Powering 2x 2.5" HDD in a LabStack module

[derekantrican]

I have a custom pi NAS (raspberry pi + 2x 2.5" HDD) that I've been hosting in this enclosure: https://geekworm.com/products/naspi-gemini

Now I'm rebuilding my server in a rackmate rack and want to move out of the enclosure to some LabStack modules. Obviously there's the raspberry pi modules and it turns out the 2.5" SSD module also fits my HDDs: https://github.com/JaredC01/LabStack/blob/main/LabStack%20Modules/STLs/Module%202x%2025%20SSD.stl

However, I'm struggling with powering the HDDs. The previous enclosure had its own DC power cable to power the whole thing. I tried two USB SATA cables like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8ZX7D2K (or even powered ones like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLL41MA) but with no luck.

I actually found this dual enclosure that is able to do the power just fine: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NM3ZXS and 3D modeled & printed a LabStack module to fit the drives plus the PCB (did a little physical hacking).

This method is close to what I want, but a little "jank":

• Because of the design of the PCB I hacked out of the Amazon enclosure, the drives have to be back-to-back. This leads to other problems such as:
  • There was very little space to add the mount "rails" for the drives, so the module has to be inserted at an angle, plus it has a cut-out in the "rails" so it can be attached to the LabStack frame
  • You have to attach the drives to the module after inserting the module - making it pretty difficult to manage the drives
• The PCB sticks out quite a bit on the front of the rack (especially once the cables are plugged in). This is probably unavoidable (unless I want the SATA connections inside my rack) but I would like it to stick out less

All this got me thinking if someone with PCB design skills would be interested in designing a PCB that can power 2x 2.5" HDD in the same configuration as the official LabStack module configuration (https://github.com/JaredC01/LabStack/blob/main/LabStack%20Modules/STLs/Module%202x%2025%20SSD.stl). I even mocked-up a 3D model (though I have no PCB design experience):