3d Printed Case for RAK4631

Builds / Use Cases
1

Hello,

I have been working on a 3d printed case for my RAK4631 running Meshtastic. The goal was to make a very compact device. What you see below is the internal frame. Once the internal frame design is finalized I will begin work on the outer case.

Printing was done on an Elegoo Mars 3 with Siraya Blu resin. Power is from two 1200mah 4mm thick lipo batteries. I could make the device thinner by using one battery but it would mean using a smaller gps antenna. A later version may use IXOLAR 25% efficient solar cells. The RAK5005 main board has a solar controller built in so why not use it!

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16 Likes
2

That really looks great!

3

This is really nice indeed! Can you comment on how you mounted/connected the OLED?

4

I have Meshtastic firmware running but have not soldered the 4 screen wires yet. It should be as simple as connecting VDD, SDA, SCL, GND, to their corresponding pins on the screen. I will hide the wiring behind the RAK board since the screen header pins are accessible from either side. The screen will be mounted using only the top 2 screws. It hangs over the RAK board with a fraction of a mm clearance. Hiding all of the wires is a big part of the design challenge.

2 Likes
5

I wired up the RAK device on a breadboard and everything seems to work! With 2x 0.3w 36x45mm solar panels the device is running and charging the battery.

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3 Likes
6

Where/which solar panels specifically did you choose?

7

Hi b8b8 I am using Anysolar SM141K10LV. After testing it appears we may need a blocking diode. When sunny I see the battery % go up but when its not sunny the battery drain is faster than with no solar panel. RAK documentation says nothing about adding a diode. I havent had much time to work on the 3d printed case. I may try SLA printing one of your awesome cases for my T-beams!

2 Likes
8

Hi,

Sorry, it is kind of an off-topic, but I’ve noticed that you are using the RAK1910 GNNS module which is using the MAX-7Q GPS module. Can you confirm that it works with meshtastic? I’m planning to buy the RAK4631 as well but I thought only the NEO-6M and NEO-M8N modules are supported…

Thanks.

9

That is really nice. Any chance you’ll make the stls available?

2 Likes
10

1910 Works fine with meshtastic

11

I finally had some time to do a bit of work on this case. This was just a test fit but all the parts are there except the internal Bluetooth antenna. The case will get a few mm wider to accommodate this.

At the top of case you will notice a blue button. This operates the clicky on off switch. A single screw holds the frame to the outer case. A brass insert in the frame keeps the screw from stripping the threads out.

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The LCD screen is exposed here but I may print a thin window depending on the resin used in the outer case.

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Here you can see the GPS antenna, clicky switch, main antenna connector and batteries. There are 2x 1200 MHz batteries stacked on top of one another.

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Here the LCD screen is sitting just above the main board. The screen and main board screw directly into the frame.

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6 Likes
12

It will add some height and width and another button, but you can add a user button now with IO5 from a RAK13002 IO Module | WisBlock Base Port Module | Signal Pin Header – RAKwireless Store

13

I’m very interested in this project. Any updates, and have you had any thoughts on posting the STLa and bom for the group?

3 Likes