3D printed Gameboy prints in just two pieces so it is easy to change the colour of your new Gameboy case to match your outfit, your home decor, or just to match your mood. I’m feeling very cerulean today.
Adafruit loves to use 3D printing in its projects and they post a new tutorial every Thursday, which, funnily enough, they call 3D Thursday. The latest 3D printing project is the Raspberry Pi Gameboy – a custom built Nintendo emulator with a 3D printed “Gameboy” case — to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic handheld gaming console.
The project is optimized to print on any FFF/FDM 3D printer, and it will need to have a build area of at least 150mm x 150mm x 100mm (5.9in x 5.9in x 3.9in). Adafruit recommends that you use a PrintrBot, TAZ4, MakerBot or any basic RepRap machine to 3D print your Gameboy case.
As usual for their 3DP guides, Adafruit has included a list of suggested printer and slicer settings so you don’t create any new 3D printed Zombies. PLA filament is the suggested build material, however ABS or any other strong and durable 3D printing material would do the job. I’d suggest that you avoid any flexible or soft materials as the case is the only structural part of the build and will need to be screwed together.
The inside of the case is fitted with housings for all of the suggested internal parts to keep them in place and to keep the touch screen stable. So if you decide to substitute or replace some of the suggested part list you may need to adjust the model before you print it.
The guts of the machine is a custom built Linux Raspberry Pi computer that you will have to Frankenstein together with a trisected SNES controller and a simple touch screen display. This is not a project for a beginner, as there is a lot of wiring and soldering involved, but if you’re an experienced maker or looking to up your skills with a slightly more sophisticated project this may be just the project for you.
