Bob Cradle Designed Around The Dev Board


soup_nazi

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Joined
Feb 3, 2006
Messages
114
Hi all!

I've recently been working on designing a case for the developers version of the breakout box for my own benefit and maybe as something to feature in my portfolio and thought I'd post what I've come up with. :)

My main aim with this was to produce a design that incorporated the existing board, was fully manufacturable and was to be used as a stationary dock to your TV/PC, allowing use of the GP2X as a home console once usb joypad drivers are implemented.

Before I get into things too much I'd like to point out that I don't actually own the breakout box, so some of my dimensions may be a little off, but it shouldn't be more that a mm here or there as I've been quite resourcefull in making do with the information that I had.

I'll talk about the technical aspects in a bit, but first a few pics:

gp2xbobmainview2xa9.jpg

gp2xbobback2pa6.jpg

gp2xbobfront3transparentjf9.jpg

In terms of functionality it's designed so that the GP2X battery housing sits in the indent at the back of the unit, locating the 2X onto the ext port connector. This holds the 2X at a 60 degree angle. In terms of visualising this, the 2X will hang over either side. This is something I first wanted to avoid, but was innevitable due to the layout of the board.

The shape of the board actually provided some headaches, as it's not ideally designed; the main problems being that the usb ports are not centered on the board and so it had to be mounted slightly to one side to centralise the ports. Other problems include that the phono sockets are not mounted off the board and consequently required a seperate housing within the case.

gp2xbobtoptransparentym8.jpg

These kind of design shortsights have meant that I've had to adapt the board a little bit by cutting the corners off and cutting a slot out under where the phono sockets are located. AFAIK these mods don't affect the functions of the board and would certainly be easily implemented into a mass production scenario.

gp2xbobexplodednd6.jpg

gp2xbobexplodedupsidedownnw3.jpg

As the board is offset within the case, the RS232 port ended up within the case and so a slot had to be cut out to accomodate this:

gp2xbobindentportkt9.jpg

In terms of mass production the design features full draft angles and is designed for injection moulding. To find any problems in the deisign I also ran a moldflow analysis:

casetopinjectionmouldinggg9.jpg

This initial 'final design' produced two problems; namely unsuitable geometry for analysis and a result that suggested a problematic moldcycle with undesirable surface finish and structural problems. Using this I adapted the design (mainly the large ribbing you can see and the injection location) to produce this result:

casetopinjectionmoulding4xs1.jpg

You can see that the ribs have a section cut out to reduce the filltime. This should also not affect the design much structurally, so is an ideal solution. After this change the geometry error was gone and the analysis came back as an easily moldable design.

Here is a rendering of the top case half on it's own showing full details:

gp2xbobtopcase5si4.jpg

Right, so there it is. Personally I'm interested to see what GPH do with the BOB. I heard Craig say that they were planning on making it attach on the back maybe, personally I'd like to see a floor standing version, due to the need for external power (especially us MKI'ers ;) ). Either way I'm curious to see whether they use the same curcuit board as the dev version, and if so, how they're going to get around the problems I've outlined. My guess is that they're going to need a new board. ;)

Congratulations if you managed to read this far, I hope I didn't bore anyone too much. Any feedback is welcome, however I don't know if I'd implement any changes, as I'm using this model to produce a set of engineering drawings now. I'm also aware that the board is supposed to have a LED on it, but I couldn't see where... I think it's on the back.

Oh and for anyone who's interested I did this work mainly in SolidWorks and then used 3DStudio MAX for the rendering.


Thanks for reading, and I hope you found some of this interesting. :)

PS.: There would have been a couple more images, but apparently I maxed out. :rolleyes:
 
:confused:

lol, my brain hurts, and nothing really sunk in, but it looks really sweet! I hope you can make this and post pics of the finished product, im very interested to see how it turns out.

Best of luck!
 
I assume you're an industrial designer or student in an industrial design program, right? Very nice, realistic design. Hope GPH don't rip it off from you :)
 
Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate it. Makes the work all the more worthwhile. :)

And yes, I am in fact a recent Industrial Design graduate and am now looking for that elusive 'perfect job'. Hence the reason that I'm filling my spare time with stuff like this at the moment.
 
I am an mk2 owner. If I could mount it there and have a power source directly connect to the gp2x w/o to much of a hassle then I would DEFINITELY buy it. You have a good product going there, please keep it up :D
 
Nice work, nice graphics, looks good. Can the BOB be connected directly to the GP2x via the port, instead of via wires? Just a thought.

What type of plastic are you going to use? What will you use for the moulding?
 
dude what? there is a socket on the bob to connect the gp2x to it, its like a stand >.>
 
This project looks, quite simply, superb. The only question I have is: where do I send the cash to help get a production-run injection mold made?
 
Yeah, set up a donation pay-pal, can you?
 
Very impressive design work. Much better than anything I could do.

I have a developer's version of the BoB and a Mk1 Gp2x.

To overcome the need for two power supplies, I soldered a short
wire to the back of the Bob power input socket and attached a
mating plug that gets inserted into the Gp2x power input socket.
Using the GPH power supply, plugged into the BoB, allows both
devices to run from the single power supply.

Now, there is a bit of problem with your design: the EXT port
connects to the BoB using a 27 cm cable with identical plugs
on each end. It can be swapped end for end without concern.

The mating socket on the BoB is edge mounted beside the DB-9
serial port socket and at the corner nearest to the 4 USB
sockets Since it is at the board edge, your design would require
that the cable exit your case and then be reinserted into the
case under the Gp2x in order to connect with the Gp2x.

This "feature" of the BoB makes it difficult to design an
enclosing case. I hope the commercial version is changed to
permit enclosing the EXT cable within the case.

Other points:

1. The BoB power available light is beside the power input socket
and near the corner adjacent to the DB09 socket.

2. The power socket extension cable mentioned above also would
need to exit the case to be plugged into the right side of the Gp2x.
Another solution might be to remove the Gp2x battery cover and
attach the power extension cable to the battery terminals - perhaps
using a dummy battery pack for secure electrical connection.

3. It would be nice if your case design permitted latching the Gp2x
so that the two cases became "as one" rather than just a gravity
hold.

4. Another BoB redesign possibility would be to shift all connectors
to the bottom edge of the slightly wider circuit board. Connectors
could be mounted on both sides of the board. This would permit
design of a Bob case that fits behind and below the Gp2x, thus
allowing free access to the L & R shoulder keys.
 
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