BrewPi Case 2.0 assembly guide.

We redesigned the BrewPi Case to be more compact and to look better. Meet version 2.0!

This is the step-by-step assembly guide for version 2.0. It will take you through assembling the Arduino and shield case, the Raspberry Pi case and connecting the temperature sensors and SSRs. You can find the guide for version 1.0 of the case here.

BrewPi Case 2.0 with sensors and actuators

 

Step 1: parts

Check your parts, you should have the these parts lying in front of you:

  • The BrewPi case kit, which contains the laser-cut panels, protected by green foil. The bag of nuts and bolts should contain these parts:
    Amount    PartType
    12M3DIN 934
    12M3x16mmDIN 7985
    8M3x8mmDIN 7985
    8M2.5mmDIN 934
    4M2.5x12mmDIN 7985
    4M2.5x16mmDIN 7985
    4White threaded spacer10mm
    22M3 plastic washerDIN 125
    16M2.5 plastic washerDIN 125
  • An Arduino Uno or Leonardo
  • An assembled BrewPi Arduino shield
  • A 20×4 character LCD display
  • A 10 pin IDC cable (comes with the shield)
  • A bag of green pluggable terminals (comes with the shield)

 

brewpi case and internals

Overview of the unassembled BrewPi case and all internals.

For assembling the case you will need a Phillips screwdriver and some patience. If you have not soldered your parts go to these instructions first before assembling your BrewPi case. If you don’t have the parts for the BrewPi case you can buy them from the BrewPi shop or download the files and laser them yourself.

In all steps, do not over-tighten the bolts! The acrylic can break if you apply too much force.

 

Step 2: mount the Arduino to the back plate

We’ll start by mounting the Arduino to the back plate of the case. Start with these parts:

  • Case back plate
  • Arduino
  • 8x M3 bolts (the smallest ones)
  • 4x white threaded PCB spacer
  • 4x M3 plastic washers

 

back panel, spacers, bolts, washers

First get 4 threaded spaces, 4 M3x8mm bolts, 4 washers and the back plate.


Peeling off the protective foil

Peel off the protective foil on both sides of the panel. This is needed in every step, but we’ll only mention it here.


Mounting the Arduino spacers

Mount 4 threaded spacers to the panel, with a washer between the bolt head and the panel. Pay attention to the round feet of the panel and mount the spacers to the correct side.


Back panel with Arduino spacers

This should be the end result, your Arduino will sit on these spacers.


Mounting the Arduino to the back plate

Get your Arduino and mount it on top of the spacers, using the other four M3x8mm bolts and 4 spacers. The bolt on the front right, next to the reset button won’t fit: the header is in the way. Arduino extended the header a few years ago, but never moved the hole, for ‘backwards compatibility’. Just skip that bolt and only use 3.

 

Step 3: mount the LCD display to the front panel

These are the parts you will need to mount the LCD:

  • 4x M2.5 bolts and nuts
  • 8x M2.5 washers
  • 8x laser cut spacers
  • The front plate

breaking off laser cut spacers

We laser cut 11 spacers (1 spare) to create some distance between the LCD board and the front panel. The laser cut spacers are attached to a bar, break them off to use them.


Assembling LCD and front panel

Your sandwich should look like this, from bottom to top: bolt, washer, panel, spacer, spacer, LCD, washer, nut.


Front panel and LCD assembled

If you’ve done it correctly, the display should line up nicely with the panel.

 

Step 4: Assembling the Arduino case

Our next step is to finish the BrewPi Arduino case, you will need:

  • 8 M3x16mm bolts and nuts and washers
  • The back and front panel you just assembled, 4 side panels and the bottom and top panel.
  • An assembled shield
  • The rotary encoder knob, washer and nut
  • The 10 pin display cable

Arduino case parts and internals

Overview of the parts needed to assemble the Arduino case.


breaking shield into separate boards

Break the assembled shield into separate boards.


breaking off the mouse bites with pliers

The boards were held together by small tabs called mouse bites. Break them off using some pliers.


Put the shield on top of the Arduino and firmly press it down.

Put the shield on top of the Arduino and firmly press it down.


Adjusting the LCD contrast potmeter

On the back of the LCD backpack is a small trimmer resistor (or potentiometer) to control the contrast of the display.
Turn it to the position shown in the photo for maximum contrast. If your display appears blank, the cause could be that the contrast is set too low.


LCD backpack mounted

Put the LCD backpack onto the LCD.


OneWire distribution board and top panel

For the OneWire distribution board, you have two options: you mount it on top of the case and plug sensors into the case, or you mount it inside your fridge and plug in all your OneWire devices (e.g. temperature sensors) locally.
So this step is optional. If you want to mount the OneWire breakout board on top of the case, you should mount it to the top panel now. You need two M2.5x12mm bolts, two nuts and two washers.


OneWire board on top panel

Pay attention to the orientation of the PCB and panel. The holes are off-center, but the board should be centered on the panel.


side view of top panel with OneWire board

This sandwich top to bottom: bolt, PCB, small OneWire panel, case top panel, washer, nut. The bolt heads are a tight fit between the connectors, but it fits.


Cable between shield and LCD backpack

Connect the LCD backpack to the shield with the 10 pin rainbow cable.

 

Rotary encoder in panel

Insert the rotary encoder through the side panel, order: rotary encoder, washer, panel, hex ring, knob.
Put the washer on the inside, between the rotary encoder and the panel, to prevents scratches.


Putting the BrewPi case together.

We are finally ready to assemble the case. The easiest way to put the case together is to lay the Arduino panel flat on the table, insert the side panels and put the front panel with the LCD on top.


Screwing the front panel to the side panels.

Keep the construction standing on the back panel and insert the bolts through the top panel, don’t forget the plastic washer. The nut will pull the side panels into the front panel. Don’t over-tighten these bolts or the acrylic will crack. 4 bolts will hold the front panel in place.


Flipping the case

If you have tightened the 4 bolts of the front panel, pick up the case like this and flip it over.


Mouting the back panel

Repeat the process on the back panel.

Finished BrewPi Arduino case.

BrewPi Arduino case - top view

Top view of the BrewPi Arduino case.

 

Step 5: assembling the Raspberry Pi case

For this step you will need:

  • A Raspberry Pi
  • Two M2.5x12mm bolts, six M2.5 plastic washers and two M2.5 nuts
  • Four M3x16mm bolts, plastic washers and nuts
  • The Raspberry Pi case panels

Parts to assemble the Raspberry Pi case

Parts to assemble the Raspberry Pi case.


Raspberry Pi standoffs

Start by fastening the Pi to the bottom plate, with the following sandwich: M2.5x12mm bolt, washer, bottom panel, laser-cut spacer, raspberry pi, washer, nut. The easiest way to do it is to lay the panel flat onto the table.


Rpi mounted

The Pi is fastened to the bottom board.


Putting the rpi case together

We’ll use the same tactic as with the Arduino case: Put the panel with the micro USB power connector flat on the table. Attach the side panels to the bottom panel and insert them into the panel on the table.


Raspberry Pi case standing on its side

With all sides assembled, the construction is stable enough to stand, even without screws.


fasten the final panel

Add the final panel and fasten it with 2 M3 bolts, washers and nuts.


Raspberry Pi case final step

Now flip it over and do the other side.


Raspberry Pi case done

Done!

 

Step 6: putting all parts together

Now that you have successfully assembled the case, it is time to connect sensors and SSRs.

Pluggable terminal

You will have received a lot of these green pluggable terminals. The part in this photo is screwed to a cable or temperature sensor, you can then simply plug it into the shield or the OneWire breakout board. When you look into the connector, you see 3 lift cages. Screw them all the way down, insert a stripped cable and screw them back up.


Inserting cables into the lift cage

When inserting the cables, pay attention not to screw the isolation in with the strands! Make sure only the stripped part goes into the lift cage.

 

Pluggable terminal connected to temp sensor.

A temperature sensor with a pluggable terminal.
These are the old sensors! The new high temperature proof sensors have different colors, see below!


Caution! Red is the DATA wire, green is the 5V wire!

Caution! Red is the DATA wire, green is the 5V wire! Be careful, putting 5V on the wring wire might damage the sensor.

Short OneWire cable

If you mount the OneWire board on top of the case, make a short cable like this to connect it to the shield. If you mount the OneWire board somewhere else, make a longer cable.

Connection between OneWire board and shield.

The cable in use on the case. Pay attention to the colors, especially red (5V).


The temperature sensors plugged into the OneWire board.

The temperature sensors plugged into the OneWire board. (attention: old sensors, wire colors might not be the same as yours)


wiring an SSR

Take some two-stranded wire to connect your SSRs. The easiest way to connect the wire to the SSR is to twist a wire around the bolt, then screw it in back into the SSR.


Screwing the leads to the SSR

Pay attention to the + and – signs on the SSR. Use red wire for +. After connecting the cable, you can put the plastic cover back on.


Terminal for the SSR

On the terminal for the SSR, the + (red wire) should go on the right.


The SSR terminal plugged into the shield.

The SSR terminals plugged into the shield.


BrewPi Arduino case with temperature sensors and SSRs connected.

Done! Everything connected.

The next step would be to install the firmware and configure your sensors and actuators in the device manager. We recommend you go through the documentation on docs.brewpi.com.

6 Comments

  1. RJ on March 10, 2014 at 20:21

    Are the drawing files available for case 2.0? On thingiverse, I only see the original brewpi files.

  2. Brooke Heaton on May 3, 2014 at 18:09

    Awesome. I guess the thing I’m still not seeing is how the power connects to the cooling system (I am using a Peltier tile) and to the SSR.

  3. Nick Madaffer on June 3, 2014 at 18:52

    Excellent guide. Just finished my first brewpi build.

  4. Matt on February 10, 2015 at 06:31

    Hey Elco, I’m building my first BrewPi and would love one of these cases. Are you planning to produce and sell any more of them?

    • Elco on March 7, 2015 at 20:16

      The cases for the Arduino have been discontinued, because we are not selling Arduino kits anymore, sorry!

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