A game console with a motor-driven lid

What you need

A Raspberry Pi
An SD card of at least 8 GB
The printed case (STL files in the download)
A 5V illuminated push button (angel eye)
A 4-port USB hub
A 5V stepper motor with a ULN2003 driver
Two pulleys and a timing belt, for example from a 3D printer

Software

RetroPie

First install RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi. The RetroPie installation guide explains how.

The motor script

The lid is driven by a Python script. There are several ways to start it; I use a cron job that runs the script as soon as the Pi boots.

Log in to the Raspberry Pi over SSH. You’ll need an SSH client and the Pi’s IP address, which you can find in your router. The default username is pi and the password is raspberry.

Then create the script:

sudo nano /home/pi/script.py

Paste in the contents of the script from the download, and save with Ctrl+X, Y and Enter. Then open crontab:

sudo crontab -e

If you’re asked to pick an editor, choose nano. Add this line:

@reboot python /home/pi/script.py &

Save with Ctrl+X, Y and Enter.

Case

Exploded 3D design of the console: the white base, the black top and the lid that slides back on a rail. — The 3D design, with the lid on its rail.

I printed the case in black and white PLA, but other materials work too. The STL files are in the download at the end of this post.

To mount the electronics, I melted threaded inserts into the standoffs with a soldering iron. The motor goes in the top of the case. Then fit the pulleys onto the motor and cut the belt to length.

The console with the lid slid open, revealing the connector underneath. — With the lid open.

Electronics

Connect everything like this:

The push button to GPIO 2 and 3.3V. If your button has a light, connect it to the right voltage too (5V in my case).
The stepper motor driver: IN1 → GPIO26, IN2 → GPIO19, IN3 → GPIO13, IN4 → GPIO6.
The USB hub to one of the Raspberry Pi’s USB ports.

Wiring diagram: the Raspberry Pi with a red push button and four wires to the stepper motor’s ULN2003 driver. — The wiring diagram.

The console with a retro controller plugged in in front of it; the power button is lit. — Ready to play.

Download

Download the script and STL files (RAR, 58 kB)