I want to start out by giving a huge should out to @Wesk and the 4LayerTech team for making all of this possible and accessible. When I first saw Wesk's Ashida, I knew instantly that I wanted to build one. It is truly a no-compromises portable.
I decided to try FDM printing the case, to try out this sweet electron indigo filament from Fusion Filaments. The color came out a little bit more vibrant that the signature Nintendo indigo, which is more blue-ish and washed out. I spent around 10-20 hours sanding the case, using a dremel sanding attachment from 100 grit all the way up to 2000 grit. It feels smooth as glass, and you can hardly see any layer lines, however due to the complex geometry on the case, it was impossible to sand out all of the scratches along the curved edges. I think I did a pretty good job though. Afterwards, I used a matte clear coat which, along with the sanding, helped wash out the color a bit. The assembly itself didn't actually take all too long. I love the channel under the heatsink for routing wires.
I had a lot of difficulty with getting the Z buttons to work well. I had to trim them, do some sanding in the case, and couldn't tighten the screws all the way or they would get stuck. Lesson learned: check the case fit before screwing everything in!
Overall this was a really fun build and I'm extremely happy with how it turned out.
I decided to try FDM printing the case, to try out this sweet electron indigo filament from Fusion Filaments. The color came out a little bit more vibrant that the signature Nintendo indigo, which is more blue-ish and washed out. I spent around 10-20 hours sanding the case, using a dremel sanding attachment from 100 grit all the way up to 2000 grit. It feels smooth as glass, and you can hardly see any layer lines, however due to the complex geometry on the case, it was impossible to sand out all of the scratches along the curved edges. I think I did a pretty good job though. Afterwards, I used a matte clear coat which, along with the sanding, helped wash out the color a bit. The assembly itself didn't actually take all too long. I love the channel under the heatsink for routing wires.
I had a lot of difficulty with getting the Z buttons to work well. I had to trim them, do some sanding in the case, and couldn't tighten the screws all the way or they would get stuck. Lesson learned: check the case fit before screwing everything in!
Overall this was a really fun build and I'm extremely happy with how it turned out.