The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: jeffrock on May 29, 2016, 09:01:17 pm
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After months of free time hacking, I've finally completed a prototype of my first console case. Since it was going to go under my TV, I wanted something made from premium materials that felt more like a console than a computer case. I decided that it would be primarily classic Nintendo games going onto it (NES, SNES, GameBoy, Advance) so it should support native SNES controllers.
After iterating through three full designs, I finally landed on one that requires no glue or fasteners to hold the case together; only tension. I cut slits into the acrylic in a special configuration that allows it to expand like an accordion and hook into notches on the feet, and engraved grooves into the inside to hold the front and back panels in place. That way I can easy get into the case if I need to access / replace / add / upgrade components.
The front and back pieces are 1/4" solid walnut. The wrap is 1/8" specialty matte black acrylic sheet I got from a plastics distributor (really nasty stuff to work with but has a stunning finish). There is small acrylic plate that holds the SNES ports and LED to the front panel and a 1/8" panel that holds the Pi 3 between the front and back panels. I went with a ControlBlock to make it easier to implement the ports, LED, and power switch. The dimensions of the unit are 6" W x 5.5” D x 1.5" H.
Piforce was designed in Illustrator and all pieces were cut with an Epilog Fusion 60w CO2 laser. There are a half dozen or so components as well (terminals, fasteners, etc) which I am happy to list if anyone wants to know, as it took me forever to track it all down!
Anyway, here's a few photos of the project. Next steps are to make a few modifications and really tune in the design. After that, I'll move on to designing a custom Piforce ES theme and video splash screen. Thanks for checking it out!
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-1.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-2.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-3.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-4.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-5.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-6.jpg)
(http://jeffrock.com/images/piforce-7.jpg)
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That's pretty bad ass, my friend!
Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk
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man that is sleek!
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Nice job! That is really cool.
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ah yeah!! I like that!
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Nice clean look!
What converters/adapters are you using for the snes controllers? Did they take a lot of fiddling with the pi to work?
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How are you handling shutdown?
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Sexy. :cheers:
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Love it. Awesome idea with the shell - guess you get ventilation built in too..
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How are you handling shutdown?
#1 question.
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He said he is using a controlblock http://blog.petrockblock.com/2014/12/29/controlblock-power-switch-and-io-for-the-raspberry-pi/ (http://blog.petrockblock.com/2014/12/29/controlblock-power-switch-and-io-for-the-raspberry-pi/) which provides the interface for the SNES controllers (it can also be used to hook up buttons through a couple of i2c i/o chips) and an interface for a power switch that it runs through an ATtiny. It sounds like the power control uses a couple of io pins on the rpi, one that signals that it wants the pi to shut down, and the other coming from the pi that says it has shut down. It runs the power through a power FET hooked up to the ATtiny. It also provides an LED output that indicates if the pi is on, off, booting, or shutting down.
They also provide code for the rpi side for the power control and also for the snes/button controller functions.
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Very, very nice :applaud: