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bpm controller


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update:

had a comlete day on eagle again, had to try and remember what nils taught me last time, and i had promptly forgotten!

after a few questions, some help and perserverance i managed to complete the function buttons board. i have several other boards to do yet but i think that getting some boards done will be well worth it in the end and it will keep things clean inside the unit. this also means that should someone else want to build a similar unit with the plans i will share they can get boards made and get the relative switches and mount them where-ever they want simply by re-arranging the layout on the case.

so far the funtion keys and the lift board for the song-live button have been don, tomorrow i will finish the left side 6 way button section for the banks and then the board for the transport and file selection, after that i will have to do the buttons for the mb64e menu system.

once again thanks for the paitience nils and for taking the time to tech me what i had forgotten in eagle again!

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really good day today, got the hang of eagle with placement to 1:1 scale which means i can do a 1st scale print of any layout of switches i do and i can check them against my solidworks printouts of the casework.

today i actually enjoyed working with eagle again and it went ok, mind you i still have some way to get anywhere as good as nils and smashy or wilba! but its a positive start and if i keep practicing i can only get better.

the plan now is to finsh the baords and do a test print of the boards and the whole case to check plaement and see if there is any issues, after that i can sign the case off so to speak and send it for laser cutting and cnc bending then its just the powdercoating and silkscreening i guess unless i have a go with lazertrans, im not sure yet.

with the fsr sorted out and a trimmer matrix for each pad finished its just the transport section to check tomorrow and then the faders board and its done i think!

some pics and details to follow this week.

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todays progress.

i managed to finsh the menu system boards, this comprises of two boards, one back board that mounts the 20x2 lcd and the connectors for that and the 8 menu buttons tat are above and below it, because of a height diffrence this also led to the design of a raiser board for the buttons also. once again i did a 1:1 scale print out and checked position and placement and after a few revisions of moving a couple of support pin holes it was done.

also started is the fader board, nils did me a lib object for the faders im using so i did a rough placement with the transport and it has come out great.

project so for:

boards designed so far

bank select

transport

pot matrix

fsr link

function board

to be finalised

fader board and encoders

once this is done i can then do a final 1:1 layout of everything in eagle and then map it into solidworks on the casework, check it and then once its finished get the case made.

sorry no pics camera battery is charging.

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several changes have been made and one side of the unit with the knobs, faders and transport will im hoping be one single board with the relative links and connectors to the ain, and din boards.

im hoping to add pictures this evening and some more detailed working information.

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well i have been busy with eagle, i have to say that my routing really isnt great and i have still got a lot to learn about using the program, but i have to say its fantastic for me when it comes to exporting the brd file to a dxf and then uploading it onto the case in solidworks, this means i have exact position markers for all the through case buttons and encoders etc and it also means i can lay everything out much quicker now. this has resulted in the case becoming much samller in size now, although it was still dictated by button cap size and also the knobs and 4x4 pads.

i decided on printing boards out and then using printable acetate to check on riser boards and positioning.

5897_984c204bcd43345d40ed3a25f2c1c03b357

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  • 2 weeks later...

erm let me see what i can remember ...

boards done... check, in nils hands now.

case finished... check, awaiting several quotes on the casework.

case rendered? yep gotta find the pic link again.

shouldnt be long till its made hopefully, i just still gotta figure out the artwark for the front panel.

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finally figured out how to attach the bottom case panel without any form of screws showing anywhere, i cut some "u" slots into the bottom case panel ears so that the pem studs slip into them and give a stop to the case when dropped into the top face unit. This will now keep the casework neat and tidy and follow the lines of the software precisely.

the gm5 usb and two midi ports will be the only holes on the rear along with the dc socket now, now i could put the core by the rear edge and just have the cores two midi sockets on the rear, this is ok but i will lose usb connectivity and i want to keep this option, yes a waste of a gm5 but it will serve its purpose well.

heres the solution to secret fixing the casework

completecase1.jpg

also here is the baseplate with the folds for the side cheeks, the holes are 4mm dia which will have clinch nuts on the inside.

bpmbaseplate.jpg

here is a closeup of the fold and cuts for the side panels

basecloseup.jpg

Edited by ssp
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well while im waiting for the casework to be cut next week and for the boards to be done, im building an mb-lc control surface and dumping the mackie stuff i learned into the code. this means i can use it as an hui unit with digital performer. luckily i have enough spares lying around to build it so i will do another thread with this is at some point.

also smithy put a real cool idea into my head abut putting a sequencer into the bpm box.

well this is possible however i reduced the case size for a reason, so i thought about having another case made and having the sequencer in that one, so i would have two matching cases but one is the sequencer unit, and this can be chained with the bpm.

lets just say i havent used solidworks so much in a while and the second case is almost finished! i will add some pics over the weekend, thanks smithy its something i wouldnt have thought of to be honest!

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update:

case is being cut and formed from designs, flush fit clinch studs in the main face and 4 clinch nuts in the ears of the base.

powdercoat will be aluminium silver as per the software.

boards almost ready to send off to be done (thanks nils) and assembly to follow shortly.

still doing the lc in the meantime but its on hold while i wait for idc connectors.

also been speaking with the guys at uvsoundsource who designed the software for motu, the main reason is the ability to assign any midi cc# to anything in bpm, this will make setting the unit up in the editor much easier

so the plan is to get to grips with illustrator in the meantime to do the graphics for the case front.

new pics of the case and brds here.

bpmcase.jpg

rear-1.jpg

caseexp.jpg

boards.jpg

Edited by ssp
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well what can i say apart from its all smithys fault.

took a look at wilbas stuff for the mb-seq, dropped the dxf in and edited it a little and viola, a seq box too. so i guess i better put my name down for a pcb and some other bits. i will have to mount the pcb to the lower case and have the encoders and switches run with link wires and cnx to the front panel and secondary boards. the jog will be an okw low profile same as im using on the bpm. thats another project to build then, thank god i dont drink or smoke, i couldn't afford it!

bpm-seq.jpg

pair.jpg

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lol lyle its no good because today i sorta did this..

viola the MBC8 controller ;) oh well i had to put my lc build into a case and well.. it would be a shame not too. i guess i wont be buying the xtra soundproofing i wanted then either!

C8.jpg

the three of them

seq-bpm-c8-1.jpg

now this lot will keep me going in the hew year when the weather here is really bad and im not out much. im going to work out the bits i need from smashtv, also work out what i need from rapid too. i just bought 200 switches with 200 buttons for £35 usd from a 100% seller in china so im happy with that, i have got all the leds i will ever need now also from ebay, i have got faders, knobs, jogw wheels, encoders, knobs, padboard and a load of other bits and pieces of unused parts here so im all ok. so its another nights reading and writing a list out for a smashtv order.

mind you first comes the boards for the bpm and finish that, i also have to finish the wood and panel layout for the hu-mon as well. worst thing is i paid for my wood and it never happened, also i didnt get my cash back either. so the plan now is to have the wood done with a more reputable comapny and if need be pay a little extra.

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had call today, casework on its way, i still have to get it coated, but its good i can get on with things shortly.

i can pre assemble and check clearances etc and then get it powder coated. the only thing is still sorting the front graphics out.

today i tried several times to speak with the guys at uvi soundsource, but i may as well of hit my head against a brick wall, i havent had any communication from the engineers to implement the cc# changes and make each button etc all assignable. and after several tries calling them i kept getting hung up on which really pissed me off. so i have sent an email off and i no longer expect anything from them at all, i will figure things out myself.

for once it seemed like a software company was really taking an interest in things and then.. pffft its not making money for them so no longer interested.

fine by me, i will get on with it myself and enjoy it myself, so be it.

update: i had a phone call this evening from uvi and the person i have been dealing with, it seems all my calls are being routed to the store and as none of them speak english they hang up, apologies were made and all is cool again. i should be getting some vector files for the graphics shortly and a few other things, so prehaps we are back on track.

Edited by ssp
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sorry been a little busy and hadnt put case pics up.

here is the casework in bare metal pre powdercoating, i checked the fitment of the pads and flush jogheel and it all looks good. powdercoating will be done shortly and then i can get on with the graphics side of things also.

baseplate:

100_3190.jpg

case internal:

100_3186.jpg

case rear:

100_3184.jpg

case front:

100_3182.jpg

test fit of pads and jog wheel ring:

100_3181.jpg

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im just waiting for the pcbs and the graphics for the faceplate now, as soon as i recieve both i can get on with the unit and have it finished.

at the moment im just rattling around with the asm files and the editor getting used to them. im also thinking of ordering a uv photo sensitivity etch kit and making some lille bankstick boards similar to sinsurfers boards, i was really impressed by the pictures of the boards i have to say.

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did some placement checks and fitment checks, also did a test print onto some acetate of the front graphics, well, as close as i could get them, the bpm font is close but the "M" is way different to the original so i have to make an "M" now to go with the bp.

i was going to put these pictures up before but i got a little sidetracked so to speak, but now im back i can add them to the thread.

transport, phenolic knobs ( these have to be trimmed at the bottom) and faders etc.

1.jpg

2.jpg

4.jpg

as you can see the pads are still grey, these are just test pads and when the case is finshed i will use the black pads. the casework will have been media blasted to remove all marks and then cleaned and de-greased before powdercoating. i have gone with a scratchproof coating, i will add details on the manufacturer etc later.

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  • 2 weeks later...

many thanks to santa nils, the boards arrived here today, looking forward togetting things built over xmas. woman allowed me to take a picy or two then promptly took them off me ! apparently she feels the need to cover them in a cheap winter scene printed paper. oh well.

pics.

100_3276.jpg

100_3278.jpg

100_3279.jpg

100_3281.jpg

100_3282.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

well i finally had some time to sit down and do some soldering after the xmas mayem and new years madness that has engulfed us all!

after cutting the seperate boards from the panel i was then able to begin building the boards and raised sections also.

everything went together with no problems, although i do wish that i could get sil pins that were longer than the normal ones for extra pin length with the spacers.

first i did the pot matirx board this was an easy job helped with a little flux brushed on the contacts to help the fine pitch soldering along.

100_3311.jpg

then cam the display and menu buttons for the core, the menu buttons had to be raised for spacing and because the lcd will have a small perspex screen infront of it for protection

100_3312.jpg

100_3313.jpg

100_3318.jpg

then followed the fsr link, control board, bank board with riser for the lower two switches

100_3315.jpg

i am still doing the transport bar and this is also on raiser for the switches.

100_3316.jpg

here is the main board with the fader, encoders and 4 raised switches in place with just the transport board to add.

100_3317.jpg

the boards are excellent quality and i will definately use golden pheonix again for my next project.

im hoping to be able to finish all the soldering tomorrow night and then begin connecting and testing before fitting the day after. if all is ok and the tests pass then i will be ready to place the parts into the casework.

this is turning out to be a really good build and the amount of things i have learned from here while doing this build has been great, oncea again a big thanks to nils for pointing me in the right direction when needed and for making me thing things through. :console:

Edited by ssp
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main board almost finished, i just have to put the idc headers on the board for the 10 way link cables to the dinx4 boards. the transport is a 3 way riser board.

did a test fit of the parts in the spare casework and everything went in first time, i need to trim the fader stems down a little and take 2mm off the bottom of the phenolic knobs because the shafts on the encoders are not long enough.

mainboard

100_3320.jpg

100_3323.jpg

test fit in casework

100_3325.jpg

100_3326.jpg

i will add the headers tomorrow and then i can begine connecting things to the dinx4 boards and testing each encoder , button and fader.

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