Raspberry Pi CM4 IO Board + NVMe SSD case lid

This custom 3D printed lid is for a Waveshare metal case base that houses a Raspberry Pi IO Board with a CM4 installed. 

The Waveshare metal case is a useful reasonably priced ‘ready to use’ component since it comes with a cooling fan as well as a T-adaptor to ‘bring’ the GPIO pins on the IO Board out to the edge of the case. But a different lid is needed to replace the standard metal lid when a PCI-E to M.2 adapter is installed on the IO Board to allow the CM4 to use a NVMe SSD.

This design uses the same fixing points (and screws!) as the original metal lid, as well as positioning the cooling fan in a similar place on the lid - although it is obviously higher above the CM4 - additional vents are also added to the long sides of the lid to provide more fresh air.

Fixing ‘lugs’ are provided so that the complete assembly can be screwed to a wall, but if desk mounted, small silicon rubber pads are best put on the underside of the metal base.

Finally, as the fitted NVMe SSD on its adaptor, can ‘tilt’ from side to side, which might compromise its electrical connection, a pair of small ‘edge walls’ are added to the underside of the lid that will go either side of the adaptor+SSD to keep it steady.

More detail on the case design is available from this link and the IoT (Internet of Things) context for the build is described here.

The lid uses 1.75mm PLA and a layer height of 0.15mm with its print details on an i3 Mk3 shown in the table below. 

It should be noted however that as the lid needs to be positioned on the print bed upside down, each of the 4 ‘lugs’ need support, and for the suggested layer height etc., the component does have a long print time!