[GTA04] When is the next and more powerful openmoko releasing

Wolfgang Spraul wolfgang at sharism.cc
Tue Oct 18 04:00:25 CEST 2011


Ranjit,
hey, thanks for noticing :-)

> Happen to see the case of Milkymist one[1], it is a transparent
> material and would prefer GTA04 embedded in case like that, with full
> view of itsy bitsy circuits and chips, don't know how feasible is it.
> [1] http://milkymist.org/mmone.html

That case was designed and manufactured by fantastic Raumfahrtagentur
in Berlin
http://raumfahrtagentur.org/

roh from Raumfahrtagentur used QCad for design and laser cutting, the
original .dxf files are freely licensed and published
https://github.com/milkymist/extras-m1/blob/master/cad/protocase_v8_laser.dxf

QCad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qcad

There are many details that still need improvement, mechanical work
is labor intensive :-) Screws, spacers, feet, etc. In the later
versions we used dichlormethane for gluing the buttons, the entire
button design can probably be improved as well.
Werner just milled some out of wood
http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/tmp/m1butwood.jpg

We made a wood version of the Milkymist One case earlier, but wood
bends over time, if we really wanted to use wood we would need to
find out more about that.
http://en.qi-hardware.com/w/images/4/42/Milkymist_One_wood_case.jpg

The Milkymist logo is engraved into the inside of the top acrylic,
it looks nice but as always there is room for improvement there
as well.
https://github.com/milkymist/extras-m1/blob/master/cad/milkymist_logo_engrave_v1.dxf
http://en.qi-hardware.com/w/images/d/d3/Milkymist_engraved_logo_shot.jpg

Bottom line: We learnt a lot, made a beautiful and functional acrylic
case (often used for architecture models as well, btw). Many details
can and will be improved, the process is all open and uses free
tools. Kristian Paul used the same files to make his own Milkymist
One case in Bogota, Colombia.
In the future we may also investigate milling or lasering aluminum,
maybe starting with the same .dxf design files we have right now...

If anybody has questions about a mechanical design and manufacturing
process using free tools, don't hesitate to join the Qi list at
http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/pipermail/discussion
or the #qi-hardware IRC channel on Freenode, webchat
http://en.qi-hardware.com/webchat

Last but not least - Milkymist One sells for 499 USD plus shipping at
https://sharism.cc/milkymist
About 40 of 80 run3 units have already sold in the last 3 weeks :-)
By buying one you support the entire free supply chain, including
Raumfahrtagentur in Berlin.
Cheers,
Wolfgang



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