Makey Controller Shell (with or without nuts)

cults3d

When students ask me what they want most from a Makey Makey accessory, I hear one answer over and over again: a video game controller. One of the coolest ways to integrate the Makey Makey, a USB connected multi-ported Invention Tool, is to play games made in Scratch or other platforms using a controller that's uniquely yours. By combining 3D printing with conductive materials, we set out to create a functional and slightly unusual controller. After many attempts, we finally created a game controller that meets our users' needs. Our first design feature was an embedded path in the layout of a classic video game controller. This path allows for conductive tape or playdough to be used, and it also has a thin edge along the outside of the shell where alligator clips can be attached. The initial design started as a rectangle, but we quickly moved towards a more ergonomic shape. Our most recent design includes spaces for six buttons and the ground. The second key feature of our design is a shelf built into the bottom of the board to hold the Makey Makey in place while still leaving room for wiring. To make this project easy and accessible for students, simply connect the Makey Makey with alligator clips on the edges, slide the controller into place behind the 3D printed board, and connect your wires. The four spots on the left side of the design are meant for the directional arrows, followed by two buttons on the right side that mirror the Makey Makey's left click and space bar. The final buttons on the bottom left and right were designed for the ground, ensuring that a player's thumbs stay on those pads to make all other buttons work when pressed. (We later realized we only needed one ground, so the extra space is gone, and we added another ground underneath!) Once everything is connected, add enough playdough to create a path from the alligator clip to the button, making a satisfying squishy button for each path. Be sure not to add too much playdough; you need to keep your buttons separate. Another option is to use copper tape to make a conductive path from the buttons on your controller to the alligator clips. Cut pieces of copper tape to fit the spaces, leaving room to wrap the outer edge of the controller. This allows you to create a path from your alligator clip to whatever material you plan to use as your "button." Ideas might include using metal objects like nuts as conductive buttons. To secure the nuts tightly in place, we designed the holes in the 3D board slightly smaller and then melted them into place by heating up a soldering iron tip on the nut and pressing it into the slightly melting 3D material. After that, we reinforced the nuts with a bit of superglue around the outside. Make sure not to get the superglue between the contacts of the copper tape and the nut – they need to be pressed together snugly. The end result looks great and has an excellent weighted feel. Check out the full project at: https://www.instructables.com/id/Makey-Controller-Shell-with-or-Without-Nuts/