# 3D printed plastic spacer to enable fan cooling and vents? **URL:** \ **Category:** uConsole\ **Created:** [July 22, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755 "2025-07-22T15:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pgamble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@pgamble](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pgamble)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/1 "2025-07-22T15:20:11Z")
Hi all Anyone thought of printing a spacer to go between front and rear case that would provide enough space for CM5 fan. Would need power from somewhere and could have vents in the plastic spacer to allow heat to escape. If there is one, can someone point me to STL / STEP so I can try? Paul ---
**Author:** ![white-round-square](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/white-round-square/32/10385_2.png) [@white-round-square](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/white-round-square)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/2 "2025-07-22T19:38:34Z")
not a spacer, but check these posts: > [@Thermal Camera works well!](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/thermal-camera-works-well/18727): > > I purchased a thermal imaging camera from [Waveshare.com](http://Waveshare.com) and tried to connect it to UC After communicating with customer service, it was learned that this thermal imaging camera does not natively support Linux or Raspberry Pi and requires self debugging of the software, After continuous efforts, I am very happy to finally obtain imaging on UC Thermal Camera: [https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/Thermal\_USB\_Camera\_(C)](https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/Thermal_USB_Camera_(C)) Tutorial: [GitHub - HarryLee-CN/t…](https://github.com/HarryLee-CN/thermal-camera-tutorial) > [@uConsole with CM4 & CM5 - with and without Waveshare board](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/uconsole-with-cm4-cm5-with-and-without-waveshare-board/18642/21): > > My current solution for the CM5. I wired a waveshare heatsink and fan to the the spare usb pinout of the sdr board. I also added a switch so i can control when it runs. It brings it back down to 33-35 in about a minute. I had to cut open the back for heat sink clearance. ---
**Author:** ![pgamble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@pgamble](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pgamble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 1:46pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/3 "2025-07-25T13:46:10Z")
Why would you detract from one person’s post to promote something else completely different? I appreciate the other reply re heatsink and cutting hole in rear of case. My uConsole is new, so I’m hoping to avoid damaging the original parts. It seems to me that if someone could create a 3 printed spacer (perhaps only 4-5mm thick, we could have a fan on the CM5 processor with a number of slots in the spacer for airflow. This would mean to changes to the original case (so could change back to that whenever required) but offering a proper cooling option that could look decent at very little cost and with very little additional thickness. I will look to do myself, but if someone has already done something like this, do let me know. Paul ---
**Author:** ![pgamble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@pgamble](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/pgamble)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/4 "2025-07-25T14:00:51Z")
I was thinking of one of the following active coolers. What I would need is suitable longer screws for the case. Does anyone know where I could source black screws of the same time as the uConsole uses, only perhaps 7-12mm longer? ![IMG_4445](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/3/34595167c6f25fd44a231e9b6e8204724d74e546.jpeg) ![IMG_4448](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/9/935a0cbf05d7af64c7bdc2c13a1b779d54d9e699.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![entimel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/db5fbb/32.png) [@entimel](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/entimel)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/5 "2025-07-28T04:30:32Z")
This would be useful. Please do 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lanthar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/lanthar/32/11106_2.png) [@Lanthar](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Lanthar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 5:43am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/6 "2026-05-09T05:43:00Z")
请问有结果么？我想法和你差不多，也是想在不改变背面外观的情况下改善散热。我尝试切割了2mm厚度的金属中框垫片，但是会显著增加uc的整机重量和手感，不过这样安装内置风扇肯定没有问题的，只不过我还没找到合适的pwm风扇接口，我不太希望风扇全速运行。 实际上，我最近也想到了不增加中框的情况下增加内置风扇的方法，这对风扇的选型比较严谨，我遇到两个问题，一是小心风扇的散热能力和耗电功率，二是风扇的pwm接口。 我现在的被动散热方案一般在40-50度左右，我想我稍后会尝试去实施，因为夏天又来了。 ---
**Author:** ![Wander\_Menezes](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/wander_menezes/32/16547_2.png) [@Wander\_Menezes](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Wander_Menezes)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/3d-printed-plastic-spacer-to-enable-fan-cooling-and-vents/18755/7 "2026-09-14T19:06:16Z")
Enjoy!! > [@A New Spacer — Giving the uConsole Some Room to Breathe](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/a-new-spacer-giving-the-uconsole-some-room-to-breathe/23338): > > Hey everyone, It has been a long time since I last posted here. As always, I try to share useful things with the community. I have already written quite a bit about temperature, and one of my criticisms of the uConsole is its enclosed design. This makes heat dissipation difficult, causing heat to build up inside the device. With that in mind, I designed this spacer, which adds something the uConsole did not have before: ventilation. The small gaps allow air to circulate both into and out of t…