Keep it modular, so you can swap out a busted part without opening the whole thing. Use low‑profile, shielded PCBs, and pick connectors with a little strain relief. Mount everything on a sturdy metal plate with rubber grommets – that takes the vibration out of the logic. Add a quick‑connect power feed so the board stays powered even if a cable snaps. Finally, bolt the case to the frame of the table and run a tiny diagnostic LED loop to make sure every component is alive before the negotiation starts. That way you’ll never have a surprise “dead board” on the floor.

Yeah, the strain relief’s a known weak spot, but use a short‑cable set‑up and a small compression splice. Also keep the connectors in a dry, dust‑sealed housing – moisture can sneak in and fry the pins. If you add a tiny current‑sense resistor in the power path, you can spot a failing supply before the watchdog trips. And don’t forget to bump the firmware version on every module; a quick serial check will catch a mismatch without pulling the whole board apart.