I've wanted a 1U rack mount for my Pi's for quite some time now and there are many great ones to choose from, but none of them were what I wanted exactly.
Gaining inspiration from designs like JaredC01 (HERE) and russross (HERE), I decided to make my own. This is a completely new design from scratch. I really liked JaredC01's design, but holy screws batman!!! LoL I had no need for the modular approach and wanted a sleeker look without gaps. The parts list will resemble JaredC01's design, as I had originally planned to build his (and purchased most of the components) before deciding to design my own.
This design REQUIRES the Pi to be powered by PoE!
There are two versions of the Ears and Rack Module. One for use with heatset inserts, and one for without. I've printed both, and they both work well, but I had already purchased some heatset inserts so I used them. If you don't already have heatset inserts, I would print the ones labeled “NoInserts”.
There are Sleds for both Pi4 and Pi3B+. I've included Blank Sleds as a filler if you can't fill up all 5 bays.
Print Requirements:
- Designed to be printed without supports.
- You'll need 5 total Modules, 5 total Sleds, and one of each Right and Left Ear.
- Recommend 0.2mm layer height.
Parts Used:
These are the parts that I used. Feel free to substitute as you see fit. All links are non-affiliate links:
- PoE Hat - I actually had two different ones. The one recommended has header pins for the OLED display. The other, I actually had to soder wires directly to the hat.
- OLED Display - LINK - This came in a 5 pack so perfect for this project. Be advised, that these will require soldering the header pins to the board.
- M3 x 4mm x 5mm Heatset Inserts - LINK - OPTIONAL - If you decide to go the heatset insert route.
- M3 x 6mm Countersunk Head Screw - LINK - 12 required to attach the Ears and Modules together. Both the Insert and NoInsert models use the same screw.
- 10mm x 3mm Foam Tape - LINK - Used to behind the OLED display to make it a tight fit. Do not go thicker than 3mm. This link is for 4m so there is a ton left over. You may want to try and find smaller lengths.
- 5mm x 450mm Stainless Steel Solid Rod - LINK - This came as a 4 pack and only 1 is needed. You may want to try and source elsewhere as well.
- 10cm Female to Female Header Jumper Wire - LINK - This was the perfect length for the recommended PoE Hat with the header pins. If you use a different PoE Hat, you may need longer cables.
- M2.5 Screws - I have a million screws, so no link. Depending on the PoE Hat you use, you may need different sized screws. I opted to add the PoE Hat and then secure the Pi and PoE Hat to the Sled instead of just securing the Pi to the Sled and then adding the PoE Hat after. For the recommended PoE Hat, I used two M2.5 x 4mm and two M2.5 x 8mm (as the PoE Hat only occupies one side). For the other PoE Hats that I had, I used four M2.5 x 12mm.
Assembly:
- Insert the Heatset Inserts into the Modules and Ears if using the “Inserts” version.
- Secure the Ears and Modules together using the M3 Countersunk Screws.
- Insert the 5mm rod through the Ears and Modules completing the rack mount assembly.
- Secure the rack mount assembly in your rack.
- Attach the PoE Hat to the Pi.
- Attach the Pi (with PoE Hat) to the appropriate Sled using M2.5 screws.
- Solder the header pins to the OLED display. Make sure the pin headers are flush with the front and are not protruding.
- Attach the 3mm foam tape to the back of OLED display.
- Slide the OLED display into the slot. Be firm but gentle. :-)
- Use the header jumper wire to connect the OLED display and PoE Hat. Make sure to connect them properly. The SDA and SDL pins are in a different order between the OLED and recommended PoE Hat.
- OLED GND → PoE GND
- OLED VCC → PoE 3V3
- OLED SDA → PoE SDA
- OLED SDL → PoE SDL
- Slide the Pi Sled into one of the rack modules.
- Fill any empty rack modules with a Blank Sled.
OLED Configuration:
Be advised, that the OLED display won't show anything (or even light up for that matter), until you write something to it. I used Adafruit's guide (LINK) to get up and running. I made a small change to their code to display the IP Address instead of the Disk Usage. I'll likely tweak it a bit more to my liking, but it's good enough as is right now. The instructions may need to be tweaked a bit based on your OS. You'll also need to configure the python script to run at startup. I opted to use a @reboot line in crontab instead of the instructions in Adafruit's guide. This should work across any linux OS as far as I know.
I hope you like it, and I'd love to hear your comments and see your makes!
George
