标签: modification

I am quite happy to announce that the Playstation 3 controller has been modded and has been delivered to someone who needs it. If you don't remember the entire story, check out Part 1 where I asked for ideas on how to modify the controller for someone with muscular dystrophy. Getting to a proper resolution took several steps. As you saw in the first post, I had initially planned on physically modifying the controller to relocate the buttons. This idea really bothered me, though. Even if I had been able to come up with a functional prototype, it would have a been a slow, labour-intensive process. Should others want the same modification, it wouldn't have been much easier to do again. I decided an add-on or accessory was needed for the job instead. I brainstormed for a while and came up with a few designs of my own, but again realised that the best way I could actually help was to act as a cheerleader, inspiring people more talented than I am to act. (It seems this particular cheerleading skill of mine gets the most results, so I should skip to that step without so much delay on each project.) Together with the really amazing folks at iFixit, I hosted a contest. The first five people who could come up with the simplest, easy-to-implement, easy-to-distribute accessory that actually worked, would get a really cool Pro toolkit and a magnetic work mat. There have been a couple of winners with fully functional designs already. The design that I felt was the simplest and most elegant was actually just a golf tee and a paperclip hot glued to the controller. I thought this was brilliant, but I really wanted to be able to send people a part that they could attach and use. Maybe something a little higher quality and more reliable than a golf tee and paperclip. To do this, I designed a single piece that fulfills the same function and can be printed on a 3D printer. I was careful in my design to print in a way that the layers would give maximum strength in the correct direction, hopefully minimising the chance this will snap.     These are available to download at Thingiverse and YouMagine . Anyone can download them, modify them, and improve them. I really think that this simple plastic part might help a lot more people than if I had just modified the one controller I had. I also now have the potential to just print these and mail them cheaply to others who need them. Caleb Kraft Chief Community Editor EE Times