"Rack mount" arduino and perfboards?

[czetie]

My project hardware comprises an Arduino Uno, a motor shield and three (or more...) perfboards for the external circuits and sensors*. Eventually there may be more than one Arduino each with its own collection of perfboards. I'm trying to figure out how to neatly organize all of this into a box or rack or...

So in my mind I'm picturing something like a rack with slots for each board. In my imagination all of the wiring connecting the boards to the Arduino is on the "back" side of the rack, leaving the front clear for status LEDs, knobs, switches, etc.

Imagine something like this (Amazon.com: QWORK Antistatic ESD Circulation Rack Shelf, 2 Pack PCB Rack Circuit Board Storage Holder, 25 Slot Storage Stand, Frame ESD Shelf : Industrial & Scientific) where I place one rack at each side of the boards and there's something across the top and bottom to hold the whole thing rigid.

I could probably bodge something together out of a couple of racks like this, but I was hoping for something ready-made as my bodging skills are questionable.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to consider something like this, but my google-fu failed me.

Thanks for any pointers.

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*In case anybody cares, it's going to be controlling signals, lights, and some other stuff on a model railroad. Anyway.

**Physically, I mean. In my case the cards are not connected to a bus.

[PaulRB]

Uno's form factor doesn't really lend itself to the rack/backplane approach. Suggest you switch to Nano/Pro Mini/Micro form factor of Arduino for that.

Uno's form factor is suitable for the stacked shields approach, could that meet your needs?

@czetie

Eventually there may be more than one Arduino

This is not generally recommended except in certain scenarios, especially for beginners.

Beginners often imagine that multiple Arduinos is the best approach when either they need to increase the input/output pin count or don't have the coding skills and experience to deal with multiple simultaneous "tasks".

But with I/O extender chips and improved coding skills, multiple Arduinos is rarely needed and rarely the best solution.

[dccontrarian]

I've found that if a project advances to where I want to make it semi-permanent, the best way is to make a custom circuit board using a service like JLCPCB. A simple board is around $50, delivered. And the best way to do it is to use a Nano form factor board with headers and put sockets on the PCB.