Pi 10 Inch Mini-rack

What is a Mini-Rack?

A Mini-Rack is a small, 10” rack that can hold network equipment, computers and other related equipment. A full size rack, one you typially find in a serveroom or data center are 19” wide. A mini-rack is 10” wide, and designed for smallers spaces, perfect for a home lab or small office.

I’ve created a full tutorial for you here:

Mini-Rack 3D Design Tutorial

Why a Mini-Rack?

A mini-rack is a great way to keep your equipment organized and easily accessible. It also helps with cable management, keeping everything neat and tidy. It also helps with cooling, as the equipment is mounted in a way that allows for better airflow.

Building a Mini-Rack using a laser-cutter, 3D printer and 20x20mm aluminium extrusion

I built a mini-rack using a laser-cutter, 3D printer and 20x20mm aluminium extrusion. The rack is 10” wide, 4U high Racks use a standard unit of height, known as a ‘U’ where 1U = 44.45mm . It has 4 shelves, each 10” wide and 200mm deep. The frame is made from 20x20mm aluminium extrusion, 3D printed parts for stability and finished with a basswood top and front facia. The rack is intended to be a free standing desktop rack.

My requirements for this rack project are:

• 10” Mini-Rack
• Made from parts I can easily source or make
• House 4 Raspberry Pi 5s
• House the networking equipment for the Raspberry Pi cluster
• 4 way power distribution
• UPS for power backup

Stretch Goals

In addition to the requirements above, I would like to add the following features:

• Networking - preferably with PoE for power
• Able to restart each pi remotely
• Second row of Raspberry Pi 5s for a total of 8 Pis

Designing the Mini-Rack

The first part of this project is to design and 3D print the parts for the rack. I’ve created a full tutorial for you here: Mini-Rack 3D Design Tutorial - which is covered in the videos linked above too.

Project Write-up

I’ve detailed this project here: Mini-Rack project