It's 2015, is there a reasonable way to make a sega neptune shell yet?

As is the case for a small group of other people, I have had an interest in the design of the sega neptune for years.



As has been discussed on this and other forums before, there are tutorials for disassembling the sega 32x to significantly reduce its profile such that it can be crammed in to the case of a megadrive 2 to thereby approximate the all-in-one console feature of the sega neptune.

It seems then, that the only non-well documented effort in the construction of a custom fabricated sega neptune, would be how to construct a case that looks like the neptune's case.


I have periodically checked in on other forum topics and talked with hobbyists who have considered or are in the process of building neptune style cases. The options seem to be:

1) Modify the megadrive 2's case so that it looks like the neptune case using a combination of sanding down and cutting out certain plastic features and using modeling putty and paint to try and approximate the neptune features. This is the technique used by Porlzilla (http://www.porlzilla.com/)

Some pictures of Porlzilla's case, in different stages of completion:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nSiJkL5r-.../ZSilz6IaCyE/s1600/neptune-case-progress1.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OyKhjU4tK...AWQ/sIxZLOGtKBc/s1600/2012-08-22+18.37.48.jpg

Status: Still in progress. After years of effort, The author indicates the shell is pretty much done at this point, but he needs a new 32x to perform the neptune mod and consolidate the hardware into the case.

The case looks quite good to me, but this effort seems like it might take a good degree of artistic expertise and time. I'm not sure that I could get modeling putty to look half this good


2) An idea followed up by another user in 2010 was to hand sculpt a replica of the neptune's shell out of clay, bake the clay so it becomes hard, and then use that model to create a mold that could be used for plastic shells. While the clay replica looked like a good approximation for what it was, after it was baked and the water in the clay evaporated, the clay model had shrunken in many places and no longer was close to reflecting the neptunes dimensions.



Status: After indicating that he would look into making adjustments when trying to create the mold from the shrunken baked clay model, there is no information that any other progress was made on the initiative.


3) A casual idea mentioned by countless people: Create a plastic shell by 3D printing / Make a modified neptune top shell that would fit on the megadrive 2 bottom half.

Status: It seems no one has ever gone so far as to try and design the neptune shell in a CAD program and 3D print it. On some occasions, it was posited that 3D printing would result in a subpar effort based on the quality of 3D printers available at the time and the materials they used (typically early 2010s), or that it would be too expensive.

Comment: I don't have a lot of experience with 3D printing, but often see it used for smaller items. Now that it is 2015, has the technology for the casual user/buyer gotten to a quality level where printing a console shell could be done within a couple hundred dollars? Are there services that could help you design and print such a large object for a fee?


4) Make console shells out of wood.



Comment: I haven't seen anyone act on this for the neptune, but wood has been used as a material for other custom console shells, including numerous benheck inspired mods for various systems, and high end consolized neo geo MVSs (pictured above). I question whether the wood could be cut away enough inside to fit all the megadrive and 32x components without needing to be much larger than the dimensions of the prototype neptune case.


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Does anyone have any other ideas for the most approachable way to create and fabricate a replica neptune shell? The theoretical dimensions for the neptune can be teased out from photos of sega's prototype neptune shell that exists in a video game exhibition and the fact that the bottom of the mockup model is a very close design to the typical megadrive 2 shell's bottom.


Photo of bottom of neptune (on right) compared to bottom of megadrive 2 (on left)
http://home.kpn.nl/baart201/sega-genesis-2-neptune-bottom-large.jpg

 

It's probably going cost around $400+ USD (guesstimate). I actually wanted to do this and the famicom redesign prototype replica for myself, but the cost is not for faint of heart. If I'm spending this much, I would definitely model the PCBs, most of the innards, and custom interconnect PCBs before printing... I wouldn't want to do a reprint if the dimensions aren't quite right.

I think there is an engineering drawing of Neptune in "The Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works" book.I thought I caught a glimpse of it on one of YouTube review of the book. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I have that book. I can take a look for you guys. If not to there I'll do you a photo of the page. C would scan it but the book is pretty thick and I don't want to bend the spine.

 

There is also the MD2/Genesis2 drawing in the book correct? Photo of the page is fine. If it's in there, I wonder how complete the drawing is.

 

Another option would be to find whoever has that proto shell in the picture and have it 3D scanned....

 

I also have the book, not seeing any Neptune drawings.

 

You can guess the dimensions Neptune pretty close with using the MDII as a reference. I would make it out of solid wood, (semi easy to fab and sand). Make a mold from this block of wood.

Cut the thing in half and now you have two molds top and bottom. I would layup fiberglass or carbon fiber, vacuum seal and boom. You would have a good looking piece. There is obviously a lot of extra things to do like buttons, cut outs, stand offs etc.

 

CGE Museum owns that piece I think. I suppose if someone attends one of those show they can use a digital camera and use http://www.123dapp.com/catch
to make a reference model. Better ask for permission first.

I need to get my eyes check. I'm going to pick up the book anyway. Seems like a nice read.

 

I have a question about the Neptune. Was it supposed to have the connector for the Sega CD/Mega CD?

The Neptune looks awesome though.

 

There are 32X CD games so I would think it needs a CD connector to play the few 32X CD (which BTW all sucks)

 

All 6 of them? What about that one CD 32X game not released in the USA?

 

Only tried USA games, I didn't know of any that was not released in USA. What was it?

 

Surgical Strike 32CD, apparently, got a limited release in Brazil.

http://segaage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=49&threadid=41524

 

Missed this topic completely. I'm very interested in creating the neptune top shell. I'm convinced the bottom shell of the mockup is taken from the MD/genesis2, thats why i made and posted that comparison pic on DP. Scanning and 3d printing would probably be the easiest and least time consuming way, but if i'm not mistaken after scanning a 3d object there is still a lot of editing needed before a replica can be printed. Too bad the mockup is located in the US while i live in Europe, that doesn't make it any easier to organise a 3d scan, provided the owner would agree to such a thing.

Luckily there are a lot of pictures of the mockup available, so i guess the best option for now would be to create the shell manually in a CAD program.

 

another option is to 3d model the inside and outside of the shell and take that to a place that can 3D CNC a block of aluminium (ie; places that make custom intake manifolds will do it ), then basically cast it with resin or some kind of plastic

 

Would have to agree the easiest way to do it at the mo with technology/cost availability, would be to take a wooden model of the top half (designed to fit a bottom MD2) and use it as a mold for vacuum forming plastic. Then cut holes and wire up the innards.

 

Or Cnc mill a huge block of plastic

 

Scanning may not be the least time consuming method for the very same reason you brought up about having to edit the model. At least it could provide an accurate reference to build a polished CAD model off from. There are professional level software out there that aid in reverse engineering a parametric model out of those scanned model.

Honestly, if someone want a CNC mold built, they need to go to an experience pattern maker who specializes in mold/pattern making. Anyone can generate G-code from a CAM software and load it into a CNC machine, but the actual tool building is an art.

It's actually more complicated than that. CNC machining requires proper work holding and process set-ups before any material removal process begins. Also, you can't just mill a shell that is 1.5 to 2mm thick.

 

Apparently someone already made a 3d model of the Neptune. It seems a little 'flat' compared to the mockup, but beautiful nonetheless.





source: http://www.jstevens3d.com/neptune

 

That's a very nice rendering but it does look a bit flatter than the actual mock-up. I suppose that's fine if someone is going to redesign a new PCB to fit. With existing components, the cartridge area does not have enough "bulge" to accommodate the 32x parts.

I also noticed small detail such drafting of the sides (sloped edges for mold-ability) are missing and that subtle omission makes the model look a little bit off too. It appears the designer's background is in 3D art, so he may not be aware of how manufacturing and engineering practices can often influence how a product look.

Assuming cost is not a factor, whoever is serious about doing this needs to approach this holistically. Instead of looking how to build from outside in, more thoughts need to be placed into how to package the existing 32x parts better and more efficiently with existing Model 2 PCB. Whether that is designing necessary supporting brackets and/or auxilliary PCBs, those things needs to be suss out first before designing a shell to fit.