Notes on electronics bay design

You almost always have less room than you think.
- CAD models do not generally include free connectors or wires: keep them in your head throughout design - wires (especially connectors) don't have zero thickness and can't bend at extreme angles
- A totally packed design is impossible to physically access - you will have a bunch of empty space for the simple reason that you need to reach things
Have a small ruler on hand while designing.
- Being able to zoom in arbitrarily makes designing geometry too small to be usable (comfortably or at all) too easy, and it's often helpful to ground yourself to something.
CAD screws at some point. Their heads are non-negligible.
- If you have boards on two sides of an avionics sled, modeling screws lets you make sure they don't interfere with boards or screws on the other side.
High-power transmitters have non-negligible heat output. It is possible to melt printed mounts.