Flight Tracker Screen for Raspberry Pi (any model) 64x32 HUB75 RGB Screen 4mm Pitch

About This Case

This is the official case for the Original Flight Tracker project:

https://colinwaddell.github.io/FlightTracker/

The case has been designed to keep the finished Flight Tracker as sleek and minimal as possible while still being easy to print and assemble.

It includes a hole for power, built-in tabs to hold the RGB matrix screen securely in place, and is designed to need very little support material.

The case is also split into two interlocking halves so the whole thing can be printed on a normal-sized print bed, rather than needing a printer large enough to print the entire enclosure in one piece.

Hardware Required

You'll need:

• 2 × 2.5 × 8 mm screws to secure the two halves of the case together

• 4 × 2.5 × 5 mm screws to mount the Raspberry Pi to the case

Print Settings

Print with supports on the baseplate only. No other supports should be required.

5% infill is absolutely fine.

Assembly

Before assembling the case, have a look at the Raspberry Pi mounting points.

If you're using a normal full-sized Raspberry Pi, cut off the centre support mounts. These are only required when using one of the half-sized boards such as a Pi Zero W.

Start assembling the case by popping the hexagonal tabs into their respective slots on the back panel.

Pay careful attention to the splits in the top and bottom walls. These are designed to slot underneath each other so that the two halves lock together correctly.

This part can be a little tricky because the fit is deliberately quite tight. Take your time with it. The tight fit is intentional and helps make sure the finished case stays snug, square and rigid.

Pre-fit the securing screws

Before fitting the screen, I strongly recommend driving the two securing screws through the back panel once.

Be very careful here. Make sure each screw taps cleanly through both the tab and its mating hole. You don't want the screw pushing the two halves apart as it goes in, as you could damage the tabs or split the case.

Once both screws have been driven through successfully, remove them again.

Doing this now cuts the threads while you can still reach inside the case to help press down on the mating hole, preventing it from being pushed up and away from the securing tab.

Mount the Raspberry Pi

Next, mount the Raspberry Pi using the four 2.5 × 5 mm screws.

Fit the RGB Matrix Bonnet to the Pi before installing everything into the case.

Take a little care here to make sure the Bonnet is sitting correctly and isn't touching the Pi, the case, or anything else where it shouldn't. As always when working with exposed electronics, check that nothing conductive is sitting somewhere it could cause a short circuit.

Fit the screen

Hook up the RGB matrix screen to the Pi and Bonnet.

Insert the screen into the front of the case and carefully work it in behind the retaining tabs. These are designed to hold the screen securely without needing any additional fixings. If your ribbon cable is long enough, rotate the screen so the cable can sit fully extended rather than bunched up or squashed. This helps reduce noise on the signal lines, which can otherwise cause the display to flicker.

Once the screen is sitting correctly and everything is lined up, put the two securing screws back through the rear of the case and tighten them up.

Don't go mad tightening them - they only need to pull everything together firmly.

And that's it.

Your Flight Tracker is assembled and ready to go.

Source Code

The full OpenSCAD source for the case is available on GitHub:

https://github.com/ColinWaddell/FlightTracker-Case

The design is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence. You're free to use, modify and share the design, but commercial use or selling prints of it isn't permitted.