Cardboard Case Component assembly

[Hex]

EDIT : The project is done and later details can be found at http://www.sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2851

Hello guys, this is my first post here. I wanted to make a pi zero game boy but using cardboard rather than 3d printed or original mod.

So I made a prototype with accurate dimensions and glued it together to see the integrity of the model. Then as I started getting the parts I modelled them in Autodesk Inventor and came up with a layout plan. There are three plans that I have worked out and would like to have your opinion on. The parts number bought from ebay are also listed in the images. The button holes have slits for the hinges as can be seen in the up and down button, not the dpad.

Dimensions :

• Cardboard thickness = 3mm
• Thinner cardboard thickness = 2mm (used to mount display driver board in blue)
• Internal spacing = 1cm

Autodesk model

model_1.png (618.28 KiB) Viewed 7227 times

Parts and supports

IMG_20160921_104047.jpg (1.41 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

Parts and supports assembled

IMG_20160921_103657.jpg (1.38 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

The RPi Zero

IMG_20160920_201016.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

Arrangement 1

IMG_20160920_194518.jpg (1.79 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

Arrangement 2

IMG_20160920_194125.jpg (1.51 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

Arrangement 3

IMG_20160920_193639.jpg (1.57 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

Cardboard model

IMG_20160824_180248.jpg (1.09 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

IMG_20160824_180233.jpg (1.3 MiB) Viewed 7227 times

[CaptainDurden]

weird. interesting. very creative. yet the first thought i had was: "but why?"

[Hex]

weird. interesting. very creative. yet the first thought i had was: "but why?"

Well everyone is either using an after market case or the original one. Both are too fat for me. I wanted something slim.

I was interested in making my own from the start. If you consider the costs for the tools then things go overboard quickly. Cardboard is easy to source and to sculpt. The only disadvantage is that the case is sealed. I cannot modify the components once its all put together. An alternative would be to use screws and screw wells rather than glue to attach the back plate. Might try that too.

The only missing components are headphone jack and pwm audio circuit which i am looking for.

Have you made a GBZ? Can you link it here?

[Zero]

Interesting idea. You might want to use a power switch and a potentiometer for volume control. Although you could control volume level in software too. Might need to reinforce the areas around these things though as they would be pushed and prodded repeatedly.

I think it's best you lay out the main items like screen, and pi placement, and then work the other parts around those, than picking a certain design from the start. In my builds so far I'm constantly moving stuff around to get best wiring or to get items to fit. You also need to make sure that nothing interferes with anything else, for instance non-shielded components might give RF interferance possibly messing up audio or video. Just something to consider, you may not have this problem with your parts.

[CaptainDurden]

Well everyone is either using an after market case or the original one. Both are too fat for me. I wanted something slim.

I was interested in making my own from the start. If you consider the costs for the tools then things go overboard quickly. Cardboard is easy to source and to sculpt. The only disadvantage is that the case is sealed. I cannot modify the components once its all put together. An alternative would be to use screws and screw wells rather than glue to attach the back plate. Might try that too.

The only missing components are headphone jack and pwm audio circuit which i am looking for.

Have you made a GBZ? Can you link it here?

i'm actually still in the process of sourcing parts, so far all i could link you to is pics of the few things i got in the mail so far. and i get your "too fat" perspective, but for me this entire project is all about taking an absolute cornerstone and icon of my childhood and transforming it into something magical, something 7 year old me would not have believed... with a generic handheld case or a bunch of cardboard i just won't get that, i'll get a highly functional and impressive piece of tech but the nostalgia is gone. i thought i would use aftermarket cases as well, but i got 2 in the mail today that look so off that i actually started bidding on broken original gameboys on e-bay. the original dmg gameboy is so close to my heart, i could never build this inside anything else, no cardboard, no game gear, no psp, no ridiculous game grrrl (so ugly), not even a gameboy color or pocket will do. sorry for going off on this rant, but it is true: the original gameboy has a place in my heart more special than any other hardware i had contact with during my lifetime, imitating it in cardboard just seems wrong. to me. i am not trying to diss your idea, i think every new thing this scene comes up with is good because it shows people are creative and might even trigger more creativity in the people seeing it, i'm just saying that to me it misses the point of the project. to me. very subjective.

[Hex]

Well I understand your plight. I never had a gameboy or any other portable gaming device growing up. Due to that I dont have any feelings of nostalgia for hand helds. I had a PC with MS/DOS and it was epic. The closest i was to hand held gaming was this.

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1JlRnJFXX ... -Kids-.jpg

And yes i do plan on having a switch to control it.

@Zero
The only constraint in my arrangement is the position of the LCD controller board. Rest is free to move. Another aspect that i was told is the weight balance. My initial model (Inventor one) was too heavy on the display side. This meant that in a fall there was a high chance for the display to break. Also holding it would not be comfortable.