Concept for a case

[bushrat]

Macro, your case is great! I had this idea of some how locking my iPod Touch on the top to use as a VNC screen/mouse/keyboard. That should only add about 1cm of thickness, taking the grand total to 27mm thick.

Do you guys think it would work well? Cause I do

[AlastairoRP]

MarcoA, a few people have been talking about adding the GPIO header into the mix.

It can be done with your case, by leaving a thin slot (34mm x 1mm) on the join, so as to allow the ribbon cable of 26 way header to pass through.  it would maybe mean that the clip must move a bit towards the corner.

[benjaminv]

Looks awesome to me.

What about this DIY one?

[poing]

Looks amazing. But can it be opened again? Remember you're in the middle of a DIY crowd that maybe wants to use the Pi in different ways. At least I would.

[MarcoA]

poing said:


Looks amazing. But can it be opened again? Remember you"re in the middle of a DIY crowd that maybe wants to use the Pi in different ways. At least I would.


Of course yes!

Have a look here:

[scarfy]

MarcoA said:


poing said:


Looks amazing. But can it be opened again? Remember you"re in the middle of a DIY crowd that maybe wants to use the Pi in different ways. At least I would.


Of course yes!

Have a look here:



Nice looking printed case.... Nice job..... only if you had a Rpi B model board to see if the measurement are ok....

PS. How much did you pay for this first model ...

[veryevil]

I think this case is fantastic! You have my vote as the official case for the Pi.

Great work

12 + 3

[MarcoA]

Scarfy said:


PS. How much did you pay for this first model ...



Nearly as much as I paid for the board (that I didn't receive yet).

[C4B7]

Marco,

I like your design a lot. It really is an inspiration to see your work.

From and engineering standpoint I can for see that your clips to hold the raspberry pi will permanently retain the card. I'd suggest a 45 ( or possibly 60) degree angle on the underside as well so it is easier to remove the card.

[Montala]

I agree that Marco's case is now looking very professional indeed, and I am sure will attract a large number of orders when it does eventually go into full production.

It is just a shame that either the Foundation, or one of their local distributors, can't provide him with a final 'production model' (even a non-working one!) with all the sockets attached so that he can finalise the design, and ensure that all the openings are in the right place, and of course that the board will clip neatly, but firmly, inside

That would then enable him to prepare and test a final prototype and for those of us who wished to be able to order one and to have it actually in our hands, as it were, before we eventually receive our Raspberry Pi's.

Perhaps though they have already considered this... I for one certainly hope so.

Keep up the good work Marco!

[itsonlyme]

Agreed

[AlastairoRP]

Just a point, the board will not neccessarily stay the same, although many thousands will be. When an upgrade comes along, the circuit designer won't think of keeping the connectors in the same place.

So when producing, the mould costs should be recovered over say 3,000 to 5,000 units, (as not everyone will buy one - although I am sure many will be bought.)

[mike34]

MarcoA I have sent the rough details to my tool maker and i'm just waitng for a reply on costs and tme to make. If you get your board and it all works ok let me know so i can confim the sizes to the tool maker.

[MarcoA]

I made some improvements on my case. Now:


you have the USB connector covered;
you can attach the case by screws in any position.
you can attach two stripes of bi-adhesive tape instead.




More details: http://marcoalici.wordpress.co.....pberrypi-5

[MarcoA]

Here are some renderings (made using Blender and Yafaray) showing the appearance of the different versions.

http://marcoalici.wordpress.co.....berrypi-6/

What's your favourite colour?

[D_O_A]

Really love your design. I will definitely be buying one once they are available to buy.

I see a couple of requests for a vesa mounts, which I would also be interested in.

Perhaps a separate bracket, which you could hook onto the mount using the screw mounting holes you have already included in your design, would be the way to go, available as an optional extra.

[MarcoA]

D_O_A said:


Really love your design. I will definitely be buying one once they are available to buy.


Thanks!


I see a couple of requests for a vesa mounts, which I would also be interested in.

Perhaps a separate bracket, which you could hook onto the mount using the screw mounting holes you have already included in your design, would be the way to go, available as an optional extra.


That's the way in my opinion.

Now that the case have fixing holes I wonder if isn't simpler to let the user make a simple fixing plate by itself.

[D_O_A]

MarcoA said:



Now that the case have fixing holes I wonder if isn't simpler to let the user make a simple fixing plate by itself.


On reflection, that is a better idea. Especially with 3D printing, the cost could quickly become ridiculous.

It would be great if it could be made by injection moulding, as initially envisaged, so it could be produced much cheaper, but I guess it would need significant orders to be able to do that.

[MarcoA]

I received a lot of request for the case to allow accessibility to the GPIO connectors.

I think I will fork the case project to let the original version as clean as I imagined.

This is the smartest solution come into my mind:



A simple slot where a flat cable can be slided before you close the case.





I prefer this solution among others especially because it doesn’t upset the design too much and it doesn’t look too intrusive even when the GPIO port is not used.

As usual, the images are renderings made in Blender 2.61 and Yafaray 0.1.2beta.

As usual, I will make this case available for ordering on Shapeways as soon as I will get my Raspberry Pi board to check dimensions.

http://marcoalici.wordpress.co.....berrypi-8/

[jbeale]

that case design looks very nice! Are integrated snaps like that strong enough when 3D-printed to hold up to more than one open/close cycle, or is it intended to snap together just once?

[jbeale]

I just saw the video where you put it together, just wondering about durability of 3D printed items; hopefully you can get enough interest to make tooling for injection molding!

[AlastairoRP]

Do you not think that the ribbon should come out the side. The ribbon can be put into the connector both ways. If it comes out of the side, boxes will be stackable, and the casing will look more normal.

But the clip . . . , what to do with the clip?17

[rrmcbeth]

I agree with AlastairoRP that the cable should come out the side to allow for stacking.  Suggestion:  The slot for the cable could go along the line between the cover and the bottom.  That eliminates the cover snap.  This could be moved to SD end.   The cable slot should also be  thick enough to allow for the passage of 2 cables on top of each other.  This allows for a cable in ... through the connector ... then out to the next box for daisy chaining the RPi's.

You have done a awesome job.   I'll buy one.

[Jasonlingard]

Checkout this case advertised on ebay it's quite nice, Makes a change from all the box designs out there at the moment.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2307.....1555.l2649

[E]

Very clever and elegant solution to the GPIO access!