MiSTer FPGA Forum

Hi all. Over the last year I have been designing and producing custom 3D printed cases for MiSTer that I've been selling on eBay in the US. I first posted about them here under my old username OnCor. These cases allow you to "consolize" your MiSTer and have options for an internal 2.5" hard drive, a display for core artwork, physical buttons for Reset/User/OSD and status LEDs, as well external access to SD card, SNAC, Ethernet, and more. I have continued to refine my designs and components to make the cases easier to assemble as well as to incorporate the most requested features. You can view my current listings on eBay here. I plan on adding some new inventory this weekend.

3D printing these boxes has allowed me to experiment with some unique filaments like wood and translucent PLA. There are more than 10 different designs available to (hopefully) suit any taste. I am an authorized reseller for the TTY2TFT project and have options for both a 3.5" TFT or 2.8" touch display. A portion of the proceeds from each purchase of a box with one of these displays will be donated to a good cause by the creators of the various "TTY2" projects.

Since each user has different configurations and needs for their MiSTer set up I would like to offer the ability to customize your own case. This would allow for the removal of components that aren't needed and also give some options of filament to have the box printed in. If you are interested in having one made please contact me via PM so I can provide a quote. I've attached a copy of the assembly guide in order to see how these cases go together as well as some photos of case options and actual printed examples. As always any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Nice looking project

What is the price point with a screen ?

Your eBay link doesn't seem to working

Armakuni wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:16 am

Nice looking project

What is the price point with a screen ?

Your eBay link doesn't seem to working

Thank you very much for the compliment. I've literally poured hundreds of hours into designing and refining these cases as well as some of the custom components that they use (USB hub, LED module, and 90 degree SD card adapter for the tighter cases). I think I've come up with the best compromise between styling, smooth appearance for a 3D print, functionality, and ease of assembly. Plus the majority of parts are "off the shelf" which is nice in case something ever needed to be replaced.

The boxes I will be listing this weekend which have the 3.5" TFT screen start at $149.99 + shipping. The fees on eBay are pretty high now unfortunately and they take a decent chunk of that. I will offer a discount when purchased directly from me. I've posted some "action shots" of those cases below. I will have more photos available in the next couple of days as I start putting the listings together. If you see one that interests you please don't hesitate to reach out directly.

I'm not sure why the eBay link isn't working properly for you. It takes me right to the page with all my current listings when I click on it. You might try searching by "Custom 3D Printed Case For MiSTer". All the boxes I've got up on there right now show up for me in the results when I do that. You can also go into the Advanced Search form and check for listings under my username "misterconsoles".

Listing is for us only. Change "ship to" country and the stuff will show up.

Nice cases btw

IRONBERG wrote: ↑Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:39 pm

Listing is for us only. Change "ship to" country and the stuff will show up.

Good catch! For the eBay auctions I do have them set to ship within the US only. I think it might be quite expensive to ship internationally given the weight of all the components. If someone outside the US is interested please let me know and I can try to get a shipping quote.

Nice cases btw

Thank you! Definitely much appreciated.

These are pretty neat! Nice job. Looks clean for 3D prints. The prices strike me as reasonable given all the effort involved.

If I were in the market, I think two things that would help me would be images of all the possible plastic colors and some form of assembly instructions, like a PDF for example.

Wave wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:47 am

These are pretty neat! Nice job. Looks clean for 3D prints. The prices strike me as reasonable given all the effort involved.

If I were in the market, I think two things that would help me would be images of all the possible plastic colors and some form of assembly instructions, like a PDF for example.

Thank you for the feedback! 3D printing is an awesome tool for a project like this, but it has some challenges to make a really nice end product. The printer has to be dialed in, the files need to be sliced properly, the filament needs to be dry, and then of course there are design choices that have to be made to avoid supports and layer lines which can make for an ugly print. Not to mention each of these cases takes around 15-16 hours total to print and with a 3D printer something can go wrong at any time during that process to ruin it. This whole process has definitely been a learning experience. I'm also a big fan of options and cool features like the color displays which hopefully set these cases apart from others out there.

There is a link to a PDF version of the assembly guide right before the first photo in this thread to see how these boxes go together. I will try to post a list of my current filament inventory tomorrow...

Oops, completely overlooked the PDF! Thanks for that.

I bought one of your cases a few months ago for my TTY2OLED screen. It was very well made, and I have been very happy with it. I really appreciated how you used counter-sunk metal threads for the screws. I have ordered things from other makers where they have metal screws going right into the filament which ends up causing cracks. You do good work.

dpezet wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:46 pm

I bought one of your cases a few months ago for my TTY2OLED screen. It was very well made, and I have been very happy with it. I really appreciated how you used counter-sunk metal threads for the screws. I have ordered things from other makers where they have metal screws going right into the filament which ends up causing cracks. You do good work.

I can't tell you how grateful I am to hear such a positive review of one of my products. Thank you so much! Like you I have purchased some parts that were 3D printed by other makers and the quality is usually not great. Honestly based off that experience I wasn't sure if I would be able to print a case that I was happy with. I'm am very particular and really wanted something that looked injection molded. Thankfully after a lot of tweaking with the design and slicer/printer settings I was able to achieve something that is very close.

In regards to the threaded inserts, I wanted to make it easy for the boxes to be taken apart and put back together in case there was a need to replace or upgrade components inside. I actually add each insert by hand using a soldering iron and have become quite proficient at doing it after lots of repetition. LOL!

Speaking of screens, I do have cases for the individual OLED, 2.8" touch, and 3.5" TFT displays available. Here is a "family portrait" of all three.

Hi all. Just wanted to give an update on my current inventory of filament. I have the following colors/brands of PLA in stock:

Atomic Filaments
Clear/Natural
Translucent Sapphire
Perfect Red
Light Gray

Paramount
Autobot Blue
Iron Red
Graphite Gray
Battleship Gray

eSun
Matte Dark Gray
Matte Light Khaki

Amolen
Walnut Wood

Overture
Matte Black
Matte Light Gray
Matte Blue

All I got to say is the product is good and this guy is the man. Helping me out when I completely borked up the display by my own doing.

4 thumbs up!

Hackula wrote: ↑Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:58 am

All I got to say is the product is good and this guy is the man. Helping me out when I completely borked up the display by my own doing.

4 thumbs up!

I'm glad that you're enjoying your case. I've had the same problems with the update script flashing the wrong FW on my device because I didn't have the correct settings in the ini file. Thankfully it's a pretty easy fix and I am always happy to help troubleshoot.

Been a bit since I got my case and as new cores come out, more art is needed. Whats the best way to get updated art and the easiest way to get it to the SD card for the TTY2OLED?

Hackula wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:25 pm

Been a bit since I got my case and as new cores come out, more art is needed. Whats the best way to get updated art and the easiest way to get it to the SD card for the TTY2OLED?

Any JPG image can be resized to 480x320 and used on the 3.5" TFT displays. I use a Microsoft program called PowerToys to do that. It's filename has to match the core so that the TTY2TFT program can call it up when the game/system is launched. FTP is the suggested method to transfer files to the SD card of the display. From the project's GitHub page:

You can access your device by FTP using a FTP program like FileZilla (recommended!) to organise your SD's content. Username and password is "esp32" (without quotes). Limit the "parallel connections" to "1" for this connection.

MiSTer Consoles wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 12:26 am

Any JPG image can be resized to 480x320 and used on the 3.5" TFT displays. I use a Microsoft program called PowerToys to do that. It's filename has to match the core so that the TTY2TFT program can call it up when the game/system is launched. FTP is the suggested method to transfer files to the SD card of the display. From the project's GitHub page:

You can access your device by FTP using a FTP program like FileZilla (recommended!) to organise your SD's content. Username and password is "esp32" (without quotes). Limit the "parallel connections" to "1" for this connection.

Nice try and thanks for helping, but he is asking for TTY2OLED

Hackula wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:25 pm

Been a bit since I got my case and as new cores come out, more art is needed. Whats the best way to get updated art and the easiest way to get it to the SD card for the TTY2OLED?

"Run the updater, Luke! (and RTFM before that)"

RealLarry wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:28 am

MiSTer Consoles wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 12:26 am

Any JPG image can be resized to 480x320 and used on the 3.5" TFT displays. I use a Microsoft program called PowerToys to do that. It's filename has to match the core so that the TTY2TFT program can call it up when the game/system is launched. FTP is the suggested method to transfer files to the SD card of the display. From the project's GitHub page:

You can access your device by FTP using a FTP program like FileZilla (recommended!) to organise your SD's content. Username and password is "esp32" (without quotes). Limit the "parallel connections" to "1" for this connection.

Nice try and thanks for helping, but he is asking for TTY2OLED

He actually purchased a box with the 3.5" TFT screen off of eBay. Apparently he confused the TTY2TFT project with the TTY2OLED one. There are a lot of acronyms with these display projects that are very similar and for someone who is not that familiar I'm sure it's quite easy to mix them up.

Hackula wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:25 pm

Been a bit since I got my case and as new cores come out, more art is needed. Whats the best way to get updated art and the easiest way to get it to the SD card for the TTY2OLED?

"Run the updater, Luke! (and RTFM before that)"

Unfortunately the updater doesn't pull down the artwork for the display like it does for TTY2OLED (which is super convenient). Thankfully it's still pretty easy to find nice color marquees and other images to use for the TFT screen and resizing them is a breeze with that PowerToys program.

MiSTer Consoles wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 10:59 am

He actually purchased a box with the 3.5" TFT screen off of eBay. Apparently he confused the TTY2TFT project with the TTY2OLED one. There are a lot of acronyms with these display projects that are very similar and for someone who is not that familiar I'm sure it's quite easy to mix them up.

Hehe, That explains everything

Hackula wrote: ↑Tue Apr 25, 2023 9:25 pm

Been a bit since I got my case and as new cores come out, more art is needed. Whats the best way to get updated art and the easiest way to get it to the SD card for the TTY2OLED?

"Run the updater, Luke! (and RTFM before that)"

Unfortunately the updater doesn't pull down the artwork for the display like it does for TTY2OLED (which is super convenient). Thankfully it's still pretty easy to find nice color marquees and other images to use for the TFT screen and resizing them is a breeze with that PowerToys program.

Well, I'll send him a PM with some details to make him happy.
It's a pity that the copyright regulations are a minefield for such private projects

RealLarry wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 11:28 am

Unfortunately the updater doesn't pull down the artwork for the display like it does for TTY2OLED (which is super convenient). Thankfully it's still pretty easy to find nice color marquees and other images to use for the TFT screen and resizing them is a breeze with that PowerToys program.

Well, I'll send him a PM with some details to make him happy.
It's a pity that the copyright regulations are a minefield for such private projects

Thanks!

I wanted to post some updates regarding these cases. First off, there are three new designs. One is short and rectangular similar to the Sony PS1.

The second one has a rounded front that is a nod to the Atari Jaguar.

The third one's shape was inspired by the N64 with rounded front corners that taper in on the sides.

In order to give more space inside the shorter boxes for a hard drive I've designed a module that incorporates both the LEDs and buttons in a single PCB which connects to the IO board using 5 pin and 7 pin wire harnesses. This moves everything to the front center of the case right behind the screen.

I know some people like the option of having front USB ports, so I designed a new USB hub with 4 internal ports and 3 ports at the back of the case. 2 of the internal ports can be connected to custom micro-USB to USB adapters in order to have two ports on the front side of the case.

The end result looks like like this:

I also have secured a digital IO board (version 1.2) and modified the case to accept that or the analog IO board (version 6.1). Other versions of those boards may work assuming the spacing is the same between components.

That's it for now. I have a handful of cases that I will be posting on eBay soon. However, I am very open to requests for custom cases. That ensures that people get the style of case they want in the color they like with only the features they need for their setup. It can also help to keep the cost down by not paying for options that won't be used. Don't hesitate to send me a PM for a quote. Happy gaming!

That button break out board is superb. Should come in really handy for folks who want buttons on a case. I already did my own case last year but i'd be more than happy with one of these, great work lad

PM sent !

These look awesome.

Reg wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 1:34 pm

PM sent !

These look awesome.

Thank you for the positive feedback! Reply to your PM sent.

MiSTer Consoles wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 12:07 am

I wanted to post some updates regarding these cases. First off, there are three new designs. One is short and rectangular similar to the Sony PS1.
PS1.png

I can't help but think this looks much more like a ps2 than a ps1!

Missus wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2023 5:45 pm

MiSTer Consoles wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2023 12:07 am

I wanted to post some updates regarding these cases. First off, there are three new designs. One is short and rectangular similar to the Sony PS1.
PS1.png

I can't help but think this looks much more like a ps2 than a ps1!

You're right. I had the PS1 in mind when I was designing this case because it is a consistent rectangular shape. However, the PS2 is also rectangular and the horizontal "ribs" on my boxes were 100% inspired by that console. Perhaps I should just refer to this one as the "PlayStation" box.

I actually just printed that case for the first time. The filament is matte black from Overture. It is a simple clean design just like those early PlayStation consoles.

Recently got myself a mister.
Loving the look of these cases and would love to pick one up.... but I'm in australia
Hard enough to get anything mister related down here let alone a not boring case (like the usual plain ol' stack metal cases everywhere).
Any idea how much shipping for a complete case setup would be?
No point getting a price for these case kit itself if shipping is just gonna kill it tbh so we'll get to that later. lol

What are the general dimensions of the various cases? Any chance of sharing the designs to the world?

Anyway, love the cases even if I can't get one. Nice work.

Shadowtrance wrote: ↑Sun Jul 30, 2023 2:12 am

Recently got myself a mister.
Loving the look of these cases and would love to pick one up.... but I'm in australia
Hard enough to get anything mister related down here let alone a not boring case (like the usual plain ol' stack metal cases everywhere).
Any idea how much shipping for a complete case setup would be?
No point getting a price for these case kit itself if shipping is just gonna kill it tbh so we'll get to that later. lol

What are the general dimensions of the various cases? Any chance of sharing the designs to the world?

Anyway, love the cases even if I can't get one. Nice work.

Hi there. Thank you so much for the complement! Unfortunately I am not able to ship these cases outside the US. It's usually quite expensive due to the weight of all the components and the size of the package (US Postal Service wants $73 for their International Priority service to Australia and that probably wouldn't include import duties). There is also the chance that it will be rejected by customs because there are so many different parts and I'm not sure the folks who work in those places understand they are all harmless. I attempted to send one package to England through eBay's international shipping program (which offers a significant savings compared to traditional shipping companies), but they sent it back to me because they identified some "issue" with it which they never really elaborated on. At any rate, it was a bad experience for me as well as the buyer.

I may share some design files down the road, but I'm not sure if/when that will happen. The boxes use custom components like the USB hub, the LED/button module, and the USB daughter boards for the front-facing ports. I'd probably have to come up with a generic enclosure that doesn't require those items. I will definitely give it some consideration.

@MiSTer Consoles was kind enough to give another "license fee" in the form of a donation for the use of my tty2tft project in his own project!
The team around i2c2oled/tty2oled, tty2tft/tty2rpi (@venice, @d.ti and myself) are collecting all donations to give them to sharity projects, this time for the Tafel Deutschland e.V. (see (1) also), a food bank here in Germany..
We donated the total amount in half, one half going to Tafel for children against hunger and the other half going to Tafel Educational offers for children.

Even if you don't believe it, around 20% of all German children and 25% of all German adults are at risk of poverty and hunger (2)(3)(4). What a shame for such a rich country.

If you're considering buying a all-inclusive MiSTer system, head over to MiSTer Consoles project page and have a look!

However, thanks again for all donations our users did, especially MiSTer Consoles!

(1) https://www.tafel.de/
(2) https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten ... utschland/
(3) https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/zahlen-un ... ngsquoten/
(4) https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Socie ... _node.html

Official donation receipt follows.