#41

2 layer I think. it would be pretty tricky to do with one layer, but i guess you would have to use some jumpers. FYI - as a complete noob - i laid this out in about 3 hours - If you have even the mildest knowledge of electronics and how PCBs work, then you can lay this out easily.

#42

Excuse the long post - just thinking out loud here, clarifying the BOM so I can cost it, if I go all in, to see what I’m getting myself into :wink:

Man those knobs are expensive!

What else am I missing?

ps : I’ve done 2 DIY kits in my life so far, and all this electrickery is Greek to me…

BOM

PCB from @Clive_Grace. (trades)

Custom aluminium front panel from Front Panel Express. (approx. £33 = USD 53)

Custom aluminium case from emachineshop (approx. USD 99)
(how would this attached to the front panel?)

Headers (Quantity???) - FISCHER ELEKTRONIK, SL11 SMD 062.40S, HEADER, PIN, 2.54MM
http://canada.newark.com/fischer-elektronik/sl11-smd-062-40z/header-pin-2-54mm-40way/dp/34M8513
(not sure that’s right)
Say, USD 10?

Teensy 3.1 (USD 33, via e-bay)

21 pots (say, USD 25)
http://www.mouser.com/Alpha-Taiwan/Passive-Components/Potentiometers-Trimmers-Rheostats/_/N-9q0yi?P=1z13wbbZ1yzmno7
(which one?)

21 knobs from GD-Parts (USD 9.45 ea = USD 200-ish!!!)
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-2PCS-Silver-Solid-Aluminum-Amplifier-potentionmeter-Knob-38x26mm-6-0mm-hole/326582_1740904365.html
(as an example, probably not the right one, have to check sizes)

So, all up, around USD 420 + PCBs + labor for someone to fix it when I cock it up :wink: Could make it cheaper with other knobs.

But, having my own bespoke controller … priceless!

However, I’m in Australia, where the Sun Shines and the Dollar Sucks, so USD 420 comes to AUD 577. Ouch.

For reference:

Arturia Beatstep Pro - AUD 399

NI Kontrol S25 - AUD 699.

Thinking, thinking…

#43

Just drill 4 screw holes that attach the base to the top. The advantage of the emachineshop design is it can do double duty with a monome 128 grid kit. 2 of Which I need to encase. This is why the current base design is undrilled to accommodate both pcbs.

To be fair wrt the knobs I used up a bunch I had lying about. You can use any you see fit. The Clarke 1200h ones are cheap and nice but I like a specific aesthetic.

Building stuff is expensive but at the end of the day it’s not cheap throwaway plastic tat like you find coming from the usual suspects.

#44

This is the Dropbox link of the frontpaneldesign

I drew this up and this is what I used to match the monome 128 boards as seen in the pic. Sorry for the delay. Computer issues and so on.

You can of course change thicknesses and materials of the plate the idea is to keep the machining on one side to keep costs as low as possible.

#45

all swapped out of boards thanks. I am down to my two. That’s all I need

#46

Totally forgot to add the fourn front panel design. Sorry. Now I have worked out how to attach direct to the forum, here is the art in dxf and the panel file opened in front panel express.

fourn.fpd (964 Bytes)

fourn.dxf (11.1 KB)

#47

quite a bit cheaper than that! for starters OSHpark has the Teensy 3.1 for $17 or thereabouts.

the knobs come in at 21 x for around $53 from GD-Parts other website

http://www.mafaudio.com/products/knobspotentiometers/aluminum-knobs/silver-anodized-cnc-machined-solid-aluminum-knob2522mm60mm-shaft-hole-gdak0132-885.html

you could get a woodworker or just use this fpd file I lashed up to make an acrylic base. $40

fourn perspex base.fpd (824 Bytes)

So quit a lot saved there.

#48

monomeENCLOSURE.ems (17.9 KB)

This is the emachine shop file for the monome case. You may wish to adjust height and z cutout to suit your other equipment. I tested a proptype and this fits the four-n board as well as the current 128 Grid Kits. The underside is undrilled so you can drill either for Monome Kits or the Board itself. Its preset for Aluminium but you can play with different materials, finishes and quantities.

I might do a sketchup at some point but this is good to go.

#49

EDIT Just added a perspex base design up thread which can be either sent to frint panel express or used as a temple for any laser cutting service like ponoko (fpd software can export as dxf)

@ootini I seem to recall somewhere that that the Analog ins of the Teensy are also Digital inputs if you just ask them nicely. A10-A14, AREF and so on are always Analog only So you will need to put more work into it than replacing analogRead with digitalRead for the usbMIDI.sendControlChange line to send CC but you could have a combination of analog and digital encoders for not a lot more work.

It is a platform that has a lot of promise as a swiss army knife. I like it, quite a lot and I don’t know why. Its simplicity and logical arrangement appeals I suppose.

1 Like
#50

Thanks Clive - you’ve been really helpful.

I’m nearly ready to send a pcb to oshpark or somewhere. It’s such a simple design, but I’m looking at the board I’ve laid out and wondering, why not just think up my own unique layout instead of the 1 4 16 configuration. It’s such a nice layout though.

#51

Have you seen xiwi?
What do you think?

http://xiwielectronics.com

1 Like
#52

I’m going to make a smaller knob board.

edit: still playing around, but i think i’m going to with something like the attached. 80 dollars for three boards from oshpark.

3 Likes
#53

That set up is very 50s sci-fi. Love it.

#54

Have you considered dirtypcbs? You can get more boards for less plus they take eagle files just fine

1 Like
#55

it doesn’t seem like anyone has seen this as it has 0 backing so far but this looks great
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1408529895/knobbee-32-a-high-resolution-ergonomic-usb-midi-co?ref=category
anyone else?

6 Likes
#56

“Ergonomic layout” kind of made me chuckle :slight_smile: It’s a grid of knobs!

#57

yeah that seems a bit off the only thing that makes sense is that the face of the unit is angled slightly but that doesn’t actually describe the layout

#58

my computer died, so i’ll be a bit waiting to get that up and running again. dirtypcbs looks good, I’ll try them.

thanks Clive.

#59

Tehn, can this design be adapted for a multiplexer so that I can add an extra 21 knobs?

#60

likely but you’ll need to revise the circuit, and the code. would you like the eagle files?