You have every right to shout at me for leaving this project untouched for so long. I’d like to think I had a good reason for doing so. All materials were gathering dust-up until now. So what has changed? NAS-pi build log can move to the next stage, as I finally got a solution to cut perspex neatly. Sometime next week the cutting will commence!
Raspberry Pi NAS build log part 3
You can see from the attached pictures that the CAD skills are not strong in me. I would never let this stop me from completing the build. There was a hover box in my garage and I can say, that my hoarding habits are officially justified.
I have (hopefully) enough perspex to complete the build. Not enough to make any errors. To avoid this I decided to handcraft a mock-up box for the NAS-pi. If you are confused about what it does, and how it performs you can read more about it here and here. A short breakdown:
- RAID1 (hot-swap) 150GB
- PLEX server 1.5 TB
- DLNA stream (if you don’t want PLEX)
I made few small mistakes when creating the design out of cardboard, but it was easy to correct it, or simply just cut another piece. This was the exact purpose of this stage.
The Box
Everything is powered by a single power brick, so you don’t see any extra cables apart from the Ethernet one. This keeps the box nice and presentable. I mean the final perspex design, not the cardboard imitation with my markings on it.
The HDD enclosures open up and you can swap the drives or add new ones if you are not using full 3 drive capacity. At this stage, I’m not sure if I want to open up the access to the HDMI and 3.5mm audio jack at the top of the box. I don’t believe I would use it, and it will break the aesthetics of the design. You can access the guts via back panel, this is where the cables are and the access to each drive. I will also consider a heatsink and some vent’s once the temperature of the box is tested.
Shopping for components:
| Item | Amazon UK | Amazon USA | Aliexpress.com | Banggood.com | Comments |
| 1 x USB 3.0 4 port hub | £8.99 | $9.99 | $6.64 | $11.99 | I picked the microUSB powerd one, other are available |
| 4 x USB angled cables | £6.99 pack of two | $6.99 pack of two | $1.68 | $2.99 | Plan the bends accordingly |
| 1 x 2.5 -3 A 5V power supply | £5.79 | $8.99 | $4.99 | $5.75 | Works from 2.4A but aim for 3A if possible |
| 1 x Raspberry PI 2/3 | £32.00 | $35.10 | $39.50 | $39.99 | There is no speed penalty for RPI2 |
| 3 x HDD | £5.95 | $8.99 | $8.49 | $9.49 | Needs to have a specific opening mechanism |
| USB hub with power 2.5A | £12.22 | $16.99 |
Conclusion
Regardless of the current shape, I’m proud and hopeful that the final design will look just like I want it to be! With a little bit of patience I will get there and the NASpi will be totally worth it!
