Give Your Pi a Military-Grade Look with the 3D-Printed Mil-Plastic Enclosure
Flexible open source design with a 10-inch display.
Jay Doscher makes functional electronics art. We have covered his elegant open source designs in the past, which include the Hacker-Friendly Computer Frame and the Raspberry Pi Recovery Kit. These are just a couple of unique creations. As a follow-up to a previous project, he has created a 3D-printed Mil-Plastic single-board computer enclosure.
"Many Makers asked me over the last year about printing smaller parts for the Raspberry Pi Recovery Kit, and I started playing around with options. I knew I didn’t want to just re-hash the old deck, and I knew I really wanted a better display for this year."
Doscher's gorgeous housing mimics the look of a military-grade case, but the plastic is entirely 3D-printed. It is a follow-up to his previous Raspberry Pi Recovery Kit (RPRK). That design included a keyboard but utilized an off-the-shelf case at its core.
Unlike the RPRK build, this new design does not use panel mount connectors and or a built-in keyboard. This change means a lower cost bill-of-materials and increased flexibility in the final design. Like his other designs, Doscher provides a link to the Tinkercad project. You can modify the enclosure to suit your specific needs by making a clone of that project.
Once again, Doscher has provided a complete BOM. In addition to the PETG for the 3D printer, you will need a few pieces of mounting hardware, electronic components, connectors, and cables. The electronics include a 10-inch Pimoroni HDMI display and a Raspberry Pi. The BOM and detailed assembly instructions are available on his back7.co website.
This new enclosure design may not be waterproof, but it is beautiful! If you are interested in building it, this write-up has all of the details needed. One fortunate person does have the option to support Doscher and get a fully assembled kit. The original (1 of 1) Raspberry Pi Mil-Plastic computer is for sale in the back7 store.
