Cases for the Raspberry Pi

[Cafe]

Quote from liz on September 3, 2011, 21:34
Oh, I *do* like that. You guys will be the first to hear once we have dimensions for the final board. I hope some of you are good at papercraft, 'cos I'm certainly not!

I assume you will also include the points at which slots (for USB, RJ45, card reader,...) need to be made, and just to be sure the dimensions (width, height, diameter,...) for each slot as well.

I know, I/we ask a lot

[liz]

Sure - already on top of that! It'll be two or three weeks before I can let you know, but my ruler is at the ready.

[ukscone]

Quote from liz on September 4, 2011, 21:54
Sure - already on top of that! It'll be two or three weeks before I can let you know, but my ruler is at the ready.

I hope your ruler uses feet and inches not any of this new fangled metric rubbish

[aminor]

Can I upvote/Like/Plus 1 the cardboard box idea?

PDF sounds good too. A thought though: Is it possible to disable page scaling when printing in Acrobat Reader so that the dimensions are output correctly?

[jeicrash]

After watching one of the videos and seeing what the final size may be close to, An old NES controller comes to mind as a case, or possibly a fully functional self contained gaming system that can run off of two AA's or a power adapter. Also lets not forget the almighty Altoids cans

[jacoman]

'Pimp my Pi'? I see another forum/website coming into existence there.....


Definitely

[Rubus]

As the SoC runs cool, I'm thinking of housing it in something beautiful and tactile, like wood.

Something like this would do (plus a few holes for sockets, of course):

http://www.craftsmeninwood.co......bble-Box/c

I am also tempted to house it in my old Spectrum 48k, or maybe in the power supply from a Spectrum 128k:

http://www.clive.nl/retro-comp.....spectrum-2

[Michael]

I'm thinking something Steampunk.

[amiga65]

Quote from Michael on September 5, 2011, 22:00
I'm thinking something Steampunk.

+1

[liz]

Quote from Michael on September 5, 2011, 22:00
I'm thinking something Steampunk.

Glue a clock to the case. Bada bing. 8)

[iAreNewb]

Speaking of the SoC running cool...

*Imagines an R-Pi immersed in LN2 and overclocked to 5 GHz*

Or, more realistically, simply OC'ing up to 900 MHz on passive cooling, as many people do with Android phones. Perhaps you could add an 80mm PC fan if you wanted. Off I go to scavenge the heaps of obsolete computer hardware I have lying around somewhere...

[Xavi]

I think a good and cheap case would be a HDD case like these:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/p.....olor-73760
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2.....lver-51119

Just make the holes with a cutter for the USB, HDMI, etc.

[rickyjames]

Newbie here, excited about your project. I was noticing all of the references here to using an Altoids tin as a Rpi case. Here's some similar generic tin cases listed on sale that are in the right ballpark for size at less than $1 each when purchased in bulk. These are 3.75 inches by 2.75 inches by 0.75 inches (that's 95.25 mm by 69.85 mm by 19.05 mm) , and are actually slightly larger than a regular Altoids tin with its 2.5 inches in width.

http://www.containerandpackagi.....?item=M526

http://www.containerandpackagi.....item=M526B

http://www.containerandpackagi.....item=M526C

A link to an even cheaper version that's between around $0.50 and $0.75 depending on bulk quantity bought is below. These have a hinged lid and are 3.90 by 2.40 by 0.875 inches in size (99.06 mm by 60.96 mm by 22.23 mm).

http://www.specialtybottle.com.....inged.aspx

A common technique is to fill these with water and freeeze them solid to do drilling custom hole patterns into the sides, then melt the ice and dry them out. If you do decide to go with such an Altoids style case, that steampunk site mentioned above has some interesting customization techniques for them:

http://steampunkworkshop.com/e.....le-article

[DanielSilva]

Cut 2 perspex sheets, drill 4 holes, add 4 brass spacers. Case done and stackable too.

And if you want to be more artistic with it, cut 2 strips of perspex with the same height as the space between the two covers, bend it with the aid of an air gun and the edges of a table and close the case. Take the rasp logo and make a vinyl cut ( negative style ) out and place it on the top perspex cover, run some grit paper on it and on the sides of the top and bottom covers, stick a bright coloured LED on it.

Appreciate your awesome case.

[crundy]

Would you be able to use a metal case or would it short any connections on the underside of the board?

[dhicks]

Quote from rickyjames on September 7, 2011, 20:20
Here's some similar generic tin cases listed on sale that are in the right ballpark for size at less than $1 each when purchased in bulk.

Many thanks - I've been wondering about how to go about making a case, and that's given me a place to start. I've now found this:

http://www.tinwaredirect.com/p.....t4006.aspx

which at 166mm x 124mm should be just right for drilling two sets of VESA 75 and/or VESA 100 holes in, along with some spacers in the middle, and screwing (will need some longer screw than those supplied) to a 7" Mimo VESA-mountable monitor:

http://www.newit.co.uk/shop/pr.....=mimo_720F

Add in a cheap VESA mount (£10 off eBay) and you've got a wall-mountable all-in-one touchscreen computer.

For cable connections, you'd have to either mount connectors of some sort on the edge of the case (fiddly?) or simply lead your connecting cables inside the tin case - the second option would actually be rather handy for a lot of applications where you don't want people unplugging cables.

[rickyjames]

Quote from crundy on September 7, 2011, 22:54
Would you be able to use a metal case or would it short any connections on the underside of the board?

You would use washers or plastic spacers to keep the board from contacting the metal surface of the box. The Rpi board has mounting holes - at least, the Alpha board does. To mount it, you would first drill an identical hole pattern in the bottom / lid of the box and push screws thru those holes so that the head of the screw is flush with the outside surface of the box. Then put one or more washers or a plastic spacer on each screw, then slide the board down the screws, and secure the whole rig with a nut on each screw. The heads of the screws are now on the" outside"; the washer/board/nut is now on the "inside". When they announce the size of the board, they'll announce what diameter of screw to use to fit its mounting holes...if the final Beta board has mounting holes like the Alpha board does...

[rickyjames]

Another thread on Rpi cases got started elsewhere on the forum, worth looking at.

http://www.raspberrypi.org/?pa.....38;t=413.0

That thread has been going for 24 hours, while this thread has been going on for six weeks. Suggest merging this fork by continuing case discussions on the older thread here.

[emercer]

I dunno about you, but I intend to build one into one of those laptop-sized keyboards with embedded trackpad... If it works well, I might even build a few (I have every intention of distributing the Ras-Pi in Brazil, it aligns with everything I believe about cheap computing devices for social integration)

Lookie:


I've contacted the chinese manufacturer to see if they can personalize it to spec (brazilian layout, different silk-screened logo etc) and I'm waiting for quoting.

[Cafe]

Quote from emercer on September 8, 2011, 12:39
I dunno about you, but I intend to build one into one of those laptop-sized keyboards with embedded trackpad... If it works well, I might even build a few (I have every intention of distributing the Ras-Pi in Brazil, it aligns with everything I believe about cheap computing devices for social integration)

...

I've contacted the chinese manufacturer to see if they can personalize it to spec (brazilian layout, different silk-screened logo etc) and I'm waiting for quoting.

Sounds great. Do you have a link to this keyboard?

Perhaps a stretch: Has anyone seen a similar keyboard which also includes a USB hub (maybe just one port)?

[emercer]

Sounds great. Do you have a link to this keyboard?

Perhaps a stretch: Has anyone seen a similar keyboard which also includes a USB hub (maybe just one port)?

This keyboard @ dealextreme: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/g.....able-55263

And for bulk orders @ alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/product....._with.html

I tried a lot to find one with included USB hub; no cigar (yet). I've ordered one from DX and I'll let it sit for a while connected to my HTPC until Ras-Pis start shipping.

[kme]

If all you want is a USB keyboard with a build-in USB hub, IBM is you solution:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-19.....0041976742

[rickyjames]

Or you can buy that IBM USB keyboard for $40 instead of $109 if you are somewhat budget conscious...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-10.....2ea9b27133

[kme]

I gave a product number. Where you buy it isn't my concern.

[Cafe]

Quote from emercer on September 8, 2011, 14:56
This keyboard @ dealextreme: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/g.....able-55263

And for bulk orders @ alibaba: http://www.alibaba.com/product....._with.html

I tried a lot to find one with included USB hub; no cigar (yet). I've ordered one from DX and I'll let it sit for a while connected to my HTPC until Ras-Pis start shipping.

Thanks for the links.

I notice that these keyboards are 17-18mm thick making it a bit hard to fit a Raspi inside (assuming x and y space aren't a problem): Raspi Model B is expected to be about 22 mm thick; Model A about 19 mm. So, it might be a challenge to fit a Raspi inside even after the USB and RJ45 ports are desoldered

(18 mm thickness means the hollow of the keyboard is probably only about 14-16 mm high.)