Keigen7's Sleek 3D-Printed Raspberry Pi 4 Cyberdeck Rings in 2024 in Style
Powered by an off-the-shelf 25Ah battery, this angled build puts a compact ultrawide screen above a finger-pleasing mechanical keyboard.
Pseudonymous maker "Keigen7" is starting 2024 with a shiny new cyberdeck, using a custom-designed 3D-printed case to house a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B single-board computer (SBC), an ultrawide display, and a mechanical keyboard.
"Simple cyberdeck build. Built with Raspberry Pi 4 [Model] B 4GB and a generic tall display I flipped to the side," Keigen7 writes of the sleek potable. "Uses a laptop power bank with the battery level portion cut out. 4 USB 3 ports in the front, however that's all the I/O [Input/Output] I put on this. Complete with rats nest of wires inside and bam first build."
The cyberdeck's framework is a custom 3D-printed design, built in two halves then friction-welded together to accommodate the bed size of the available printer. The top of the chassis houses a 7.9" capacitive touchscreen offering a 1280×400 resolution from a full-color IPS panel and a four-port USB 3.0 hub, connected to one of the Raspberry Pi 4's USB 3.0 ports for ease of peripheral connectivity. A low-cost 25Ah USB power bank to keep everything running on-the-go, with a cut-out in the case making the charge display easily visible.
The case also houses an off-the-shelf HK Gaming GK61 mechanical keyboard, connected to another USB port on the Raspberry Pi, while inside — along with the self-admitted "rats nest of wires" — is the Raspberry Pi itself, with GeeekPi active cooler. An additional cooling fan in the case ensures nothing's going to overheat even under heavy load, while a small USB-powered speaker provides audio capabilities.
"Could definitely put way more on this but I haven't done anything to it in a while, will probably make a second version sometime in the future," Keigen7 writes, while also promising 3D print files to follow for those who would like to build their own. "Thingiverse wont let me post within 24 hours [of registering], so I'll get to it when I can."
More information on the build, including links to all the off-the-shelf components, is available on Keigen7's Reddit post.
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.