With big thanks to @nnap who sent me his Fusion design for the SPI case, I realized that I would make much faster progress designing a case from the ground up in FreeCAD, an app which I understand. I want to learn Fusion someday, but it is not yet that day. So with a few of nnap's very accurate measurements in hand, I started over, and added a few tweaks that I thought might be useful.
This design has three primary differences when compared to the original, or nnap's replica:
The first, because I could, and because it's less hassle than printing labels. The second because it seemed easier than trying to find self-tapping screws for plastic. My RF cart was a Korean version that either never had a cart cover, or was lost before I bought it.
The third thing is the most important to me. Board flex is a notorious killer for the SPI system, those micro-pitch chips will pop off their pads without hesitation all too frequently. My last SPI board was DOA when I bought it, because of board flex. I had it repaired, but it's not a cheap process, and the second time it happened it couldn't be fixed.
So this design has a pair of supports for each connector, to keep the board from flexing when inserted into a PCB. I plan to make a matching riser to go under the main board as well.
The Logo
I vectorized the logo from a Fighters marquee, and discovered pretty quickly that the original logo from Seibu/Fabtek was pretty sloppy. The letter widths were all over the place, the angles didn't match, etc etc. I made a lot of changes so that this logo would be more consistent and look better in monochrome than the original design. I'll be doing up the logos for RF2, RFJ and VIper, as well as a generic Seibu design, in case anyone wants those. I thought about doing a GunDogs logo too, but it's not a great design for a monochrome print.
I tried printing the logo in a 2-colour silk filament but while it looked shiny and cool, it was a lot harder to read. Worse for real than it seems in this photo. So I stuck with the red.
I'm also going to whip up a plate for the bottom of the cart, to protect it a little bit from damage or static, etc. Stay tuned for that. ^__^
UPDATE:
I've finished the bottom plate, and logos for all three RF games, plus Viper, and the Seibu logo.
There are a few tiny chips on the Jet PCB that prevent the new anti-flex supports from resting safely on the PCB. Didn't expect that. Now I gotta check out the rest of the titles.
Update 2: And I think this is nearly the end of the project. Finished the mainboard support, with M2 thread inserts to mount the mainboard. This locks the board in place vertically, and should prevent virtually all flex when swapping carts.
This design has three primary differences when compared to the original, or nnap's replica:
- Game logo integrated into the cover
- M3 threaded heat press nuts, instead of self-tapping screws
- Stress relief in the middle of the board to reduce board flex
The first, because I could, and because it's less hassle than printing labels. The second because it seemed easier than trying to find self-tapping screws for plastic. My RF cart was a Korean version that either never had a cart cover, or was lost before I bought it.
The third thing is the most important to me. Board flex is a notorious killer for the SPI system, those micro-pitch chips will pop off their pads without hesitation all too frequently. My last SPI board was DOA when I bought it, because of board flex. I had it repaired, but it's not a cheap process, and the second time it happened it couldn't be fixed.
So this design has a pair of supports for each connector, to keep the board from flexing when inserted into a PCB. I plan to make a matching riser to go under the main board as well.
The Logo
I vectorized the logo from a Fighters marquee, and discovered pretty quickly that the original logo from Seibu/Fabtek was pretty sloppy. The letter widths were all over the place, the angles didn't match, etc etc. I made a lot of changes so that this logo would be more consistent and look better in monochrome than the original design. I'll be doing up the logos for RF2, RFJ and VIper, as well as a generic Seibu design, in case anyone wants those. I thought about doing a GunDogs logo too, but it's not a great design for a monochrome print.
I tried printing the logo in a 2-colour silk filament but while it looked shiny and cool, it was a lot harder to read. Worse for real than it seems in this photo. So I stuck with the red.
I'm also going to whip up a plate for the bottom of the cart, to protect it a little bit from damage or static, etc. Stay tuned for that. ^__^
UPDATE:
I've finished the bottom plate, and logos for all three RF games, plus Viper, and the Seibu logo.
There are a few tiny chips on the Jet PCB that prevent the new anti-flex supports from resting safely on the PCB. Didn't expect that. Now I gotta check out the rest of the titles.
Update 2: And I think this is nearly the end of the project. Finished the mainboard support, with M2 thread inserts to mount the mainboard. This locks the board in place vertically, and should prevent virtually all flex when swapping carts.
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