Question How to neatly disassemble a DS cartridge

[TheKawaiifan]

So, my end goal is to make custom DS, 3DS and Switch cartridges, and the solution I am attempting would be with resin. The process should hypothetically be a matter of
-dissasembling a cartridge
-make a silicone mold of the shell
-pour resin
-add any desired decoratives
-cure
-assemble new shell with chip and label
-repeat steps 3-6 with any future projects
-fun times

Currently my first obstacle is with taking apart the cart in a neat way. All the tutorials I found online boiled down to sticking a tool in the groove and prying the DS cartridge apart, and well....I got it apart

But I also damaged the shell pretty badly

Any cracks, scuffs and scratches that happen to the shell will end up transferring over to the mold and then the final piece. Obviously I don't want that. Since I ended up with a crack that split the front half down the middle, that sacrificial cart is pretty much useless to me now and I'll have to try again with another one. Any tips on how to get the next one apart as cleanly and neatly as possible?

 

[Stitches]

Those carts are very thin, and cast resin is pretty brittle. I don't know how well trying to cast the shells will work, but IIRC the best way to disassemble the carts is to steam them to warm up and loosen the adhesive, then carefully pry them open with a thin steel spudger. Several re-steamings may be needed, just be careful not to heat the cart too much or the thin ass plastic will warp so hard it'd give Captain Kirk a headache.

You could also possibly try MSLA resin 3D printing replacement cart shells, but that requires more hardware and you'd have to design and test them yourself.

 

[TheKawaiifan]

Hmm, steaming....

I don't own a steamer or iron or anything like that. I could try boiling a pot of water and holding the cart over that. At one point I considered loosening it up with a hairdryer (which works wonders for the sticker label), but I wasn't sure if that'd just damage the chip inside and I didn't want to risk that. Though I guess I still have the chip from my first cartridge, so it doesn't matter as much if I damage any other dummy chips. The great thing about making a mold though is that I will only have to get the disassembly right once

I definitely do not have access to a 3D printer, and I am not about to invest in one. I could just commission someone who does have one, but I don't know how customizable that'll be. The whole point of this project is to make colorful and glittery functioning cartridges (Pokémon Diamond needs to look like an actual diamond, dangit!). I don't know much about resin 3D printers, so I'm not sure how you'd be able to put glitters and paint and little pieces of paper in that.

Truthfully I don't really know how well a resin shell would hold up as a game cart, but I can't find any records online of anyone else attempting it and I have the tools to do so, so.....may as well find out. Worst case scenario, I would've just ruined some 1-5 dollar DS games

 

[TheKawaiifan]

attempt #1 on the left, attempt #2 with steaming on the right

its definitely a cleaner dissasembly. Not perfect, but much much cleaner. I essentially just threw a glass measuring cup in the microwave for about 4 minutes to get it boiling and held the cartridge over the steam. It took several steamings and prying inbetween, but eventually it came apart

but not quite perfect. Still some scuffs and scratches, particularly in the corners where I was sticking my metal prying tool. I also tried sticking it into the grooves on the sides to seperate the two halves, and I think that’s where that lil nik in the side came from. The metal tool scratches and marks the plastic pretty easily. The corners kinda look mishapen as well. I *could* work with this shell, but a part of me wonders if it’d be worth my time to try again with a third cartridge and use a plastic tool instead