Gameboy Zero injection moulded custom DMG cases

[MiL0]

Modding my 2nd DMG case at the moment and this is definitely one of the more laborious tasks. The first time was quite fun but the 2nd case is a bit of a chore.

Just wondering if anyone's looked into the possibility of manufacturing a DMG case that's pre-moddified so that you can get straight on to the electric side of things? I would probably pay around $30 for such a case. And it would prevent further original DMG gameboys from being cannibalised.

Thoughts?

[MiL0]

And yeh, I know part of the fun for some people is the journey, rather than the destination. But those people can still take the hard route. I would love to buy a special DMG case with screen protector, Kites PCB, a screen and then my choice of battery and button colour. This website could even setup a shop.... I think it'd be wildly popular!

[toiletpaper69]

I enjoy modding them on my own, but I would definitely buy a pre mod case.

[Helder]

The cost to set up such a thing would be $20,000 to $30,000 easy. The tooling alone is $5,000 to $10,000 easy,the rest would be for buying the thousands of molds a company would make as they won't waste their time on 100 or 500 orders.

[jermzz]

Maybe not cases, but I know a guy who sells electronics. He does bulk orders from China and has huge accounts he sells to in the US. He saw my GBZ and was interested in stocking a kit with all the parts needed to make a GBZ. Including the stuff from China. One kit ready to go, distributed from the USA. I thought it would be great if people wanting to build a GBZ didn't have to source parts from all over and wait weeks for shipping. He's partnered with adafruit and everything. His main concern is selling enough kits to make a profit though. He's not interested in selling 100 kits, more like 1000. I didn't know if the demand was that high.

But modding the case is the most intense part of the build. It would be nice to be able to buy a pre modded, perfect case. All the ones I do, although look great, aren't as perfect as I want them to be.

[MiL0]

The cost to set up such a thing would be $20,000 to $30,000 easy. The tooling alone is $5,000 to $10,000 easy,the rest would be for buying the thousands of molds a company would make as they won't waste their time on 100 or 500 orders.

This was from a few years ago:

http://www.wired.com/2013/01/protomold/

Perhaps there are even cheaper options now? And even if there isnt, selling 100 cases at $30 each would easily cover costs and turn a small profit.

[Helder]

That's not bad but in order to actually get a rough idea of tool cost alone we need a 3d model of the shell and send it over to them then we can see exactly how much the startup is. Does anyone have an accurate 3d model for getting a quote?

[yousai]

That's not bad but in order to actually get a rough idea of tool cost alone we need a 3d model of the shell and send it over to them then we can see exactly how much the startup is. Does anyone have an accurate 3d model for getting a quote?

You could always try it with the SuperGameGirl case files. I would guess they're a bit rough for injection molding (being designed for a 3D printer) but it's a start.

[MiL0]

I think designing a new case based on the DMG dimensions might be the safest solution, from a legal perspective. It'd be a shame if Nintendo shut this all down because we'd infringed on their IP. This also allows us to design it so that all the components fit perfectly.

Also, further down the road, a kickstarter might be quite a good option for mitigating cost risks and guaging interest.

[Camble]

I've seen plenty custom cases for handheld Raspberry Pi games consoles. But none of those are GameBoy Zeros. Kind of defeats the purpose. Just my opinion.