February 1, 2026
Description
arm_bae is a 3D-printable housing system, that allows mounting an ARM SBC, networking switch and UART converter inside a standard 5.25" PC optical drive bay. Additionally, it features three slots for standard keystone modules.
The project was inspired by 10" racks. The idea was "Why waste plastic for re-casing my PC, when I can mount SBC in the PC case".
The arm_bae fits within "minimalistic homelab" approach, having one powerful PC started on demand for more compute intensive tasks and a passively cooled, sipping power ARM SBC running 24/7. The ARM SBC can provide LAN network entry point via VPN, serve as a NAS, or host services that do not require much computing power (eg. pihole).
The arm_bae currently has two versions:
dancesWithMachinesv1)v2)The v1 is a legacy version. The contents (models, FreeCAD source file and photos) for the v1 are attached as arm_bae-v1.zip zip archive.
The models, FreeCAD source file and pictures for V2 can be found directly in the files tab.
The arm_bae v1 is a legacy version that was designed around the following components:
Note: It should also fit the Raspberry Pi 5, but this hasn’t been tested. Note that the RPi uses M2.5 screws instead of M3.
To learn how it all goes together and what it’s used for, please read the dedicated blog post:
https://danceswithmachines.github.io/posts/two-computers-one-case-project-arm_bae-hardware/
I’ve also put together an overview video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF6s7WZnZjs
The arm_bae v2 has been re-modeled almost from the ground up, but it still follows the layout of the v1.
The default configuration houses the following components:
Besides changing the SBC for the Compute Module 4 (on a carrier board) two major additional improvements are:
v1.Thanks to re-modelling, the arm_bae v2 now offers unpopulated templates!
You can grab the core body model (or "with switch but no SBC" version) and add support for the SBC of your choice!
Either grab .stl files that have "template" suffix, or if you're a FreeCAD user, you can simply delete the upper layers to end up with the template.
I strongly advise reading the blog post for the v1 as it explains the core concepts and how everything is wired.
To learn what changed in the V2 and details about my configuration, check out the blog post:
https://danceswithmachines.github.io/posts/arm_bae-v2-new-version-and-omv-setup/
The youtube video summarizes the V2 blog post, but adds a lots of B-roll:
https://youtu.be/pncNTwmlheA
A supplementary thing you’ll also need to print for this project:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7268388
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike
