The business end of my hobby now has a face! Though this is just the first run and Beta test and is not 100% completed yet, the site is live. The plan is to have a much more interactive site with some pretty nifty features that will help less experienced modders with their projects and provide them with the assistance and products they need.
Right now the site is based around just a few of the services I offer which is heavy on vacuum-forming and CAD design/milling. In the future though I plan to add a store though which will not only allow me to sell the services but also be a parts and component supply house mainly geared at console modding.
So with that said, there is a great deal more to do, but for now you can have a look at the basic layout and get a feel for what is to come in the future. Just click on the pic above to have a look!
Though I agree this does in fact look quite like a chaotic mess of wires and breadboard, it hides the simplicity of the whole project very well. But for a project that’s already been done, there are many unique “firsts” for me this time around. This is the first time that I’ve ever used custom PCB’s in a project, much less boards I’ve cut myself. Along those lines this is the first project I’ve cut the vacuum mold out via CNC and made all the cuts and engraving via the same method. This is the first project I’ve ever used CAD programs on for that same reason. Also this is the first time I’ve ever tried to make my own controller using nothing but micro chips and resistors.
With so many firsts though, naturally come many unknowns. Where this will all end up is a mystery but I’m sure by keeping to the basic principles of process, I’ll be able to make this work the way I need it too. Anyway, just a quick update as to where I finished off for the weekend and where I’ll be picking up next week. Been a busy day today as far as traffic is concerned and I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to check out my work.
Remember, please subscribe to the blog (in the sidebar), my You Tube channel (in the sidebar too) or become a member over at MBB so you can keep up with all the new and exciting developments from all our members!
Through time and patience can come many rewards. After spending over 6 hours yesterday getting my CAD drawing done up correctly, today I both had a successful test and actual circuit board engraved. This has helped to bolster the confidence in my new found capabilities and my tiny little router is holding it’s own!
Now with that said, I still need to invest in a bit more tooling for it as most of these round circles need to have a hole drilled into the center of them for the actual project, however I do not have the proper bits to do so yet. I have found some nice 1/8th in carbide drill sets that will do the job nicely as they go from .03mm up to .2mm which will cover the range I need to drill this micro holes accurately.
But have a view of the video below to see this in action. Updates will be sparse for the next couple of weeks as my part time jobs are pretending to be full time, but that’s ok because I’m in need of the income! But at nights there is still plenty of design work to do and I will remain quite busy.
So, talk with you soon and if you have any questions or find a need for these types of services, please let me know. I’m taking on jobs as they come so I’ll gladly make time for yours!
Though I still do not know how to use it properly (and this pic doesn’t even have the axis motors on it yet) you can be rest assured that tomorrow I’ll be playing with this for some time, making sure everything is in its place. There will be a learning curve like anything else and even though it’s a small starter unit, I’ll get the basics of this and the software down before getting into anything bigger. So stay tuned for the next couple of weeks as cool things will be happening soon enough.
So I did a commission for a forum member called [FarmerDwight] who was looking for a unique controller used for his emulated NES games on his PC. Though I’ve never been a fan of emulation for many reasons, after finding out his wants I really couldn’t pass up the chance to make this for him. Basically he wanted a controller for his emulated NES games with a USB input. Thats really not that difficult to find as the vast majority of PC controllers are USB anyway. The trick was to get that controller to work while using the original buttons in the Game Boy itself.
Now this really wasn’t much different in theory to many of the other controllers that I’ve built. You have two contacts, one signal, one ground and a tact switch (or PCB pad) that once pressed completes the circuit and registers as a button press for the duration you hold it down. However there was one key difference to what I’ve done in the past and that was the fact that the PCB pads in this case were already integrated with the mother board of the Game Boy.
To make a long story short, that doesn’t work so hot when you have two separate devices trying to function off of the same ground lines. I was getting all kinds of screwy actions when I first powered it on, not to mention the Emulator controller provided went against everything I knew about how PCB pads worked. This project took me over 10 hours. 2 of which were basic labor and putting together and 8 hours of “WTF is wrong with this thing” troubleshooting.
In the end though, all came out well and though the Game Boy will never work again as a Game Boy, he can still play all the NES, Atari and whatever other emulated consoles out there with 8 buttons or less, including Game Boy.
More info and pics on the MBB forums. But I’m happy with it, and so is the customer which is all that matters! Now I just have to figure out how I’m going to sleep tonight knowing that my router will be arriving in the afternoon tomorrow! Expect a few more cool updates when I break that package open!
Wow, been a busy day and at the end of it all is a nice, sleek looking portable! This certainly turned into a project that was a bit more involved than I was hoping for, but nevertheless, I’m 100 times happier with the outcome of this one than the first version.
Everything from internal layout and external handling has been altered and for the better. You can check out the full work log here over at MBB or you can watch the video at the end of the post to get a feel for how this all came together.
So, with that out of the way, I redid this so I could sell and not feel morally guilty about it! It’s still not perfect, but it is something I’m proud of. Let me know what you think of you’re interested in this! $225 shipped is what I’m asking which considering there’s about $180 worth of parts alone and 25 hours in just this version, that’s not a very steep price. hehe.
Well, have many other projects to attend to! Hope you enjoy!
Downing's Basement 