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MB-6582 in Ponoko case


ilmenator

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Hi Roel,

I think I have the files somewhere, I will see if I can find them tonight. In the meantime, I have moved house twice and switched to another computer (and OS), so I will need to dig around a bit. However, you will have to check the diameter of the LED holes for your specific LEDs, as my flat tops were a little special. Also, the back panel is not optimal, as it is impossible to mount the dsub connector the way it was planned (no space in the back, the connector gets in the way of some other components on one of the PCBs).

Best, ilmenator

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My MB6582 has been sitting in a box for years now :/ I tried to fix it, again, in 2015 I think, but the baseboard to CS cabling connections just have never worked for me. I still want to make a custom control surface and just rackmount the thing. But yeah I'd love to see your design ilmenator! That'd get me something that may actually work for me at least ;) Alas, I had all my rackmount control boards done but somehow lost them in the ether :/ Honestly for how much the individual boards cost, if I could somehow swing making a large board I would (but EagleCAD is $$$ for boards of that size).

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12 minutes ago, m00dawg said:

My MB6582 has been sitting in a box for years now :/ I tried to fix it, again, in 2015 I think, but the baseboard to CS cabling connections just have never worked for me. I still want to make a custom control surface and just rackmount the thing. But yeah I'd love to see your design ilmenator! That'd get me something that may actually work for me at least ;) Alas, I had all my rackmount control boards done but somehow lost them in the ether :/ Honestly for how much the individual boards cost, if I could somehow swing making a large board I would (but EagleCAD is $$$ for boards of that size).

Why not use KiCAD?

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I tried it not too long ago. The problem was the it was fairly spare on the component libraries, but otherwise I liked it well enough (and it ran in Linux is I'm not mistaken which is not my main desktop when not actively making music anyway). That may have changed by now, though. The CS isn't using anything special part-wise.

For the modular versions, I mounted the 165 and 595 SMDs directly to the CS and each module had basically and in and out to chain them together (not unlike how DIN/DOUTs work). For a single board, I'd likely do something similar but could also adopt the button matrix that the MB6582 used, though I liked having fewer cables involved (unsurprisingly since cabling has been my downfall for the MB6582).It'd be nice if I could use through hole as well just in case a chip fails (I think I have a failing shift register on my Virus Classic for instance, and I still find socketed chips are much easier to work with than SMDs..)

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2 hours ago, m00dawg said:

I tried it not too long ago. The problem was the it was fairly spare on the component libraries, but otherwise I liked it well enough (and it ran in Linux is I'm not mistaken which is not my main desktop when not actively making music anyway). That may have changed by now, though. The CS isn't using anything special part-wise.

For the modular versions, I mounted the 165 and 595 SMDs directly to the CS and each module had basically and in and out to chain them together (not unlike how DIN/DOUTs work). For a single board, I'd likely do something similar but could also adopt the button matrix that the MB6582 used, though I liked having fewer cables involved (unsurprisingly since cabling has been my downfall for the MB6582).It'd be nice if I could use through hole as well just in case a chip fails (I think I have a failing shift register on my Virus Classic for instance, and I still find socketed chips are much easier to work with than SMDs..)

You laid out the modules with SMD components? I've been thinking of trying my hand out at laying out a few in kiCAD..for education. I'd really like to do an SMD layout for a 2x stereo SID build I want to make with a full CS sans Mod Matrix..so it should be pretty easy to pull off a nice compact layout and cs. I have a reflow oven here collecting dust.

 

FWIW - I believe you can create any component for the library in kicad too

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Yep, SMD was basically required because some of the modules just didn't have enough room without without having to use another board somewhere. I had to do that for the LED Matrix. The top layer plugged into a button board not unlike how the sammichSID works. I lost the latest design I made of it, but have older versions still around.

Doing a full CS as one large board might avoid having to use SMD components, not sure. I might look at kicad again to see if I can make that happen. Wiring it all up wasn't too terribly difficult. The fear of having to make an expensive CS board, and front panel, and have them not fit was a very real fear though :)

I like the rackmount idea though because there's so much room for activities! Such as a passive mixer, balanced outputs, cooling, maybe some SSM boards (although for that I think MBCV is probably the better route to go, something I'd like to try at some point as well).

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On 22-12-2016 at 10:49 AM, ilmenator said:

I think I have the files somewhere, I will see if I can find them tonight. In the meantime, I have moved house twice and switched to another computer (and OS), so I will need to dig around a bit. However, you will have to check the diameter of the LED holes for your specific LEDs, as my flat tops were a little special. Also, the back panel is not optimal, as it is impossible to mount the dsub connector the way it was planned (no space in the back, the connector gets in the way of some other components on one of the PCBs).

 

Would be great! Maybe they're still on your ponoko account?!?! I used formulor before and my seq4 files are still there. I have a bag of flat LED's here myself, I'll check the diameter.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

There is really not that much in the files themselves - here is a collection of really valuable hints when it comes to case making out of acrylic sheet:

 

On 20.11.2012 at 11:37 PM, ilmenator said:

1. If you just go to the Ponoko website you can find a number of good hints.

2. Over at the Mutable Instruments forum you will find a very nice and useful tutorial from schrab(ikus).

3. For the notches of the case, go over to rahulbotics and enter the dimensions of the case. The notches will be created automatically and you get a PDF which you can then use as a basis for your design.

 

Best, ilmenator

 

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7 hours ago, ilmenator said:

There is really not that much in the files themselves - here is a collection of really valuable hints when it comes to case making out of acrylic sheet:

 

 

Best, ilmenator

 

Yep I saw that post earlier in the thread. Thanks.

Did you consult Wilba's .fpd file for his Schaeffer alluminium front panel for the Control Surface at any point?

For MB Quad Genesis, I was going to consult Saurean's .fpd file for his existing aluminium panel (C, and try to translate it for use with a Ponoko case.

i.e.the size and placement of the holes for leds, buttons, and the engravings, but not the holes for the screws obviously.

Would that be a stupid way of doing it, and should I only reference the control surface PCB?

Or maybe I could reference both?

Thats my interrogation over, i have no experience with creating cases.
 

 

 



 

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Yes exactly, it was in part based on the fpd file - although I don't think it was a file based conversion after all, but I seem to remember that I printed to pdf and then used Acrobat to make measurements in the pdf. (IIRC there is a special version of the Front Panel Designer that can export into something usable, but - at least back then - that version was not free).

Hope that helps!

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8 hours ago, ilmenator said:

There is really not that much in the files themselves - here is a collection of really valuable hints when it comes to case making out of acrylic sheet:

 

 

Best, ilmenator

 


Awesome, thanks for your help!

And so the joruney begins!

 



 

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What's the best way to get accurate measurements for a front panel? Measure the PCB with calipers? Or can this information be extracted or gleaned somehow from the available FPD files? I am very keen on making my own panels but FPE is way too pricy.

The other problem is that I don't really want to deal with the rigmarole involved in eliminating external screws (though props to Wilba for figuring that out), but the file that includes screw locations is a dead link now.

Edited by jaytee
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