Solving heat related issues with custom lid

MNT Pocket Reform
81

What finish would people use as a best match for the black pocket? Anodized I was assuming but I am second guessing myself.

82

I think I used 1.5 mm and it is quite sturdy. I am gonna upload my file including the laser engravings in the next days sometime

2 Likes
83

I designed it with 1.2 to match the recess on the Pocket Reform lid and the keyboard surround. Happy to do an updated diagram with 1.5 if thereā€™s a want.

84

Pretty sure you want anodised black, yes.

1 Like
85

My lid is in the final stages of production. Eagerly awaiting it! In the meantime Iā€™m starting to think about the design of the ā€œupgradedā€ lid I was considering. Here are a few features Iā€™d like to incorporate if possible:

  • MNT logo (embossed or recessed) either in the center or tastefully offset
  • Magnet grid (recessed holes for small neodymium magnets) on a portion of the exterior, at least over by the USB ports - will require extra thickness
  • At least one square space on the interior with threaded holes, matching the spacing of the Reform Next grid, probably over the expansion slots
  • Rectangular through-hole that can be filled with 3D printed plastic or other material, so an extra patch antenna (for LoRa or whatever else) can be placed behind it

I am only really familiar with OpenSCAD, so Iā€™ll probably be using that and making parameterized models so each feature can be optional. For the antenna I looked into folding SMA antennas and small ā€œpuckā€ antennas, but I couldnā€™t find any that would either fold completely flat or which had a short enough pigtail. So an additional patch will have to do.

Iā€™d welcome any thoughts or suggestions on this before I start working on it.

Edit: apparently OpenSCAD doesnā€™t produce true curves and isnā€™t appropriate for CNC models. Now learning FreeCADā€¦

2 Likes
86

I got mine anodized black and bead blasted. Itā€™s a little more matte than the stock plate. Iā€™m sure just anodized black will look good too.

87

Thanks a lot, I will keep you updated. It looks like my only choice to not ā€œloseā€ my order is to skip sandblasting so I will try that.

88

Just received my backplate and immediately installed it. It fits perfectly! It came with some small scratches which I donā€™t mind and I will miss the pretty MNT logo. Maybe Iā€™ll try an MNT stickerā€¦

Current running some parallel build processes to heat it up and it seems to stay between 50Ā°C and 60Ā°C instead of jumping to 80Ā°C almost instantly and creeping up to 90Ā°C. WIFI reception is fine too but I did not really have problems with that.

This is awesome and Iā€™ll be running full power again (I was using cpupower frequency-set -g ondemand -u 1.60GHz to keep the temperature below 70Ā°C). Next Iā€™ll try and compile librewolf (guix build) and see if it stays coolā€¦

Thank you everybody here! Especially @pandora and @jbmorley for sharing their knowledge. :heart_hands:

6 Likes
89

That would be great! :heart:

ā€¦especially since I have not yet figured out what is needed for the laser engraving to work: are such surface features included in the CAD drawing or separately as eg SVG? If the former, how does one mark something as surface feature and if the latter, how does one specify the area? I could not find any clear instructions on PCBways pages so far :confused:

[Edit] never mind, on JLCā€™s pages this became much clearer to me! [/edit]

I am still new to making physical things from CAD and feel quite clueless :face_with_peeking_eye:

1 Like
90

Thank you again @jbmorley for the files. The backplate came in from PCBWay and the fit is perfect. I chose black and it matches the rest of the black case very well; it has more texture than the rest of the case, but I like it that way.

2 Likes
91

I got mine and fitted it today too. Tried running FreeTube with a video (running smoothly at 720p - higher worked fine, but stopped/started after a while), while playing MineTest and with the browser open - tested with watch sensors and the temperatures didnā€™t seem to go over 44c (with the RK3588). I havenā€™t tested it yet further away from the wifi router, but the signal does seem better so far.

One slight thing Iā€™d like to see improved is that the screws donā€™t quite sit flush against the new backplate. But other than that itā€™s fantastic!

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I think this means they didnā€™t countersink the holes correctly ā€” I used @jbmorleyā€™s instructions and mine sit perfectly flush so I think ā€œto 3.5mm 90 degreesā€ is exactly right

1 Like
93

Ah, thatā€™s annoying.