Metal Cooling Case for ROCK Pi 5B ARM Single Board Computer

ROCK 5B Metal Case is a precision CNC‑machined enclosure designed for the ROCK 5B Single Board Computer. The rugged aluminum housing combines mechanical protection with efficient thermal management, helping maintain stable performance during demanding embedded workloads. A bottom heat‑dissipation structure transfers heat away from critical components, reducing operating temperature while maintaining a clean, compact form factor. This protective SBC enclosure also features a streamlined assembly structure that simplifies installation while ensuring reliable structural support for the ROCK Pi 5B platform in development, prototyping, and deployment environments.

Integrated CNC Aluminum Structure

Precision CNC machining provides a strong and durable enclosure for the ROCK Pi 5B platform while maintaining an attractive industrial finish. The solid metal housing protects delicate electronics from physical damage, vibration, and accidental contact during operation. Compared with plastic enclosures, this aluminum SBC case offers improved rigidity and structural stability, making the protective chassis suitable for embedded computing installations, robotics controllers, edge computing nodes, and other environments where mechanical durability and long‑term reliability are essential.

Bottom Heat Dissipation Design

An integrated heat‑dissipation structure on the base improves thermal transfer from the processor and surrounding components. Heat moves efficiently from the SOC area through the thermal interface to the metal chassis, allowing the enclosure itself to function as a passive cooling surface. This thermal management approach helps maintain stable temperatures during high processing loads, supporting consistent operation for media processing, AI workloads, robotics control systems, and other compute‑intensive single‑board computer applications.

Quick and Straightforward Installation

The enclosure adopts a practical installation structure that simplifies assembly of the single‑board computer and cooling interface. Alignment points and copper pillars ensure accurate positioning of the SBC inside the housing, while thermal grease and silicone pads provide effective heat conduction between components and the metal shell. The straightforward installation process reduces setup complexity and helps maintain reliable thermal contact between the processor, storage modules, and the enclosure body.

Installation Process

1. Apply thermal grease to the cylindrical part of the heat sink and the SOC area of the ROCK Pi 5B.

Figure: Installation steps of metal case and ROCK 5B single board computer

2. Align the SOC as shown in the diagram and place the board into the heat sink.

Figure: Installation step of metal case and ROCK 5B single board computer

3. Ensure cylindrical parts of the plastic side frames align with the correct positions on the enclosure.

Figure: How to install case and ROCK 5B single board computer

4. Align the four copper pillars on the bottom shell with the exposed copper areas of the ROCK Pi 5B. Correct orientation is required during installation.

Figure: Install case and ROCK 5B single board computer tutorial

5. Apply thermal silicone gel to the NVME module with a thickness of at least 3mm.

This CNC aluminum enclosure is suitable for protecting and cooling ROCK Pi 5B systems used in robotics control units, edge AI platforms, embedded media servers, smart gateways, and industrial computing prototypes. The durable SBC case improves thermal stability and mechanical protection, making the single‑board computer platform more reliable for long‑term deployment in maker projects, laboratory testing setups, and compact embedded devices.