> Ah yes, before I go, since Ben is "completely" free, do I have some > kind of access to the mold data for the casing? Also, does anyone > know details on how the case is made? Is it ALL machine, or some by > hand? I am thinking of getting one of those "make a mold kits" to > try and see if I could make my own Ben case, but would like to know > more about how the current one is made. I know it is not your > standard hacker's request for a datasheet, but I think it does > qualify as part of a copyleft plan, right?
Absolutely, in fact mechanical design and the mechanical production and assembly process are important parts of good copyleft hardware. However, unfortunately, it's also the weakest part of the Ben NanoNote, our first product :-) Milkymist One is far ahead. To get things started back in 2009, we bought into an existing plastic injection moulding design and process for the Ben NanoNote. Werner has since done some amazing work to scan the cases and develop an open process for them, resulting for example in the production of a functioning counterweight. http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/ben-scans/ counterweight video: http://projects.qi-hardware.com/media/upload/ben-counterweight/files/cw-demo.ogg counterweight picture: http://projects.qi-hardware.com/media/upload/ben-counterweight/files/cw-demo-open.jpg However, the Ya NanoNote will most likely need a complete makeover of the mechanical design and process, that's something that is still slowly evolving as we move forward. Wolfgang _______________________________________________ Qi Hardware Discussion List Mail to list (members only): [email protected] Subscribe or Unsubscribe: http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/mailman/listinfo/discussion
