Tag Archives: DIY

This Foldable DIY Cyberdeck Has Breadboards Built In and Runs Doom

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Most portable computers are sealed boxes, which is exactly what makes them frustrating for anyone who wants to experiment with electronics. You can run code on a laptop, but try wiring a temperature sensor or an infrared transmitter directly to it, and you’ll realize that consumer hardware was never designed for that kind of access. A maker who goes by PickentCode got tired of that gap and built something to close it.

The CyberPlug 3.0 is the third iteration of a personal cyberdeck project, the earlier two having usability problems that sent PickentCode back to Blender to redesign. The final build packs a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, a 4-inch IPS touchscreen, a Rii K06 mini keyboard with a built-in touchpad, and a 5,000 mAh USB-C power bank into a 3D-printed hinged body that folds flat for handheld use or props open at a desk-friendly angle.

Designer: PickentCode

What separates this from a standard Raspberry Pi build is the pair of breadboards soldered directly to the GPIO pins, seated inside the case, and accessible through a removable back panel. Connecting a sensor no longer means hunting for a separate breadboard and a tangle of jumper wires. PickentCode plugged in a temperature and humidity sensor and had it reading live data within minutes, then built an infrared setup that records remote control signals and replays them as single-button macros.

The two form factors each have a distinct locking mechanism rather than just flopping into position. In handheld mode, twin magnets pull the two halves together. In desktop mode, a metal ring on the back grabs the MagSafe-style power bank magnetically, holding the whole thing at a stable upright angle. Both the keyboard and the power bank slide out independently, and the deck keeps working on a desk without either of them.

Extensions are where the project gets more interesting. PickentCode added a PWM-controlled external fan that reads CPU temperature and adjusts speed automatically, and a small speaker module that opened the door to YouTube and older games. Doom, Half-Life, and GTA: Vice City all ran on it, better with an external setup in desktop mode, though workable in handheld after some button remapping.

PickentCode frames this plainly as a testbed for learning electronics, not a replacement for a phone or a real computer. The 3D files are free on Printables, so the main cost is filament, time, and the components. For anyone who has ever stared at a sealed laptop wishing they could just plug something into it, that framing is probably the most relatable thing about it.

The post This Foldable DIY Cyberdeck Has Breadboards Built In and Runs Doom first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Self-Balancing Electric Bike Rolls on a Single Giant Ball and Moves in Any Direction

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James Bruton’s latest creation stands out even among his many engineering oddities and builds on the kind of inventive spirit that we saw in his earlier two-ball omnidirectional bike. The British engineer turned full-time YouTuber has now built an electric bike that balances on a single giant ball and can move in any direction based on how the rider leans and how its control systems respond.

The One-Ball Bike has a roughly 2-foot red spherical ball that supports the entire machine and the rider above it. Around this sphere sit three omnidirectional wheels, arranged in an equilateral triangle under the bike’s frame, each driven by a motor capable of pushing the ball forward, backward, or sideways. These omni-wheels have two rows of smaller passive rollers mounted around their circumference, giving the ball smooth omnidirectional movement while distributing the load across many contact points.

Designer: James Burton

Balancing on a single contact point with the ground is a technical challenge that goes far beyond traditional bicycles or even Segway-style scooters, which correct in one axis. The One-Ball Bike must remain stable front-to-back and side-to-side simultaneously, and this is managed by a central control system built around a microcontroller like the Teensy 4.1 and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU tracks the bike’s orientation in real time, while a PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller constantly adjusts the speed and direction of the motors to keep the frame upright.

Power comes from multiple lithium polymer battery packs configured to supply around 50 volts to the drive motors. The bike’s structure combines aluminum extrusion for strength with a range of custom-fabricated parts, many of which Bruton 3D-printed himself. This hybrid approach keeps the overall weight manageable while allowing rapid iteration during the build process.

Ride control looks very different from conventional bikes. There are twist grips mounted where handlebars would normally be, letting the rider influence forward and lateral motion by adjusting how they lean and where they apply torque. Steering, in particular, remains a work in progress because the single ball doesn’t behave like a wheel that naturally points in one direction. Bruton has experimented with air-resistance control surfaces and even a makeshift foam wing to bias the bike’s direction when simple wheel control isn’t enough.

Another quirky challenge has been static electricity. The friction between the plastic ball and the surface generates a charge that can disrupt electronics, occasionally causing unexpected shutdowns during testing. Bruton has been investigating shielding and grounding solutions to address this. Bruton’s open-source ethos means all code, CAD designs, and build documentation have been published online, giving other makers a foundation to experiment with and improve upon his design.

 

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This 1080×1080 Round Touchscreen Saves Designers From Faking Circles

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Circular interfaces keep showing up in design. Thermostats, smart speakers, automotive dials, wearable-inspired dashboards, the circle feels friendly and “instrument-like” in a way that rectangles don’t, especially when the goal is a glanceable, ambient piece of hardware rather than something you stare at for hours. The problem is that most prototyping hardware is rectangular, so designers either fake a round interface on a square screen or spend weeks sourcing a custom circular panel.

Waveshare’s 7-inch round touch display tries to remove that bottleneck. It’s a 1080×1080 IPS panel with 10-point capacitive touch, optical bonding, and toughened glass, all in a circular form factor that connects to a host device over HDMI with a separate USB-C cable for touch data. The premise is simple: treat it like a normal monitor and touchscreen, then build whatever circular UI you want on top of it.

Designer: Waveshare

The spec choices that matter for actual design work are mostly about reducing friction. HDMI video input and USB-C touch make the display behave like a standard external monitor to any device that supports it, so you’re not writing drivers or fighting kernel modules before you can see your UI on screen. Waveshare claims driver-free operation on Windows 11 down to Windows 7, plus Raspberry Pi OS with full 10-point touch, and Ubuntu and Kali with single-point, which is more than enough for early-stage prototyping.

Brightness is rated at 800 cd/m², with a 160-degree viewing angle from the IPS panel. For a prototype that’s going on a wall, into a vehicle mock-up, or onto a demo table for a client presentation, that combination means the display stays legible from reasonable distances and off-angle views. The optical bonding also closes the air gap between the glass and the LCD, so it reads more like a laminated consumer screen than a development board display, which makes a quiet difference when you’re showing work to someone who doesn’t build hardware for a living.

The small onboard controller adds a few practical tools: a physical touch rotation button for flipping between portrait and landscape without touching software, and a backlight adjustment that can be controlled via software. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack and a 4PIN speaker header if you want to add sound to the build. None of these are headline features, but they’re the kind of things that accelerate iteration without requiring extra components or hacks.

Platform support stretches from Raspberry Pi 3 all the way through Pi 5, plus NVIDIA Jetson boards for more compute-intensive builds, and standard Windows PCs for larger installations or kiosk-style demos. That breadth means the same display can serve a lightweight Pi-based smart-home prototype one week and a Jetson-powered vision demo the next.

A circular screen goes beyond novelty into a very different product personality. Having an off-the-shelf option that handles touch, connects over standard cables, and doesn’t require driver work means designers can spend time on the actual interaction and enclosure instead of fighting the hardware stack to get a circle on screen.

The post This 1080×1080 Round Touchscreen Saves Designers From Faking Circles first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Does Not Compute Turns Tiny Mac Clock Into Working Raspberry Pi Macintosh

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If you appreciate retro computing and DIY electronics, a new project from This Does Not Compute (YouTube channel) will be the best thing you will see today. The build emulates the 1984 Apple Macintosh, but in a miniaturized version. Not the smallest, but decently small to sit in the corner of your desk and do more than its intended function of a clock.

If that sounds puzzling, here’s a clearer explanation. The modder has actually taken a Maclock, which is a clock that looks identical to the original Mac, but of course considerably smaller, and ripped it open. He replaced the original alarm clock mechanics with a Raspberry Pi, turning it into a homage to the classic Apple computer.

Designer: This Does Not Compute

The project, as the modder himself states, “is just for fun” and doesn’t really reach out to prove anything other than love to toil with anything Mac. With the innards of the clock replaced by Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, the original display of the clock is also swapped with a 640×480 2.8-in color screen from Wave Share, and the project is interestingly called Wondermac. The name is in reference to Wonder Boy, the Chinese company that makes Maclock.

The modder, as you can see in detail in the video above, starts by cracking open the Maclock case, which has screws, but they are only used to mimic the Macintosh and have no significant usage. Opening the case was “probably the hardest part of the whole project,” he says. The case is clipped together pretty tightly, but he was able to separate the front bezel from the back using a wide metal pry tool. Once the front panel was free, he unplugged the wiring harness and pulled out the main circuit board and the screen to clear up the space inside the Maclock body, which will now have new guts and a new purpose.

“Compact, low power, and relatively inexpensive,” Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W was a clear choice for the Mac’s innards, the modder affirms. It comes with a pin header presoldered and includes a heatsink, which would be a nifty addition to keep this tiny computer cool when it does some computing. The Pi is now connected to the externally purchased screen, and the modder gets down to launching the Raspberry Pi imager app and installing Minivvac on an SD card for the software side of the project.

For powering the Wondermac, the modder doesn’t rely on the Maclock’s built-in battery; instead, they take advantage of the USB-C port on the back housing for power. After some tweaking to power output, some wire soldering, and sticking, he was able to get the power going as required to run the screen. Finally, he designed a 3D printed bracket with black filament to fit the screen in place, and then everything was assembled back into shape. Content with the outcome, he leaves the little Mac on the desk with the Afterdark screen saver.

The post This Does Not Compute Turns Tiny Mac Clock Into Working Raspberry Pi Macintosh first appeared on Yanko Design.

This DIY Cyberdeck With a 12-Inch Screen Actually Works Like a Laptop

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Most cyberdecks sit somewhere between prop and prototype, fun to look at but often awkward to use, with bolted-on parts and layouts that prioritize aesthetics over ergonomics. They’re conversation starters that rarely stay on the desk once the novelty wears off. This “CMDeck” build is interesting because it tries to behave like a real laptop-class machine you could actually reach for when you want to write or tinker.

Salim Benbouziyane’s core decision was to give the deck the footprint of a full-size keyboard, a wide clamshell that feels anchored instead of chunky. A 12-inch touch display sits up top, and a custom low-profile mechanical keyboard lives below, with a split ortholinear layout, central trackpad, and small OLED. It’s framed as a deliberate workspace rather than a random collection of parts that happened to fit in a box.

Designer: Salim Benbouziyane

The split ortho layout and central trackpad push your hands outward, leaving a clear middle zone for navigation and status. The low-profile switches and custom keycaps keep the deck thin enough to feel like a proper clamshell, while the OLED hints at system status without cluttering the surface. It’s a layout aimed at writing, coding, and multi-window work, not just showing off an unusual key arrangement that makes typing harder.

The enclosure journey is where the design process shows most clearly. The first CAD pass looked clean with all the I/O on the back, then immediately ran into reality when cables blocked the lid from opening. Salim carved clearances, added a removable rear section for assembly, and reworked hinge mounts after early prototypes ripped screws out. The heavy display forced him to add brass weights so the deck could open fully without tipping backward.

The decision to make the bottom shell translucent purple is a nod to transparent tech nostalgia that also turns the internals into part of the visual identity. Resin-printed and CNC-finished parts give the case a smooth, almost commercial feel, while PETG support structures and brass inserts handle the mechanical load. It’s a mix of show and structure that makes flipping the deck over as interesting as opening it to type.

Small interaction details make it feel finished. Riser modules tilt the keyboard and improve airflow, magnets in the lid help keep it closed, and the touch display keeps the deck usable even when the keyboard is borrowed by another machine through a special USB port. These are the kinds of decisions that make the deck feel like a finished object rather than a one-off experiment you’d be afraid to actually use daily.

The project took months of iteration, from fighting ribbon cables to reprinting support structures and swapping coolers, all in service of a form factor that feels right on a desk. The result is a cyberdeck that invites everyday use, especially for writing and side-by-side windows, and a reminder that the most interesting DIY builds now are as much about industrial design as they are about electronics, where getting the hinge geometry right matters just as much as the circuitry underneath.

The post This DIY Cyberdeck With a 12-Inch Screen Actually Works Like a Laptop first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIYer creates a retro-modern typewriter computer with moving screen on the slide

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What’s the precursor of the computer? The typewriter, of course. Taking things the other way around, a DIYer has built a gaming PC inside an old typewriter for the sake of technology. First of its kind, this DIY is all about building everything from scratch to have a typewriter that works better than your average computer.

Fitting a computer inside a typewriter requires a lot of brainstorming about which components are useful and which can give way to the PC components. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? The art here is to be very careful when removing unwanted parts like the keyboard, motor, and side brackets, while still retaining the slide’s functionality via the hammers and the main movement.

Designer: Prototype

After removing the components, there is just enough space to fit in a motherboard, power supply, and a graphics card. Before sorting this bit of the DIY, the first step is to sort out the keyboard assembly by preplacing it with a modern keyboard that is made from scratch, using the keys of the keyboard to keep the theme alive. This is where 3D printing comes in by taking a 360-degree scan of the typewriter’s keyboard and modelling the desired keyboard case that has more height for fitting in all the PCB components of a modern keyboard. The hard part here is to make the PCB assembly that corresponds to the key input and send it over to a PCB manufacturer to make.

Next comes the easy bit, where the keycaps are 3D modelled and printed to test fit the adapters. Attaching them to the corresponding key strokes does the job. The backplate is a cakewalk, and the parts are done. Finally, all the parts are put together, and the keyboard for the typewriter is ready. Then it’s time to connect the keyboard to the complex working of the computer using a servo motor. To test the thing, the DIYer attaches it to his laptop, and it works all fine with the slide and the bell working perfectly.

The final part is to fit the PC mechanism and screen onto the typewriter assembly for the magic as the typing action moves the whole thing on the slide. Incredible, I must say. The final part of the build is yet to be released, but we know what to expect!

The post DIYer creates a retro-modern typewriter computer with moving screen on the slide first appeared on Yanko Design.

Morphable Shows How a Game Controller Could Adjust to Your Hands

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Settling in for “just one more run” usually means your thumbs, wrists, or forearms start complaining long before the game is done. Most controllers are fixed objects that expect your body to adapt, which can lead to repetitive strain or numbness. You either push through the discomfort or take breaks that feel like interruptions, but rarely can you adjust the hardware itself to match how your hands actually feel in that moment.

Morphable is a DIY adjustable gamepad built around a peanut-shaped shell and sliding modules for the joystick and buttons. It is designed to reduce strain by letting you reposition inputs to match your hands and play style, and if something starts to feel off mid-game, you can shift the layout instead of stopping. The whole thing is open-source and 3D-printable, built by someone who wanted their controller to adapt.

Designer: maggs_cas

Playing a demanding game for an hour or two, you might start with a familiar layout and then nudge a button rail closer to your thumb when your reach starts to feel tight. Maybe you slide the joystick slightly inward so your wrist can straighten, or move a frequently used button lower so another finger can take over. The controller encourages micro-adjustments that let different muscles share the work instead of overloading the same joints.

Each button sits on a small sled that rides on a rail, held in place by magnet tape. Underneath, copper tape runs along the base, and wires press against it to carry signals. The joystick uses a similar sled and rail. This setup means you can slide modules around freely while the Arduino inside still sees every press and movement, maintaining electrical contact as things shift without needing screws.

Morphable uses an Arduino Leonardo, which can pretend to be a USB keyboard. The three buttons and joystick axes are wired to specific pins, and the code maps them to keys like E, J, and K for games such as Hollow Knight. Because it shows up as a keyboard, you can remap controls in software and experiment with different layouts without being locked into a console’s default scheme.

The main body is a smooth, 3D-printed peanut shape that fills both palms and keeps wrists in a more neutral position than a flat gamepad. There are no sharp edges, and the weight is spread across the hands instead of concentrated under the thumbs. Combined with the movable modules, the shell lets you tune the controller to your posture instead of the other way around.

Morphable is less about one perfect layout and more about the idea that your ideal layout changes over a night, a week, or a year. Hardware does not have to be static; it can be something you keep adjusting as your body and habits shift. Fixed plastic shells dominate the market, but a controller that invites you to move things around to stay comfortable feels like a quietly radical prototype.

The post Morphable Shows How a Game Controller Could Adjust to Your Hands first appeared on Yanko Design.

Someone Built the PS4 Portable Sony Never Made with a 7-Inch OLED

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The PS4 era is over, but the library is still incredible, and the only way to enjoy it portably has been streaming or emulation with compromises in latency, compatibility, and control. The fantasy of a true PS4 handheld that runs games natively has floated around for years, but Sony never built one. Reddit user wewillmakeitnow decided to stop waiting and built it himself instead.

This is not a Raspberry Pi or a cloud device but a heavily modified PS4 Slim motherboard, cut and re-laid to be as compact as possible while keeping full functionality. The builder redesigned the layout for better power efficiency and thermals, then wrapped it in a custom ABS enclosure with full controls and a 7-inch 1080p OLED screen, turning a console into something that looks and plays like a handheld from an alternate timeline.

Designer: wewillmakeitnow

The cooling story is where most of the work lives. A new airflow path, custom heatsinks, and a large rear fan are managed by an onboard ESP32 microcontroller. The ESP32 runs custom firmware to watch temperatures in real time, enforce thermal thresholds, trigger emergency shutdowns, and supervise power draw and battery charging. It is the safety brain that makes running a console-class APU in your hands viable instead of a thermal disaster.

The power system uses six 21700 cells at 6,000 mAh each in a 3S2P configuration, roughly 130 Wh of energy. Under lighter loads, the system pulls around 44W for about three hours of play. In demanding games, it can draw close to 88W and land closer to an hour and a half before shutdown, at around 10V, which protects the pack. There is also a dedicated port for playing on AC.

The handheld still behaves like a PS4 when you want it to. There is HDMI out for plugging into a TV, multiple USB-C ports for charging, configuration, and connection to controllers or external drives, plus a USB 3.0 port for storage. In that mode, it stops being a handheld and becomes a very small PS4 Slim you can drop next to a hotel TV.

All of this comes at a cost. The enclosure is about 113mm x 270mm x 57mm, with sharp edges and no sculpted grips, and the weight is likely well north of a kilogram once you add the board, cooling, and batteries. The builder chose to let the shell hug the motherboard as tightly as possible, sacrificing rounded comfort to keep the footprint from ballooning further.

This one-off build shows both the promise and limits of turning a living-room console into a handheld. It proves that a native PS4 portable is technically possible if you accept thickness, weight, and fan noise. It also quietly asks what might happen if a company with Sony’s resources took the idea seriously. Until then, it stands as someone picking up their favorite console and refusing to put it down.

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Spotify Record Player brings tactile experience of enjoying vinyls to the streaming world

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Enjoying music is much more than just setting up your listening gear, putting on the headphones, and getting lost in a melodic world. Spotify is currently one of the most used streaming services to enjoy music, anywhere, anytime. However, some inventive DIYers go the extra mile to elevate the experience as no one has done before. The Prestodesk Spotify desk music player by AKZ Dev is a good example.

The software engineer is back with another creation to showcase his love for Spotify and, obviously, music. To bring the tactile experience of loading and playing records via Spotify is a totally new and exciting idea. AKZ explores this with his intuitive engineering skills to add the satisfying feeling of loading a vinyl record and then playing it via the Spotify service.

Designer: AKZ Dev

At the heart of this DIY record player is a Raspberry Pi that does all the complex handling and an RFID reader that turns a simple desk accessory into something interesting. The idea struck the DIY’er when he saw the gifted miniature vinyl record coasters lying on his desk, and he presumed they could do so much more than just hold a cup of coffee. The mini records move on the coaster base (which is modified to make space for the electronics) courtesy of the stepper motor, and to detect the tonearm position, he uses a hall effect sensor that’s found in most gaming controllers.

The enclosure below the coaster stand is 3D printed for a snug fit and gives the platter a genuine record player feel. After putting everything in place, the magnet is attached to the tone arm. The stepper motor lies beneath the spindle, so that the vinyl can spin seamlessly. The next step involves preparing the vinyl records for the musical nirvana. NFC stickers are placed behind the vinyl record, and custom labels are printed to make things feel authentic. AKZ also 3D printed a record stand to showcase the whole setup on the desk.

After doing a bit of tinkering with the Raspberry Pi software and connecting it to the Spotify API, the record player is ready to rock the desk. Basically, the music does not play off the record; the RFID tag on the mini vinyl record player is detected by the moving tonearm. This triggers the playback of the associated music from Spotify’s library. Pretty nifty, isn’t it? The DIYer is kind enough to share all the project files on GitHub, and tells that the record player can be improved further with volume controls, or by integrating the speaker unit inside the main enclosure.

 

The post Spotify Record Player brings tactile experience of enjoying vinyls to the streaming world first appeared on Yanko Design.

Someone Built a Tamagotchi-like Desk Toy That Gets Sad When You Ignore It

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Modern desks overflow with timers, focus apps, and smart assistants that promise more productivity but mostly add more things to manage. There’s a calendar nudging you about meetings, a watch tracking movement, and browser tabs reminding you to hydrate. Not every object on your desk needs to optimize you, though, and sometimes you just want a small, harmless distraction that keeps you company without demanding anything serious in return.

Paul Lagier’s DIY Desk Companion sits next to your laptop as a little creature that lives completely offline. It is not connected to Wi‑Fi, has no app, and never sends notifications. Instead, it runs its own tiny world on a circular screen, reacting to touch, light, and time with shifting eyes and moods. The whole thing exists as a playful break, closer to a desk toy than a productivity gadget.

Designer: Paul Lagier

The companion’s life revolves around three needs, Energy, Fun, and Sleep, visualized as colored arcs around its animated eyes. Energy maps to battery and charging, Fun rises when you interact and falls when ignored, and Sleep depends on light levels, getting drowsy when the room gets dark. These simple meters quietly drive its moods, making it curious, bored, or sleepy depending on how you treat it over the day.

The moods shift over longer stretches, too. Regular interaction makes it age, becoming calmer and more expressive, while neglect can make it sulky or withdrawn. There’s no scoreboard or streak counter, just a sense that this tiny character remembers how you have been treating it. After a while, you catch yourself tapping it to cheer it up during a slump, which is the whole point of having a little desk creature.

A typical day means a few small moments. You tap it during a break, and it perks up, eyes widening. Late at night, when the room gets dark, it slowly drifts off to sleep without you doing anything. When you plug it in the next morning, its Energy bar fills, and its mood lifts. These are quick interactions, a tap or a glance, not mini-games that hijack your break.

Under the shell is a tangle of wires, a microcontroller board, a round color display, touch sensors, a light sensor, and a small battery. Lagier calls it a working prototype rather than a polished product, which feels fitting. The design is simple and neutral, letting the animated face carry the personality while the hardware quietly does its job without needing custom circuitry to make the interaction feel real.

The DIY Desk Companion is proudly unnecessary in the best way. It does not track tasks or nag you about hydration. It just gives you a tiny, responsive presence that makes the space feel less mechanical. Devices around us keep trying to squeeze more output from every minute, so a little offline creature that only wants a tap now and then feels surprisingly refreshing.

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