Jay Doscher's Compute Unit Is a Modular Raspberry Pi, LattePanda IOTA Framework with Cooling in Mind

Jay Doscher has unveiled his latest design for a custom computer housing, designed for a minimal footprint — engineered with maximum airflow in mind: the compute unit.

"Introducing the compute unit — a modular and customizable desktop enclosure for small computers like the Latte Panda IOTA and the Raspberry Pi 5," Doscher writes of his newest creation. "I increasingly look to smaller and lighter compute platforms as the core of my lab infrastructure gets more refined. Sure, it's great to have a small data center at your disposal, but dealing with power, heat, and noise are really pretty terrible if they're in your living space. I always look at fanless or water cooled options since they tend to be far quieter, but if we're talking big CPU's and GPU's then heat is always going to be a significant byproduct. That leads me to working with the newer Latte Panda IOTA."

Designed for maximum airflow, the compute unit is a skeletonized frame design with an open top — meaning that heat from passive heatsinks like that of the LattePanda IOTA can easily escape, while active coolers like Raspberry Pi's optional add-on for the Raspberry Pi 5 have easy access to fresh air for their intake. Whether that top remains open, though, depends on exactly how you plan to take advantage of the frame's modular nature.

"Want to add a screen to the [Raspberry] Pi 5? Add holes to raise the Pi 5 up a bit and make a new top plate to match the screen," Doscher notes of the case's customisability. "Want to stack two Pi 5s? Two Pi 3s or Pi 4s? There's room for that too. The concept [of the compute unit] is pretty simple, keep the screw count and part inventory to a minimum, make it easy to print, and easy to swap out or modify specific parts so people can hack this as easy as possible."

This is, of course, far from Doscher's first case design: the maker is perhaps best known for the Raspberry Pi Recovery Kit and its successors, but has also designed housings for all-in-one systems, portable backup systems, Matrix-inspired arm-mounted interfaces, and software-defined radio (SDR) work; his previous newest moved away from single-board computers to make full desktop hardware "mostly portable," igniting his interest in easily-cooled skeletonized frameworks.

More information is available in Doscher's write-up, where 3D-print files are available to download for paying subscribers; Doscher also sells pre-printed versions for $67 in matte white or black PLA.