lights
9 - Pop the lights into the sockets
We just got it from a local graphic supplier here in Canada. We have a vinyl plotter/cutter in house, so we also cut all the shapes out on that as well. If anyone has access to a machine, or wants to get it done at a local print shop, I can supply the templates for all the panels. It fits around all the hinges, door popper, holes in the back wall, etc. That way you could ask the print shop to source the material as well.
This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. I bought my box from IKEA today and found a adhesive reflective vinyl at JoAnn fabric.
I was wondering if the particular UV nail curing station mattered. I had already bought one before I found this post and would like to use it. It looks similar but I have not taken it apart yet.
@slewiscurious Yes the specific curing station matters - the lights are all the same AFAIK, so the sockets should work fine - its the on/off switch(s), and circuit boards that are different.
I’m not sure why FL doesn’t just make their own. From a business standpoint it would be a great add on for them, and a no brainer for customers. Not to mention they could add features specific to the needs of the materials/times/heat settings and optimize the chamber for 360 degree lighting, and so on.
Hopefully they release that right after releasing a Form 3 with double the build volume
I built one with a total of 3 nail curing stations (108 watts total), I posted about it here. It works awesome - quite fast and very uniform curing, thanks for the idea @AtlasBrace! I found that the sockets from these nail dryers were easily removable and reused, and the circuit boards were easily re-mounted using the plastic boards they came on; no prints necessary.
I live in Austin Texas and found a nice reflective adhesive vinyl at Jo-Ann fabric. They have a stainless steel and chrome finish. I went with chrome. Printing my parts tomorrow to complete my build.
Just because it looks reflective to the eye doesn’t mean its reflective to UV. If it is actually chrome I would strongly recommend using aluminum material instead.
I was able to figure out the splicing on the power cord to get it to one cord. Very happy with how this turned out, and it works great! Thanks again for sharing this build.
I may add a rubber gasket around the door to block the light shining out when its closed.
I have an eBay sterilizer with a UV 405mn bulb; no problems unless I fail to keep the prints in the alcohol bathes for too short a time. Then the part becomes sticky!
Hello, sorry for the very late question. Could you tell me where I can get that Circuit board? I don’t know the name of it so I couldn’t find it.
And one more thing, could you please upload your “Circuit board mount + On/Off switch mount” with STL format so I can adjust it with another software please? That would be perfect to me. Thank you a lot and sorry my bad English.
