SNES 2 3D printed replacement cartridge tray

I'm happy with the result I got from the replacement N64 cartridge tray that I designed from few months ago that I decide to make one for the SNES mini. I knew from the start it would be much more expensive as it's larger and much deeper than N64's. But this time I wasn't as hesitant as SNES is one of my all-time favorite. I am never a big fan of N64 yet I manage to build one, so I really have no excuse to not have this printed. Normally purple would not be my color of choice but in this case it matches the theme of SNES so I'm okay with the choice. It's not the exact shade but that's something I have no control over.

 

Nice! What program do you use to design?

 

Solid Works is what is used to do these. BuffaloWing you should make some resin castings of these as it will be cheaper to produce, I'm sure people are interested in buying it.

 

I think I'm an edge case for doing this. Most people are content with snapping off the tabs so this is a tough sell if they simply want to play games.

 

Kickin'!

 

I don't have a feel for the community as a whole, but I will say that I've personally gotten in the habit of buying these community designed mod parts "just because". I just like maxing out my consoles and I feel good supporting the guys who design/manufacture/sell these niche parts -- and so I probably would for those reasons alone.

However, if you're really sure you don't want to get into the manufacturing end of these...any chance you could share the design so we could have them printed for ourselves?

 

If you are seriously interested, send me a PM and I'll send you a private link to buy directly from the print service. Since they are not cheap (price is dictated by volume and machine space requirement) and very niche, they are not something I plan to stock and resell.

If people don't mind, I could put out a simplified version which just brace the flaps. It will no longer be a "tray", but two pieces of bracket that allow the flaps to function normally. This will be much cheaper to print since there is less to print.

 

Pretty awesome what we can do with those 3d printers.

 

I've heard you can 3D print 3D printers lol... I actually did hear that from somewhere but I forgot where.

Really wish this was around before I snapped the tabs off of my model 1 SNES just to play Mario no Super Picross (English: Mario's Super Picross), which is the only game I have for the SNES/Super Famicom atm since the ones I really want are getting expensive.

 

I think the N64 was a better candidate for this then the SNES. Mostly because with a steady hand you can make those tabs disappear like they were never there. With the N64 You get rid of the tabs and it leaves holes in the bottom of the tray. I imagine it would depend on the price and it sounds like it is pretty expensive.

 

I think someone already has done that. I remember seeing red 3D printed trays for the N64 not too long ago, maybe a couple weeks ago.

EDIT: He already did https://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?55233-N64-3D-printed-replacement-cartridge-tray

 

Maaaan, I'd love one of these in addition to the N64 one. If a batch happens I'm definitely in.

 

Yes, as long as everyone has reasonable expectation from these devices, they are very useful.

That's the mission statement of ReRap machines. It's actually sort of misleading as the metal parts in the printers can't really be replicated on the same machine...

Yes things like this are not cheap when the alternative is essentially free. I'm just doing this way because I have a pet peeve about not making cut/holes on my belongings. I like mods which I can revert back. Sometime it's unavoidable but if I don't have to I will definitely find a way around it. Admittingly it's not always the most cost effective way to go about it, but I do get a personal enjoyment of creating my own custom solution. Part of the fun in these projects is to hold the actual part in your hand after hours of designing the object on the computer. This never gets old.

I linked to my other creation on my first sentence of this thread. I guess I'm the current resident 3D printing guy in this forum, so most 3D printing related topics have me chiming in some form.

There's no saving in batch printing other than the flat rate shipping cost from the print service.

 

Hey BuffaloWing, do you know if it would be possible to 3D print the male connectors for the GameCube Digital AV port? I'm sure someone here with the official Component cable could take some measurements for you.

 

I have a conceptual design done already. It's not identical to the official plug, but it's something that I believe should work theoretically. I'll probably post a rendering on the gcvideo thread later today.

 

Sounds awesome! If yours ends up working, then us DOL-101 users would just need 3D printed Digital AV connectors like the 3D Printed NES Multi-Out connectors and we could enjoy 480p GameCube gaming.

 

It's just a concept design. I haven't tested in physical form. I was kinda waiting for the electrical guys to perfect the boards. But it seems like there is a chicken or the egg dilemma. No plugs no incentive to make boards and vice versa...

 

Ok. If your design does end up working and the boards are perfected, would you also be willing to make the female port for DOL-101 users like me? Maybe we could just replace the DOL-101's Multi-Out with the new Digital Port and have a cable with all analog connections that the GC supports in case we need composite video or S-Video for some reason.

 

Wow, I'm just finding out about this! What a great and useful idea.

I have to ask: Is there any chance of making one for the SNES model 1?

(I just did a rough job of removing the tabs in mine, and I'm disappointed with myself. It would be amazing to replace it with a nice new tab-free tray.)

 

I thought about it before. It's not difficult, it just take a lot of time to make measurements and design it on the CAD program. It would be very expensive to print though, probably twice as much as the model 2.