It also appears to be quite lovely!
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Makers are always creating some amazing using the Raspberry Pi but every now and then they go the extra mile and maker and developer Ideatracker, as they're known as over at Reddit, has, using a CNC machine, built an impressive aluminum case to passively cool their Raspberry Pi. This case serves as a great alternative to fans, keeping the temperatures low, and the noise too!
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According to Ideatracker, this case was crafted from a piece of aluminum that cost $15. Ideatracker started work on this case design before the Pi 5 was available—as such it's compatible with both the latest flagship model as well as the older Raspberry Pi 4. This isn't the only metal case we've seen for the Pi. In fact, we reviewed a wild looking case known as the $80 Galactic Case by DeSalvo Systems which is machined from 6061-T651 aerospace aluminum.
The primary objective of this Raspberry Pi project is to operate Umbrel, an open-source OS tailored for personal, self-hosted cloud solutions. Given that it operates continuously, ensuring proper cooling for the unit was a significant consideration. Ultimately, Ideatracker opted to design a custom aluminum case, resulting in a quiet, passively cooled server.
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You'll notice in the example pictures that the Raspberry Pi being used is actually a CM4 module connected to a Waveshare CM4-IO-BASE-C board. It's connected to a 1TB SSD which hosts the operating system and provides storage space for the cloud system to use. That said, this case is compatible with regular, full-sized Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 models but each require different face plates for the ports which can be 3D printed, as needed.
The software powering this configuration is Umbrel, as previously stated, and it runs from an SSD to enhance performance. If you decide to replicate this project, you could technically choose any operating system you prefer. Nonetheless, it's crucial to keep in mind that this particular case restricts wireless connectivity, impacting both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a point that was verified by Ideatracker in the comments of the project thread.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, you can check out the build video and full project thread shared to Reddit by Ideatracker.
