I built my own Cyberdeck

Finished photo first.

I wanted a small, portable computer that I could use to debug code in arduino/raspberry pi projects that are installed in places that would be a bit precarious to bring a normal laptop. I’m aware how cheap I can buy a laptop. That is not the point of this project.

I also just really wanted to make a cyberdeck.

I designed the whole assembly in Solidworks around off the shelf electronics (with some minor modifications)

The main shell parts were 3D printed in MJF PA-12 Nylon, the orange accent pieces and black screen Bezel are PLA, and the white upper panel is laser cut styrene.

The system is built around a Raspberry Pi 4. I added a wifi antenna to get better signal. The power button & led module (PowerBlock) is from PetRockBlock and lets me turn on/off the pi easily.

After a day of setting it up I added a micro sd extender so I can swap out the OS without disassembling the case (very useful when setting up firmware and something bricks)

There are two speakers for stereo audio. The quality is exactly what you would expect for $5 amazon speakers.

The metal locking knob and metal top/front bars were sourced online.

The mechanical keyboard was a cheap $20 one off amazon.

To control the deck theres both trackball and touchscreen input. The three buttons on the back of the deck that function as the Left/Middle/Right mouse buttons.

The buttons are PB86 Step Switches wired to an Adafruit breakout board that is then wired to the trackball PCB (also sourced from Adafruit)

The metal bars on the top/front of the deck function as carry handles when it is folded up. The lower bar also acts as a wrist rest while typing.

For data inputs there are two USB 3.0 ports. The USB-C Port is wired to the PowerBlock. The brass threaded inserts on the back of the housing are for mounting any future upgrades (first priority is a rechargeable battery pack)

Overall incredibly happy with how it looks and functions.