Pseudonymous maker “Tankgrrl” has designed a 3D-printable housing to present a contemporary 3.5″ floppy drive and its USB adapter a retro twist — taking design cues from traditional Commodore peripherals of previous.
“I made a factor,” Tankgrrl writes of the challenge. “A case for including an actual 3.5″ floppy drive and USB controller board. The design language is taken from previous Commodore drives. A normal PC floppy drive screws in from the underside (I can not assure that different drives will match the opening sample. Additionally drives with no backside shroud must be checked for clearance.)”
Whereas 3.5″ drives are much less frequent than they have been, the classic format hasn’t fully disappeared but — and while you want one, sometimes to get well previous information or drivers for irreplaceable {hardware}, you want one straight away. With few trendy motherboards together with floppy drive controllers, although, you are left with utilizing a USB adapter — and both shopping for an off-the-shelf USB floppy drive or a naked adapter to hold off the again of an ordinary drive.
If you happen to’ve a hankering for a vintage-looking storage gadget, Tankgrrl’s 3.5″ USB floppy case is a must-print. (📷: Tankgrrl)
It is these adapters for which Tankgrrl has designed the housing. Impressed in its appears by the Commodore 1541, a 5.25″ floppy drive launched within the Nineteen Eighties, the 3D-printable case takes an ordinary floppy drive and mounts it in a extra acceptable housing — and has room on the again to maintain the USB adapter board secure and hidden from view.
“Nothing to it,” Tankgrrl claims of the chassis’ meeting course of. “Floppy drive screws into the from the underside, plug within the USB-to-floppy board, shut the case and screw it collectively. You will want eight 3×15mm screws: 4 for the drive, three for the case.”
Tankgrrl has uploaded the design to Cults 3D, the place it is being made out there for simply $1. “[I’m] experimenting with charging a buck for it to see what occurs,” the maker says on Mastodon. “If you wish to seize it free of charge, I am cool with that, simply DM me.”