You can thank diygizmo for doing the hard work

Nov 5, 2014 13:42 GMT  ·  By

Building an electronic system and programming it to do what you want is something that many high schools and sometimes even junior high schools ask of their pupils. Usually, only little, useless proofs of concept turn up, but sometimes a science or electronics project becomes much more.

And sometimes a person with know-how of electrical engineering, coding, and design will put together a truly impressive contraption just because they feel like it.

That's what Instructables user diygizmo did when he created the mini arcade you see in the attached images. Not that he had an easy time of it.

He went through eight prototypes before he finally completed the item in the picture in the upper right corner, something that stretched over a period of several months.

The 3D printed mini arcade

Arcade games used to be a staple of movies and sitcoms back in the days, before personal computers came into the picture. Even afterwards, they continued to live on in pop culture.

Still, even if they've been replaced by other, higher-end machines and consoles, arcades aren't going to disappear from our minds anytime soon. Especially from the minds of people who grew up with them.

We're not sure if diygizmo is one of those people, but he (we're assuming it's a he) was able to invent a pretty cool version that is just barely larger than a soda can.

And it's not just the fact that he created it, but that he's published the instructions for how to do the same thing yourself.

All you need is a trip to a general store, maybe an electric shop, as well as a 3D printer. Unless you have access to a 3D printing service, in which case you can place an order with them. Shapeways will do home shipments.

How to make a 3D printed mini arcade

First you download the plans linked above. Then you make or otherwise produce the 3D printed parts (from nylon), which will later hold the electronics: a Raspberry Pi model B or B+ and the audio board and speakers from an MP3 player.

Use a few clips and clamps to put everything into a single piece and voila! All that's left is to paint the thing over and you're ready to go. The buttons will have to be assembled and glued though, and the wiring will need some finishing touches, but in the end you'll have a working device, complete with TFT screen and power switch.