Raspberry Pi 5 Clamshell Case (with stands!) (Patreon)

Howdy, wonderful people!

Someone recently asked me if I was going to make a case for the new Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer.  I didn't even know there was one!  Fortunately, my local electronics supplier had just got stock, and so I got designing!

This case is designed to fit the Raspberry Pi 5 with the Active Cooler attached.  I love that there's now an official cooling solution for those boards!  So, no need for cases with fans in them, this time around :)

Now, this case will look familiar if you recall the clamshell-style cases I put together for the Pi3 and Pi4 boards.  However, it's a complete redesign, so don't go trying to put the closure rings from the old case onto this one :)  The hinge is chunkier, there are bracing elements that keep things from being too flexy, and most interestingly, the underside features connector elements.

Those connector elements have obvious relevance if you're attaching one of the stands you can see in the photos here.  There are two stands, and they only differ in that the case is rotated 90 degrees between them.

The stand attaches to the underside of the board, since the top needs unobstructed airflow for cooling.  That said, the stand, and the underside of the case, is still full of holes to allow airflow (and heat flow) regardless.

But what if you want the thing to just sit flat, and you don't want it resting directly on the case?  There are some minimalist feet included, and those just screw into the same holes that the bolts thread into.

Oh, and of course, there's a hexagon version!  The Lines and Hex versions of the case differ only in the pattern of the top surface of the case.  The rest is identical.  The Lines version does have the advantage of easily allowing ribbon cables to be threaded through, of course. 

Print Description

This is an articulated model, and one designed to precisely match the specifications of the Raspberry Pi 5 board, so make sure things are nice and neat, and that there aren't any print issues such as stringing or overextrusion that might bind moving parts together.

Print Dimensions

The case itself occupies 191mm x  72mm on the print bed and is 22mm tall.  It'll fit just fine on a 180mm square print bed if rotated 45 degrees :)

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

You probably don't want to scale this one, unless you have some kind of scale model RPi5 to put inside it :P

Print Orientation

The case prints hinged open, with the outside faces down.  The stands print on their sides, and the lock rings print upside-down.

File Location

You'll find this one at at 526 Raspberry Pi Clamshell Case

Link to dropbox post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31697592

Further Thoughts

So, the base of the case has four threaded holes, one on each corner.  However, there are other holes, too, which are not threaded, and have countersinking on the inside of the case.  You've probably seen the accompanying post already, and have worked out what those are all about - they're for bolting the case to things before putting the RPi5 inside it....

Happy printing!

xoxo

Sven.