Commander X16

I've been thinking about this since David mentioned the X16 project.  I have some experience with sheet metal and was considering using that and part of an mATX case to house the mobo and a small LCD.  The cutout of the keyboard could be made to create a new latching enclosure for it to mount on the front of the unit similar to SX64 or other portables.  The issue is that while it seems feasible for a one off build, I can't see any case manufacturers getting behind the engineering and production of something like this without a secured number of sales.  It's possible that a successful kickstarter could make that kind of sale with a case manufacturer, but I'm sure that would be a lot of PR phone tag.

Yeah, I'd love to see alternate, custom cases made by the community, but as @Perifractic said it's probably not to be officially considered until after the initial release. The main goal is to drive the cost and time of manufacturing down, after all, so for now it's just gonna be this stylish PC case. But people would still be allowed to sell their own alternate cases on their own, kinda like the Amiga 1500 case?

12 hours ago, Juju said:

Yeah, I'd love to see alternate, custom cases made by the community, but as @Perifractic said it's probably not to be officially considered until after the initial release. The main goal is to drive the cost and time of manufacturing down, after all, so for now it's just gonna be this stylish PC case. But people would still be allowed to sell their own alternate cases on their own, kinda like the Amiga 1500 case?

I'm pretty sure we'll get at least two DIY options... I'd be really surprised if there's not an option to buy a naked board, and there has also been talk about a kit version that you can assemble yourself. 

While I have zero interest in soldering everything in myself, I might buy a second, bare motherboard, so I can do something like put it in a project box with a 7" LCD on the front. 

 

On 7/11/2020 at 12:56 PM, TomXP411 said:

Maybe that's something to prototype and investigate for the third, FPGA design, since we (interested customers - I don't speak for the CX16 team) could build it in a smaller case - something closer to an oscilloscope, rather than a suitcase sized PC.

Yes, something like the back side of the case for a 7" display oscilloscope with a custom front panel would have a handle and be big enough for a mini-ITX board, though if there was an expansion card there would have to be a right angle slot adapter ... and maybe enough space below for 12V battery and one of those compact mini-ITX power supplies. So then the custom front panel that holds the 7" display can also be set up to to hold the keyboard against the face.

I’m interested in seeing any progress anyone may make. I’ve toyed around making a luggable case and such for the Basic Engine. It is MUCH easier to do something like this with since it is only slightly larger than a PI. I’ve built a couple of prototypes out of wood, but have scrapped those. I do have a pretty full woodworking shop that I inherited to use...I just need to develop the skills needed.