Prototype Enclosures
Custom 3D printed enclosures for Raspberry Pi, ESP32, and sensor projects — designed for function, airflow, and easy assembly.
Key Takeaway
Designing enclosures taught me more about thermal management and user ergonomics than any UX course — physical constraints force ruthless prioritization.
The Problem
Maker projects end up as bare PCBs sitting on desks, tangled in wires, collecting dust. Without a proper enclosure, a project never feels finished — and it’s harder to show to others or deploy in a real environment.
Commercial enclosures rarely fit custom sensor arrays or non-standard board combinations.
What I Built
A library of parametric enclosures for common dev boards:
- Raspberry Pi 4 server case — passive cooling with chimney-effect vents, wall-mountable, access ports for GPIO and USB
- ESP32 sensor pod — weatherproof(ish) enclosure for outdoor temperature/humidity monitoring, with a snap-fit lid and cable gland
- Multi-board stack — modular tray system for projects using multiple boards (Pi + relay HAT + power supply)
All models are parametric — changing the board dimensions or adding a new port cutout takes minutes, not hours.
Process & Iterations
The Pi case went through 4 revisions. V1 had no ventilation — the Pi thermal-throttled within 20 minutes. V2 added vent holes but they were too small. V3 introduced a chimney design that uses natural convection. V4 added rubber feet and a cable management channel.
The ESP32 pod needed a different approach — PETG instead of PLA for UV resistance outdoors. Learned the hard way that PLA warps after a week in direct sun.
Snap-fit lids required the most iteration. The sweet spot is 0.4mm interference for PLA, 0.3mm for PETG. Too tight and the clips break; too loose and the lid falls off.
What’s Next
Designing a universal mounting plate system — a single backplate that accepts different enclosures via a standardized rail. Goal: swap projects on a pegboard without reprinting mounts.
Tools Used