Hey folks,
Thought I’d share an update to my MiniMac Pi Project. I just recently got around to installing the update to the resistive touch PiTFT image. Setup was pretty straightforward. It does however boot up in portrait mode by default. A simple fix is to set the rotation to 270 degrees in the Adafruit modprobe config. Running the AutoMagic calibration script configures the touch screen for the new orientation. I ran into an issue with the HDMI out not displaying the Start X window on my 5″ HDMI monitor – The learning guide had some clues for fixes but I found it’s not easy to switch between the PiTFT and HDMI out – It’s best to just leave it on PiTFT mode. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Minecraft doesn’t run on the PiTFT along with other apps – Most do not scale down nicely or at all. However, I did find it adorable to use it as a monitor for my Astrobox rig.
Astroprint is free, open-source wireless 3D printing monitoring software. It’s a successful kickstarter campaign that derived from the OctoPrint project. Basically, it allows you connect your 3D printer to your wifi network so you can control and manage prints through a web browser. It’s also available as a stand-alone piece of hardware (using a PCduino) but the dev team made it available for the Raspberry Pi. Check out this page on how to get your Pi setup with Astroprint!
The epiphany browser can display the Astroprint local webpage and even manage to control the printer with the touch screen. I really like the look of this project and it’s portable, rechargeable and easy to take apart – I admit this thing isn’t as quick or good as my mobile phone or tablet, but come on! It looks so friggin’ cute. This project isn’t just another novelty desk nick nack, it can actually be quite useful. Sure beats exclusively using it for mac paint. I think I may revisit this project for a Raspberry Pi B+ upgrade – There’s also a bigger 3.5″ PiTFT to consider.
So if you’re interested in making this project – Check out the tutorial on the Adafruit Learning System and be sure to watch the project video on YouTube. The design files for the enclosure are available to download. We also have some PiTFT’s in stock along with Pi’s, Wifi Adapters and other Raspberry Pi goodies.
