Normally I don’t post things until they are actually done, but this one has me a bit excited. I finished modeling the bottom of the framework laptop this evening with the intention of making a backpack that is held on with passthru expansion card slots and magnets. I did a single layer print of half of the base and it’s looking real promising. There’s roughly 23x14cm of usable space underneath the chassis after you account for ventilation and mechanical attachment points.
Tomorrow I’ll print a full scale model and then start working on the passthru ports and the attachment points.
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Very cool! Any chance you can share your model of the base plate? I’m planning on making a custom dock but am still waiting to get my framework in Batch 2.
@frosty that’s the plan . I want to print a full size base first just to make sure all the measurements are spot on and then I’ll put out the fusion 360 project for everyone to use probably by the end of this weekend. The connectors are gonna be a little challenging and might require a custom cable, but I found some short TB3 flat extension cables on amazon that are on their way so maybe not.
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Awesome! Thanks for doing the first mover leg work 
What will be the intent of the backpack? A mobile charging dock or some such?
no clue but I figure once i have a good case to work with I’ll figure something out or other people will. Some hills just beg to be climbed.
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There are two files I am working on so far. the first one (backpack) is the base itself . There are two files in that project, base and base-extruded. Base is just a nice checkpoint to get you back to the original drawings and base-extruded is for folks that just want a quick print.
I have a 12 inch printer and this fills the bed, so if you are rocking a prusa you’re gonna need to split this file in half.
The other file is connector and is the one I’m heavily working on. It needs to mimic a card and be a card receiver and, ultimately, be merged into Base.
Have fun!
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I’ve been hunting around and I’m pretty sure some of the XPS batteries will fit in here. the challenge is going to be making it controllable so it’s not always trying to charge the built in battery. Sort of like a manual transfer tank on a 4x4, hit the switch, get extra fuel. I think I’m gonna try to fit a USB hub and attach the guts of a dock, but we’ll see. It’s in the universe now friends, have fun!
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The thunderbolt extension cables just arrived. You can see how they should work inside of the expansion slots.
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Great work! This is exactly the sort of thing I was going to look into as soon as I got mine. I was thinking of the possibility of a battery and/or a small compartment with a couple of USB2 ports for small devices that don’t generate heat (RF receivers, SD readers, etc) akin to the sort found on the Alienware steambox machines from a few years back.
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I see the magnets holding it I assume temporarily? How are you planning on having it hold on longer term?
The magnets are there to align it. That second file (connector) is what will hold it on. Basically turning the expansion slots into passthru mechanical fasteners and using TB passthru cables to relocate the expansion slots to the dock. I’ll probably still need to do something towards the far side away from the expansion slots to keep it from racking if you put something like a battery in there, but one step at a time
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@Scratch Would it make sense to open the expansion port area up more? Currently you can’t depress the release button on the bottom of that base is attached.
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the idea is that this is a base that you will fill so the next part of this backpack is the cover and a passthru button that aligns with the release button. Does that make sense?
@Scratch yes, I believe I can envision what your describing. Look forward to seeing it in a final form.
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Great job! I’m still undecided about buying the actual laptop. I was looking for a model of the case to potentially make a protective shell.
I hope this machine will run Fusion 360 well
I’m running Fusion on mine just fine. It yells at you at first about the graphics card being an issue, but it does that on any machine that doesn’t have a dedicated GPU. It works a treat with an eGPU and fusion.