About the hinge


atman

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I gather that a multi-lock hinge a la the Nintendo 3DS is not available because Nintendo buys them all from the only manufacturer.

It sounds like the hinge contemplated for the Pyra is made by the same manufacturer. What I wonder is, can it be made with the same 

insertion dimensions into the case? Both lid and box.

The 3DS hinges are available inexpensively retail:

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-3DS-XL-LL-replacement-packaging/dp/B00KCGDC2U

That can't be a good price to add them to every unit, but if they have the same dimensions:

a. the user willing to hack can add the multi-lock hinge

b. if they become available in bulk, future editions of the Pyra can use them without expensive case retooling.

Is this possible? It would be pretty great. It's a good hinge. 
 
Depends how easy the hinge pice will be replacable. You had to disassemble the Pandora for that job which is not for everyone. The Pyra has a modified frame piece in the lid so maybe the hinge can be pushed through from that side instead from the base case side unlike Pandora.

I also mades some sketches about an custom, compared simple hinge piece that can be replaced easily, also offering 2 different lock options. However, no clue if this would ever work that way. ^^"
 
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I don't know if the manufacturer of the hinge piece was announced yet; we were still talking about ED producing his own not long ago (although ED wasn't involved in that discussion very much to be fair) - where F_P made his designs.

I like this idea though.  If we can find out the dimensions of that piece, and can find/make our own hinge which fits the same dimensions, that might be a good idea.
 
I gather that a multi-lock hinge a la the Nintendo 3DS is not available because Nintendo buys them all from the only manufacturer.
It's actually because Nintendo had them custom designed, and there's no off-the-shelf part that can be purchased.
future editions of the Pyra
Unfortunately not. They won't sell them to EvilDragon because they are property of Nintendo. ED could design his own which would basically be the exact same thing but that would cost more. For legal reasons he can't even buy them retail and include them.
That being said, the Pandora's hinge was compatible with the DS lite's hinge, there were a few people that successfully swapped it. Might happen again, but I don't think it's a priority in ED's list. And it may be too late to change that if it isn't, seeing as how the case is done. But it's such a small tweak that maybe it could. I dunno.
 
hinge pieces are going to break no matter what. If they aren't replaceable, that would be a disaster. ED is on his second product, I conclude he's going to make his own job easier and make the hinges easy to replace. 

The case is "done" (no further changes are contemplated) the case isn't *done* (there aren't molds). It's not too late to think about millimeter-level adjustments. 
 
hinge pieces are going to break no matter what. If they aren't replaceable, that would be a disaster. ED is on his second product, I conclude he's going to make his own job easier and make the hinges easy to replace
Yes, that is yet another reason he is getting off-the-shelf parts instead of designing his own.Did I say something confusing?
 
WizardStan: Not at all, that was to address Fusion_Power mainly. To which I'll add, if you're going to replace the hinge, disassembling the case is no obstacle. It needn't be as easy to replace as a battery, it's something you hope to do once or never. 
 
The Pandora hinge piece has an diameter of ~6mm and is ~13mm long. It's all in the Pandora design files. There is also an dummy hinge pice in place with the correct shape. If the Pyra hinge is the same type, we already have all measures we need.

I still would change one thing if the hinge remains the same: instead from right to left, I would prefer to put the hinge in from left (opened lid front) to the right (case) to have an more easy replacement.
 
Apparently, if it's the same type hinge, then the DS Lite hinge is known to fit already. But I gathered from elsewhere that it's intended to be a different hinge, no notion of what that does to the package dimensions. We'll just have to find out!
 
ED mentioned you can put normal DS hinges into the Pandora (for 1 additional lock position), DS lite hinges do not fit... or vice versa, not sure. ^^"
 
It could've been the original DS, I thought it was lite. Someone tried and confirmed one of them.

Not sure it really matters though, if the hinge is changing for the Pyra.

Keep in mind also that ED has had the plastics company design the case such that it has a friction lock, so it should be able to stay open at many degrees without the need of a multi-lock hinge.
 
..to be honest that's what prompted this line of inquiry. "friction", "plastic", "lock"... something has got to give.
 
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