DIY 3D‑Printed Raspberry Pi Cyberdeck
Key Points
- The creator built a custom “Cyber Deck” portable computer using a Raspberry Pi, inspired by projects like Cyberdore 2064 and Ogre.
- The design goals were a fully 3‑D‑printable, easy‑to‑assemble case with a retro‑futuristic aesthetic and compact, sci‑fi styling.
- Weeks were spent refining 3‑D models, especially snap‑fit tolerances, requiring multiple test prints to achieve parts that click together securely yet can be disassembled by hand.
- While the prints were queued, the electronics were developed with three custom PCB boards designed in KiCad to interface the Pi’s GPIO pins with buttons, sensors, displays, and other peripherals.
- The end result is a small‑form‑factor, portable “Cyber Deck” that combines a Raspberry Pi, custom circuitry, and a 3‑D‑printed futuristic enclosure for specialized field or communication use.
Sections
- Designing a Retro‑Futuristic Cyber Deck - The speaker outlines his process of creating a fully 3D‑printable, portable Raspberry Pi cyber‑deck, emphasizing modeling, snap‑fit challenges, and a retro‑futuristic aesthetic.
- CNC/3D Printed PCB Assembly - The speaker details receiving PCBs, tackling fine soldering with short detection using GPIO extender boards, applying synthetic grease to bearing channels, and assembling the electronic and mechanical parts into the final device.
- Misplaced Resistors Cause Power Failure - The creator discovers that swapping a 10 Ω and a 10 kΩ resistor prevents the MOSFET from receiving voltage, leaving the circuit dead and requiring the parts to be desoldered and corrected.
- Dual‑Screen Device Demo After Repair - After fixing a shorted connector to power on the build, the presenter showcases the fully assembled dual‑screen system with rotating hinges, protective cable limits, and various input controls like sliders, buttons, and a rotary encoder.
- Modular Raspberry Pi Enclosure - The speaker details a case that adds auxiliary USB, a quick I²C connector, an external GPIO header for standard Raspberry Pi shields, quick‑eject handles for easy removal of the Pi (or just the SD card), and a mechanical‑style keyboard with multiple LED modes.
- Coffee-Powered Raspberry Pi Sensor Test - The speaker demonstrates how adding hot coffee to a Raspberry Pi‑based sensor deck alters temperature, light, and pH readings, explains the learning process, and shares the project’s GitHub resources.
Full Transcript
# DIY 3D‑Printed Raspberry Pi Cyberdeck **Source:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg) **Duration:** 00:19:54 ## Summary - The creator built a custom “Cyber Deck” portable computer using a Raspberry Pi, inspired by projects like Cyberdore 2064 and Ogre. - The design goals were a fully 3‑D‑printable, easy‑to‑assemble case with a retro‑futuristic aesthetic and compact, sci‑fi styling. - Weeks were spent refining 3‑D models, especially snap‑fit tolerances, requiring multiple test prints to achieve parts that click together securely yet can be disassembled by hand. - While the prints were queued, the electronics were developed with three custom PCB boards designed in KiCad to interface the Pi’s GPIO pins with buttons, sensors, displays, and other peripherals. - The end result is a small‑form‑factor, portable “Cyber Deck” that combines a Raspberry Pi, custom circuitry, and a 3‑D‑printed futuristic enclosure for specialized field or communication use. ## Sections - [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=0s) **Designing a Retro‑Futuristic Cyber Deck** - The speaker outlines his process of creating a fully 3D‑printable, portable Raspberry Pi cyber‑deck, emphasizing modeling, snap‑fit challenges, and a retro‑futuristic aesthetic. - [00:03:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=222s) **CNC/3D Printed PCB Assembly** - The speaker details receiving PCBs, tackling fine soldering with short detection using GPIO extender boards, applying synthetic grease to bearing channels, and assembling the electronic and mechanical parts into the final device. - [00:08:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=515s) **Misplaced Resistors Cause Power Failure** - The creator discovers that swapping a 10 Ω and a 10 kΩ resistor prevents the MOSFET from receiving voltage, leaving the circuit dead and requiring the parts to be desoldered and corrected. - [00:12:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=725s) **Dual‑Screen Device Demo After Repair** - After fixing a shorted connector to power on the build, the presenter showcases the fully assembled dual‑screen system with rotating hinges, protective cable limits, and various input controls like sliders, buttons, and a rotary encoder. - [00:15:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=915s) **Modular Raspberry Pi Enclosure** - The speaker details a case that adds auxiliary USB, a quick I²C connector, an external GPIO header for standard Raspberry Pi shields, quick‑eject handles for easy removal of the Pi (or just the SD card), and a mechanical‑style keyboard with multiple LED modes. - [00:18:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigAxzQGeLg&t=1105s) **Coffee-Powered Raspberry Pi Sensor Test** - The speaker demonstrates how adding hot coffee to a Raspberry Pi‑based sensor deck alters temperature, light, and pH readings, explains the learning process, and shares the project’s GitHub resources. ## Full Transcript
This is a Raspberry Pi, which is
basically a really small computer. And
this is that same Raspberry Pi with a
whole lot of accessories. After seeing a
couple of these projects, like the
Cyberdore 2064 and the Ogre project, I
decided I wanted to make one too in my
own style. These devices are called
Cyber Decks, and they're basically
customuilt portable computers, and each
one of them is usually built for a
specific purpose. That might be using
them for like a field computer or for
meshtastic radio communication. But some
of the key things that usually are a
trend among these devices is they're
usually portable. They're usually pretty
small form factor and a lot of times
they have some pretty cool sci-fi or
futuristic themes to them. So some of
the key features that I wanted to
include in mine were I wanted it to be
fully 3D printable. I wanted it to be
easy to assemble, have good usability,
and I also wanted to include kind of a
retro futuristic theme. So the first
step in any engineering project like
this is to get started on the 3D
modeling. And that includes kind of
laying out all the parts, seeing how
they're going to fit together, and then
designing all the 3D printed pieces that
are going to make up this entire
assembly. This step alone took weeks of
fine-tuning and reiterating just to get
to a point where everything not only
looked good, but was also functional.
One of the first challenges was to get
the snap fit parts to fit together the
way that I wanted. I designed everything
with tolerances in mind, but the only
way to really know how well it would
actually work was to print out a bunch
of test parts. These parts needed to be
able to press together by hand while
having enough holding strength to stay
together. This is easier said than done
because it needed to be strong enough to
stay together, but loose enough to take
apart by hand without damaging the
pieces, which basically came down to
tweaking subm dimensions until it
worked. Once I got those parts to fit
the way that I wanted, there were a
whole lot more 3D printed parts that all
had to get printed before I could
assemble everything together. So, since
I was going to take hours and hours, I
figured I would get started on the
electronics. To be able to connect the
Raspberry Pi to a bunch of other stuff,
I was going to need some custom circuit
boards, which also meant that I needed a
design software. It seemed like Kyad was
the most common one out there that most
makers in the community use. So, I
figured that would be the best one to
learn. So, there's three custom circuit
boards in this design, and I figured I
should probably explain what they're
for. So, what separates a Raspberry Pi
from other computers is that they have
programmable pins called GPIO. What
these GPIO pins allow you to do is
interact with other electronics, whether
that be inputs like buttons and sensors
or outputs for controlling motors and
displays and all kinds of things like
that. To connect all these boards to the
GPIO, I use the 40 pin FBC ribbon cable
that you can see marked in orange. So,
it starts at the board that's connected
to the Raspberry Pi going to the center
board which acts as power distribution
and has all these different buttons that
will connect to the GPIO and then it
shares it to this external board which
is connected to the outside. So, you'll
be able to hook up anything you want to
the GPIO. I also have a dedicated route
for I2C which is a common communication
protocol that's used for all kinds of
different sensors. The next step is
actually making these PCBs, which I
obviously don't have the capability to
do, which is why I have to thank PCB Way
for sponsoring this project. PCB Way is
a custom PCB manufacturer, and they also
help with design services if you need
it. They make it really easy for anybody
in the maker community to have their own
custom PCBs made. All you have to do is
upload your Griber files from Kyad and
then they'll very quickly get started
making them, and then when it's done,
they'll ship right to you. But their
services go beyond PCB manufacturer.
They also include things like custom CNC
machining and even 3D printing.
Once I got my PCBs back from PCB way,
the next step was a whole lot of
soldering.
As you can see here with how small these
solder pads are, some of the soldering
was actually pretty difficult.
The only way that I could check to make
sure that I didn't have any shorts or
bridges between the contacts was to use
these GPIO extender boards with the FPC
ribbon cables. The solder pads on the
part that's supposed to be for headers
actually allowed me to check between
each contact to make sure that nothing
was connected that shouldn't be.
After assembly, these are all the parts
that make up the internal electronics.
After soldering all the electronics, I
could finally start putting some of
these pieces together and see it take
shape. Starting with the upper portion,
which includes the screens.
I added some synthetic grease to these
bearing channels to help with noise and
reduce wear on the parts.
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Next up was assembling all the base
parts, which is what all the electronic
parts are going to go into.
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So after all of that, it was finally at
a point where I could test it and
actually turn it on.
So theoretically, once I hit this
switch,
everything should turn on.
Nothing turned on. Obviously, that was a
little disappointing. After all that
work, you expect it to at least do
something. And instead, it did
absolutely nothing at all. So, all you
can do is get out the multimeter and try
and figure out what went wrong. Okay, so
I found a problem. So, what I did to try
to figure this out was trace the 5 volts
that's supposed to be turning on this
MOSFET. And we're supposed to be getting
5 volts here, but we get almost nothing.
And so if I trace it along its path,
we're supposed to go across this
resistor to this pin. But across this
resistor, it drops almost the entire 5
volts. And that is because this one,
which is supposed to be 10 ohms, and
this one, which is supposed to be 10K,
are accidentally flipped. So when I was
soldering this, I guess I wasn't paying
close enough attention, and I got the
two mixed up. So it should be relatively
easy to just desolder and switch these,
and then we should be back on track.
Okay, let's see what happens this time.
One screen,
two screen.
So, the issue that was causing me to not
be able to pass the boot sequence and
power on was because there was actually
a short on this little quick connector.
So, once I figured that out, I replaced
it. And now we should be able to power
on.
So, after a couple of setbacks,
everything was finally working and I
could finish putting this thing
together.
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So, with everything fully built and
working, let me show you a little bit
about what this thing is and what it can
do.
It's got rotating hinges that allow it
to fold down to a more compact size.
Inside these hinges is an internal pin
that keeps it from over rotating. Both
of these screens can rotate between
portrait and landscape mode. These also
have a mechanism that limits rotation to
protect the cables from being pulled on.
This can be really useful because I can
have one screen in portrait mode to
write code on while having the other
screen as a reference for like a
Raspberry Pi pin out. In this case, I'm
writing a gooey, which you'll see later
on.
Or you could just use it to watch cool
YouTube videos about Cyberpunk while you
work on your program. It's got a bunch
of inputs like this linear slider that
you could use to control volume or
screen brightness and four programmable
buttons that you could use to program
lots of other things. It's also got this
rotary encode slider with a push button.
On that same side, there's an auxiliary
USB port that you can use to connect all
sorts of different things like this
Wi-Fi extender. In the back, there's a
quick connector so you can attach things
like Adafruit I2C sensors.
There's also an external GPIO header so
that you can connect any standard
Raspberry Pi shield that you want to
this device.
Another thing that I wanted to be able
to do was very easily remove the
Raspberry Pi from inside this device.
And the idea behind that was that you
could program it with having the
keyboard and a mouse and all the
different sensors and stuff to program
and test whatever you want to do. and
you can program that within the device
and then be able to easily remove it so
that you can put it in whatever it's
intended for.
So, it has these quick eject handles
that allow you to pull the display and
USB cables out of the Raspberry Pi and
then all you have to do is remove it
from inside the case.
Admittedly, I could have made that a
little bit better. dimensions inside the
case are are really tight, so it could
be easier to get it out of the
enclosure.
But once you get it out, all you have to
do is take the GPIO header off and then
the Raspberry Pi is completely free to
do whatever you want.
And if you don't want to take the entire
Raspberry Pi out, you can access the SD
card so you can transfer images between
Raspberry Pies.
It's got the tactile feel of a
mechanical keyboard with a whole bunch
of interactive LED modes to make typing
more fun.
I put together a quick graphical user
interface to show the readout of all the
different inputs, including the rotary
knob, the four push buttons, and the
linear slider.
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There's also some readouts for sensors,
which I'll be showing you shortly.
So, with everything done and complete, I
figured I'd put together a little demo
to kind of show what you can do with
this, uh, its use of sensors and the
screens, and just to kind of demonstrate
what you could do with a Cyber Deck like
this. I wanted to use a combination of
different I2C sensors to show the
capability of chaining a bunch of
sensors together to measure something.
So, for this little demo experiment, I
decided to use a lux or light sensor on
the bottom of this glass beaker, a
temperature sensor to measure the
internal temperature, and then a pH to
measure the pH value of whatever liquid
is in the beaker. So, I started by
adding some just room temperature water.
And as you can see, the light sensor
doesn't really change much because of
the clearness of the liquid. And as I
put in the temperature sensor, you'll
see it starts to regulate at about room
temperature.
As for the pH, the pH level reads about
seven.
So to see the contrast of a liquid that
would change all these values, I decided
to use some hot coffee.
The coffee immediately increases the
water temperature and reduces the light
intensity because it can't see through
that murky liquid. And then as I measure
with the pH, the pH level drops
significantly because coffee naturally
is more acidic than water.
This is just one kind of experiment or
different development type project that
you could do with the Raspberry Pi deck
like this where you have a whole bunch
of different inputs that you can use.
Like most of the things I do, this was a
completely new experience for me and
there were a lot of things that I had to
learn along the way. But I think I ended
up with something that's pretty unique
and useful, too. And if you thought it
was cool and you want to build one
yourself, I've included all the
documentation and part files on GitHub.
You can find a link to that in the
description below. And if you want to
see more sci-fi projects like this, make
sure to stick around for the next one.
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