Pi Case from a Cardboard Box - Thingiverse
Pi Case from a Cardboard Box is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Written by Ari M. Diacou on June 3, 2014. Posted on http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:351468/ Materials • Cardboard Box that will fit the Pi, with internal dimensions of ~2” • Wood mounting material (I used 3/16” hardwood plywood because it was the best fit in my shop) • Brass risers from a computer case or motherboard kit. • Computer bolts that fit into the risers (the thicker threaded ones) Executive Summary of Instructions 1. Cut wood so it fits in box 2. Arrange Pi on wood 3. Transfer mounting holes to wood 4. Drill through wood with 7/64” drill bit 5. Screw bolts into risers 6. Screw risers into holes in wood using a screwdriver. Remove screws from risers 7. Place Pi on risers, screw computer screws into mounting holes and risers 8. Use small drill bit and drill to guess at the center locations of I/O ports (don't hit the Pi!) 9. Use big drill bit to gouge out more material 10. Unfold box and clean up all your crappy looking drill holes with a box cutter, refold box. Required Tools • A saw for the wood (I used a table saw with a thin kerf blade and tiny teeth) • Box cutter with a fresh blade (it has to do some precision cuts on corrugated cardboard) • Power Drill • 7/64” drill bit • Needle-nose pliers • #2 Phillips bit or screw driver (these are the normal size Phillips bits, which fit into the computer bolts we are using) Helpful Tools • 3/8” drill bit (with a brad/spur tip makes this really easy)Metal Ruler (something you can cut against) • I found a carpenter's square helpful • Blue painters tape was helpful for securing things for a short time. • Something you can cut on. I used an old cutting board because I couldn't find my vinyl mat. (Box cutter into cardboard for precision-ish work)
Real Instructions 1. Measure the internal dimensions of the box you are using, if you are using a fold top box like I am, remember to subtract the thickness of the tabs that fold down, giving approximately 1/4” for each one.
2. Cut wood to measurements. I used a table saw with a thin kerf blade with small teeth. Remember to cut outside your measurements. 3. Arrange Pi on wood. I decided to center it in the board, so that it wouldn’t wobble wherever I put it. 4. Transfer mounting holes to wood. I taped the pi to the board with painter's tape, and then with the small drill bit in my fingers, rolled it to score the start of a hole in each of the mounting holes. 5. Remove the tape and Pi, and drill through wood with 7/64” drill bit. 6. Screw the bolt into the riser, position the riser above the hole, and using some elbow grease (“pressure” for any kids following this) and a #2 screw driver, screw the riser and bolt into the wood. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN. 7. Using a needle-nose pliers to grip the riser, unscrew the bolt from the riser. 8. Repeat 6-7 for the other mounting hole. 9. Place Pi on risers, screw computer screws into mounting holes and risers. The threads for the
bolts are larger than the PCB holes – don’t worry. Don’t over-tighten either. 10. You should now have something that looks like this:
11. Place the Mounted Pi in the box. 12. Using discretion (don’t hit the Pi) and a small drill bit, drill into the sides of the box to guess at the center locations of I/O ports (don't hit the Pi!). 13. If your estimates were correct, use a 3/8” drill bit with a brad or spur tip. This thing:
If the were not correct, adjust the position of the large drill bit accordingly. You will need to drill a little bit, and remove the sheets from the tip of the drill, since cardboard won't form chips like wood will. 14. Using my holes as guides, I unfolded my box, put it on a cutting board that grips the edge of a table, and lined up the box so that I could use a carpenter's square or t-square on the edge of the cutting board. 15. Using a box cutter, t-square (or carpenter's square), pencil, and metal ruler, cut out pretty rectangles around your ugly drill holes for the cables to fit though.
16. Maybe glue aluminum foil around the whole thing to make anti-static? 17. Maybe add vents to the top? 18. Refold your box, wire up your pi, and bask in your self-reliance, handiness and extreme pennypinching (cause you just used $200-$1000 in tools to save yourself $10 – but then again, that's why you made the investment in the tools to begin with, right?) 19. Turn on your pi and see if you crushed the PCB when you tightened those screws.
Written by Ari M. Diacou on June 3, 2014. Posted on http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:351468/ Materials • Cardboard Box that will fit the Pi, with internal dimensions of ~2” • Wood mounting material (I used 3/16” hardwood plywood because it was the best fit in my shop) • Brass risers from a computer case or motherboard kit. • Computer bolts that fit into the risers (the thicker threaded ones) Executive Summary of Instructions 1. Cut wood so it fits in box 2. Arrange Pi on wood 3. Transfer mounting holes to wood 4. Drill through wood with 7/64” drill bit 5. Screw bolts into risers 6. Screw risers into holes in wood using a screwdriver. Remove screws from risers 7. Place Pi on risers, screw computer screws into mounting holes and risers 8. Use small drill bit and drill to guess at the center locations of I/O ports (don't hit the Pi!) 9. Use big drill bit to gouge out more material 10. Unfold box and clean up all your crappy looking drill holes with a box cutter, refold box. Required Tools • A saw for the wood (I used a table saw with a thin kerf blade and tiny teeth) • Box cutter with a fresh blade (it has to do some precision cuts on corrugated cardboard) • Power Drill • 7/64” drill bit • Needle-nose pliers • #2 Phillips bit or screw driver (these are the normal size Phillips bits, which fit into the computer bolts we are using) Helpful Tools • 3/8” drill bit (with a brad/spur tip makes this really easy)Metal Ruler (something you can cut against) • I found a carpenter's square helpful • Blue painters tape was helpful for securing things for a short time. • Something you can cut on. I used an old cutting board because I couldn't find my vinyl mat. (Box cutter into cardboard for precision-ish work)
Real Instructions 1. Measure the internal dimensions of the box you are using, if you are using a fold top box like I am, remember to subtract the thickness of the tabs that fold down, giving approximately 1/4” for each one.
2. Cut wood to measurements. I used a table saw with a thin kerf blade with small teeth. Remember to cut outside your measurements. 3. Arrange Pi on wood. I decided to center it in the board, so that it wouldn’t wobble wherever I put it. 4. Transfer mounting holes to wood. I taped the pi to the board with painter's tape, and then with the small drill bit in my fingers, rolled it to score the start of a hole in each of the mounting holes. 5. Remove the tape and Pi, and drill through wood with 7/64” drill bit. 6. Screw the bolt into the riser, position the riser above the hole, and using some elbow grease (“pressure” for any kids following this) and a #2 screw driver, screw the riser and bolt into the wood. DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN. 7. Using a needle-nose pliers to grip the riser, unscrew the bolt from the riser. 8. Repeat 6-7 for the other mounting hole. 9. Place Pi on risers, screw computer screws into mounting holes and risers. The threads for the
bolts are larger than the PCB holes – don’t worry. Don’t over-tighten either. 10. You should now have something that looks like this:
11. Place the Mounted Pi in the box. 12. Using discretion (don’t hit the Pi) and a small drill bit, drill into the sides of the box to guess at the center locations of I/O ports (don't hit the Pi!). 13. If your estimates were correct, use a 3/8” drill bit with a brad or spur tip. This thing:
If the were not correct, adjust the position of the large drill bit accordingly. You will need to drill a little bit, and remove the sheets from the tip of the drill, since cardboard won't form chips like wood will. 14. Using my holes as guides, I unfolded my box, put it on a cutting board that grips the edge of a table, and lined up the box so that I could use a carpenter's square or t-square on the edge of the cutting board. 15. Using a box cutter, t-square (or carpenter's square), pencil, and metal ruler, cut out pretty rectangles around your ugly drill holes for the cables to fit though.
16. Maybe glue aluminum foil around the whole thing to make anti-static? 17. Maybe add vents to the top? 18. Refold your box, wire up your pi, and bask in your self-reliance, handiness and extreme pennypinching (cause you just used $200-$1000 in tools to save yourself $10 – but then again, that's why you made the investment in the tools to begin with, right?) 19. Turn on your pi and see if you crushed the PCB when you tightened those screws.
