A bunch of Raspberry Pi enthusiasts have fashioned a laptop shell using a 3D printer to house a Raspberry Pi, 13.3” 1366 x 768 HD TFT LCD screen, keyboard, WiFi, touchpad and a battery to give up to 8 hrs operating time. The Pi-Top build-it-yourself laptop is true to the original RPi concept and the design team hope the kit price will make it possible for anyone to build and operate their own laptop computer.

According to the official Pi-Top website "The Pi-Top Kit provides a basis to expand your knowledge in hardware and software innovation. Build and understand your own Raspberry Pi Model B+ powered laptop. We take you through each component and its functionality, so that you can use the Pi-Top as a tool for your own build projects in the future"

The team at Pi-Top will also be providing free tuition or ‘innovation lessons’ so that users can learn how to design PCBs and create their own products. The prototype case took about 160 hours to print using a Rostock Max V2 Kit with an E3D metal hotend. The team are planning a Kickstarter campaign to launch the complete kit in the near future. If you are planning a Raspberry Pi project don't forget to check out the tools, books and hardware available from the Elektor website.