We've seen our fair share of Raspberry Pi NAS devices over the years and even covered a Pi Zero 2 W NAS just last year. But with the release of the Raspberry Pi 5, we knew it wouldn't be long before we came across a Pi 5 NAS and today is that day! Maker and developer 3D Printz has put together a 3D-printable NAS case designed to work with the latest Raspberry Pi 5.
The case was designed from the ground up and has been optimized to hold the Raspberry Pi 5 along with all of the additional hardware. Port extenders are used for easy access to important ports including four USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C for power, Ethernet port and two full-sized HDMI ports. While we're excited that this NAS case is Raspberry Pi 5 compatible, 3D Printz also included versions for the Pi 4 and Pi 3.
The Pi 5 is known to run hot so cooling in a case like this is a must. To alleviate any overheating issues, it features a side-mounted fan. Because this is an NAS, it will likely be running independently of your usual hardware and connecting a monitor would take up space. 3D Printz decided to include an OLED display, connected via I2C, to output useful information removing the need for a large monitor.
If you want to build this NAS for yourself, the 3D printer files you need are available for free over at Printables. According to 3D Printz, you shouldn't need to use any supports when printing the components and explains that the example pictures were created using PLA at .16mm per layer.
Software-wise, 3D Printz is using Open Media Vault (OMV) along with Immich, a media backup application. That said, you could use any operating system you like and if you aren't sure where to start, you can't go wrong with experimenting with the official Raspberry Pi OS. If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the official project page over at Printables.
