Rack Server Case for Framework Laptop 12 Mainboard

Your old Framework Laptop 12 mainboard, reborn as a 1U homelab server.

When you upgrade a Framework laptop, the old mainboard is left over. RACK12-1U gives it a second life as an always-on server in a 10" mini rack, next to your switch and NAS. It is a real x86 PC with DDR5 and an M.2 SSD, so it runs Home Assistant, Jellyfin/Plex, Pi-hole, WireGuard/Tailscale, Docker or Proxmox.

Highlights

• Standard 10" rack, 1U (254 × 43.66 mm panel, 236.5 mm hole spacing)

• Mounts on the board's own 5 captive screws – no modification to the mainboard

• All 4 USB-C ports usable – 2 at the front, 2 at the rear (power + network)

• Front power button – a hinged rocker presses the on-board switch, with an adjusting screw and a travel stop that protects the switch

• Ducted airflow – front intake, internal baffle, fan exhaust straight out of the rear grille

• 6 support-free parts, the largest is 200 × 227 mm (fits Prusa MK4 / CORE One)

• Checked against Framework's official CAD: no interference with any of the 168 board bodies, verified in Autodesk Fusion

Parts

1. Cover

2. (your mainboard)

3. Chassis

4. Rack ear, left

5. Rack ear, right

6. Button rocker

7. Button frame

Hardware

• 5 × M2 heat-set inserts (Ø3.2 hole) – board bosses

• 10 × M3 heat-set inserts (Ø4.0 hole) – cover pillars + ear pads

• 6 × M3×6 countersunk screws – cover

• 4 × M3×6 button-head screws – rack ears

• 2 × M2×4 countersunk screws – button frame

• 1 × M2×5 screw – button adjuster

• 10 mm of 1.75 mm filament – hinge pin

• 4 × M6 cage nuts + screws – rack

Print settings

PETG recommended (the exhaust chamber runs warm). No supports needed – the 3MF files are already oriented.

Assembly

1. Heat-set inserts (M2 flush with the boss tops).

2. Lower the mainboard onto the 5 bosses, tighten its captive screws gently.

3. Pin the rocker into the frame with 1.75 mm filament, slide the module into the front panel, fix with 2 × M2.

4. Adjust the M2×5 screw until the paddle is flush with the bezel.

5. Screw the ears and the cover.

6. Rack: 4 cage nuts, slide in, 4 × M6.

Before you power on

• Without the laptop battery, BIOS settings survive only with a rechargeable ML1220 RTC cell (never CR2032)

• Enable the standalone / power-on-with-AC option in the BIOS.

• Rack depth needed: 227 mm + ~30 mm for cables.