AI Anatomy · builds

DFCD: a modular workshop cyberdeck

A Raspberry Pi 5 in a 3D-printed body, with a screen that slides over a full mechanical keyboard and side modules that clip on rails and are swapped like tool batteries.

  • Maker Jankbu
  • Video youtube.com
  • Files github.com — the maker's files · 80 printable 3MF parts plus STEP (editable CAD) files. Build instructions are in the repo wiki.
  • Licence None stated in the repo (checked 14 Oct 2026). You may look and learn, but ask the maker before sharing copies or selling prints.
  • Maker's status Not finished: the scroll handle, the external-ports module and the screen buttons are not wired yet, and he sometimes gets a low-voltage warning.
  • Difficulty advanced — Six-part printed chassis, linear bearings, carbon-fibre polycarbonate, soldered connectors and a salvaged trackball. Several months of prototyping by someone who models in CAD daily.
  • 10 parts
  • ·
  • 7 lessons
  • ·
  • dissected 2026-10-14 by hardware

Parts at a glance, grouped by job. Dashed boxes hold a part that is not in the catalogue yet. A simple map, not a drawing of the build.

Parts

01

Every part the build uses, grouped by its job. Each one links to where the fact came from.

Brains1

  1. Raspberry Pi 5, 8 GB

    He cut away part of the cooler to fit the power board.

    In the catalogue: Boards · Raspberry Pi 5 (1/2/4/8/16GB) ↗

    Source: github.com · youtube.com 11:09

Screen1

  1. 10.1-inch IPS touch LCD (HDMI) not in the catalogue yet

    Signal goes over a flat HDMI ribbon cable (right-angle micro-HDMI to ribbon to HDMI plug), power over a two-pin cable. Both run through the cable chain.

    Source: github.com · youtube.com 10:56

Keyboard1

  1. NOS C-450 Mini Pro (full-travel mechanical, compact) not in the catalogue yet

    A shop-bought keyboard that snaps into the printed chassis and is then screwed down. It took several prototypes to get the fit tight.

    Source: github.com

Pointer1

  1. Trackball made from the inside of a Logitech Trackman Marble not in the catalogue yet

    Salvaged board with extension wires soldered on to industrial push buttons. You need to buy one Trackman Marble to take apart.

    Source: youtube.com 14:24

Battery1

  1. NP-F camera battery (Jupio NP-F970, 10050 mAh) not in the catalogue yet

    Swappable camera batteries clip into the power module, which shows the voltage. 7.2 V nominal (Sony's NP-F970 spec).

    Source: github.com · sony.co.in

Power board1

  1. Joy-IT PiEnergy Mini (RB-PE01) not in the catalogue yet

    Turns 6-36 V into 5.1 V for the Pi and adds a power button. Rated for up to 3 A only.

    Source: joy-it.net

Case1

  1. 3D-printed chassis in carbon-fibre polycarbonate, six main parts

    Stands heat (a hot car) and is stiff, but more brittle. Prototypes were printed on the coarsest setting first.

    In the catalogue: Cases, tools & designs · 3D-printed shell ↗

    Source: youtube.com 10:00

Mechanism1

  1. Steel rods + linear bearings, and a small printed cable chain not in the catalogue yet

    The screen slides on these. Printed guide bearings and fibreglass rods both failed first.

    Source: youtube.com 7:20

Mounting1

  1. NATO rails (scaled down from Arca-Swiss) not in the catalogue yet

    Rails on the sides and bottom hold the modules and also carry power and USB between them, through locking connectors.

    Source: youtube.com 5:45

Controls1

  1. Rotary encoder, 16 mm and 12 mm push switches, 6 mm toggles, 3 mm LEDs not in the catalogue yet

    Mostly not wired yet. He wants them to become FreeCAD shortcut keys.

    Source: github.com

Power check

02

Watch out. Under-powered for a Pi 5 at full load, and the maker's own low-voltage warning matches that.

  • A Pi 5 wants 5 V at 5 A (25 W) to give USB devices their full 1.6 A.
  • The PiEnergy Mini gives 5.1 V at up to 3 A (15 W). On 3 A the Pi limits all USB devices together to 600 mA.
  • This deck runs the keyboard, the trackball and maybe the screen from USB, so it sits close to that limit.
  • The Pi logs a warning when its supply falls below 4.63 V. That is the warning he reports at 18:05.

The fix Use a 5 V converter rated for 5 A or more from the NP-F's 7.2 V, for example the Pololu D36V50F5 already in the catalogue (5.5-50 V in, 5 V at up to 5.5 A, less at low input voltage, so check the curve). Feed the screen from the converter, not from the Pi.

Sources: joy-it.net · pip-assets.raspberrypi.com · github.com · pololu.com · youtube.com 18:05

Lessons

03

What this build teaches. Each lesson opens the video at the moment it comes from.

  1. Prototype the layout in cardboard first. It is fast and shows you where things really fit.

    Watch at 4:04

  2. Use an existing mounting standard (NATO rail) instead of inventing one, so you can buy mounts that fit.

    Watch at 5:45

  3. Printed sliding parts bind or wobble. Buy real linear bearings and steel rods for anything that slides.

    Watch at 7:20

  4. Plan the cables that move with a moving part. A cable chain stops them being pinched.

    Watch at 7:20

  5. Lighter fibreglass rods were not straight enough. Steel is heavy but it works.

    Watch at 8:00

  6. Wire the power first and boot the Pi before adding anything else.

    Watch at 10:56

  7. Use plug-in USB cables, not solder, so you can swap the Pi later.

    Watch at 11:09

How to make it

04

A route to your own version. These steps are hardware's plan, built from the sourced parts and power check above.

Decide

  1. 01

    Choose what you will copy: the full deck is advanced. A first version can keep the sliding screen idea and skip the modules.

Get the files

  1. 02

    Download the STEP files (editable CAD) and mesh files (ready to print) from the GitHub repo. The build instructions are in the repo's wiki.

Buy

  1. 03

    Pi 5, 10.1-inch HDMI touch screen, a compact mechanical keyboard, an NP-F battery and charger, a 5 V 5 A converter (see the power check, not the 3 A board), steel rods and linear bearings to match the bearing housings, right-angle micro-HDMI ribbon kit.

Print

  1. 04

    Prototype in PETG on a coarse setting to check fit. Print the final parts in a stronger, heat-resistant filament only once everything fits.

Assemble

  1. 05

    Power first: battery to converter to Pi, boot it. Then screen through the cable chain, then keyboard, then modules.

Printer notes and open questions

05

Printer (X2D)

All 80 printable parts in the repo fit the X2D bed (256 x 256 x 260 mm) as stored. The biggest are 215 mm long: the screen frame, screen base and lower chassis halves. Measured from the 3MF files on 14 Oct 2026. Prototype in PETG. Carbon-fibre filament wears out a normal brass nozzle, so check which nozzle her X2D has before buying any (not checked yet).

Still open

  • Rod diameter and bearing type: not in the hardware list. Read them from the bearing housings in the STEP files, or ask in the repo's issues.
  • Whether her X2D has a hardened nozzle for carbon-fibre filament.

These are hardware's own notes, not sourced facts.