Case for 5.25" Optical Drive (using Hitachi Simpledrive board)

thingiverse

I had an old USB 2.0 500Gb Hitachi portable hard drive that I no longer had a use for. The hard drive had been taken out (it's easier to use a SATA/USB desktop dock for my occasional needs) and it was just gathering dust. But since I needed to hook up my old, full-size optical drive, the Hitachi was called upon to donate its innards. I removed the controller board from the old Hitachi, and tested it on my optical drive. Sure enough, it all worked just fine. All I had to do was knock up a simple case to tie it all together. I was going to go with PLA. But I decided to experiment and try making a flexible case. This would give some degree of shock protection to the drive, as well as covering the ugly bare metal. Since the optical drive's metal case is pretty solid, I didn't need anything substantial, so I opted to make a sort of "skin with added bumpers". Side-note, my printer has started misbehaving recently because I haven't tuned it in ages (I'm planning to get a new one). Plus the motherboard has developed an issue where it randomly freezes in the middle of large prints. This means overnight prints are currently out. To add to the problems, I'm suddenly having trouble printing TPU (hence the grotty finish in the pics!). Because of these issues, I was forced to split my main shell into 3 parts (4 if you count the controller board mount). But there's really no reason it can't be printed as a one-piece if your printer is dialled-in and working well. I've included the STL for the one piece. Whether you do it in one or three, you should print the controller board mount first, using a solid material such as PLA. The whole case may well work in PLA too, but I haven't tested it. Once everything was printed, I mounted the control board using two tiny self-tapping screws I had lying around. No idea what size, but they fitted nicely in the 3mm holes I provided for them. The white indicator light on the controller board isn't really needed for an optical drive, and I considered either cutting it off or providing a place where I could just leave it clipped inside the case. But, in the end, I mounted it so that it was visible since it could be useful in diagnosing potential future issues. It was fixed into its new home using a tiny dab of hot glue, and its wire was folded and secured clear of the vent slots with more splodges of the same. As mentioned earlier, there's no reason why the case can't be printed in one piece (with appropriate supports) on a properly set up printer. So I've included an (untested) one-piece STL file for those who'd rather do it that way. The finished article would definitely look neater in my opinion. The case slides on from the rear of the disc drive unit until the chassis holes line up (normal hard drive screws to secure). Then the controller board should be clicked into the SATA connector last, before the various screws are fitted and tightened. As mentioned, I was forced to split my case into 3 parts. But the installation is very similar: Front first. Then mid-section. Then rear. With the controller board being fitted onto the SATA connector last again. Thanks to my print issues, I've ended up with some "lumpy" joints and weird striping that I'm not happy with - but will have to live with for now. Update below - New cover sheath to hide the uglies. I may design a two piece "clamshell" case in the future. But, for the moment, it's fine for what I need (how often do we use an optical drive these days, anyway?!!). It'll do for now. the STLs will need to be rotated where necessary to suit your printer, and you may have to play about with support structures to get the best results. So that's today's little issue sorted. I'm off for a drive! Happy printing! _________________________________________________________________________ Minor update only for 3 part version: I wasn't happy with the finish on my 3-part cover. So I created a nifty slip-on sheath to hide the ugliness. It just slides over the original before the control board section is fitted. The sheath in the pictures is two wall thicknesses. But I decided this was a little too thin, and have increased it to three walls on the attached STL. As you can see I've STILL got problems with the printer. But this time it's because I'm using a fresh install of Cura, and I simply forgot to adjust the retraction settings for my specific set-up. (I also forgot to add the G-Code for bed levelling! Thankfully I got away with it, since the bed level was manually checked yesterday. Phew!).