Assemble Radxa X4 3M Board Stack
These instructions show how to assemble a stack of RPI5 boards for your PicoCluster. These photos show how to assemble a 3 board stack.
Please contact support@picocluster.com if you encounter any difficulties.
Step 1 – Prepare the Boards
Open the packages and apply the heat sinks as shown. Each heat sink has a peel-off backing allowing it to stick to the chips.
The CPU is actually on the bottom of the board and so the heat sink needs to be placed on top of the CPU. It is a tight fight and must be placed exactly.
Step 2 – Assemble the Board Stack
The Radxa X4 stack needs to be assembled upside down so that the heat sink is on the top.
Assembly will start with the top-most board and continue downward. Use a pair of 1" standoffs as shown. Make sure the board is upside down with the heat sink up and the standoff threads are on the top.
The standoffs only need to be snug, not wrenched tight together.
Continue to add boards to the stack from the bottom using the 1" M/F standoffs as shown.
Step 3 – Mount the PDU
Attach the PDU to the top of the stack using the 1/4" standoffs as shown. Place the PDU upside down as shown.
Step 4 – Connect the Power Cables
Connect each power cable to each PI as shown. The RPI4 uses USB-A to USB-C cables.There is one USB-A to 5.5mm DC Power cable to power the switch.
Plug each power cable into the PDU on top as shown. The cables can be tied to the standoff with a cable tie as shown.
Next Steps – Assemble Your Cube
Move on the the assembly instructions for your particular cluster cube. The Pico 10 requires 2 board stacks and the Pico 20 requires 4 board stacks.