There are countless types of enclosures available for the inexpensive credit card sized Single Board Computer – the Raspberry Pi, popularly known as the RBPi. All have their unique capabilities and advantages. Some are made of wood, some of paper while most others are made of plastic.
The molded enclosure from Hammond Electronics is specifically designed to house the RBPi model B. The exquisitely molded container is shaped like a book and is available in black, grey and translucent blue. The stylishly rounded design has apertures for all the IO interfaces and accessories supported by the RBPi. The enclosure is actually two parts made to fit one on top of the other, holding the RBPi between them. No screw-fixings are involved, and a specific sequence is required to get the bottom, the RBPi and the top fitted together perfectly.
On opening the 1593HAMPI enclosure assembly, you will notice the bottom half has some stationary clips on its inside. Holding the bottom half in your palm, slide the RBPi board in at an angle against these stationary clips. Once in place, push down firmly on the RCA jack of the RBPi, until you hear the board click into position. Now the RBPI is securely held in the bottom part of the enclosure.
Take the top part of the enclosure and touch its rounded ends to the corresponding rounded ends of the bottom part, on an angle. Still holding the bottom part firmly, push down on the outer edge of the top part, until you hear a snapping sound. On turning the assembly around, you will see a clip from the top part jutting through an opening on the bottom part. This holds both the halves together. In case you would like to separate the two parts of the enclosure, simply pull back the clip from the bottom part and the two halves will come apart.
Hammond Electronics offers self-adhesive rubber feet, which you can fit in the circles on the bottom part of the enclosure. They will prevent the encased RBPi from sliding off. One of the most popular accessories of the RBPi is the camera module. You have a choice of two methods for mounting the camera module. Screw the camera to the inside of the top part, which has a hole provided for the lens. However, if the camera must remain outside the enclosure, you can fit it through a slot in the top. The camera will now be standing at right angles to the assembly.
Access to the GPIO header is provided through a cutout on the mating line between the top and the bottom halves. The sides also have apertures of the right size and shape for all the ports. Therefore, you can easily access the HDMI interface, the micro-USB power-in connector, the RCA ports for audio and video, the SD card, the RJ45 LAN and the two USB ports. The base has two captive slots so that you can attach the enclosure to a surface. For stand-alone applications, the rubber feet are helpful.
