Who We Are.
LeapMatic LLC is a high-tech company founded in 2015 by a group of ambitious software and hardware engineers from the USA and EU. The company has a wealth of experience in designing, implementing, and deploying advanced micro-controller based automation and specialized software solutions.
innovative
design
What motivates us?
Back in 2016, as engineers with a lot of experience in building automation and software solutions, we were impressed with Raspberry Pi’s capabilities. Its power, flexibility and optimal price point make it applicable to a large set of scenarios. This single board computer quickly found its place in our solutions, but we were faced with the need for an an adequate enclosure. We needed the ability to host extension boards with larger components, ability to mount it to walls, support beams, and DIN rails for industrial solutions. The enclosure also needed to support active cooling and provide space to route incoming and outgoing wires. Since we couldn’t find anything like this in the market, we decided to develop and offer for sale MaticBox – a multi-functional enclosure that can be mounted anywhere.
First steps, innovations and patents
After we designed the enclosure, we developed precise 3D models of all the components and their interactions. For 6 months we went through multiple design iterations, analyzing the performance of each component, conducting physical tests against our 3D printed models, and experimenting with design options to improve the enclosure’s performance until we arrived at the optimal solution you see today. Each use case was carefully considered. For example, one of our projects needed a cluster of Raspberry Pi servers and that inspired an innovation – we changed the location of the feet and added special grooves in the top of the enclosure’s body. Now the feet could attach to the top of another case, creating a secure stack of cases. Multiple automation projects required the ability to mount the enclosure to DIN rails. To address this, we added a universal mounting base which is compatible with DIN rails, screws, and cable ties. We also developed a system that allows the case to easily detach from the base, allowing mounting solutions to remain more permanent without being restrictive. This feature greatly enhances the modularity of the MaticBox such that future components can be added with ease. Single board computers are prone to overheating under load, leading to thermal throttling and reduced performance, so we integrated support for active cooling solutions. We developed a special fan adapter that hosts a variety of fans, and for space-constrained applications the fan can be attached directly to the case body. The final step was to patent the innovations that went into the box, and our product was ready for launch.
Customer feedback
The initial feedback on the enclosure was very positive. Our customers loved the polished look of the MaticBox and the functionality it provided. Our hardware engineers liked its flexibility since it made it easier to develop real-world automation solutions using the Raspberry Pi.
This prompted us to offer the complete MaticBox enclosure to the broader community. We hope its features can empower developers and enthusiasts to build and deploy solutions based on the increasingly popular single board computers.