Raspberry Pi and Adafruit Perma-Proto Board Case for Prusa i3MK3

Overview

For a video tour of this tower setup, please visit this reddit post. In this video I explain how this quick-release system works along with some of the other upgrades that I have made for my Prusa i3MK3S+ with MMU3! (:

The main reason why I came up with this design is because I wanted to control RGBW LEDs with my Octoprint. In order to achieve that I needed to cook up some custom circuitry, so I thought I created an enclosure that keeps everything neat and contained together! 

If you'd like to add LEDs to your project, come check out my Vertical Minimalist LED Rails project on Printables!

File Organization

• Inside this post you will find GCODE, 3MF, STL, STEP, 3DM, and image files. 
  • The GCODE files are available as nested assemblies for easy and efficient printing. 
  • The 3MF and STL files are available as nested assemblies for the print bed.
  • The STEP and 3DM Files contain all of the parts. This project was designed in Rhino3D, so the 3DM files contain the most information about layers, colors, and they come annotated with text. The STEP files contain the 3D models and only some 2D curves.

Shopping List

• Raspberry Pi 3B+
• Cap Screws and Nuts, just like the ones that are used to assemble the printer
  • M3 Screws: 14mm, 4 quantity
  • M3 Screws: 10mm, 4 quantity
  • M3 Screws: 6mm, 2 quantity
  • M3 Nuts:  Hex, 6 quantity
  • M2 Screws: 6mm, 4 quantity
  • Here is the link to the product that I use for M2 screws.
  • You might have some spare M3 screws that came with your printer, but if not, you can find more on this listing.
• Short USB A to B Cable
  • Here is the link I used.
• Micro USB Extension Cable (optional depending on if you need the length)
  • Here is the link I used.
• Adafruit Perma-Proto Board
  • Here is the link I used.

Assembly

1. Solder whatever you'd like onto your perma-proto board. In this example we have a circuit that connects a set of RGBW LEDs to the Raspberry Pi so that they can be controlled through Octoprint!
2. Screw in the Raspberry pi into the case using M2 screws.
3. Screw in the perma-proto board into the case using M3 screws.
4. Mount the perma-proto side of the case to the printer's frame.
5. Plug in all of the necessary components between the Raspberry Pi and the perma-proto board. 
6. Close up the case using M3 screws and nuts.
7. Plug in the Raspberry Pi to its power supply, possibly using an extension cable if need be.
8. Plug in the Raspberry Pi to the printer using the small USB A to B cable.
9. Have fun!