Raspberry Pi Forums

Hey all,
I'm looking for a clear "case" that can mount a RPi4 plus one to two SSDs? I have heard some RPi's cluster cases can kind of mount SSDs as well, but they aren't meant for that. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Something like this with a SSD on the top and on the bottom.


Would something like

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CT ... G7LDZ&th=1

?

That's my Pi 3B in a 2 layer acrylic case with some additional short M3 extensions for the SSD.

A few notes about this configuration.

• The case has no sides, which is great for cooling and GPIO access, but some people don't like that.
• The case fits any A or B model that uses a micro SD card (doesn't fit the old, original models).
• Only the back SSD supports are attached to the case (front are resting on the top of the case).
• I've purchased several of those cases from vendors on Amazon at prices ranging from $3.90 to $7.99 (with Prime shipping).
• The additional brass M3 spacers were purchased in a bulk variety pack for another project (had some leftovers).

Mounting a drive under the case is basically the same as on top.

This is my version of that clear case, but am using HDDs (you can replace the HDDs with SSDs of course)
as you might have already noticed, am using a generic off-the-shelf clear case, bought from amazon.
the HDD is mounted on its side, screwed to the bottom clear case (I had to drill holes for that)
the stand-offs had be be extended to accommodate the HDD height.
two HDDs can be installed.

the white "paper" on top is actually a kitchen hood filter cutout.
to prevent/minimize dust from being blown and accumulating on the board side.

HawaiianPi wrote: Mounting a drive under the case is basically the same as on top.

Ha, it's you! I was reading through some of your older threads and came across your photos of the RPi plus the SSD. Awesome photos!. I have a question though. Through the many acrylic cases that you bought, did you have any issues with the mounting holes being different per acrylic case? If you did, which case would you recommend looking at? Sadly, the case that I bought the mounting holes don't line up. This looks promising I think. this case That's interesting that you were able to get two of the mounting holes to line up with the SSD. In the case that I am replacing, only one hole lines up. I will definitely get a pack of standoffs with the acrylic case. Thanks for the additional photo with the SSD on the bottom. Do you think it's possible to stack RPis plus SSDs or HDDs with these cases? Or possibly only two SSDs and two RPi like in the following diagram.

________ case
[...........] HDD/SSD
________ case
[...........] RPi
________ case
[...........] RPI
________
[...........] HDD/SSD
________ Case

LTolledo wrote: This is my version of that clear case, but am using HDDs (you can replace the HDDs with SSDs of course)
as you might have already noticed, am using a generic off-the-shelf clear case, bought from amazon.

When you say generic off-the-shelf clear case, do you mean a generic clear case for the raspberry pi or is it something else? The setup looks really nice though. Do you have issues with weight? For example, it tipping over on the HDD end? Also, are you pulling power from the RPi itself or does the HDD have it's own power source plugged directly into an outlet? I thought the RPi doesn't have power to supply the RPi itself and an actually spinning HDD? Which RPi are you using in this photo?

The other solution would be to buy a sheet of polycarbonate (lexan) and just cut it into the required size, drill the holes and voila.

Polycarbonate is easy to cut (cuts very well with a table saw, or jig saw) and easy to drill. Can even tap it if you want to get fancy. Basically anything you can do with wood you can do with polycarbonate. Can also bend it into complex shapes quite easily.

Note: Do not buy acrylic (looks the same but is a total pita to work with, and tends to shatter if you look at it the wrong way).

Suige wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:43 pm

When you say generic off-the-shelf clear case, do you mean a generic clear case for the raspberry pi or is it something else? The setup looks really nice though. Do you have issues with weight? For example, it tipping over on the HDD end? Also, are you pulling power from the RPi itself or does the HDD have it's own power source plugged directly into an outlet? I thought the RPi doesn't have power to supply the RPi itself and an actually spinning HDD? Which RPi are you using in this photo?

Its a generic clear acrylic 5-layer case bought from amazon. from that set I made 2 setups, 3 layers were used for a Rock64-1G based NAS with 2 HDDs and the remaining 2 layers were used for the RPi2BNAS (shown in image, using RPi2B v1.2)

No problem with tipping, as center of gravity is almost at the bottom part. The setups are pretty much stable.

The drives are getting power directly from the RPi2B's (and Rock64's) USB port. The adapter used is "Eluteng Blue" SATA to USB 3.0 adapter.
drives used were "power hungry" 4TB Seagate 2.5" HDDs with thickness of 15mm

PSUs used for the NAS setups are generic power supply units (not a charger!) rated 5.1v 3.0A .
booting from the microSD is recommended for all setups.

If you're going to use SSDs for your setup, the the RPi board may be able to power 2 SSDs. Try experimenting first before doing final deployment.

Suige wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 17, 2019 3:43 pm

Ha, it's you! I was reading through some of your older threads and came across your photos of the RPi plus the SSD. Awesome photos!. I have a question though. Through the many acrylic cases that you bought, did you have any issues with the mounting holes being different per acrylic case? If you did, which case would you recommend looking at?

There are 2 main types of these cases.

One type uses the Pi system board mounting holes for the case layers (one set of mounting holes for the board and case). With this type the spacing is defined by the board mounting holes, and they all should be the same. Unfortunately, that spacing does not match the mounting holes of a standard 2.5" laptop drive or SSD.

The other type, like mine, have separate mounting holes for the Pi system board and case layers.
As far as I know, there's no standard specification for the spacing on this type of case, so it was just a happy coincidence that they lined up with an SSD when I tried it. There's no guarantee they are all the same, but the ones have purchased from two different sellers are the same.

Unfortunately, both are listed as "Currently unavailable" on Amazon right now.
JBtek Transparent Acrylic Raspberry Pi B+ / Raspberry Pi 2 Case with External Fan
CTYRZCH New Transparent Acrylic Raspberry Pi B+ Case Holder with External Fan

I see lots of other sellers on Amazon with identical looking cases at various prices (mostly higher), and they are *probably* the same, but I can't promise it since I haven't purchased from them (and it's not uncommon for sellers to have multiple similar looking, but not identical products). You can also find these types of cases on eBay, AliExpress and other sites.

Another way I have used this case is to replace the top cover with the SSD (example pic of my 4B2 with a Fan SHIM for cooling). Sorry about the picture quality (quick phone snap for this post, without extra lighting).

This one is for only one SSD / HDD drive.

HawaiianPi' and my setups may not look good/pleasing (to others) but hey! it works! and not very expensive!
for me it gave me some satisfying DIY time... (need to keep my brain functioning to prevent deterioration.... )

its still up to the OP to decide what is best for his setup.

Maze_fr wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:02 am

This one is for only one SSD / HDD drive.

And it's only $99.99

• 

HawaiianPi wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2019 12:03 pm

Maze_fr wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:02 am

This one is for only one SSD / HDD drive.

And it's only $99.99

• 

There wasn't any price limitation in the initial question...
That bundle has everything needed in addition to "just the case" for power management, as the hard drive may suck too much power from the RPi.

Another solution is to print the case : there are plenty of different models and you can even design it yourself.

bjtheone wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:14 pm

The other solution would be to buy a sheet of polycarbonate (lexan) and just cut it into the required size, drill the holes and voila.

I don't think I have worked with polycarbonate before. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm going to look into it.

LTolledo wrote: Its a generic clear acrylic 5-layer case bought from amazon.

Your setup in the photo looks incredible and unique, and that's good it's not side heavy. Have you had any issues with the generic 5.1v 3a PSUs? I just bought one online and couldn't find any negative reviews on it, but I'm not sure if the quality is good enough. I believe, depending on the SSDs, you should be able to power two SSD with the RPi's PSU without any problem. I'll need to double check that.

HawaiianPi wrote: There are 2 main types of these cases.

Very interesting. I will do my best to try to line up mounting holes of the case with your photos and cross my fingers. I like your cooling system better than most case setups. Are your fans just laying on top of the heatsinks or are they mounted somehow? Originally, I wanted to sandwich the RPi between two SSDs, but somehow stack multiple RPi in the future. Not sure if that is actually possible.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. This is definitely some food for thought. I'll update everyone when I have made progress. Like other have mention, the DIY part of RPi is quite enjoyable for myself.

Suige wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:16 pm

bjtheone wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:14 pm

The other solution would be to buy a sheet of polycarbonate (lexan) and just cut it into the required size, drill the holes and voila.

I don't think I have worked with polycarbonate before. Thank you for the suggestion. I'm going to look into it.

We use it a lot on the robotics team I am involved with. It is easy to cut (table saw, band saw, jig saw, dremel, router) and machines well. Does not laser cut well.

Suige wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:16 pm

Very interesting. I will do my best to try to line up mounting holes of the case with your photos and cross my fingers. I like your cooling system better than most case setups. Are your fans just laying on top of the heatsinks or are they mounted somehow?

The fan is mounted under the top cover layer. I'm not using heatsinks (the fan alone is enough cooling, even with the Pi4).

Picture of my older Pi 3B, but my 4B4 is set up the same way (Noctua 40x10mm fan, 2-layer case, DIY fan+serial console cable).

Originally, I wanted to sandwich the RPi between two SSDs, but somehow stack multiple RPi in the future. Not sure if that is actually possible.

While the case I use is stackable (with additional hardware), the SSD will block the mounting holes and posts (when mounted flat like I have it). Although I suppose you could just physically stack them.

I re-jigged a case I designed many moons ago for the Pi-Node-Zero (remember them?) - this version allows your Pi to sit on top of your ssd (held by M3 x 6mm screws).

The other case allows two 2.5" sata drives to be mounted (one on top and one below) the Pi and then vesa mounted for good measure.

Interesting idea, using Pi compatible VESA mounts. Like like it!

Thanks for sharing that picture.


Off Topic
I have an old Samsung monitor collecting dust in a closet, and I've thought about making an all-in-one style PC with a VESA mounted Pi on the back, but just never got around to it. Mainly because my desk is a massive disaster area of a mess with no room for a third screen. One of these day I'll clean this mess up.

For now I have some Pi computers on a monitor shelf, and that works pretty well.

Something you might find amusing in this picture (or maybe it's just me) is that the Raspberry Pi OS desktop is on my Windows 10 laptop's screen, and the Windows 10 desktop is on the monitor that's under the Pi computers. That's pretty much my normal configuration (using a full-screen VNC session for the RPiOS desktop, or in some cases an SSH or serial terminal, depending on which Pi I'm connecting to).

GeekWorm‘s X857 SSD shield fits most cases as it is the same form factor; I use and love it, it performs nicely as well: https://geekworm.com/products/raspberry ... pi-4b-only