3D printed Pocket Operator cases

Pocket Operators
21

Wow, the Tiko looks great, especially for the price. I would probably have bought one if I had seen this kickstarter! The passive (silent!) cooling, full enclosure and stand-alone wireless printing are very attractive. My only concerns would probably be the relatively small build space and no heated print-bed.


The PO case is very close to 125 mm in the diagonal, so it should just fit into the Tikos 125 mm circular build space!

22

@GCF @crashdebug - I canā€™t wait to get mine :slight_smile:

23

Files are up on thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1375818


I also created some short instructions how to assemble it:

24

im about to put an order in for this case. any recommendations for the material? im doing shapeways. MM? purple strong and flexible for main case. black for the back. acrylic for the buttons(cheapest) they have clear but since there are slots for the leds im going solid black or white(wish they had more colors.)

total seems to be about $60. since the official case is 40 and this case is infinitely better the price isnt that bad. admittedly i wish i could get a case for $5 on ebay but w/e


any help appreciated. thanks for the great case.
25

i wonder if clear acrylic on the buttons could spread the led light through the button making it more visible. maybe turning the buttons 90 degrees would put the now clear tab of the button over the led? does acrylic pass light well? im rambling i love your case. lol.

26

Wait! I would not recommend using these files for a shapeways order!


1. You would pay way to much with all the small single parts. I made a quick test comparing the price of 16 single buttons VS 16 buttons connected on a ā€œsprueā€. The price went down from around 26 to 6 USD (see attached images)!
2. I have no way of verifying the fit of everything when this is printed by shapeways. Like I said before, the fit may be more loose, buttons may move around a bit too easily.
3. Most of the design limitations I had to adhere to would not apply when printing is done by shapeways, so everything could be made a bit thinner, lighter or more sophisticated.

Solutions:
1. I can provide models with all buttons connected quite easily, today or maybe tomorrow.
2. I can provide a version of the buttons a tiny bit wider to avoid any rattling, but for other issues - it will hit or miss. Whoever is first to order this from shapeways will be a beta-tester.
3. I canā€™t make any design changes which I can not test with my printer. For a more sophisticated solution the Rythm Conductor case made by Orion1615 may be a better choice - this seems to printed by shapeways or a similar service.



27

printing the buttons in acryllic is only $11. acryllic can be sanded smaller if a stiff fit. id be happy to be a ā€œbetaā€ tester. id appreciate the updated files or any help for that matter. Ill stick with your case I enjoy your design more than any other. I realize that the shapeways tolerances might cause issues.

28

Ok, if you really want to try shapeways I could make a set of buttons embossed or engraved with symbols - what do you think about it? I got the basic workflow down yesterday, if you tell me your PO model I could come up with a set of customized buttons in the next few days.


Here the quick test I did:
29

engraved keys would be awesome! im thinking the arcade(po-20) buttons. although i plan to eventually get a case printed for both my po 12 and my po20 i take them with me out of the house often. they are great for a quick jam sesh. so a case is a must!

30

also any further modification to bring the price down would be awesome! maybe we can link all the parts into one design? maybe they just charge for everytime they have to clear the printing bed and start a new ā€œpieceā€

31

one of the negatives of the TE cases is you have to break off the hook loop. I am glad to see you guys not enforcing that.

32

Making some progress on the buttons ā€¦


Iā€™m trying to include as much const-saving for shapeways as possible, what I can do for now is mainly link parts together to avoid the ā€œper part feeā€ that is calculated for some materials (1,50 for strong and flexible plastic for example). There is no such fee for the acrylic materials however.

33

A nicer rendering from shapeways, this set would currently amount to 5,71 in white plastic.


34

those are very nice buttons! any plans for designs on the other 8 buttons(the function keys)?

35

@crashdebug did the print last night and just got it off the printer. the back and front are a little too tight and the buttons are too big. I printered on a markforge.

36

did you put these buttons up somewhere?

37

Thanks for sharing the files @crashdebug! I will be printing them soon via my delta type Kossel XL printer with PLA in 0,3mm. I will post the results here.

38
@dimi3: Did you clean everything according to the instructions? Make sure there are no small blobs from seams on the inside of the front panel or outside of the back panel - clean with a utility knife if necessary. The button guides (where the 2 small flaps of the buttons rest) may also need cleaning with a knife depending on printer calibration. If everything prints slightly too big this might be a sign of excessive material feed, reducing the flow rate may help.

@sekizbitli: Please let us know your results. Do you mean a 0,3 mm nozzle? The extra precision should be beneficial.

Didn't have much spare time last week but I made some progress over the weekend. Finished the PO-20 buttons, made some modifications to the panels to save some material/cost (not much though) and created light guides for the LEDs. These modified parts are not designed for home printers and have lower tolerances, overhangs etc. I will eventually order the parts from shapeways to check the fit, and also make them available to order for those brave enough to try the beta version.

The rest of the PO-20 buttons:


The light guides are supposed to be printed from clear material:
39

Light guides wooot! Honestly my only complaint about the Pocket operators is the LEDs. I have a hard time seeing/discerning what Iā€™m looking at. Soooper excited now!

40

Finally had some time today to put everything together, I have done a few more revisions on the light guides, prepared all combinations of buttons and cases with and without PO-20 markings and put everything on shapeways. I have ordered a set of parts myself, which unfortunately almost costs as much as the PO - at least shipping is free (until March 13th!).

I could not bring down the final cost by much as most is made up by ā€œmachine spaceā€ cost which I can not reduce. I have saved some material cost and handling fees but then again I have added a small markup (about 6-7 Eur for the complete set of parts).

I have enabled the ā€œpolishedā€ colored plastics for the separate front/back panels - but Iā€™m not sure how much the polishing will affect the dimensions, unpolished may be the safer bet.

If anybody wants to have a look: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/cdb

Improved light guides:


Optional label on the front:

The set I have ordered: