Enclosure for SMS to SMD adapter

Introduction
The problem
Design
Result
Files

Introduction

I built an electronic circuit to make it possible to use Sega Master System (SMS) games on a Sega Mega Drive / Genesis (SMD) console. While the circuit board works well and is usable as-is, nothing prevents it from being inserted the wrong way round, potentially damaging the game or the console. It is therefore highly preferable to use an appropriate enclosure. This page is about the one I designed for this project.

The technical details, schematics, etc. are published on a separate page.

The problem

I'm not the first to build such an adapter which is very often built by modifying a standard SMD game cartridge. But this approach did not appeal to me for the following reasons:

Reason 1: The height!

Simply having the SMS cartridge sitting at the top of an SMD cartridge results in high total height, and nothing prevents reverse insertion of the SMS game. It also looks a bit flimsy to me.

High height

Reason 2: Lack of transition

The angular SMS cartridge corners does not blend with the SMD cartridge's curved profile.

No transition

Design

While designing the circuit board, I was careful to keep the PCB height low. I could probably have done better, but I'm nevertheless satisfied with the result.

I made a 3D model from a physical SMD cartridge and placed a model of the PCB inside to see how much space it occupied. Then I truncated the top part of the SMD cartridge.

Checking the model

PCB vs. full SMD cartridge

Truncated SMD cartridge

Of course I was not going to stop with just cutting off the top of the cartridge. I was aiming for a cleaner result and desired a transition element between the curved SMD cartridge-like base and SMS cartridge's sharp edges. A box, a belt, anything. After a while, I came up with this: