Nicely Packaged

The Raspberry Pi 5 offers many new functions. Unfortunately, the original case that is sold by the Raspberry Pi Foundation is too small to make full use of all the options. This starts with the GPIO header: The 40-pin plug is very awkward to connect. The lid does not close properly, and it covers the fan. The case itself is so tightly dimensioned that the factory-fitted fan struggles to circulate the air. Things get even more cramped if you use the Active Cooler [1]. Apparently no one considered the fact that the battery [2] for the Real Time Clock (RTC) also needs some space. All in all, a usable case needs to offer more space and offer some openings for cooling. Ideally, it should be large enough to provide space for any Hardware Attached on Top (HAT) you choose to install.

My plan was to develop a case to meet even the toughest requirements; it also had to be sufficiently flexible to cope with future requirements. The "Requirements" box summarizes the design goals and describes how I've dealt with some of the problems of the official case. I built the case myself using a 3D printer. To create the model for printing, I used Onshape [3], an online CAD program that is free for private use. Note that all models created with Onshape are publicly accessible. Video tutorials will help you familiarize yourself with the program [4].

Model

Creating a 3D model is an iterative process that usually requires several attempts until everything fits as desired. Precise measurements are a great help here. Let's take a look at the data sheet (Figure 1) of the Raspberry Pi 5 [7]. We can take some measurements for our case from this, such as the space between the mounting holes. But not all of the required dimensions can be found here; you will need a caliper gauge to determine the others.

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