The Astro Pi case: out of this world

The Replica Astro Pi case is your chance to own what must certainly be the coolest Raspberry Pi case on – or off – Earth.

When the Astro Pi case was originally announced in may 2015 we were told that it was too expensive to make a consumer version. It is a complex design that required a 5-axis CNC machine.
At AstroPiCase.com we have developed a simplified design that is machinable on our Haas 3-axis CNC machining centre. By keeping the case split line flat, making it a little less tall and keeping the connector port designs in a single axis we were able to cut the machining time and cost quite dramatically.  We can supply:

The Replica Astro Pi case

After the initial announcement of the Astro Pi case by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and ESA there were demands for them to be available for sale but the costs were prohibitive. 5-axis CNC machines are not just expensive to buy, they are expensive to run; the foundation pointed out that each one cost about £3000 (roughly USD3800 or CAD5000 at this time) to make. A while later the foundation released a set of STL files for a simplified design that could 3D printed and many people have succesfully printed a case of their own – but it’s still plastic.

As you can see, ours is not; our replica case is aerospace grade 6063 aluminium, just like the units on the International Space Station. After machining it is bead blasted and finally laser engraved. It looks fabulous and feels amazing. Interestingly, the Pi 3 WiFi capability does not seem to be much impaired by being inside the Aluminium case.

But that’s not all. We provide a package of items you need to build your Astro Pi case, including the Switchboard.

The Switchboard

The bare case is only part of the story. Your Astro Pi also needs a SenseHAT and six buttons, so we designed a mezzanine board we call the Switchboard. It provides a realtime clock and nice clean connections to your buttons. We took the opportunity to neatly call out all the other GPIO connections as well, for any future expansion plans you might have. This board is also available on its own from bc-robotics.com for anyone making a printed version of the Astro Pi case or for many other Raspberry Pi projects.

Astro Pi Case Standard Kit

Our Standard Kit includes the case shell halves, a Switchboard, and the small fittings to let you assemble your own Replica Astro Pi case.

You will need to provide your own Raspberry Pi, SenseHAT, camera module, buttons and RTC battery. You will have a small amount of soldering to do to connect the buttons, unless you choose to use crimping connectors. Some experience in using the Raspbian command line will be needed to set up the system properly.

Interested? Pop over to BUY A STANDARD KIT

Astro Pi Case Ready-to-go

The Ready-to-go, fully built and tested unit includes all the items  provided in the Standard kit along with –

  • a Raspberry Pi 3
  • a micro-SD card loaded with Raspbian and the Astro Pi related drivers
  • a SenseHAT
  • a camera module
  • six beautiful APEM buttons
  • a battery for the RTC
  • a tough, weather resistant travel/storage case with room for the Astro Pi Case and power supply, cables, etc.

All installed and tested for correct functionality by our expert technicians. For more details and to buy one see:

BUY A READY-TO-GO PACKAGE