Most cyberdecks are built to travel: a hard case, a battery, a keyboard bolted into the lid. But a lot of us want the look and the always-on Linux box without the backpack. CJ-9 is our answer: a 3D printed Raspberry Pi 5 desk cyberdeck with a 4.3 inch touchscreen, an NVMe SSD inside, and an armoured shell that leans back on its own stand like a terminal pulled off a starship. We designed it, printed it, and use it every day. Here is everything that goes into it, and how to get the files for free.
The short answer
CJ-9 is a two-part print: an armoured screen case that holds a Raspberry Pi 5, the Active Cooler, an NVMe HAT with an M.2 SSD and a Waveshare 4.3 inch DSI touchscreen, plus a stand that tilts it back 25 degrees. It prints in PLA on one 256 mm plate, goes together with the screws that come with the screen, four standoff extenders and four M3 self-tapping screws, and boots straight from the SSD. Enter your email below and the print files and the full step-by-step assembly guide are yours, free.
- What is CJ-9?
- Why build a desk cyberdeck
- Raspberry Pi 5 cyberdeck parts list
- Print settings
- How it goes together
- Booting the Pi 5 from NVMe
- Get the free STL files and assembly guide
- FAQ
What is CJ-9?
CJ-9 is a small desk computer built around a Raspberry Pi 5. The screen faces you, the Pi and its SSD sit in a deep armoured shell right behind it, and a printed stand holds the whole thing at a comfortable reading angle. Nothing is glued, nothing is painted: every panel line, vent and badge is printed in place.
The case
- Holds the 4.3 inch DSI touchscreen behind a printed bezel
- Deep enough for the Pi 5, Active Cooler, NVMe HAT and a full 2280 SSD
- Layered armour panels, a CJ-9 hero plate, slat vents and a light bar
- Framed port windows on the side, so every Pi port stays reachable
The stand
- Leans the deck back at 25 degrees, the angle that won our test prints
- Louvre vents that print cleanly with no stringing
- A wide foot that sits flush under the case
- Four M3 self-tapping screws, no inserts, no glue
Why build a desk cyberdeck
A classic cyberdeck build spends most of its effort on portability: batteries, hinges, latches, a keyboard that folds away. A desk deck skips all of that and keeps the fun part, a dedicated little Linux machine that looks like equipment instead of a beige box.
- A home for the jobs that never stop: a system monitor, a home automation dashboard, a print farm view, a music player, a chat window, a terminal that is always one glance away.
- Fast and quiet storage: booting from an NVMe SSD instead of a microSD card makes the Pi 5 feel like a real computer, and SSDs handle constant writes far better than cards.
- Touch first: the capacitive screen means you can tap through a dashboard without a keyboard. Plug one in, USB or Bluetooth, when you want to type.
- It just sits there and looks good. That counts.
If you are still choosing between boards, our ESP32 vs Raspberry Pi guide explains when a Pi 5 is the right brain and when a microcontroller is.
Raspberry Pi 5 cyberdeck parts list
This is exactly what is inside our deck. The case is built around the specific screen and HAT below, so stick to those two; everything else can be any equivalent.
| Part | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi 5 | 1 | Ours is the 8 GB. 4 GB is plenty for a desk deck. |
| Raspberry Pi 5 Active Cooler | 1 | Sits on the Pi, under the NVMe HAT. |
| Waveshare 4.3 inch capacitive touch display, 800x480, DSI | 1 | The screen the case is built around. Required. |
| iUniker NVMe HAT for Raspberry Pi 5 (PCIe to M.2) | 1 | The HAT the case is built around. Takes 2230 to 2280 drives. |
| M.2 2280 NVMe SSD | 1 | Ours is a 256 GB Patriot P320. The Pi boots from it. |
| microSD card | 1 | For the first boot, then it stays in as a fallback. |
| 27 W USB-C power supply (5 V, 5 A) | 1 | The official Pi 5 supply. The SSD needs the headroom. |
| M2.5 x 18 mm male-to-female standoffs | 4 | Screw into the screen's brass standoffs to give the NVMe HAT and SSD room. 18 mm body, M2.5. |
| M3 self-tapping screws, head 5.5 mm or less | 4 | Stand to case. The holes are sized for 14 mm. |
| Keyboard and mouse | optional | Any USB or Bluetooth set, or just use the touchscreen. |
The screen comes with brass standoffs and screws: the Pi mounts on the standoffs, and the screws go in from outside the case into the extenders. That's all the hardware holding the electronics. The official Active Cooler is worth it in an enclosed case: the Pi 5 throttles when it runs hot, and a deck that sits on all day will find out. The full guide lists every part we used. Raspberry Pi prices have moved a lot this year, so see our note on the Raspberry Pi price increase before you shop.
Print settings
Both parts fit on a single 256 x 256 mm plate, and the download includes a ready Bambu Studio project with everything placed and set.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Material | PLA (ours is matte black) |
| Layer height | 0.2 mm |
| Walls | 2 |
| Infill | 15% |
| Supports | Tree, auto |
| Orientation | Case on its back face, stand as placed in the project |
| Filament and time | Shown in the Bambu Studio project once you slice |
PLA is fine here. This is a ventilated desk deck with an active cooler, not a sealed box in a hot car. If yours will live somewhere warm, PETG is the safer pick. Our cyberdeck case ideas guide compares PLA, PETG and ASA.
How it goes together
The short version is below. The free guide walks through every step with pictures, cable routing and the exact standoff stack.
- Print the case and stand. Remove the supports and test-fit the screen in the bezel before anything else.
- Prepare the Pi. Fit the Active Cooler, then flash Raspberry Pi OS to the microSD card and make sure it boots.
- Build the stack. Mount the Pi on the brass standoffs that come with the screen, connect the DSI ribbon, then fit the NVMe HAT and SSD.
- Add the extenders. Screw the male-to-female extenders into the brass standoffs so the case clears the HAT and SSD.
- Into the case. Lower the stack in, screen first, until it sits in the bezel.
- Screw it in from outside. Four screws from the screen kit through the case's back corners into the extenders.
- Mount the stand. Four M3 self-tapping screws through the stand's back plate into the case.
- Power on. Plug in the 27 W supply, then move the system to the SSD (next section).
Booting the Pi 5 from NVMe
The Pi 5 can boot straight from an NVMe drive. The simplest route is the one we used: boot once from the microSD card, copy the system to the SSD, set the boot order to NVMe first, and leave the card in as a fallback. If the SSD ever fails, the deck still starts.
Raspberry Pi's own documentation covers the boot order settings, and the free guide has the exact steps we used on CJ-9.
Get the free STL files and assembly guide
The CJ-9 files are free. Enter your email below and the download appears right away, with a copy in your inbox:
- The print files: the case and stand as STLs, plus the ready-to-print Bambu Studio project.
- The full assembly guide: a step-by-step PDF with photos, the standoff stack, cable routing and the NVMe boot steps.
- The full parts list for everything we used.
You also hear first when we release the next deck. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
FAQ
Can I use a different screen?
Not without changing the model. The case and bezel are built around the Waveshare 4.3 inch DSI touchscreen, so other screens will not fit.
Do I need the NVMe SSD?
This version is sized for the NVMe HAT and SSD. A shallower version without the SSD is on the way.
Is 4 GB of RAM enough?
Yes for a desk deck running dashboards, a terminal and a browser. Ours has 8 GB.
Does it need a keyboard?
No. The touchscreen works on its own, and any USB or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse work when you want to type.
What printer do I need?
Any printer with a bed of about 256 by 256 mm prints both parts in one go. The download includes a Bambu Studio project, and the STLs work in any slicer.
Is it really free?
Yes. Enter your email and the download buttons appear right away.
More from the lab
Full disclosure: CJ-9 is ours, and so is everything else on this site. We are a small shop that builds sci-fi objects by hand: the CyberLamp, a spiral reactor lamp you control from your phone, and GLIDE, a pocket synthesizer that is ready to play the moment you switch it on. If CJ-9 is your kind of thing, they probably are too.
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