If you've ever turned your precious PlayStation 5 console onto its side – whether to stick it in a media console or just to change how it looks in your living room – you'll likely have noticed that its asymmetric design leaves a lot to be desired when laid flat. The machine no longer looks svelte and slim, and it needs dinky little plastic clip-on feet to lie horizontal. Surely there's a better way.
YouTuber Devyn Johnston is trying to fix this glaring oversight. Noticing that the console covers can be removed, this passionate tinkerer – who has built loads of small form factor PCs (and is collaborating with Thor Zone on a case you'll soon be able to buy) – got to work mocking up a simple but elegant console redesign.
His idea was to create replacement console cover panels that would simply snap into place and elevate the look of the PS5. If you like the looks of it, you might just be able to get a set of these for your own system.
To start, Johnston used a US$1,500 Creality CR-Scan Raptor 3D hybrid scanner on the PS5. This device can use built-in lights to scan an object with all its details, and give you an accurate representation to work with in 3D modeling software. Here, it highlighted the exact positions of the clips that held the cover panels in place on the console.
Johnston says it took several iterations before he was able to nail the clip positions and ensure his new panels would fit perfectly without any gaps or misalignment.
Next, he came up with a design that combined cues from the PS4 and the Xbox One S. The former's sandwich-like body style envelopes the console at the top and bottom, and leaves the glossy black panel with its USB ports in the front exposed. The brutalist ventilation pattern from the One S adds more vents for hot air to escape the console's internals.
With all that sorted, Johnston 3D printed his new panels, and found they worked perfectly in both horizontal and vertical orientations. While originally created in silver and black, he noted that other color combinations are also possible.
Johnston's meticulous approach to DIYing this solution is inspiring – and you could enjoy the fruits of his labor too.
Since publishing the video a couple of weeks ago, he's been gathering enquiries to see how many people might be interested in purchasing a properly manufactured version of his design in higher quality than his 3D-printed ones.
He explained in an update last week that he's been talking to manufacturers to prepare the designs for production of original and Slim editions of the PS5. He also intends to rework the ventilation pattern so to avoid infringing on Microsoft's Xbox design IP.
You can expect to see design updates in future videos, and hopefully be able to buy a set of replacement panels, soon enough. Sign up on his website to be notified about new developments on the project, and to register your interest for a specific PS5 version.