A case for chopchop

chopchop is a Raspberry Pi server used by xpub students. In order to (1) protect this fragile yet important object, and to (2) provide a stylized look, it was decided that chopchop needed a case.

This page is a documentation of the process of creating chopchop's case, and is based on a pad. For the purpose of this page, a step by step guide is given that is tailored towards chopchop. It can be considered a case study: this protocol can be generalized for other Raspberry Pi cases, and parts of it may be used in isolation.

The process described on this page consists of several subprotocols. They are as follows:

1. Acquire ASCII art
2. Convert ASCII art via SVG to STL
3. Acquire template STL model
4. Combine template STL model with ASCII STL
5. Get everything ready to print

These subprotocols are presented step by step in the remainder of this page.

Acquiring ASCII art

1. Open a terminal
2. Enter the following command to download a spectacular font into your default font directory:

wget http://www.figlet.org/fonts/isometric1.flf /home/USERNAME/.fonts:/usr/share/fonts/isometric1.flf && figlet -f isometric1 "chopchop" -w 60

3. Save the output (see below).

     /\  \         /\__\         /\  \         /\  \    
    /::\  \       /:/  /        /::\  \       /::\  \   
   /:/\:\  \     /:/__/        /:/\:\  \     /:/\:\  \  
  /:/  \:\  \   /::\  \ ___   /:/  \:\  \   /::\~\:\  \ 
 /:/__/ \:\__\ /:/\:\  /\__\ /:/__/ \:\__\ /:/\:\ \:\__\
 \:\  \  \/__/ \/__\:\/:/  / \:\  \ /:/  / \/__\:\/:/  /
  \:\  \            \::/  /   \:\  /:/  /       \::/  / 
   \:\  \           /:/  /     \:\/:/  /         \/__/  
    \:\__\         /:/  /       \::/  /                 
     \/__/         \/__/         \/__/                  
      ___           ___           ___           ___     
     /\  \         /\__\         /\  \         /\  \    
    /::\  \       /:/  /        /::\  \       /::\  \   
   /:/\:\  \     /:/__/        /:/\:\  \     /:/\:\  \  
  /:/  \:\  \   /::\  \ ___   /:/  \:\  \   /::\~\:\  \ 
 /:/__/ \:\__\ /:/\:\  /\__\ /:/__/ \:\__\ /:/\:\ \:\__\
 \:\  \  \/__/ \/__\:\/:/  / \:\  \ /:/  / \/__\:\/:/  /
  \:\  \            \::/  /   \:\  /:/  /       \::/  / 
   \:\  \           /:/  /     \:\/:/  /         \/__/  
    \:\__\         /:/  /       \::/  /                 
     \/__/         \/__/         \/__/  

Description of the Process

In this process our aim is to make a case for our server chopchop.

We intend to etch e.g. the above text into the case. Is the P too small? If we modify it, it's no longer at the base plane like the other characters are.

Possible ways to etch the design into the case & possible case designs

- Create a 4mm layer but divide it into two layers of 2mm each.

General Concept

Installation / display

- Chopsitcks, restaurant, hand and plate - making two gaps to insert chopsticks in. The chopsticks as flags? - Do we want the chopsticks? - could the hand hold the server with the chopsticks? possible with Epoxy? - Do we need a right hand?

Design of the case

- Painting it? Associations with food; servers, serving and service - Sandwich shaped case, works with the plate - House shaped case - chopcjhop cut-out style providing airflow might be practical - One or two-pieces to start with. E.g. a house design with chopchop etched into the roof - Windows could provide airflow?

$ sudo apt-get install krita

so in general there are seemingly two entries to the concept of chopchop. On one hand it is the association to chop sticks, and a server that serves – which creates associations to food or a restaurant. The other being chopchop as a saying for speeding up and a sense of urgency.

Making the Case

1. Copy the ASCII text from the pad
2. Make outlines from ASCII text in Adobe Illustrator
3. Make subtle adjustments to the text to improve the quality of the 3D print (i.e. make the ASCII graphic bolder)
4. Convert from SVG to STL using https://svg2stl.com/

In tinkercad

5. Import the STL
6. Make the chopchop stl file into a negative, 'cookie-cutter'
7. Combine the negative STL file of the chopchop logo with the Raspberry Pi case

Test Printing the O

1. Start a new project in tinkercad
2. Import the Raspberry Pi Case and the chopchop text STL files
3. Make an inverse cookie cutter to select the O section only
4. Combine all the shapes such that only the letter O remains;
5. Download the O shape from Tinkercad and import the STL into Ultimaker Cura
6. Slice it up and print it out