Something different. Something smaller.

I wanted to try and create a compact case that was more suited to the official Raspberry Pi camera modules without the add-ons, and came up with this.

You can see in the background the revisions it took for me to get to something that I thought would work. It was a very frustrating experience, but I learned my way though and in the end I am better for it.

The design goals were limited to a small form-factor, the same 12v buck-converter and made for a standard RPi camera v1 or v2. Knowing that a Pi 4 would get hot in a small enclosure like this, a fan was considered required. 30mm fans are easy to come by in a common form factor, and there are sites that offer 3D models to download for free to use in your models.

This is the first model to include a fan and a tripod mount insert (1/4-20).

The fan grill is probably over designed. The goal was primarily to keep water out, but it needs to keep bugs, dirt, etc. out as well. The fan is on the bottom of the case, so it would not often be in the direct path of any precipitation, and when it is on it blows out. Now that I have this fan mount/grill body I can re-use it in other designs or move it around more easily.

In an effort to make it difficult for stuff to get in I devised an overly complicated chevron pattern.

It is fairly intricate and  hard to print, but it allows seemingly good air-flow.  I have not done any formal testing but I have run the Pi with and without the fan and have seen the temperature go from 70C to 50C. The problem is that it is hard to print, or, at least, the first layer is, and sometimes the top layer, too. The internal structure holds up, though, and the ‘surface’ flaws don’t impair its function.

I test-fit the components on the first print attempt, even though I could not use it.

The print failed before the top of the camera mounting wall was finished. Sometimes filament spools can bind up, like it is tied in a knot, and no plastic is fed in to the extruder. There are a couple of reasons that can happen, but if a spool is allowed to go slack, the layers can overlap and eventually bind. Or, it sometimes spools come that way.

You may notice that to keep things compact the components are layered. The Ethernet and USB on the back of the Pi hang over the power converter. Packing those components under the Pi got me thinking about what else I might be able to fit in there.

Next you can see two abandoned designs.

One has little walls used to secure the cowl. On the large camera design I like the bolt on each side at the front. It helps to hold the sides in. With a design this small the plastic is stiff enough that it will not flex.

Starting over I decided to try a ‘bathtub’ design. The idea was to make a lid, and maybe eventually it could lead to using an O-ring to achieve better water resistance. And then I realized that level of water-proof was unnecessary with a big fan grill at the bottom. In addition to the other things I also did not like creating 4 attachment points, as it seems an excessive amount of hardware, especially as even this early I was moving toward heat-pressed inserts.

Black nylon standoffs and screws were used to mount the Pi. The buck converter is flipped over, so that it is not upside down. The upside down mounting seems interesting until the first time you have to tune the output voltage and are required to disassemble everything to get to the adjusting screw.

You may also notice the color change. I ran out of blue and had some natural/clear PLA. It printed well, and it can be useful to be able to see the blinking lights on the Pi.

Here you can see the difference in size between the different cameras.