Please help me - to build a scale model of my P2 Concept - modeling & technical advice required


Mr_Loon

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I'd like to make a rough scale model of my P2 concept out of something like balsa wood + copper to get a feel of how it would look in real life. i.e. to be totally non working in electronic terms but each part is roughly the correct dimensions.

The scale model will consist of 4 parts

1) Lid

2) Base + Hinge

3) Control Set

4) Battery

The Lid

I need some real help here :

For the scale model the lid will be a cuboid but I'm unsure what dimensions I should make it

The lid on the production model will include the following things to make up its height or thickness :

a ) a screen with a 16:10 screen 5" Diagonal

b ) a PCB with everything the P1 PCB has + GPS + Accelerometer

c ) a layer of plastic for the back of the lid

Ideally I'd like to include full size ports for SDXC & USB3 on the side of the lid but if this would make it too thick then Micro SDXC & USB mini OTG would be fine.

Questions :

How thick should the lid be to hold a + b + c?

Would adding full size USB3 & SDXC ports increase the thickness of the lid?

How wide / high should the lid be to include the screen + bezel + speakers?

Approximately what would the working version of the lid weigh?

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Base + Hinge

Question : What sort of material should be used to make the hinge / metal band? Copper sprung to mind as a possibility? A friend of mine is a pretty skilled coppersmith & has the required tools.

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Control Set

The dimensions of the ICP2 are 61 x 117 x 11.5 mm so no problems there.

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Battery

Question : How big in cubic cm would the battery have to be to power the system for 10 Hours?

Any sort of ballpark figure from someone who knows a bit about these sort of things would be appreciated

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Any advice on materials would also be appreciated

I was thinking of using magnets like these recessed into the balsa wood to connect the modules together. Any suggestions for a better method?

All help would be hugely appreciated.  :)
 
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good that your fired up and stuff but do you really want to go through with it. A major no go is the weight on the upper end. It might be manageable for a little while but gravity continuously pulls it out of your hands like a lever. Thats very bad for a gaming device.
 
good that your fired up and stuff but do you really want to go through with it. A major no go is the weight on the upper end. It might be manageable for a little while but gravity continuously pulls it out of your hands like a lever. Thats very bad for a gaming device.
Approximately what would the working version of the lid weigh?

Bear in mind that in Mini Laptop mode the battery would be connected to the base (not the lid).
 
without battery and battery cover about 225g

you could tape your Pandora to a NDS or something similar to get a feeling of the weight that's pulling down.
 
P2 Papercraft : The Lid Section

Features :

Front :

5" 4:3 Screen

Speaker Grilles

Camera

Mic

Back :

3 X Half size tripod connectors (For connection to the holder)

NB : Battery socket & connections not shown yet.

Left Side : 

(from Bottom to top)

Headphones

Mini HDMI Out

Micro SDXC

Mini USB otg (for charging & data)

Top :

(from left to right)

3 Hardware buttons, These are :

Power

Vol + (also Cursor left on text entry)

Vol - (also Cursor right on text entry)

Full Size Camera Tripod connector

3 Hardware buttons, These are user definable, Perhaps 3 standard Android buttons, Perhaps under linux :

Call software keyboard

Rotate Screen

Launch a selected App

Right Side :

Pogo Pins, female, (for portrait attachment mode)

Bottom :

Pogo Pins, female, (Power from Base to Lid, USB3 & Audio from Lid to Base)

Side by Side with a familiar household object 

p2ptcomp.jpg


Size comparison from above

p2lscomp.jpg


Portrait mode - every mini laptop should have it :p

p2ls.jpg


Lid Papercraft (Big image, print at A4)

lidpapercraft.jpg
 
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Why not put speakers in the base and have an even bigger screen?

Also consider that the hinge will end up making the whole thing (closed) wider (front to back)  than the P1, which is one dimension that seriously affects pocketability.

I think 5" 1280x800 = 16:10 is the way forward
 
Nice work Mr_Loon!


@Binky he needs speakers in the lid because the lid is supposed to be a stand-alone tablet.
 
Nice work Mr_Loon!
@Binky he needs speakers in the lid because the lid is supposed to be a stand-alone tablet.
no need to take up all that space just for that. Then we are looking at a 7" tablet size device with a portable keyboard attached to it.

Sent from my N860 using Tapatalk 2
 
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Nice work Mr_Loon!


@Binky he needs speakers in the lid because the lid is supposed to be a stand-alone tablet.
I suggested:

  1. Base unit: contains large battery, fullSD slots, good(large) speakers, usb hub
  2. iCP2 varient with suitable set of pogopins
  3. tablety thing: microSD slot, small battery, screen, headphone socket, radios, SOC
To be used in the following configurations:

  1. Tablet only: small, light, like a large smartphone without the phone, short battery life
  2. Base only: powered USB hub (for charging things) external speakers (connect to other devices) - this mode is a bit pointless
  3. iCP2 only: can't do this, battery left out for extra interfacing hardware.
  4. Base+iCP2: comfy grip, huge battery - its a wireless game controller+keyboard
  5. Base+tablet: long battery life USB hub, SD slots, speakers - a chunky tablet full of useful hardware
  6. All three - Like a big/clumpy pandora (but more versatile)
Please discuss this in the concept thread, as Mr Loon suggests, instead of derailing this one (unless directly relevant to paper models etc) - Binky
 
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@ Binky : That sort of stuff is best discussed in the concept thread, it's all intelligent argument / interesting / appreciated but I don't want to start discussing it on 2 fronts if that's OK.

Any model making tips / suggested dimensions would be very welcome here.
 
@ Binky : That sort of stuff is best discussed in the concept thread, it's all intelligent argument / interesting / appreciated but I don't want to start discussing it on 2 fronts if that's OK.


Any model making tips / suggested dimensions would be very welcome here.
True. I was using that to explain why I though speakers in the lid were a bad idea.

The relevant point was:

I'd suggest making a model with a 1280x800 5" screen to allow for the hinge
 
...

I'd suggest making a model with a 1280x800 5" screen to allow for the hinge

...
Interesting idea, my gut feel is that the base unit is going to be a pretty snug fit with a 4:3 screen. I'll see how the base unit design goes and come back to that one if dimensions permit.
 
Battery

Question : How big in cubic cm would the battery have to be to power the system for 10 Hours?


Any sort of ballpark figure from someone who knows a bit about these sort of things would be appreciated


______________________________
Have a look at this website of a Lipo-manufacturer to see which batteries are available there. They have got plenty of variations of sizes from square to rectangular and from thin to thick. The 10 hours depends on the power consumption. I think 4000 mAh is not enough for a larger display to get 10 hours. I guess you'll need more like 6000 mAh to get 10 hours. Take a look at the 6200 mAh battery number 599: 122 grams, 122 x 103 x 5 mm = 63 cubic cm. Take 0,5 mm as extra margin for each side. If you want it to be replaceable, it will have to be in a plastic casing. You should add 1,5 mm on each side for that.

For the case take 1,5-2 mm as wall thickness. If you want full USB on a PCB, the PCB height from top to bottom of the connector needs to be around 10-11 mm. Publically available screens can be as thin as 1,5mm up to 8 mm. It depends on the price you want to pay. If you want protective glass like Gorilla Glass, add 0,5 to 2 mm depending on how much protection you want. 
 
Your last description of "Landscape mode - every mini laptop should have it" should be portrait looking at the photo.
 
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@ Drammurt : That's some great help with the battery module design, many thanks. The rest of it certainly seems to makes sense as well, I'm leaning towards smaller connectors on the PCB, see the papercraft model.

@ Ian J : Well spotted, I must be going senile. ;)
 
No problem, what version of Pinball Fantasies is this?
 
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