Widescreen Mil-Plastic CyberDeck by DavidIT

Last crawled date: 3 years, 3 months ago

This is my Remix of a really cool case by Back7 (https://back7.co/)
This remix does not contain all the parts needed to print this project, the missing parts can be downloaded from Back7's original post.
I wanted to use a 11.6, Widescreen panel I got out of a broken HP stream book (or what ever it was called.) The panel is called a "NT116WHM-N21" and both the driver and a off brand panel are available from eBay for less then $70 USD. I also made a few other changes that are listed below.
I printed mine in normal PLA at between 20% to 25% infill at speeds between 50 to 70. I originally printed most of the parts on my Ender's original build surface but it lost its magnet strength and curled up. This happened during a unrelated print and I didn't catch this in time and the head dug into my build surface. I replaced the build surface on both my Enders with glass + PEI. The bottom of my prints have now lost their textured surface and now have a glossy, mirror like surface. For projects like this in the future, I might buy a similar textured build surface.
List of changes:
-Extended the frame to accommodate a wider screen.
-Every part is printable on an Ender 3 (anything with a Build volume of 220x200)
-I added feet to the lower ribs to better angle the screen. (the screen is not IPS)
-Added a handle.
-Made a screen mounting system for my panel.
-Split the back panel (to be ender printable) and added the same cutouts that are featured on the sides. (you can find blank versions and versions that take less screw.)
-made a two part Pi mount that slots into the larger cutouts. (can fit any one of the four or the two on the original design.)
-That's it for now, may add more in the future.
You'll need all the same hardware that the normal case uses (M5 25mm 25PK, M5 12mm 25PK, 4 M5 300mm threaded rod, and some similar looking M3 screws) and you'll also need a pack of M2.5 screws. You need a small assortment of them and you can buy packs of "250" on eBay in pan or hex head styles. Oh, and two 3mm dowels (I bought a pack of 3mm, 30mm long metal dowels off amazon.) See Back7's website for more information.
This is a work in progress and you can see in the photos that I'm using this as a monitor for now. I have a Pi 3 (non +) and I'm putting off upgrading until the Pi 5 or 4+ comes out.
I also have some other panels and mounts to finish. I have two versions of the Pi mount in the works (one for the skinny slot, the other is a revised version of the large panel mount) and other panels for speakers or cooling fans.
I also want to make, with caution, a mount for a SKR driver board (the ender 3 compatible one) that has all the appropriate connections mounted to the panel with D'Sub connectors and high current connectors. I think this will be useful for making, and then taking down, custom 3d printers I want to make. I want to make sure I have a good way to cool the board before releasing this mount.
I left the threaded rods uncut because I want to use them to bolt on addons or wire management frames that I will work on in the future. They currently stick out about 25mm.
If you have any suggestions or questions, just leave a comment! This is my first post and my phones camera (or my photo taking skills) suck. I might update the photos later if I get a better camera or find out how to take better photos.
BTW the extra M2.5 screw holes on the back panels are for mounting a, not yet exciting, clip or zip tie mount to allow you to separate the case down the middle to protect one half from the other (heat or electrical interference maybe) I don't think this will ever be needed but I wanted to leave the door open for it later.
How it fits together by addon:
--Screen--
To print:
You need to print 4 driver spacers, 4 frame spacers, two Tblocks, the two frames (B is the left side, A is the right) and the 2 face plates.
Hardware needed:
4 m5 screws (25mm) and quite a few m2.5 screws. There is a lot of extra room for longer screws so just use ones that don't poke through the plastic and into the screen.
How to put together:
Basically, bolt the Tblocks into the screen frames and then bold the whole screen frame to the main frame from behind. You need to use the spacers or the screws will stab the screen. After that, place the screen in and screw in the Face plates. The screen itself never gets screwed in anywhere. Its also easier to do this with most of the ribs and sides off.
--Handle--
To print:
4 upper ribs with dowel holes, 2 upper ribs with "handle gap" and the handle.
Hardware needed:
Two metal 3mm dowels that are bigger then 20mm but smaller then 40mm (I used 30mm) and no other special hardware.
How to put together:
You cant center the handle due to how some ribs get screwed in from the front and some don't.
You can put it together before screwing anything in by (This is starting left to right) inserting the dowel pin into the right side of the rib with the dowel hole, then sliding the upper rib with a gap onto that, then the handle and then another rib with a dowel hole (those ribs have holes on both sides) Then just do the same thing on the other side. The whole thing can be screwed in with 4 M5 screws like any other ribs.
You may need to cut away material from the holes to make the dowels fit. the hole on the handle is over sized already so that can be left alone.
The rest is pretty self explanatory.