You'll hate this post. And you'll love this post.

[the_marshal]

Thanks for you post. That was some very interesting reading

 

[Askarus]

The mold for the top side (the keyboard area) will be finished until end of next week.
Then we'll have a complete base to test.



Next will be the shoulder buttons (so we can test those, as these are the parts with the lowest tolerances), and after that, the lid will be finished.
Then we got a full set!

That makes the whole trip pretty useless.
Didn't you want to go to Greece to tweak the shoulder buttons and other things while you are there.

At least in my case I will not love that post in any way.
An other unexpected waiting.

I'll never change that one opinion: "No matter what's promised and how sure it will be, I won't believe in a ready Pyra until it's standing in front of me"

 

[josh4364]

Sweet, I was hoping for a smooth matte finish. My phones got a sorta rubber like finish on the back case wonder if its going to end up like that. So full case 6 weeks?

 

[Klumpen]

View attachment 27810

The pink Pyras are coming.

 

[EvilDragon]

That makes the whole trip pretty useless.
Didn't you want to go to Greece to tweak the shoulder buttons and other things while you are there.

At least in my case I will not love that post in any way.
An other unexpected waiting.

I'll never change that one opinion: "No matter what's promised and how sure it will be, I won't believe in a ready Pyra until it's standing in front of me"

Useless? No.
A lot of decisions had to be made. Choosing the surface material, discussing about the different qualities and possibilities of the plastic, etc.

Yes, that wasn't my original plan and I was as much anticipating as you were to get a final case already (which is what's to hate about that post), but that's not yet the case.
However, I am still happy because I've now seen ways to improve the case compared to Pandoras one, I am happy to have learnt more about the whole process as that helps with further projects (and I got an idea how long things take).

I rather wait a few weeks more than have an inferior, cheap looking case (what's those few weeks compared to the full development time we had?)

Sure, we need to hasten, but not rush it out.

I have my new 3DS here, and I'm actually horrified by the build quality... so far, I've ever only used it at home, it's the first time I took it with me.
The matte surface has some ugly scratches already, so edges even look worn-out like they're a few years old already... honestly, that case is VERY cheap.
Something I don't want!

BTW: Forgot to mention: We'll try using a very hard rubber material for the nubs which will give them a better grip (especially as we keep the structure)

 

[Bosbeetle]

It looks like communication with this compagny goes a lot smoother than with the previous one. Very nice post about the process and looking forward to some finished samples

 

[codifies]

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/attachments/27810/

that purple next to the blue usb stick....

but burgundy with a little gold glitter embedded in it....

clear...see through....

that wood effect


OMG my brain might explode..... the possibilities....


I'd have been amazed if the trip had gone like you planned - as you now know injection moulding is way more complicated then you ever wanted to know....!

 

[ashcloud]

I think the Pyra is going to be great - because ED cares a lot about getting hight quality stuff. Keep up the good work!
How many different colors will you choose for mass production? I might even prefer transparent, but that depends on weather the keymat covers all the LEDs, so they won't shine directly into my face.

edit: there is only a 'like' button for the post, so I couldn't hate it!

 

[Rockthesmurf]

This was always one of the biggest problems with the Pandora, unexpected delays, and what huge problems it caused. Obviously this time the delays are tiny in comparison, but I think everyone would agree the real difference is the fact ED is providing a detailed account of what has happened, both the problem but also all the cool stuff that has happened. Result: everyone is happy. Thanks ED, wishing you the best luck for the next stages!

 

[Eight Bit]

Though this looks nice

I'm afraid it will end up like this after a while :-/

And I don't like the fact that it would leak light everywhere...
If it's going to be clear plastic I would be happy to pay the 30€ for something else.

And although I would like a C64 colored Pyra, I'm a bit worried by the Pyra logo on the lid as brown with white plastics won't look nice so maybe something like the coffee colored one would look better with the white pyra logo on the back...

Or just plain white...

Yay! Color talk!

Anyway, thanks for the update and those nice pics Ed I love seeing stuff like that!

 

[ElPoco]

Are they interested in the product itself, or is it just another job for them?

 

[Christoph.Krn]

I hope you enjoyed the newspost, even though it was looooong and too much to read, probably

I thought it was really interesting with all the details. Much more interesting certainly than your previous news posts (though that may only be because I had no idea how injection moulding really works).

 

[mclien]

W
Hmm, could keeping the plastic parts longer in the molds, until they cooled down more, do the trick?

I don't think so. Or better: you can leave it longer, but it will shrink anyway, resulting in internal tension, which basicly makes it harder to get the part out of the mold. It's more about choosing the right temperature of the plastic for injecting and the right time/cooling curve to have as little tension in the part as possible. Some molds even have different cooling chanels inside the mold to get different cooling in different places, IIRC.
[doublepost=1453372968,1453372550][/doublepost]As for the colors:
I'm totally to give 30EUR extra for a "wooden" case. The nubs, wheel, and all buttons have to be in brass then of course. Steampunk Pyra, Yeah! (og and brass screws, of course...

Mate clear, paintable from the inside would be cool, too....

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

@ED, please, if you can ask them if can provide some transparent cases aside of the colored ones. Thank you!

 

[levi]

It's been reported that Pandora cases have failed not explicitly due to falls or hits, but simply due to corners being worked e.g. around the USB port. On my case I made a small crack in the lid getting the bezel out one time (to get at the LCD board), but that crack has been slowly propagating and becoming longer, presumably due to small but repeated stresses on the case.

Is there any way for the mould company to test the plastic to see how it resists the propagation of cracks? Resisting a fall or a strike is a useful test, but not as useful to me as I've never dropped my Pandora onto anything hard or hit it with anything. If my material science knowledge is up to date, it should be possible to start a crack by filing a V into the material, then try mistreating it (maybe in the same way as in that video, although smaller forces, much more often would be more representative of my real world cases), then observe if a crack has formed from the V and if so, how long it is.

 

[ekianjo]

The base plastic is transparent, but by adding pulverized color, it will be completely opaque in that color.

What polymer are they using for the plastic ?

 

[ssokolow]

What polymer are they using for the plastic ?

Given how transparent it is and that they claim it's bulletproof, I suspect it might be polycarbonate. (At the right thickness and tolerance, that's used for bulletproof materials and have you ever tried destroying a coaster'd CD-R or DVD+R? Those things are very flexible.)

 

[SNESFAN]

wood grain finish

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

The woodgrain finish is too 1970's for my taste. Bring out the fondues and shag carpets.
I'm glad that we will have a choice of case colours. Transparent cases are not for me.

 

[ekianjo]

Given how transparent it is and that they claim it's bulletproof, I suspect it might be polycarbonate. (At the right thickness and tolerance, that's used for bulletproof materials and have you ever tried destroying a coaster'd CD-R or DVD+R? Those things are very flexible.)

If that's the case it would quite expensive. Polycarbonate is way more pricey compared to other polymers, but yeah, they are used in some smartphones (LUmia, I think).