Norns shield case designs

[tehn]

the norns shield kit comes with parts to build a minimal case— but there have been several case developments to customize the kit. this thread is for that. (i’ll be merging in a bunch of posts here).

[andrew]

guess I’ll scoot my case & spacers for anyone ready to hop on

Approaching - DIY norns shield

case stuff !

overall v happy with the look & feel of these - better than plenty of stuff that I’ve bought. this one is made from birch plywood but any 3mm laser-cutter friendly material will work. if you live in the city, you can probably source material and cut this at a local makerspace or library without too much hassle. or try pokono ?

laser file: norns-shield_case.dxf (116.0 KB) or norns-shield_case.ai (70.2 KB)

all spacers, screws (2 & 2.5mm), screen headers (incl. what’s in the BOM already), rubber feet & button caps currently in stock at mouser: cart

optimally sized knobs can be acquired from thonk: knob + caps (size small)

not sure if it matters, but I can confirm this power supply fits

[andrew]

some cases available here -> $$

[infovore]

I continue to noodle with top/bottom laser cut designs. Leaning towards this:

but all depends on knobs, frankly. The screen is a splash higher than I would like, and I’m rubbish at ordering the right sized standoffs.

[tehn]

that looks legit!

i’ve skipped the headers on the screen for one of my shield builds— works fine and gets you some clearance— plus you basically don’t need headers to support the screen

but for most people i’d suggest the screen be removable because it’s expensive

[spacelordmother]

I’ve been pondering something similar as a “quick case” while I work out something more finished. Just eye-balling, but it seems like you could not cut out the screen so long as you open the holes for your knobs and get the right height standoffs.

[simonvanderveldt]

You’d want to leave the sides open? And just connect the bottom, RPi, shield and top with spacers inbetween?

And with the screen being a bit high you mean the distance between the shield PC and the screen because of the headers?

If you want I can 3D print them to test the fitment, just let me know.

[andrew]

are there button caps that work with that form factor ?

I went with high screen and top panel to combat switch wobble on the button caps I had

[XiXora]

I’ve been looking forward to a design that matches the 16n somewhat. Looks lovely.

[infovore]

@spacelordmother

Just eye-balling, but it seems like you could not cut out the screen so long as you open the holes for your knobs and get the right height standoffs.

So- the height of the screen board is based on the DIY setup I have in front of me, using the headers from the BOM (ie: pinsocket and pin header. If I do’t cut out the full screen, the lasercut top will be too high for any knobs to fit on the D-spline knobs. So I’m working with what I’ve (literally) got.

[infovore]

@andrew

are there button caps that work with that form factor ?

No idea. Got some caps in the post to me right now. Maybe I’ll jiggle around the design once I see how button caps work. Everyone is taking a shiny render as ‘finished’ when in fact it’s “a really vague sketch” - the clue is the total lack of standoffs in there.

[Oootini]

I’ve ordered the matte black Hammond enclosure, which I’ll probably dremel and cut by hand. Hammond do a custom cutting service, but there is a minimum order of 25. Maybe I’ll investigate local options for getting it laser cut.

http://www.hammondmfg.com/pdf/1590BBS.pdf

[infovore]

I mean, I do keep thinking about borrowing the studio resin printer to do something like this:

mainly because that’s the way my loose boards fall on my table right now.

said image is NOT REAL YET NOR DOES IT HAVE A MANNER OF ASSEMBLY. Shelled out, though.

[spacelordmother]

Wow! We’re totally twinning today:

Same disclaimer.

[0F.digital]

@infovore

something like this:

@spacelordmother

totally twinning

Ha, make that tripleting. I had the same idea, but haven’t started yet!

[0F.digital]

Here’s my initial design for an enclosure… two parts, top and bottom. Just about to do a test print.

I’m pretty new to 3d print design so I’m not sure how it can connect together… and I may end up admitting defeat and printing each side individually. Currently it’s made so it just sits together and “cradles” the boards within, but I’m happy with others jumping in and modifying what I’ve done so far if anyone can find a better solution

3D design Norns enclosure v0

edit: thanks to @infovore for the template (which is included in the above link).

edit again: it sits in the bottom shell quite well, gonna leave the top printing overnight. Not sure how I’ll fix the boards to the enclosure yet though. I think I might redesign slightly so the two remaining screw holes in the pi can at least fit onto little spikes in the enclosure so it doesn’t wiggle around. I wish the encoders were high enough above the screen to enable screwing on a nut to attach it to the top panel. Ah well, gonna have to think of something else

[Oootini]

Hammond enclosure arrived. gs64 beside for reference. This will work out quite well if I can cut in a straight line

[0F.digital]

It works! Kinda! Fits together quite snug, the jacks at the back click into the top shell and are held in somewhat.

Things I’ll likely change:

• Button holes too small. I’ll dremel them out on this print, but will update the file with bigger holes.
• Maybe rounded edges? If I can be bothered. Or maybe just a bevel. That said, it’s kinda brutal in a cute way.
• Some good way to screw/click things together properly, and/or a hinge.

Pictured here with my HR-16, which is almost exactly the same grey colour as the filament I used, haha:

[0F.digital]

Here’s a very basic, Elektron style encoder cap that looks nice on Norns. I couldn’t find any without ugly knurled/tapered sides on Thingiverse so I made my own.

Norns encoder cap.stl (62.8 KB)

[0F.digital]

Ok, I think the enclosure is in enough of a “final” state that I can share it properly.

It’s in two pieces; the bottom clicks into the top. The boards fit snugly into the top enclosure, with two screw posts to attach the Norns PCB; screws aren’t needed on the other end as the jacks sit in the holes firmly enough. I used M2 screws for this, and will be printing my own washers as I couldn’t find any of my own.

The encoder and switch caps are the same diameter; I like it like this as it gives it a uniform look, but feel free to jump into my tinkercad files and adjust accordingly if you’d like a different size. The switch caps have a flange at the bottom to stop them popping out the top of the enclosure, as they don’t click onto the switches perfectly (by design). The encoder caps fit snugly on the posts, and sit very slightly below the enclosure surface.

I’ve also included a link to some display spacers that sit in between the display board and the Norns board; they don’t click in or anything and are just designed so that the display doesn’t sink when it’s in the enclosure.

Hopefully none of the buttons or encoder caps scrape against anything, though the left screw post is a bit close to the leftmost button, so it may sit a bit weirdly. I’ll perhaps shave off a bit of the post, though it may compromise structural integrity…

Anyway, as always, feel free to modify these, and let me know if you come up with something better I’m relatively new to 3d design so surely they can be improved. Also, my design is pretty brutalist, just due to a personal taste thing really, but I’d love to see some iterations of my design with rounded corners etc!

STL files:
Norns enclosure v1.3 bottom.stl (60.4 KB)
Norns enclosure v1.3 top.stl (128.7 KB)
Norns encoder cap.stl (62.8 KB)
Norns switch cap.stl (60.0 KB)
Norns display spacers.stl (23.7 KB)

Tinkercad links:
Enclosure
Switch cap
Encoder cap
Display spacer