DFCD cyberdeck: CAD files for a modular FreeCAD machine

A portable computer designed around FreeCAD, with a screen that slides

The DesignatedFreeCadDevice is a modular cyberdeck, and the README is clear about the priority: it was built to run FreeCAD. The stated reason is practical rather than nostalgic. The author wanted to open and modify CAD files while in the workshop, and the same machine also handles browsing, PDFs and general computing.

The physical idea is a sliding screen with a keyboard hidden underneath. The keyboard is a full depth mechanical one, which the author wanted available when actually typing, but it stays out of sight the rest of the time. That single mechanism explains most of the unusual layout decisions in the rest of the design.

The name is a little confusing for newcomers, so it is worth being explicit about what this repository is. It is a set of CAD files for a device other people are expected to manufacture themselves, not a software project and not a firmware image. There is no build script, no package manifest and no source code in the repository. What you get is geometry and a parts list.

One central core, and modules that dock to bottom rails

The device is built around a central core, and the modularity comes from what attaches to it. The core accepts two kinds of module. Some work as input devices, such as the trackball and the scrolling handle, and others deliver power to the machine. The input and power roles are separate modules rather than fixed parts of the chassis.

Both kinds of module connect to bottom rails with power and signals, which is what makes the system expandable rather than merely compartmented. The author is explicit that the DFCD is meant to be modified: you can build it as it ships, change the modules, redesign the rails, replace the electronics, or lift parts of the system into a project of your own. New modules designed by others are actively wanted.

Peripherals hang off the left side, where the ports for external devices live, and the front facing modules carry mounting points for a shoulder strap. A lever on the rear of the central unit releases the sliding screen. A dragchain is part of the design set as well, which is the usual way a moving screen keeps its cables attached under repeated opening and closing.

The power module turns NP-F cells into a 5.1 volt rail for the Pi

Power enters through a dedicated module rather than through the core. The power module accepts NP-F batteries, and the README states that it sends 7.2 volts to the chassis, where it is converted to 5.1 volts for the Raspberry Pi. Two details follow from that description. The conversion happens in the chassis, not in the battery module, so the power module is a battery holder and injector rather than a full power supply. And the NP-F cells are the removable part, which is what allows the machine to run for a workshop session away from a socket.

Cable routing is by design rather than by accident: the README notes that cables run along the backside and transfer USB between the modules. That matters for the modular system, because a module that carries data needs a physical path to the core, and the underside cable run is that path.

For anyone planning a build, the voltage chain is the first thing to verify against the cells and the board you plan to use, because the conversion target is stated as 5.1 volts rather than a more conventional 5.0. That figure is what the drawings and the wiring assume.

The trackball module is not self-contained yet

The project status section is the most useful part of the README for anyone deciding whether to build. The screen works, the keyboard types, and the trackball rolls. What has not been done is the scrolling handle and the connection module on the left side, which are not yet wired up.

The trackball carries a bigger caveat. Its electronics are currently harvested from a Logitech trackball marble, meaning you have to source one in order to build that module. The author is direct that this is not optimal and states an intention to build his own trackball electronics in the future.

So the trackball module, as the files stand, is not a self-contained printable part. It depends on a donor device whose internals the drawings do not reproduce. Anyone building today has to find that Logitech unit, or design their own electronics and adapt the module, which is exactly the kind of work the modular layout is meant to enable but which is real work rather than a print-and-assemble step.

What the repository actually contains: geometry, a hardware list and documentation pointers

The top-level entries are sparse and describe the deliverable precisely. There are directories for the DFCD STEP files and the DFCD mesh files, a directory for the dragchain step, a Hardware list.md file, the README, and a .gitattributes file.

The distinction between the STEP and mesh directories matters for how you use the project. STEP is the solid model format used in mechanical CAD, and it is what you would import into FreeCAD to modify the design. The mesh files are the printable geometry, the shapes a 3D printer needs. The dragchain has its own step file, which suggests it was modelled separately so it can be changed without touching the main body.

There is no exploded assembly, no drawings dimensioned for manufacturing, and no bill of materials beyond the hardware list in Markdown. The README states that most parts can be made with a 3D printer, and the project is supported by PCBWay, a manufacturing provider offering PCB fabrication, PCB assembly, CNC machining and 3D printing, so parts can be ordered from the project files by people without a printer.

The licence field is not stated in the repository listing, and that is a real gap. Files you can download are not the same as files you are licensed to modify and redistribute, so check the terms before building on them or publishing a derivative.

Build documentation lives in the wiki and an assembly video

The README does not contain the build steps. It states that build instructions are available in the wiki and links an assembly video on YouTube. The design intent, the CAD files, the parts list and the instructions are therefore spread across the repository and the wiki, which means a builder needs both.

The author also asks for feedback in the issue tracker, and specifically asks to see modules and versions that others build, which tells you the project expects iteration rather than a frozen specification. The project is described as actively evolving, with the warning that files may change between versions and that some parts may not yet have complete documentation.

That combination, an evolving file set plus documentation that lives outside the repository, is the main practical risk to a build. If you start from a downloaded release and the main branch moves, your parts may no longer match the drawings you read. The single published release, v0.1.0 from 2026-02-23, is a useful snapshot point for a build that wants a fixed set of geometry, while the main branch is where the newest module work appears.

Maintenance state and what a builder inherits

The repository is not archived. The last push was on 2026-06-15, and the only published release is v0.1.0, tagged as a DFCD file release on 2026-02-23. The gap between those two dates is where the project is: several months of commits on main, with the published artefact older than the current state of the design.

Sponsorship is part of the operating model. The project is supported by PCBWay, and the README explains that sponsorship keeps the project files free to download and funds time spent improving the CAD design and documenting builds. For a builder, that matters in a practical way: it means the files stay free, and it means manufacturing quotes can be taken directly from the sponsor.

What you inherit, then, is a geometry set with a documented design intent, an incomplete hardware layer, and a licence that the repository listing leaves unstated. Nobody is claiming this is a finished product, and the README does not pretend otherwise.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt these files if you want to build a portable FreeCAD workstation and enjoy working from mechanical CAD, since the STEP and mesh files plus the hardware list give a builder a real starting point. Do not expect a finished appliance: the scrolling handle and connection module are not wired, the trackball electronics are salvaged from a Logitech device, the licence is not stated in the repository, and the author states that files may change between versions. Before cutting parts, check which FreeCAD version the files were exported for, confirm the trackball module source, and read the wiki build instructions alongside the assembly video rather than relying on the drawings alone.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. ArcticEnrichmentCenter/DFCD-cyberdeck-files on GitHub
2. Issues
3. README
4. Releases