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 venture. “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’t assure that different drives will match the outlet sample. Additionally drives with no backside shroud needs to be checked for clearance.)”
Whereas 3.5″ drives are much less widespread than they have been, the classic format hasn’t utterly disappeared but — and while you want one, usually to recuperate previous information or drivers for irreplaceable {hardware}, you want one immediately. With few fashionable 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 a typical drive.
When you’ve a hankering for a vintage-looking storage system, 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 seems to be by the Commodore 1541, a 5.25″ floppy drive launched within the Eighties, the 3D-printable case takes a typical floppy drive and mounts it in a extra applicable 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 may 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 obtainable 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 without spending a dime, I am cool with that, simply DM me.”
