- ✨Power over Ethernet
- ✨Hot-swap support
- ✨PWM fans support
The case box is built from the following parts (drawings):
- Left, right, top, and bottom panels.
- Top and bottom panels with grooves for the Raspberry Pi frames.
- A back panel with a fan grill for 80mm x 80mm fan.
- A front panel with openings for USB and Ethernet ports.
Watch this video to see how to assembly the case.
The power and I2C rail connects all Raspberry Pis to the I2C bus and provides power to the fan controller and a chassis fan. Low forward drop Schottky diodes combined in an OR-ing circuit provide power to the load when at least one Raspberry Pi is installed without the risk of reverse current flow.
The fan controller converts 5V to 12V and uses EMC2101-R IC from Microchip/SMSC to control a 4-pin PWM fan and monitor its speed via the I2C bus. This controller is installed on the left panel of the enclosure and connected to the Power and I2C rail.
| Part | Quantity | Link |
|---|---|---|
| M2.5 x 14mm screw | 3 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 x 10mm screw | 1 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 nut | 4 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 x 2mm spacer | 4 | M2.5 round plastic spacer |
| M3 x 12mm screw | 8 | M3x12mm machine screws |
| M3 nut | 8 | M3 hexagon nuts |
| M3 nylon washer | 8 | M3 nylon flat washers |
| M4 x 14mm screw | 4 | M4x14mm machine screws |
| M4 nut | 4 | M4 hexagon nuts |
| 80mm x 80mm x 25mm fan | 1 | Noctua NF-A8 PWM |
| Power and I2C rail | 1 | Schematics and PCB (EagleCAD), BOM |
| Fan controller | 1 | Schematics and PCB (EagleCAD), BOM |
| Case panels | 8 | Drawings, Templates for laser cutting |
Raspberry Pis need to be mounted on frames so that they can be pushed into the case and retracted individually (drawings).
The solution relies on a custom PoE HAT with RT5400-5V 30W module. For this HAT to work, the switch your cluster is connected to needs to support IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet protocol (e.g. TL-SG1005P switch).
| Part | Quantity | Link |
|---|---|---|
| M2.5 x 10mm screw | 12 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 x 5mm screw | 6 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 nut | 6 | M2.5 machine screws nuts kit |
| M2.5 x 14mm F/F hex brass standoff | 6 | Hex standoff M2.5 x 14mm brass |
| Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 4-8Gb | 3 | Raspberry Pi 4 |
| Micro SD 32 Gb | 3 | SanDisk Ultra 32GB |
| PoE assembly | 3 | Schematics and PCB (EagleCAD), BOM |
| Frame panels | 2 x 3 | Drawings, Templates for laser cutting |
- Three Ethernet patch cables 230-250mm length.
- A switch with 802.3af Power over Ethernet support (e.g. TL-SG1005P switch).
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