This is a homemade, retro, handheld gaming console with all the buttons and shell fully 3D printable!

The little brother of my other homemade retro console the ApplePi!

The design goals for this project were to build a pocket-sized handheld console which was as easy to assemble as possible whilst keeping costs low for the required functionality.

Specification

• 13.5cm Width x 5.9cm Height x 2.4cm Depth
• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W powered
• 2.4 inch 320 x 240 SPI screen (capable of 60fps+ with fbcp-ili9341 drivers)
• 3000mAh battery (providing 4 hours+ gameplay time on a single charge)
• Synchronous 500mA charging via USB-C
• Mono audio with a low pass filter controlled by a volume wheel potentiometer
• D-pad, 4 face buttons, start and select buttons and L/R shoulder buttons
• Mini-HDMI video output, Micro USB input
• Built in Wi-Fi
• Built-in safe shutdown hardware to ensure software/OS is correctly shutdown before power is killed
• Visible LED indicators for "charging", "charged" and "low battery"
• On-screen low battery overlay

Running RetroPie this console is able to emulate a huge range of consoles to a high level (Atari, Amiga, Neo Geo, NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation etc) and even perform to playable levels with some games on more demanding systems (N64, PSP etc).

Full build guide

The full build guide for this project, including full parts list with sourcing links, detailed instructions, build tips with plenty of photographs, screenshots and code are available at Instructables:

www.instructables.com/Apple-Pocket-Pi-3D-Printable-Retro-Handheld-Games

Printing Settings

I printed all parts with a 0.16mm layer height, 0.4mm nozzle, 1.2mm wall thickness, 1.6 mm top/bottom thickness and 15% infill. The rest of the settings will depend more on the setup and accuracy of your 3D printer. I would recommend using a slower than usual print speed though if you want to get a smooth finish and accurate dimensions for screw holes.

For materials many different plastics could be used, but I chose PLA+ for the shell as it was good value and easier to print with compared to PETG whilst still providing plenty of heat tolerance for this project. The buttons were printed in TPU to give them a smoother more "rubbery" feel, although these could also be printed in PLA+ with no problems.

Once all the parts are printed test out how the fit is for the buttons in the front shell, the pins in the shoulder button holes, and how well the two halves of the shell fit together. Depending on the quality of the print you may find that some zits/blobs need to be cut off and some areas need to be sanded down to level them out.

The fit of the shoulder pins into their respective holes, should be snug, but not tight. A bradawl and/or modelling knife can be used to make the holes slightly larger, and sandpaper can be used to smooth/thin out the pins themselves. Make sure they fit into their respective holes in the front and back of the shell, and when the shells are joined together they are held in place (they should have a little movement inside their holes, but not enough to pop out when the shell is closed).

Ensure all the supports have been removed from the two halves of the shell (particularly the small support underneath the overhang for the left shoulder button. To get a cleaner feel for the buttons use coarse, followed by fine, sandpaper inside the button wells for the A, B, X, Y, Start and Select buttons. It will make them much smoother when pushed if you spend some time on this step.