Is there a 3D printable enclosure for RPi 4 w/ serial gateway?



  • I'm just getting started w/ my setup (components are in the mail), so sorry if I've missed something - I swear I've been looking.

    I can't find a 3D printable enclosure to house both my Raspberry Pi 4 and my serial gateway (Arduino Nano and NRF24L01+PA+LNA). Is there one out there, or am I going to get to design one myself?

    I had thought this would be a common setup, but maybe I'm over complicating things? I'm planning to run Domoticz and I read it's easiest w/ a separate serial gateway, vs integrating the radio into the GPIO pins.



  • @Kikakee
    I couldn't find one, so I designed my own.

    (My model is not suitable for anyone else because I made it fit very snugly around my board)

    Wanting a smaller, neater solution than that, I bought a nRF52840 USB stick, hoping I could use that because it's very nice, but unfortunately there are some compatibility issues I have to yet resolve.



  • I'm slowly working out a case design in Tinkercad.

    Does anyone know if it's OK to put the NRF module close and parallel as the RPi?

    Capture.PNG

    Tinkercad link if anyone's interested.



  • Still on the journey...

    Finished a v0.2 notes:

    • Now have a printed case! See pics below.
    • The Radio and the Arduino needed to have the header pins soldered upside down.
    • The NRF24L01+PA+LNA doesn't come that way, so I had to de/re solder the pins. Not the simplest.
    • The fan screws get in the way of the serial gateway assembly.

    Ideas for gen v0.3:

    • Turn Arduino and Radio 90 degrees , basically make a sandwich. I think there is enough room if I use a double sided perf board.
    • I'd need smaller 3mm LEDs instead of the 5mm one's I've got... I've got some on order.
    • Also want a fresh radio module, if I don't have to flip the pins it would be easier for anyone else to do it.
    • Alignment pins - the Magnets do a good job, but little gaps are not ideal.

    20200614_135038.jpg 20200614_135723.jpg

    Again for anyone interested here's the updated tinker cad link: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/3NuVSR723k2


  • Banned



  • @Kikakee,

    Looks very nice and professional!

    Couldn't help but wonder however if there is a way to connect the Arduino to the RPi through internal GPIO pins, in order to eliminate the external USB cable? I think that would be the finishing touch on such an otherwise nice looking project.

    Version 0.3 perhaps? If not I (and perhaps others coming by later) suppose I was wondering if there was some technical reason why not to do this?

    Or maybe you simply didn't get around to it yet (perfectly acceptable reason as well 😃 ).


  • Banned

    @Avamander
    Designed by your own?
    Genius!👍
    Pintuu


  • Banned


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