Physical design

[Lob0426]

135Tb that must be some pocket. That keyrah USB interface is very very interesting. Thanks for posting the link. Antique bashing is now a reality. Where is that Atari 400 console at?

[Marchombre]

Well I feel a bit like the black sheep here, but am I the only one fond of a cubic design ? Something like that :

only smaller.
But there might be a reason why this can't be choosen. I know the board has already be done, and is rectangular, but anyway, I just wanted to ask if it was possible. I don't think people will really keep their PC in their pockets, but more likely in a bag, or something like that. So the cubic design might be interesting. It's rather stable too.
In my opinion, design is what matters the most, much more than what is really inside (Apple might be a good exemple of genious designers). So you guys should really pay attention to the logo you'll chose and to the case design you'll make.

[Cafe]

Quote from Marchombre on August 11, 2011, 13:53
Well I feel a bit like the black sheep here, but am I the only one fond of a cubic design ? Something like that :

only smaller.
<snip>

Cool. Do you have a link to a description of that product (no matter the language)?

[Cafe]

Quote from Cafe on August 11, 2011, 14:35
Cool. Do you have a link to a description of that product (no matter the language)?

OK, I found a few links to Space Cube, a related product:

The first helpful article I found: Tiny cubic PC

An article with block dia. and pic of inside: http://www.linuxfordevices.com.....-blastoff/

A PC Pro report: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2.....at-pc-pro/

Manufacturer's web site: http://www.shimafuji.co.jp/index.html

[Cafe]

FYI: The comments in the PC Pro report on Space Cube has some useful links too.

[Lob0426]

The space cube is interesting in several ways. It is significantly more powerful than the computers that were on the space shuttle. Each of the shuttles computers weighed 80 pounds and there were four of them. If I remember correctly they were 8086's or 8088's. The interesting thing is it's price. £1500. The RasPi is more powerful than the space cube by almost an order of magnitude. It cost 1/100th the price. The original thumb sized RasPi is smaller than the space cube also. Of course it does not have that really tough case around it either. Weight is a big issue as the last quoted price per pound to orbit I remember was like $10,000 per pound! And that was quite a while back. I hope that thumb drive size will someday be available to us.

[Marchombre]

Well I suppose that such a strong case, all in metal, would cost much more than plain plastic, which is a shame ! Plus there might be overheating issues. But I'm not skilled at all in electronic engineering. Maybe someone else could tell us about the feasability in term of cost, etc

[AmyS3]

a metal case is actually better against overheating since it has a better heat disipation(hope its the right word) rate than plastic..

[Lob0426]

Yep that was the right word. It is common use to butt the processor and memory, and other heat generating components, up against a metal case so the case acts as a heatsink. by the way dissipating heat is very tough thing to do when in space. Vacuum does not transfer heat at all!

[liz]

Overheating's not really a concern - the chip we're using runs very, very cool even when you're tonking the hell out of it. From an aesthetic standpoint, I really like the idea of an aluminium case; eventually we may look into selling a few different cases at different price points if there's demand.

[Cafe]

Quote from liz on August 11, 2011, 20:55
Overheating's not really a concern - the chip we're using runs very, very cool even when you're tonking the hell out of it. From an aesthetic standpoint, I really like the idea of an aluminium case; eventually we may look into selling a few different cases at different price points if there's demand.

I am pleased and relieved to read that the Raspi runs very very cool. Thanks Liz for that information. [Added "information" to clarify ]

[Siguy]

Personally, I've been longing for a device that was a throwback to the late-90s/early-2000s design, with that colored translucent plastic and visible circuitry (think original iMac, Gameboy Color, etc.)
But I suppose that's a bit of a niche appeal.

[tnelsond]

I'd like a translucent case too. Then I can show off how small it really is.

[gerits]

I think it's not that hard to put something together in plexiglass

[abishur]

It can also be very inexpensive as long as you keep it simple!

[Gert van Loo]

I think its very simple. If they can put chocolates in beautiful transparent boxes, it can't be expensive. Again it is a matter of volume. (Come to think of it: there are chocolates out there more expensive that a Raspi).

[ukscone]

and all because the lady loves......... raspberry pi

[Hazor]

I would be interested in a case which can utilize the VESA mounting interface found on most monitors. Such a case might be useful for school applications where the hardware itself isn't of concern to the student.

I think it would be good to market multiple case designs, but anything more than 2 or 3 official ones might be overkill. However, in the shoes of the RPi developers, I would also actively encourage third-party cases.

[abishur]

So with the release of the new video showcasing the alpha board I've updated my drawing of the board design so it's actually correct.

This is what I was guessing the components were:



Here's what they actually were

(edit: liz help identify a couple things, this is the updated version based on her post below)

(edit: updated again with more information)



At this time SW1 appears to be a reset switch, SW2/SW3 will be removed entirely.

CSI is a camera interface, DSI is for a display. They are considering adding some GPIOs to the CSI for remote camera control.

J2 Pads are RS232 for debugging the videocore with TX, RX, GND and 3V3 (may not make the cut to the final board)

We're told that the current plan is for the location of the components to remain mostly where they are,

Here's a picture of the PCB Mask with everything labeled.

[liz]

Those switches probably won't be on the final device (price), and the things you've marked "jumpers" are MIPI DSI (display) and CSI-2 (camera) ports. Off the top of my head, I can't tell you which is display and which is camera, though!

[AmyS3]

that is a good job you´ve done there!
please correct me if im wrong here, but i think its kind of pointless to know the alpha board since we´re not getting that..
it would e better to know the layout and dimensions of the final release.. but that will still take a while...

[abishur]

From what we've been told, they components will be in the same place, just closer together. I'll fix the pics and update the links!

[AmyS3]

just watched the new video. i did not notice that earlier.. sorry for beeing so stupid

but hey they have 50 of the alpha boards.. c´mon guy´s.. spare me one <(^-^)>
i´ll give you 30 quid for it

[abishur]

I updated the pics!

[Gert van Loo]

SW2 and SW3 will not be on any of the follow up boards.
Holding it with HDMI to the back the CSI connector is at the left and DSI is at right. J2 is the RS232 with TX, RX, GND and 3V3.
We are still looking into the type and place of the expansion connectors. The plan is to add a few GPIO pins to the CSI (and DSI??) as a camera needs I2C and two control lines.
So GPIO, CSI and DSI will probably all change. The challenge is to keep cost done but still allow somebody with crude solder equipment access to the ports. After all the main purpose of the organization is the education of computer skills (which to me includes hardware) all over the world. That is also the reason why we use full size connectors. Yes, we can go micro USB, micro SD and micro HDMI. But equipment to connect to that is not as widely available as the full size ones. You will notice that all connectors are through hole: a bit more expensive but a lot more robust. All external connectors have ESD protection (But we are still looking for smaller and .cheaper ESD parts.) The used audio 3.5mm plug is way too expensive, but the only one available in the design library at the time. And I knew you guys could not wait another three weeks to get all the right parts in the library.