3D Enclosure Design

Parametric handheld console enclosure designed in OpenSCAD, optimized for 3D printing.

Design Overview

The enclosure follows a landscape form factor inspired by the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Switch Lite, with ergonomic grip areas on both sides.

Dimensions: 170 × 85 × 25 mm

Source files

The OpenSCAD project files are in hardware/enclosure/. Open with OpenSCAD 2021.01+.

To render all views:

make render-enclosure

Interactive 3D Viewer

tip

Open the interactive 3D viewer to inspect the enclosure from any angle. Switch between assembly and exploded views, toggle wireframe mode, and zoom into details.

Rendered Views

Front (Display Side)

Back (Battery Side)

Top (Shoulder Buttons)

Exploded View

Cross-Section (XZ plane)

Fit Check (bottom shell + PCB + battery)

Features

Front Panel

• 3.95" display viewport — centered, with 2mm raised bezel
• D-pad — cross-shaped cutout on left side
• A/B/X/Y buttons — diamond layout on right side (SNES style)
• Start/Select — pill-shaped cutouts below the D-pad

Back Panel

• L/R shoulder buttons — pill-shaped cutouts near top edge (28 × 10mm)
• Speaker grille — array of 1.5mm holes in circular pattern (left side)

Bottom Edge

• USB-C port — 9.0 × 3.2mm cutout (centered), Z-aligned with PCB connector
• SD card slot — 12 × 2.5mm cutout (right side), Z-aligned with PCB module
• Power switch — 8 × 4mm cutout (left of USB-C)

Internal

• Battery compartment — 70 × 55 × 9.5mm cavity with 1.5mm raised border wall and retainer clips (fits 65×55×9.5mm LiPo)
• Screw bosses — 4 corner mounting points with M3 countersunk clearance holes
• PCB model — 160 × 75mm PCB at shell split line (Z=15mm)
• Button caps — retention flange (3mm wider than cutout) prevents fallthrough, actuator stem presses PCB tactile switch
• Wire channel — routing path for battery connector cable

Physical Layout

FRONT (display side):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                         │
│                 ┌───────────────────┐                    │
│                 │                   │                    │
│    ┌─┐          │   3.95" Display   │          [X]      │
│  ┌─┤ ├─┐        │    320 x 480      │       [Y]   [A]   │
│  └─┤ ├─┘        │    ILI9488        │          [B]      │
│    └─┘          │                   │                    │
│   D-pad         └───────────────────┘                    │
│  [Sel] [Sta]                                             │
│                                                         │
│  ┌──USB-C──┐                           ┌──SD Card──┐    │
└──┴─────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────────┴────┘

BACK (battery side):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [L]                                              [R]   │
│                                                         │
│                                                         │
│                    (( Speaker ))                         │
│                                                         │
│                                                         │
│                                                         │
│                                                         │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Dimensions Reference

Element	Dimension	Notes
Overall body	170 × 85 × 25 mm	Landscape orientation
Wall thickness	2.0 mm	All walls
Corner radius	8 mm	Rounded for ergonomics
Display cutout	86.4 × 64.8 mm	Active display area
D-pad cutout	24 × 24 mm cross	5mm arm width
Face button holes	8 mm diameter	A/B/X/Y, 10mm spacing (matches KiCad)
Start/Select	10 × 4 mm pills	Below D-pad, 20mm apart
Menu button	10 × 4 mm pill	Below ABXY
Shoulder buttons	28 × 10 mm	Back panel, Y=35mm from center
USB-C port	9.0 × 3.2 mm	Centered, Z=13.5mm (PCB-aligned)
SD card slot	12 × 2.5 mm	X=60mm, Z=13.5mm (PCB-aligned)
Power switch	8 × 4 mm	X=-40mm, Z=13mm (PCB-aligned)
Battery bay	70 × 55 × 9.5 mm	65×55mm LiPo + 5mm tolerance
Battery border	1.5mm wall	Raised edge around bay perimeter
Screw bosses	6mm OD / 2.5mm ID	4 corners, M3 countersunk

3D Printing Recommendations

Parameter	Value
Material	PLA or PETG
Layer height	0.2 mm
Infill	15-20%
Supports	Yes (for button cutouts and port overhangs)
Print orientation	Shell face-down (flat bottom on bed)
Nozzle	0.4 mm standard
Estimated print time	~4-6 hours per shell
Estimated filament	~50g per shell

Post-processing

Light sanding on the button holes improves button feel. For a premium finish, apply thin primer + spray paint.

Customization

All dimensions are parameterized in enclosure.scad. Key parameters to adjust:

body_w = 170;        // Overall width
body_h = 85;         // Overall height
body_d = 25;         // Overall depth
wall   = 2.0;        // Wall thickness
corner_r = 8;        // Corner radius

disp_w = 86.4;       // Display viewport width
disp_h = 64.8;       // Display viewport height

dpad_x = -62;        // D-pad horizontal position
abxy_x = 62;         // ABXY horizontal position
abxy_spacing = 10;   // Button center-to-center (matches KiCad PCB)

bat_w = 65;          // Battery width
bat_h = 55;          // Battery height
bat_d = 9.5;         // Battery thickness

Rendering Different Views

Use the -D flag to select which part to render:

# Full assembly
openscad -o assembly.png -D 'part="assembly"' enclosure.scad

# Top shell only (for printing)
openscad -o top.stl -D 'part="top"' enclosure.scad

# Bottom shell only (for printing)
openscad -o bottom.stl -D 'part="bottom"' enclosure.scad

# Exploded view
openscad -o exploded.png -D 'part="exploded"' enclosure.scad

Modular Design

The OpenSCAD project is split into modules for maintainability:

File	Contents
enclosure.scad	Main assembly, shell definitions, render control
modules/buttons.scad	D-pad, face buttons, Start/Select, shoulder button cutouts
modules/display.scad	Display viewport cutout, bezel, mounting shelf
modules/ports.scad	USB-C, SD card slot, speaker grille, ventilation
modules/battery.scad	Battery compartment cavity, retainer clips, wire channel