Raspberry Pi 3D print penta hat case quirks

Thx a lot. I will start printing :slight_smile:

the screen on the hat top is too low compared to the model it doesn’t sit flush with the top of the case. Any recommendations? has anyone actually built it and has a picture of how they fitted the hat top?

Would it be possible to have separate files for each piece rather than one model file?

Hi,

In your slicer software you can quite easily split them apart an decide which part you would like to print.

Regards

Cura cant open a stp file and when converted to a stl it only sees it as a solid piece.

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Ok, i suck at 3D printing, and i cant use Fusion360 even if my life depended on it… I had to convert the files to sketchup which i was more comfortable working on and make some modifications to Radxa’s original files…

Things i changed:

  1. Lowered the height, hence the top board is not compatible. Changed the top to hexagon mesh for airflow.
  2. Allows for 2 x 40mm noctua fans (you need to jerry rig the fans together with a JST-SH 1mm pitch connector to connect to the Pi5 fan header)
  3. removed the solid walls between disks for better airflow
  4. adapted a power button from Michael Klement’s power button solution

WARNING!!! I do not have a 3d printer, so i do not know if the changes will work out well or not… I have exported the parts out from sketchup in STL format so YMMV… i have included the files in the link below for you guys to try out…

Sketchup File: https://www.mediafire.com/file/8nz4iwhcqdrm2t0/radxa_penta_sata_hat_case_v1_3_v1.skp/file
STL component files:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/izcw0bdf0gu0gzu/Penta_Sata_Hat.zip/file

Hi,

I recently received my top board and although I am pretty happy with that it also revealed a new issue in the design of the 3D printable casing.
On the inside of the top cover there is a ridge that should fit around the display of the “Sata top board”.
In principle the sizing of this ridge is correct however it does not take into account that there is a flex cable protruding from the side of the display.

If you would force the “Sata top board” in to it intended position you would almost certainly damage the flex cable.

The top board I am using is a v1.200

A few other quirks that I am now getting to test with the new top board in place:

Although the idea of having a fan on top of the disks is ok
The airflow in the existing far form optimal.

A few nrs (all under very light load):

  1. Without a fan the temperature of the sata driver reaches 60 degrees
  2. With box closed (excluding the top lid) + 1 disk inserted (= 3 big open ventilation holes) the temperature drops to around 45 degrees and the fan even slows down to its lowest speed
  3. With the top lid on the case the temperature raises to almost 50 degrees
  4. With all bays filled (simulated by closing al slots with tape) temperature raises to 55 degrees
  5. All bays filled and top plate in place temperature raise to 57 degrees

Bottom line:

  1. The top lid will need to be improved to maintain a decent ventilation, I like the design of @eskimo and guess a version of that that supports the top board could work
  2. a better ventilation between the top half and the bottom half is absolutely needed. Especially we people would use regular drives. Also here the desing of @eskimo makes sense (but maybe there are other nice options)

Hope this helps

i was able to print the case without too much issue. Came out beautiful. Later went back and used the modified SSD holder by Eskimo. It just made sense to allow more airflow. I work my NAS pretty hard, so it is regularly under load. And the PI FAN was going full tilt most of the time while under signifiant load.
I like the case, but air flow is not good. and the SATA controller also runs very hot. Adding the case caused temperatures rise about 19C. Remove the case, and everything is quiet, with the fan rarely running or running so low you cant hear it. For what it is worth. The case is beautiful, but i think it needs a few updates to improve air flow.

Does anyone happen to have the 3D model for the Penta SSD HAT itself?

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Hi eskimo. Can we get this modified file in 3mf for example? I have shapr3d, and is very hard to work with this skp, because i dont have it. Mayne export in dwg or 3mf if you can. I wat to modify a lot the case for me. But im using shapr3d. Thanks in advance.

Hi !
By any chance, @setq did you design a version for your rock-5c board ?
Best regards, and thanks again for your work !