Maker creates adorable 3D-printed Mac Mini enclosure to fix Apple's most egregious choice of design: that damned button

Apple may not be able to offer everything Mac gamers want, but this doesn't mean Apple is a hardware slacker. Take the M4 Mac Mini: it has a pleasingly tiny form factor but also a surprising amount of power.

The M4 Pro chip is an impressive piece of kit. I'd love to have it in a portable gaming PC, however unlikely that scenario may be. The basic M4 Mac Mini has a design quirk which brings me back to reality. The power button is located on the bottom. But frustration, like necessity, can be the source of innovation. A Mac fan has already created a 3D-printed solution (via The Verge).

Jerrod Hofffurth's 3D printable enclosure is called the Mac mini Pro enclosure. Your M4 Mac mini slides in the back. A push-through button makes it easier to reach the power button and raises the heat vent off your desk. Hofferth says the enclosure design takes style cues directly from the mini PowerMac G5 seen on Steve Job’s desk in the photo taken by Diana Walker in 2004.

Hofferth plans to improve the case’s power button pass through and has designed a circle plate with an Apple Logo to cover over the large hole that allows the Mini's vent head to be vented from its underside. But this 3D printed project also circumvents other Apple pips. Apple offers a variety of accessories for your Mac mini, including feet and wheels. However, buying these directly from Apple can be expensive. The Apple Mac Pro Feet Kit costs $299 while the Apple Mac Pro Wheels Kit is $699.

Apple's official Apple wheels do not even lock.

Hofferth's design includes "top handles, optional wheel hubs, and feet" that can be printed separately and then glued to the case. He recommends that you buy some cheap ball bearings on Amazon instead of Apple's expensive wheel kit. If you don't want to use ball bearings, Hofferth also offers tires and rims that you can 3D-print instead.

There are many 3D printing projects, but only a few are truly innovative. Smart makers focus their creativity on, say, interestingwavelengths. Ploopy, a company that offers open-source 3D printable trackpads and headsets, is another option. When tech giants leave an unfilled gap in the market, either because they don't understand the demand or because they would rather you buy their overpriced "official" offering, you can be sure that makers will rush to 3D-print something that creatively fills it.