Pi 5 Mini Case (Snapfit/Tool Free Edition.)

Pi 5 Mini Case — Print & Assembly Guide

Sep 18, 2026 · TravBomb

What you need

Four printed parts, a Raspberry Pi 5 and the official Active Cooler. No screws, no heat-set inserts, no tools.

Filament: PETG. Every joint in this case is a flexing snap, and PETG bends further before it yields and holds up to repeated assembly far better than PLA. It also survives a hot car or a sunny shelf, which PLA does not.

• PLA will print more easily and looks fine, but expect the snap arms to fatigue and the Pi clips to crack after a handful of open/close cycles. Acceptable if you plan to assemble it once.

• ABS/ASA works and is tougher still, but the fit is tuned around PETG shrinkage — expect to reprint once to dial the snaps in.

• PETG-CF and other filled filaments: don't. The chopped fibre makes the material stiff and brittle, which is the opposite of what a living hinge or a snap arm wants.

About 55 g of filament total.

Print settings

Orientation matters more than any slicer setting here. Each part has one correct way up.

Supports: paint them on, or use tree supports limited to the rear USB window. That window's lower edge is a 35 mm bridge and it will sag unaided. The Ethernet opening runs out to the bottom edge and needs nothing. The micro-HDMI, USB-C and microSD openings bridge cleanly on most printers — add support there only if yours struggles past 10 mm.

Slicer settings

• 0.2 mm layers, 0.4 mm nozzle

• 3 perimeters minimum. The snap arms and Pi clips are thin, and on fewer walls they are hollow and will snap.

• 15 % infill, 5 top and bottom layers

The one fragile feature. The narrow divider between the Ethernet and USB openings is the thinnest column in the case, and it is the part most likely to break. Pull the USB-window support straight out the back of the case rather than levering it sideways, and be gentle with that divider until the base plate is in — the plate carries a post that backs it up once assembled. If it still breaks on you, reprint the shell tilted 45° with supports; it costs print time but makes that column much stronger.

Assembly

Three steps, in this order, no tools. Fit the Active Cooler to your Pi first if it isn't on already.

1. Pi onto the base plate. Line the Pi's four mounting holes up with the four posts on the plate and press the board straight down. Three clips around the edge will click over the board. Keep the board level going down — the tall post between the Ethernet jack and the first USB stack passes between them with about a third of a millimetre to spare on each side.

2. Foot onto the base plate. Turn the assembly over. Drop the foot's three lugs through the three wide keyhole openings in the plate, then twist the foot 20° clockwise as you look at it from below. You'll feel three small clicks as the detents catch.

3. Shell onto the base plate. Turn it all back upright. Tilt the plate about 10° with its right-hand side low and shifted about 1 mm right. Tuck the plate's left edge up under the lip inside the shell's left wall, slide it left until it seats in the groove, then swing the right side up and press until all four snaps click.

The power button is a flexure moulded into the front wall — it finds the Pi's switch by itself. Give it a press to confirm it moves before you call it done.

Taking it apart

The case is designed to come apart as often as you like.

1. Shell: grip the right-hand side and pull straight up, firmly. The catches are cut at 45° so they release under a deliberate pull. Once the right side is free, un-tuck the left edge from under the lip.

2. Foot: twist it 20° back past the detents and lift it away.

3. Pi: push the three edge clips outward and lift the board off the posts. The left clip only frees up once the shell is off.

If you printed this and have feedback or enjoy my design please share here!  I'd love to see your prints and hear feedback.