PipBoy 3000 Mk IV from Fallout 4 (mid-grade)

[Phelan Kell]

Hi,
also created an accout to let you know that you are doing a helluva job here. Thank for the docu, files and shared wisdom. My wayto this thread started on YTECs page and when i was reading about improved stuff i had to see it. I started making my pipboy a few weeks ago and.. time is scarce for my hobbies. Anyway the project started as a static prop with maybe space to slide in my mobile. Quickly abandoned that idea after looking through the measurements and .stl files. Then i found (on aliexpress) a 5" LCD Display with HDMI. Ordered it although it fits poorly. Will have to create a bezel to cover up the gaps.
But anyway, with that display i moved away from the plan to creating a little lightshow with an arduino nano. Now i am hesitating to buy one of those raspberry or orange pi Zero 2W to power my pipboy. Prolly it will be the orange, 'cause it has the better technical readings.

Since i really don't know what i am doing with the printed hull right now, i am thinking about it as an MVP and if i can get it properly working i plan of alernating the .stl files according to my changes.

I'll post a few pictures of my Frankensteined stuff later, as soon as my phone is charged ;-)

One Question, bbroerman, in you instructions you refer to the eject mechanism(which you want to overhaul). I can only find .mix files for it. How do i open those?

 

[Phelan Kell]

I posted some pictures in a separate thread. I don't want to give the impression that i want to hijack this one.

Phel-Boys first steps

 

[bbroerman]

Hi,
also created an accout to let you know that you are doing a helluva job here. Thank for the docu, files and shared wisdom. My way to this thread started on YTECs page and when i was reading about improved stuff i had to see it. I started making my pipboy a few weeks ago and.. time is scarce for my hobbies. Anyway the project started as a static prop with maybe space to slide in my mobile. Quickly abandoned that idea after looking through the measurements and .stl files. Then i found (on aliexpress) a 5" LCD Display with HDMI. Ordered it although it fits poorly. Will have to create a bezel to cover up the gaps.
But anyway, with that display i moved away from the plan to creating a little lightshow with an arduino nano. Now i am hesitating to buy one of those raspberry or orange pi Zero 2W to power my pipboy. Prolly it will be the orange, 'cause it has the better technical readings.

Since i really don't know what i am doing with the printed hull right now, i am thinking about it as an MVP and if i can get it properly working i plan of alernating the .stl files according to my changes.

I'll post a few pictures of my Frankensteined stuff later, as soon as my phone is charged ;-)

One Question, bbroerman, in you instructions you refer to the eject mechanism(which you want to overhaul). I can only find .mix files for it. How do i open those?

Thanks for the compliments! I also started with the static model, which I just put in a fake screen and a display from my color printer. I started this one a year ago, and I'm still working on it.

For the .mix files I use meshmixer. It easily lets me sculpt and cut the STLs to do what I need with them, and show all of the parts together so I can see what they look like, and fit together. I can't run Fusion 360 or anything like that, but I do also use FreeCad and Blender, and sometimes Tinkercad.

The tape eject I have now works really well, and I've updated all of my files to include it (in a side-directory). If you're interested, I'll detail out the various steps to put it all together.

Right now, I'm using an ESP32-S3 with the SD card reader, and some accessory boards from Adafruit to handle sound, the rotary encoder, and to give me some extra analog and digital GPIO lines since the display controller took up almost everything the ESP32 had... I am thinking of going to the Rasberry Pi Zero 2 next time around, with the 5" HyperPixel display. I'd have to re-do the screen holder to get it to fit and look nicely, though. The best thing I did was cast a screen in clear epoxy to go over top the display, so it looks like it fits no matter what... I included the mould for it in my list, just make sure to sand it mirror smooth, and spray it with a release agent before casting...

 

[MainManSean]

I love all the effort you're putting into it, it's an incredible journey to watch unfold!

Do you happen to have any of the custom PCBs left that you were offering out? I'd be more than willing to pay any shipping costs if possible, but if not I understand! What are the circuit sizes so I can order some for myself if that's the case? Sorry if you've already mentioned it somewhere, there's a lot to go through Thanks!

 

[bbroerman]

Finalizing the design and parts for the takeup reel

I love all the effort you're putting into it, it's an incredible journey to watch unfold!

Do you happen to have any of the custom PCBs left that you were offering out? I'd be more than willing to pay any shipping costs if possible, but if not I understand! What are the circuit sizes so I can order some for myself if that's the case? Sorry if you've already mentioned it somewhere, there's a lot to go through Thanks!

I have boards currently for the radio dial, the rad gauge (I'm currently only using it for a backlight, since I couldn't get the gauge motor I wanted), and the rotor board for the take-up reel. I'm currently finishing the design of the take-up board for the reel. It sits on top of the rotor, and has the spring-loaded POGO pins... I can put some in a USPS envelope and send to you. Where are you located so I can figure out the postage?

 

[bbroerman]

Currently finishing up the design of the take-up reel for the accessory plug. I have (previously) SLA printed the reel itself, and have had the rotor boards printed for me. I moved the position and shape of the gear board, the pawl, and the take-up board to make it a little cleaner in movement. I also picked up springs from eBay that I hope will work (maybe with a little pre-tensioning).

So, the rotor gear had to be changed to add a bit more "ring" inside the gear, to keep the spring from popping up and out when under tension. The rotor board sits on top of that (and has a plastic holder underneath that has alignment pins to lock it in place on top of the gear). The 4 large holes around the take up board will have the pogo pins.

I picked up some small springs to hold the pawl in place, and will be using the 1mm and 1.5mm diameter rods to hold the pawl and spring in place. I have heat-set threaded inserts to put in the middle, that the take-up board will be screwed on to. The whole mechanism (so far) rotates well around the central post, where the spring will also attach.

So, once I get everything tested with the filament printed parts, I'll send the pawl, the ratchet gear, and the rotor board holder out to SLA print with tough resin, and send off the take-up board PCB to be made properly (so I can solder on the pogo pins and wires)

(The casing in the picture below was cut out of the back of the PipBoy STL to save filament while I was trying various options)

 

[bbroerman]

In these pictures (from meshmixer) you can see how the parts of the rotor stack up on top of each other... and then how the whole thing sits in the back of the PipBoy with the pawl and it's pins...

 

[zapwizard]

Good luck on the mechanism, you look to have a good start.
Did they put solder mask over the contacts on your PCB?

 

[bbroerman]

Thanks. Hopefully the spring is a good enough one. I think that if I pre-tension it one turn it should work out well... and yeah, they put solder mask over the slip rings. I have to sand that off.

 

[MainManSean]

Finalizing the design and parts for the takeup reel

I have boards currently for the radio dial, the rad gauge (I'm currently only using it for a backlight, since I couldn't get the gauge motor I wanted), and the rotor board for the take-up reel. I'm currently finishing the design of the take-up board for the reel. It sits on top of the rotor, and has the spring-loaded POGO pins... I can put some in a USPS envelope and send to you. Where are you located so I can figure out the postage?

Sent you a conversation!

 

[Xrkant]

Do you have an estimated cost on the parts?? Looking to make a pip-boy for cheap.

 

[bbroerman]

Do you have an estimated cost on the parts?? Looking to make a pip-boy for cheap.

All together, so far, I'd estimate around $300, not counting the extras i had to get, and the various experimentation parts that didn't make it into the final version. A non-working static model can be printed for maybe $80, but all the electronics and mechanical parts (springs, rods, etc) cost a bit, especially with minimum order sizes (I had to buy 27 potentiometers, when I only wanted 1 as an example)