Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 / Z88 Forums

In case anyone is interested, here are my injection molds for the ZX80. I'm planning on testing them this week, so consider them still a work in progress, but they're close. I need to make sure there is enough air passthrough to allow the vacuum to pull all the way down into the deep pockets. I am using styrene sheets 1.5mm thick, so this should be very close to the original.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2587664

Bill

That is just excellent news

Just did the first test pull of my molds. They worked almost perfectly. There are a couple minor flaws, but the molds and the technique are perfect. I need to resize a couple things based on the thickness of the material used, but that's simple enough to scale it.

Here are a few pictures of the process and results. (Again, this is from my molds here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2587664)

Cheers,

Bill

Excellent although is it the angle of the camera - the front right corner looks different to the front left...

Once you are happy with it - will it be possible to smooth out the moulds, so that the finished case is smooth?

The clone board isn't perfectly square... the real board drops in perfectly. As for the smoothness, yes, I'm printing a new set at a higher resolution and will be able to make it very smooth.

This was literally the very first test of the new vacuum forming machine at our local makerspace... so lots to learn yet.

Bill

Wow! Nice progress

Mark

I am really very impressed.
Of course I need some of these cases
Do the diodes touch the comb? Or did you take care this doesn't happen? What was the basis of your work? Own measurement?
What material do you use for the moulds?
I'm known for feature creeping but there seems to be some unused space in the machine.
How about a dozen 3K RAM pack cases with every ZX80 Case made? I am currently designing some hardware for the RAMPack case.
This would give these a more realistic look. I would buy 30 or even 50 of those 3K RAM pack cases from you.
Is there anything I can help in creating the moulds for these?
Kind regards
Paul

I would love to see a re-engineered version of the 3K RAM packs made available that could hold 16K or more memory.

I have a model for the 3K ram pack, but I haven't printed them out yet. I plan on making complete sets at some point. I'm going to reprint the current molds after I correct a few minor issues. The lower mold needs to be printed vertically to avoid it collapsing and the upper mold needs to be inverted so that the 3D print lines do not show on the outside. This two changes will make them indistinguishable from the factory parts from the outside.

The memory packs will simply be added to the molds... they are actually pretty easy to do. As for selling them or whatever, I haven't thought that far ahead.

My ultimate goal is to duplicate Rick's clear ZX80 case... I love the looks of it.

Bill

They are wonderful. Are you thinking to get them for sale?