Creality Ender-3 S1 mod: OctoPi-friendly front panel

Why this mod?

• Ender 3 S1 is still a decent printer, but transferring models via SD card is pain

• OctoPrint - and RaspberryPi-based OctoPi distro in particular - is a popular way to solve this

• existing mods either utilise the drawer space for the Pi - or have it placed in a separate case, with all cables hanging around

Features

• enables installing RaspberryPi Zero 2w or similar supporting OctoPi

• no need for an external case for the RaspberryPi

• the drawer space is also not wasted by the RaspberryPi

• no need for external power supply (use a tiny DC-DC stepdown board)

• glowing Creality logo!

• most of the parts require no support when printing

• hidden wire slot for the Post-print fast cooling mod

Tradeoffs

• no access to the SD card - do you need it with OctoPrint?

• RaspberryPi is always powered with the printer - do you ever switch it off?

• the front panel is split into two parts to fit the building plate - the seam is not very noticeable

• the drawer has been re-created to match the design

• simpler, than orignal, shape to enable easy printing

Requirements

• OctoPi-enabled board of your choice (my choice is RaspberryPi Zero 2w)

• DC-DC stepdown board (heaps of them available online for a few bucks)

• two superbright LEDs for the logo version (I connected them in series with a single 1k resistor, straight to the 24V power supply)

• PLA for most of the parts, transparent (glass-like) PETG for the light guide

• two 12x2mm neodymium magnets (can salvage from the original drawer)

Printing guide

• dowel - print two (or use spare ones from your furniture)

• drawer - print as it is, bottom on the plate

• drawer-face - print as it is, enable supports

• left or left-nologo - print as it is (choose one you need), IMPORTANT: force 0.1mm height on the first layer for better transparency of the logo

• right - print as it is, enable manual support for the horisontal surfaces in the drawer area

• light-guide - print as is with the transparent PETG

I used OrcaSlicer with 0.2mm layer height (except for the left piece - see above), 10% cubic infill, 230/60 for the nozzle/hotbed temperatures. Printed with Black eSUN PLA-Matte for the body and Creality CR-PETG for the light guide.

Assembly guide

• perform whatever wiring you need to have the Raspberry Pi installed and connected via USB cable, solder/connect the LEDs to the power supply and put the printer back to normal position on the table

• if needed, don't forget the cable running towards the post-print cooler (above)

• use dowels to connect left and right parts

• (if using the logo version) put the light guide in, insert the leds - secure with hot glue if needed (depending on your printing tolerance)

• gently push the assembly onto the printer face - make sure nothing vobbles - and fix with the screws

• slide the drawer face onto the drawer body, put the magnets into the pockets (check polarity) and secure them with a drop of glue or a piece of a pice of filament