ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

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ICMF
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ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Wed Apr 12, 2017 3:52 pm

I should probably start my own thread, rather than continue to hijack someone else's. :lol:

I'm building a Pi Zero, but don't really like the Gameboy form factor. First and foremost, I wanted a bigger screen, but the ergonomics aren't great either, and they only get worse when trying to add more buttons (IMO). I think a landscape design works better. Plus, I like drafting stuff, so I decided to come up with a more custom design.

Like most people, I *really* liked Florian Renner's Game Boy 1UP:
It's pretty awesomeShow
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So I took that as my inspiration. Here's my first pass at a design:
Heavily influenced by Renner's design.Show
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Rough layout of the interior.Show
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Rear view.Show
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Battery exposedShow
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More GutsShow
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The battery in this draft is specced from either the Adafruit 2000 or 2500mAh unit (can't recall which one). They were a fantastic fit and left plenty of room inside the case to fit all the other components... but as it turns out, it was way too low capacity for my needs. :cry:
Last edited by ICMF on Wed Apr 12, 2017 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Wed Apr 12, 2017 3:54 pm

Power has become the bane of my existence. I want: a large capacity battery; that's fairly centred (for balance); with the Pi Zero mounted vertically (so the SD sticks out the top); while being as thin as possible. And trying to meet all four of those requirements has been a nightmare. Ironically, there are a couple of big, empty spots where I *could* fit stuff, but don't want to; meanwhile all the places where I *want* to put the Pi or Powerboost are too cramped for them to actually fit. Grr...

Basically, it's been a lot of hours in front of a computer, shuffling components around, trying to make them fit. "What if I flip this like this and move that over there... nope."

So the second revision pushed the back of the case out by a couple of mm, in order to fit a higher capacity battery. I also took the opportunity to round off the sides, per the DMG, and tweak the battery bay details. As an added bonus, the rounded sides should make the L/R buttons feel more like proper controller triggers. I'm currently debating whether to shift the Start/Select buttons down to below the screen (to free up space for some analog sticks, if I do a Pi3 version). And where to put the power switch.
Front view is fairly similarShow
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You can see the curved sides in the rear view.Show
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The battery cover slots into the bottom of the device, with magnets holding it shut at the top. Or at least, that's the theory...

I still need to tweak it a bit more, but it's progressing.

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ShadowFax » Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:42 pm

Great start!
How are you planning to fabricate the case?
Is it going to be 3d printed, CNC, or laser cutted?

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by harry1050 » Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:49 am

You're doing a really good job, at the end of this will you release the file or are you planning to keep it private?

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:13 am

3D printed. Either SLA on a Form2, or SLS in nylon at Shapeways. A Form2 would produce a cleaner, smoother print; Shapeways would be more robust... Decisions, decisions. :(

And I'm planning on releasing the files.

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:31 pm

Screwing around in Solidworks...

It really *would* make life easier if I just shift the battery to the lower corner. Hmmmm.... (outline in blue)
Wonder how un-balanced it would feel...Show
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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Sat Apr 15, 2017 12:58 pm

Couldn't leave well enough alone... :)

So I decided to try shifting the battery off to the side instead of the central mount. Unfortunately, this will throw off the balance, since a battery is way heavier than a Pi, but realistically, it's about 100g, so it's not exactly cumbersome.

I couldn't actually push the battery all the way to the left, due to the curved sides. That meant it was easier to keep the battery oriented vertically - it would push over a little more if it was landscape, and interfere with my headphone jack; this way I've still got a nice deep cavity for the controls and audio - the battery is aligned with the edge of the screen.

Front is unchanged; just a nicer render.
SpoilerShow
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Back; the battery cover gets shoved over.
SpoilerShow
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Which leaves tons of space for the rest of the parts.
SpoilerShow
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And the MicroSD becomes a little more centrally located:
SpoilerShow
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As an added bonus, it gives me tons of room to add one of these if I want:
SpoilerShow
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(stripped down, of course; there should even be room for a thin fan, though)

Lastly, as hinted at in the previous render, I've been playing with colour schemes. SLA printers have a limited colour palette, so unless I'm happy with black, white or grey, it will have to be painted. Kind of digging it in black, though:
SpoilerShow
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Funny how "I wonder what would happen if..." can turn into several hours totally re-building parts.

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by RetroRocket » Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:26 pm

ICMF wrote:
Sat Apr 15, 2017 12:58 pm
Couldn't leave well enough alone... :)

So I decided to try shifting the battery off to the side instead of the central mount. Unfortunately, this will throw off the balance, since a battery is way heavier than a Pi, but realistically, it's about 100g, so it's not exactly cumbersome.

I couldn't actually push the battery all the way to the left, due to the curved sides. That meant it was easier to keep the battery oriented vertically - it would push over a little more if it was landscape, and interfere with my headphone jack; this way I've still got a nice deep cavity for the controls and audio - the battery is aligned with the edge of the screen.

Front is unchanged; just a nicer render.
SpoilerShow
Image
Back; the battery cover gets shoved over.
SpoilerShow
Image
Which leaves tons of space for the rest of the parts.
SpoilerShow
Image
This is looking really nice! I'm wondering though about the shoulder buttons. Unless you need it squared of for the internals, I think extending that rounding fillet up through the buttons would be more comfortable, and further emulate the DMG.

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by uke » Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:15 am

This is awesome! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!

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Re: ICMF's Pi Zero in a custom case.

Post by ICMF » Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:15 am

RetroRocket wrote:
Sat Apr 15, 2017 3:26 pm
This is looking really nice! I'm wondering though about the shoulder buttons. Unless you need it squared of for the internals, I think extending that rounding fillet up through the buttons would be more comfortable, and further emulate the DMG.
Couple of reasons.

First and foremost, it was the easiest solution. ;) Particularly since I wasn't sure if the tweaks would work; if I ended up going with a larger/thinner cell, I'd need to lose the curves. I also like the ergonomics of it; it wraps over your middle finger (like most controllers) for a better grip. And lastly, it gives a bigger button. I tend to rest my fingers on the back corner of the trigger buttons, so cutting back that corner would make it a little less comfortable.

I'll probably tweak it a bit, make the transition a little less severe, but I don't want to make it fully round.

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