Pi enclosures

[deleted]

My Raspberry Pi is successfully working for more than a month now, delivering music to my active loudspeakers without big problems. Also (for now) I made peace with Runeaudio for the lack of managing music. So, as the hardware set-up is nearly final, I think it's time to step back a bit and look at what I have got.

Watching the Pi resting on the shelf with all the wires and the USB drive next to it makes me happy when I think of the music but not when I think of the looks. The enclosure I got now is ok, but I easily can think of something that looks more like an audio device rather than a Pi case.

So, over the last couple of days I searched the internet for a nice alternative housing but couldn't find any enclosure that could house the Pi with propably two HATs and a power supply. I found a nice site showing lots of boxes: http://elinux.org/RPi_Cases, but nearly all of them look like Raspberry Pi enclosures. The closest to what I would like to get is the Plusberry Pi Media Box (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/plusberry-pi-media-box-running-on-raspberry-pi#/).

As I think there are zillions of Pi enclosures around, you might have done the same search already and maybe found a nice and good one. Please post pictures and/or links. Construction drawings too are appreciated.

Thanks!
..

PeteB

I looked, but I can't find anything that is an obvious fit, and also reasonably compact. For now, I plan to recycle an earlier project I was part of a year ago. (I posted a pic of the top plate in the other thread)

That is a convenient and compact form which can contain a 100-mm long 2.5" disk drive, a Pi, a HAT DAC, and a GPIO expansion board, but it does not look like a stereo component. It was designed for access from three sides, not to have a nice looking front panel.

Last time I tried, I could fit everything into a box that was half as wide and half as deep as a full size (rack-mount size) component, including an analog supply, front panel controls, etc. There is a number to choose from on ebay, most made by the same company in China and sold under different names. Sizes and prices vary.

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hondagx35

Hi Pete,

i like your enclosure.

There is a number to choose from on ebay, most made by the same company in China and sold under different names.

A link would be great.

Frank

PeteB

Links on ebay tend to change, but I used this one for the example above:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/D-2205-Full-Aluminum-amplifier-Enclosure-mini-AMP-case-Preamp-box-PSU-chassis/161809368520?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D36188%26meid%3D99b15d60871346b3ab9505d110fa7b39%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D221611997159

Audiophonics has a nice one, already machined for the Pi and their DAC, but sadly, a bit out of my price range, especially after some of the extras...

http://www.audiophonics.fr/en/diy-dac/audiophonics-raspdac-kit-diy-network-player-for-raspberry-pi-20-dac-p-10511.html

Cheers,

Pete

PeteB

It took a few days, but I made room for a hard drive in my "Pie Stack Case", inspired by the WD Pi Drive (even though I am not using that model).

Shown below in Piano Black finish...

The side with the USB ports is a little crowded, but the layers can be rotated 90 degrees and the disk drive micro-B connector does not have to be directly below the USB ports.

There is enough room to add a GPIO expansion card with a rotary encoder or something similar, and the top provides some protection for the RCA cables and the HDMI connector, with space for fingers.

The stack can be powered using a GPIO feedthrough connector (at the expense of adding another few mm in height).

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dunghnguyen

Holly sh*t ... It looks so pro ... I love it

@[deleted]: The top canopy has Blackberry cnc machining icon?

PeteB

Thanks, I am glad you like it. The top just has a circular pattern of plain round holes, it is not an icon or a logo. The parts are laser-cut from 4.5 mm black acrylic, so the edges have a polished look.

I think a Pi enclosure should be simple, not cost very much, and it can still look nice. Like the Flirc Raspberry Pi case (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416hUwhE76L.jpg. It is made from aluminum and plastic, it fits well, and uses almost no tools.

vulpespersona

I was happy with the looks of this zebra case by c4 labs as it matches my vintage Marantz turntable and receiver. Especially for $15, only a few bucks more than the cheap plastic ugly ones. The guy who runs the company sent me a bunch of extra parts for a few bucks too, when i added the hifi-berry DAC to make it fit. Really great support and communication. He may be working on a case that fits the hifi-berry. I got it to all work with the 1/4" version of the hi-fiberry, making some small adjustments. It's all a bit crammed in there and the screws stick off the top. No big problem.

dunghnguyen

It looks pro! Can you take photo of the other side? Tks for sharing.

PeteB

vulpespersona wrote...It's all a bit crammed in there and the screws stick off the top. No big problem...

Crammed or not, it looks really nice.

The Zebra cases are a good deal, and the fit is good. It is about as small as you can go, and good quality, I have seen one.

I made mine oversized so the same case could accommodate two rotary encoders, or one encoder and one small 2-line display. the HDD, or a battery or linear supply filter/regulator can fit on an extra layer. It is about 110 mm x 110 mm. I think the Zebra case is only 60~65 mm wide.

I did not have small size as a consideration, and Acrylic is not expensive, about $1/layer in the stack. Another version I made a year ago was around $5 per stack layer in small quantity, if I remember correctly, even after the cost of laser cutting.

surfninja

I've always thought about just putting the pi and DAC in my audio preamp enclosure and use the linear PS in the pre. However, I like to move the RP to other systems and my buddy is auditioning my pre.

I'm currently using some faux carbon fiber case I got cheap at MCM Electronics. I'd post a link but couldn't find it on the MCM site.