PI SLIM V2 PROTOTYPE (POSSIBLE CLUSTER FORM FACTOR?)
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Here's another iteration on the Pi Slim prototype I showed you last year. This one is more of an experiment to see how simple and small you could make a usable headless Pi 3.

- Youtube link
- Archive.org mirror
- Torrent
- Source files

DESIGN UPDATES

The main difference from the previous version is that I created a little custom PCB for the power port. I used an upside down micro USB component, allowing the power port and micro SD card slots to be on the same side, which also saved space in the process.

I removed the extra USB ports on this version because I was having problems getting it working consistently, and also because if you're running a headless server, there's probably less chance of needing to plug external peripherals in anyway.

The rest of the removed components are just like the other version, though this time I used an electric desoldering pump, which made the process way easier, and less tedious.

For the case, I just went with a simple, symmetrical design, and for maximum space saving, I glued it together instead of using screws. The final thing ends up much smaller than the standard Pi, whilst remaining pretty robust.

Admittedly, this kind of form factor is definitely more niche in terms of the use cases, but it might be useful as a simple headless server, or perhaps as the basis for a very compact cluster of Pi 3's.

If you made a dock and cooling system, you could add like 10 Pi's in a really small space, all with the micro SD cards easily accessible. If you used something like Pi Bakery, you could preconfigure the OS, without ever needing the removed components, and then control them remotely through SSH.

CONCLUSION

So that's the Pi Slim 2, an interesting prototype, that may be useful for setting up adhoc Linux systems, or perhaps as a compact Pi 3 cluster form factor. What do you think about it?

I'm also working on a bigger, and better full node design for the Pi 3, which is aimed at heavier workloads, so look out for that in the future.

Anyways, thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.

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BY NODE