Raspberry Pi 2/3 case with room for extras

cults3d

I designed this Raspberry Pi enclosure specifically for my Octoprint server. The Pi receives its 5.1-volt power directly through a buck-boost converter (XL6009, two coils) that's soldered to a 5 x 7 cm single-sided perfboard on the flip side. This setup also powers an extra pair of USB sockets, which are connected only to the 5.1-volt rail. I'm running the Pi from a 120 GB USB SSD drive, which came with a Y cable that splits power and data, thus avoiding the mainboard's supply. The buck-boost converter can maintain 5.1 volts over an input range of 4 - 32 volts with high efficiency. However, I wouldn't run it at its claimed 4 amps rating. The opening for the Pi camera cable is a slit that extends through the upper shell into a thick guide block, which maintains some integrity for the enclosure. You can put the upper shell in place or remove it by sliding the flat cable in or out without unplugging it. Opposite to the HDMI and audio ports is a 42 x 6 mm slot that fits several JST-XH sockets mounted horizontally. I use this space to connect a shutdown switch and a level-shifted SPI output to drive a 32x8 pixels LED matrix display. To complete this project, you'll need the following additional parts: * A 5x7 cm perfboard (I prefer single-side pertinax because one side without copper is ideal for creating wire bridges) with a mounting hole spacing of 40x64 mm * A socket for a 12-volt plug * Any regulator that fits under the perfboard and can be set to output 5.1 volts stable * A USB twin socket * A 20 x 2 pin Pi connector * A 40 x 40 mm x 10 mm 12 V, 100 mA fan (or 5 V for maximum noise reduction) * A connector for the fan (or simply be willing to solder its wires to 5 volts somewhere on the perfboard) * Four M3 x 25 screws for the enclosure * Two to four M3 x 10 mm screws for the fan * Four M3 x 8 mm screws for the Pi * Two M3 x 8 - 10 mm screws for the perfboard