Fully 3D Printed Case Is Stacked High With Mini PCs
Over time we’ve seen no scarcity of 3D printed instances designed to carry a number of Raspberry Pi computer systems, typically with the intent to make use of them as handy desktop-sized platforms for experimenting with ideas resembling server load balancing and redundancy.
The explanation the Pi was at all times the star of the present is easy sufficient to elucidate: they have been small and low-cost. However whereas the Pi has solely gotten dearer over time, x86 machines have shrunk and cheaper. Which is how a challenge just like the N100 Obelisk was born.
Because the title implies, [Jay Doscher] has packed this printed tower of energy with a variety of mini computer systems using the Intel N100 CPU, specifically the QC12 from Beelink. At $250 a pop they’re undoubtedly a dearer possibility than the Pi 5. However with each packing 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB NVME drive, plus the choice to plug in a SATA drive, you’re getting loads of bang in your computing buck.
Every QC12 lives by itself printed “shelf” contained in the case, which can match as much as 5 of the machines without delay. Although [Jay] notes that warmth might develop into a problem at that time, so 4 looks as if a safer quantity. The entrance panel of every laptop will be accessed by means of a cut-out in a single facet of the case, whereas the rear (and all of the cables) are coated with simply detachable panels ought to you’ll want to get in there and reconfigure something.
With all the things all buttoned up, it appears to be like prefer it might survive a bomb blast. Contemplating it took two rolls of filament and the higher a part of 100 M4 screws to place the factor collectively, we’d wager it doesn’t simply look robust, both. The write-up says the purpose was for the ultimate product to have a sure brutalist fashion, and it actually looks as if the mission was completed on that entrance.
In fact, the actually standout function of the Obelisk is the built-in Waveshare AMOLED show. This 13.3 inch panel boasts a decision of 2560×1440, and even gives contact help. Right here it’s been rotated into portrait orientation to offer loads of vertical area, making it best for engaged on the command line, writing code, or scrolling by means of lengthy paperwork. Don’t want a display screen? No drawback — the case has been designed in such a manner which you can forgo the show and fill within the opening with extra of the printed panels.
As we’ve seen along with his earlier tasks, [Jay] has a knack for turning extruded plastic into gadgets which can be each purposeful and visually hanging. We’re at all times excited when one in all his creations come our manner, and might’t wait to see what he’s bought in retailer for the longer term.