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Comment by stOneskull | Hacker News Reader

i'd like to try making this but i don't have a 3d printer nor know someone who does. i have a feeling that if i find a service that does it, that it would cost as much for the 3d printing as for the raspberry pi itself

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A quick look at a 3D printing service shows $20 for the upper part of the case. Not too bad. But also consider looking for a 3D printer at a local library or makerspace

i'm pretty rural, nothing local.. but have been looking at online services and comparing.. see how it goes :-)

You probably know someone, or know someone who knows someone, if you don't have a library or makerspace that can print it for you. Shortly after I got my latest printer someone on our local "Free Stuff" exchange Facebook group, a message asked if someone could 3D print the parts for a circular knitting machine. I took up that call and spent 2 weeks printing 100-some parts, and I just asked them to cover the filament, so around $70 (4 roles of PETG). Think about asking on reddit/facebook/nextdoor.

I've not tried it myself, but I know that JLC does a 3d printing service in some funky materials that I definitely can't print at home, and it might be a bit pricey but from what I've seen online, the quality is pretty good. You could get the case printed in TC4 titanium if you really wanted

I don't know if you're based in the US, but here in Europe I used Xometry and, while expensive for what you're getting, it was pretty reasonable.

I built a cyberdeck bigger than this and the case came out to be around 30 euros.

Many libraries offer 3d printing for the cost of filament.

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