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Finished Side Projects

A collection of things each of which don't merit a page on their own.
Random things I've designed that didn't take much time.
Essentially, this is were many of the Ongoing Projects end up. 

Mobirise

Car Key Cover 

One day, a colleague approached me,  asking for help. He'd just bought a new old car and the key cover was - as is often the case - ruined. Reprogramming the integrated steering lock chip was ridiculously expensive so he wondered if I could design a new 3D printed housing instead. He wanted something original looking and I wanted to give it a smart locking mechanism.

The end result is a two-piece laser sintered housing. The chip is placed partially inside the designated cutout so that it stands out too much on one side while being flush with the key body on the other.
A special groove allows the key to slide inside the housing with the chip in "travel position".
Once those parts are in place, a smaller printed cover with a wedge tip is inserted in the slot the key came through in. 
The wedge nudges the chip down into its intended position  and, upon reaching the end position, secures it in place. As a result, the chip sticks out on the other side of the key and thus into a pocket desiged to arrest the housing in place. The chip can't be pushed back out again, either, as the wedge/cover prevents that from happening.

Personally, I'd have preferred a smooth finish but my colleague said he preferred the grippy surface.
Be that as it may, a small, durable and quick solution.

Mobirise

Quick Phone Holder

Realizing that video calls were easier when the phone had a stand, I made this.
I had to have it quickly and there was a lockdown going on so 10 minutes of design were followed up by same-day 3D printing.

The original plan was to use this Holder for 2-3 weeks and throw it away.
However, the Holder inspired me to include some more features like magnetic charging or more.

Mobirise

RasPi Cover

I have been using Raspberry Pi's as NAS "Servers" for a while.
Even this Website is hosted on one.
They're slowly but steadily turning into my go-to solution for almost anything digital.

I've always loved this kind of case for the Pi. Rounded edges provide a more solid and compact package as well as focusing cooling. Only problem is that, in the 2B+, the case was nice and closed and only had the I/O ports open.
Now the same casing for the 4B has some annoying openings. Sometimes I use those but for this application, which was focused on transportability and travel, I don't. They just provide room for dirt ingress and don't seem good for cooling. 

So I quickly designed a clip-in protector to remedy the issue. It's a quite reliable fit and could only be pushed in with force. Since I've also designed part of the protector to wedge between the fan and the casing to improve the result. 

Again, printed by a friend learning how to 3D print. Not a perfect print but good enough for its job. 

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