We have seen a vast amount of interest in cases for the RPi.
As the foundation we focused on the PCB rather than the case as that is very much first base. Many of our developers can manage without but now it needs to be done. I have to agree that having the RPi floating around on the desk is not cool and no good for our schools projects - although someone pointed out that using a P clip on the HDMI cable held a Pi in place quite well !
Material - any 'Official' case is likely to be plastic - we can cope with the tooling costs (to a point) but not the reaction to a $20+ case for a RPi. I hear that some guys are planning a $20 + gamer case made out of metal but I don't have link for that at the moment.
Mounting Holes - OK I hold my hands up - (sorry folks) should have dealt with that better - just really under pressure to get the design out - ho hum. Don't forget that a 2.5mm screw with clearance will cost about 7mm in diameter on the PCB itself - crushing and shorting inner layers of PCBs under screws has always been a debugging nightmare so they need to be moated out and tracks removed / routed round. So finding space on the board for these would be challenging.
I had always envisaged that the board could clip into a plastic base - cheap and quick.
My real embarrassment is that fact that the Ethernet and USB ports don't line up. It makes life to say the least 'interesting' for a case designer. We have a couple of options on a board spin but Eben may just keep buying me beers until I agree to move the USB back 6mm or so which means the SMSC needs to move!
I'll keep you in the all in the loop as casework progresses - comments and suggestions always appreciated.
I have been looking forward to designing something and having it made by a 3D Printer.
As soon as I get my Rasperry Pi, I'm designing my own case. It is a shame that the shapeways.com sandstone is so brittle - it is possible to print some groooovy colours! looks like boring plastic is the way forward. I have already designed a vector graphic for a raspberry - to act as a cut-out for "ventilation".
Design your own cases people - we can compare how they look on here :-)
(raspberry Pi ordered today - supplier lead time 58 days - should I believe this?)
Brilliant device. If persons have nothing better to complain about than the position of ports, and a lack of mounting holes then you've out-performed more or less every other device ever released to consumers! Nothing more needs to be said.
Im seriously considering producing some cases. I dont have a 3D printer yet, but it is something we have been looking at for a while now and I just need to take the plunge. What are people's thought?
