Building a PiBoy

[RoyalScam]

Rather than continue to Hijack DaOld Man's Raspberry Pi 2 thread, I thought I'd plop this here.  I recently saw a Ben Heck video in which he 3D printed a handheld case for a Raspberry Pi model A+ and an Adafruit 2.8" TFT display.  I ordered both from Adafruit thinking I might attempt it.  Shortly thereafter I saw DaOld Mans post on the Raspberry Pi2 and that got me searching all things Pi. That's how I found this; https://learn.adafruit.com/pigrrl-raspberry-pi-gameboy
The files are available for download on Thingiverse so I printed one up.  I was impressed by how well the case snaps together and how rigid it is.  That sold me, now I've ordered a Pi2 and a bunch of parts we'll see how this progresses.  The case design may change as the one thing I dislike is the lack of onboard audio.  I'm sure I can find a small speaker and amp that I can add to this project and I am also not too fond of how some of the jacks protrude from the case although that may not be an issue with the Pi2.

     When the GameBoy was first brought to market, my nephew (9 at the time I think) received one as a gift.  His Mom was pretty firm with the 'rules' if the game ever caused any disputes between he and his siblings it was taken away for a time.  This happened on a few occasions and as a result when someone else was playing with it, he was noticeably stressed until he got it back.  Me being the bastard uncle that I am went and bought one, a couple of games, and a 4 way link cable.  When he hadn't noticed I placed his Gameboy out of sight and played mine, and kept playing until he couldn't stand it anymore and asked if he could have it back.  I said "No, this is mine and you should get your own." I thought the kid was going to explode.  He shortly found his GameBoy under a newspaper on the coffee table and was so excited that we could link them together for some multiplayer action.  I left the GameBoy with the kids and when I returned the next day, I found my Mother who had been watching them, playing Tetris.  We couldn't get the game away from her.  That summer vacation I bought 4 GameBoys and the kids, now in their 30's and younger, still talk about how much fun we had that year and their crazy video game playing Grandmother.  Mom who is 83 this year, lives with me now so I showed her the GameBoy case.  She asked immediately if it will play Tetris, I promised it would.  It looks like I might be making a few of these, if I get it right, and sending them out to the Nephews and Nieces.  Mom has dibs on the first one.

Here's a video of a case being printed.  Mind you, this is a cell phone camera and Windows movie maker, I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to videos so forget the typo and waste six minutes watching 3D printer nonesense.


And lastly a pic of the case.

Regards,
Scam

[pbj]

So how much for one of those cases?

[Generic Eric]

She asked immediately if it will play Tetris, I promised it would.

No pressure.

Presumably, this unit could play any game that used a dpad and 2 buttons correct?

[RoyalScam]

So how much for one of those cases?

I hadn't thought about it, material wise they don't cost much, but they do take about 8 hours to print.  Make me an offer I guess. Oh, and at this time I only have the 'natrual' PLA so there wouldn't be any color options.  The case is obviously 3D printed, so it's going to need some work cosmetically,sanding, filling, priming, painting etc. Think of it as a raw casting.

Presumably, this unit could play any game that used a dpad and 2 buttons correct?

Yeah I would think so.  The only distro I've played with yet is CupCade OS and only with NES Roms.  That was on the model A+.  The Pi2 has a bit more horsepower so I was thinking of adding two additional buttons to the back of the case like the R and L on Super Nintendo and PSOne. I want to get the first one working first, then work on mods.

Regards'
Scam

[Generic Eric]

So how much for one of those cases?

I hadn't thought about it, material wise they don't cost much, but they do take about 8 hours to print.  Make me an offer I guess. Oh, and at this time I only have the 'natrual' PLA so there wouldn't be any color options.  The case is obviously 3D printed, so it's going to need some work cosmetically,sanding, filling, priming, painting etc. Think of it as a raw casting.

Regards'
Scam

$20

I was thinking of adding two additional buttons to the back of the case like the R and L on Super Nintendo and PSOne. I want to get the first one working first, then work on mods.

Regards'
Scam

At that point I'd encourage you to look at an advance instead. 

[RoyalScam]

$20

:::snip:::

At that point I'd encourage you to look at an advance instead. 

I guess that's fair, PM me and we'll hash out the details.  As for the Gameboy Advanced, I don't know if anyone's printed one yet, and I'm not a designer.  Also I don't know how long it is.  The PiBoy case is at my printer's max X axis the advance looks to be larger.

Regards,
Scam

[pbj]

Seems kind of pointless when you could just slap a flashcard into an Advance SP and play ROMs....

 

[RoyalScam]

So, this is happening, although with a few caveats.

     I received a package from Adafruit with most of what I need to complete this. I did a dry fit of some parts, and a fair bit of sanding and filing of the case I printed.  The PLA sands fairly well.  I had good luck knocking down the sharp edges and flash with 150 grit paper, and then moved to 400 grit for smoothing.  I tried using a powered sander on a previous project and that ended in disaster as the PLA just melts with the friction.  On this first unit, as it seems I'm going to be making a few of these, I'm considering just applying a clear coat as I like the look of natural PLA. 

     It was confirmed by a friend that the PI2 will not fit this case.  I think for the first one, I'm going to order a Pi model B.  In the meantime I will try to modify the design to accept the Pi2/B+ footprint.  My Pi2 has not yet arrived, and I have yet to order a Model B+ to confirm the footprints match.

     Some may recall that I managed to break the USB connector on my PI Model A+.  I repaired the unit and it is working correctly. While I was sanding and dry fitting parts on the PiBoy, I printed a case for the A+.  I am now printing a bracket that will attach my cell phone to a tripod.  I took me awhile to figure out how I was going to use a 3D printer, now it seems  every project I work on has some connection to 3D printing.  I would encourage those of you "sitting on the fence" to go ahead and get one, you'll start to think about your projects differently.

     And now, the photo.  The controls are temporarily affixed with cellophane tape.  The battery, screen and power switch are 'snap' fit.  The case halves screw together with 4 6-32 screws. A 1/4" drill bit was turned by hand in the large countersunk portion of the screw holes to allow the screw heads to sit below the surface of the case.  A countersink was also used on all round holes to chamfer the rough edges.  When assembled the unit feels very smooth and comfortable and it has some weight to it.  I'll order a Model B this week and get this one buttoned up. 

Regards,
Scam

[Locke141]

I think if your only going to emulate two button systems the $20 model A+ should be all you need. It also uses a lot less power.