Modding the Intellijel Palette case to be 84HP instead of 62HP wide.
In my opinion, the Intellijel palette cases are almost the perfect eurorack cases. 4U, low profile, really well made, lots of useful jacks on top. Almost perfect, because the 62HP is always too small, and the 104HP always too big. 84HP would be the perfect size for me at least, but no-one makes such a case. So I took matters into my own hands, dismembered my 62HP palette case and made my own.
I’m not affiliated with Intellijel or any other mentioned company.
This was born as a hobby project to build a case that fits my needs.
Following this guide will probably void your warranty.
I’m not an engineer or electronics expert, so proceed with caution
and at your own risk. I’m not responsible for any harm done to
you or your belongings.
Pictures
Customize / CAD
Bill of materials
Build guide
Some final words
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- Add some kind of connector piece when splitting the main body (or reduce M4 hole tolerance), there’s currently a little wiggle room along the rods. Either align the halves carefully or add some connectors to make your life easier
- Slightly increase the hole width of the mult/midi jacks (CAD or file)
| Amount | Item | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1pcs | case body | I’ve printed mine split in half on a Bambu P1S) There is an optional variation with a GX12 port on the top right, to extend the case power to other cases |
| 2pcs | side panels (print) | Both sides are identical, but I recommend mirroring them to get the same finish on both outside faces |
| 2pcs | side panels (cut) | Both sides are identical, but I recommend mirroring them to get the same finish on both outside faces |
| 3pcs | pcb spacers |
I’ve printed in PLA, and I disabled the AUX fan and opened up the lid on my Bambu P1S because I had slight warping issues on the first test pieces. I recommend placing the two halves with the outside on the build plate, so you don’t get the rough build plate texture on the connecting parts of the two halves. My print took about 20 hours and used up almost 560g of filament (this is with wooden side panels, add about 1h50m and 70g of filament with printed sides).
My 3D print settings (more a point of reference than a guide, use your preferred/fine-tuned settings:
- 0.2mm layer height
- 2 walls (use 3-4)
- 15% infill
- No supports needed!
The wooden sides were cut from 3mm walnut plywood on a Creality Falcon A1 10W, with the default 3mm walnut settings and a honeycomb grid.
| Amount | Item | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Intellijel Palette 62 | PCB and all panel mount nuts, see build guide | |
| 5pcs | M4 threaded rod (445mm long) | I bought 3x 1000mm rods and cut them to length |
| 10pcs | M4 lock nut | Loctite also works |
| 3pcs | M3x20mm screw | use one with the thinnest head you can find, anything thicker than 2.5mm will protrude beyond the side panels |
| M3 square sliding nuts | count the numbers of holes on the modules you want to use, and add a few extra. One for every 4-6HP should be plenty | |
| Optional | 4x threaded strip | if you’re not a crazy person like me |
| Optional | wood stain / oil of your choice | for laser cut sides |
| Optional | GX12 3-pin socket | for power extension Amazon |
| Optional | 11pcs Befaco Bananuts in different colors | see build guide |
The palettes are very well designed, to a point where you have to be extra careful when taking it apart to not break something, because it’s all fit to precision. This is a little guide, but proceed with caution and at your own risk – I’m not responsible for any damages to your cases.
Again, proceed at your own risk, and the next steps will void your warranty.
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Remove the 6 top screws and carefully take out the rails. Don’t loose the threaded strips, they can just slide out
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Hold onto the four little nuts with a wrench, and remove the four shorter screws. Now you can take off the sides
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Remove all the nuts and washers from all the jacks on top of the panel and put them in a safe place
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Flip the case around and remove the three screws holding the PCB from the bottom. There are three little white washers between the PCB and the case which sit very tight, take those out as well – store both in a safe place
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Also remove the top two rubber feet. Just pull on them gently and wiggle them out
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The holes for all the jacks are actually slightly elongated. You have to tilt the PCB bit by bit, to slowly wiggle it out. It’s in there very tight, go really slow and make sure not to bend or break anything. Regularly check all the jacks, they tend to get caught on the metal shell, especially the 6.3mm plastic ones. Also watch the LEDs, they tend to get stuck and bend. It can help to insert a wooden stick (I’ve used a screwdriver – don’t!) between the case and the PCB, to slightly push the bottom of the PCB towards freedom. Again – be very careful!
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Once the PCB is free, you can take the shell, rails and all the screws from the sides and the bottom and put them into storage, you won’t be needing them for the rest of the build
- Optional: when using the GX12 version, solder a power connector to the jack and add it first
- Take your threaded rods and add a lock nut on one end of each
- Slide on the right side panel
- Slide on the right half of the case
- Slide on the left half of the case
- Make sure the two halves are perfectly aligned
- Slide in the PCB, push it up and secure it with 2-3 nuts (I used a knife to widen the holes for the MIDI jack and the one on it’s left, they were a bit tight. Not sure if that’s caused by the printer or a wrong measurement)
- Put in the three spacers below the PCB and secure them using the M3x20mm screws. Do one at a time, they’re quite a tight fit
- Put on all the other washers and nuts on the panel. You can also use Befaco Bananuts on all the 3.5mm Jacks to help identify them later
- Insert your sliding nuts / threaded strips
- Put on the left side panel
- (I used a nut as a spacer and cut my threaded rods to length at this stage, doing it beforehand is easier)
- Add the remaining lock nuts and tighten everything down. Don’t go too hard, it’s all just plastic and you don’t want to break something
- Add power cables and modules
- Enjoy!
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