I would like to make a shout out to JeremyBennett for giving me a starting point.
I modified his SCAD to integrate a 5 port gigabit switch.
My modified SCAD is available at .
Total cost is around $200 for a clean way to use/display 4 boards.
You could probably shorten the spacers and add a second 5 port switch to mount 5 Parallella.
Here is my equipment list:
Qty 2 - 3D printed base/top ($57ea)
Qty 1 - D-Link GO-SW-5GE 5-Port Unmanaged Gigabit Switch (mounted to base) ($23ea)
(There are two versions of this model, you want the one with LEDs in front, connections in rear)
Qty 4 - 6-inch Cat5e network cables ($8 lot)
Qty 2 - Cooler Master JetFlo 120 - POM Bearing 120mm White LED High Performance Silent Fans ($17 ea)
(removable resistor cables included to adjust fan speed)
1 lot - brass spacers, screws, washers, wires
(Actual cost in range of $20+, but I had to buy packages totaling around $60 to get the few I actually needed. holding on to the rest for future projects.)
Here are some pics of the finished product in ABS grey.
- Top-Right View
- Top-Right_Xsml.jpg (213.93 KiB) Viewed 18478 times
The dual 120mm fans are a bit of overkill. I had planned to use the inline resistors that come with the fans to reduce their speed. These get pretty hot, so I was going to use the heat for some old style Christmas bubble lights and some brass tubes to steam-punk the final design. Maybe add an old style Ammeter to indicate the gigaflops generated.
- Front View
- Front_XSml.jpg (392.55 KiB) Viewed 18478 times
The network switch LEDs were in the way of the posts that hold the Parallella-16 boards, so I extended them with some ribbon cable.
I had planned to mount these LEDs higher (hot melt glue? or modify the 3D base?) where I could see them from a distance.
- Rear View
- Rear_XSml.jpg (274.02 KiB) Viewed 18478 times
I notched our the base to allow for the CAT5e cables and I cut down some of the plastic around the connectors to fit around the brass posts.
