After completing the Reconfigurable Piano Keyboard I needed to package the breadboard and come up with a good way to connect the wiring to the Makey Makey without it taking forever to connect the many wires. Additionally, I needed a way to protect the keys during transport.
I went the easy route and built a cardboard container for the keys. Grouped in two rows of four keys, they tuck back to back in this container. I left out the fourth side to make it easier to remove the keys without pulling on the wires.
I upcycled a cigar box to house both the breadboard and Makey Makey. I cut a notch in the front of the box with a jigsaw so the box can close around the keyboard wires connected to the breadboard. I 3D printed a bracket that the breadboard slides into. It screws into the bottom of the cigar box.
Similarly, the Architronics WASDFG board was connected the box with the supplied screws and a couple of washers to make the board stand slightly off the box.
I bent the pins on a set of jumper cables to fit in the headers that I remapped to 1, 2, and 3 on the keyboard.
The female end of those cables connects to the male jumper cables coming from the breadboard.
For the other breadboard jumper cable connections to the Makey Makey I removed one end of a set of female/female jumper cables and added alligator clips.
Finally, I designed a "kickstand" in Tinkercad and 3D printed it. Attached to the side of the box with some screws salvaged from a disassembled PC, it keeps the lid open and tucks out of the way when the box is closed.
The alligator clips need to be disconnected from the Makey Makey when the box needs to be closed, but using the jumper cables means I only need to reconnect one side. The colored jumper cables make reconnecting by sight easier, too.
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