Arnov Sharma
VIDEO
DESIGN
For the design of our controller, I wanted something simple that follows the Xbox controller button layout. I kept the button layout mostly the same, but changed the overall shape from a traditional controller design to a rounded cuboid shape with a curved back. The design is minimal, and for aesthetics, I planned to print the parts in two colors.
The entire design was created in Autodesk Fusion 360.
PARTS
We began the design process by arranging all the hardware, such as the ESP32 board, analog sticks, switch PCBs, and lithium cell, in a layout similar to a regular Xbox controller. The button and joystick placement closely followed the Xbox controller layout, while the rest of the components were positioned wherever they fit best inside the design.
Based on this arrangement, the outer shell was designed around the components.
XBOX BUTTON SUDO PCB
Now here’s a clever hack: did you know you can 3D print your own PCB? Well, not a complete PCB, but a board that can hold through-hole components in place. That’s exactly how I modeled the Xbox button PCB.
For this, I placed a 12×12 push button onto the design and added four mounting holes for the switch leads, along with two additional holes for mounting the board to the controller body.
The idea here is to print this board using regular PLA, place the switch onto it, and let the switch leads hold everything in place. Then, during wiring, we directly solder wires to the leads of the switch. This “PCB” only acts as a holder that keeps the switch securely positioned.
3D PRINTED PARTS
The front and back body parts were printed in black PLA, while all the buttons were printed in red PLA to create a dual-tone red-and-black color effect.
Here, we used HYPE PLA red and black filament for all the prints. All parts were printed at a 0.2mm layer height using a 0.4mm nozzle with 15% infill.
HARDWARE
The hardware used in this project was fairly simple. We used an ESP32-C6 DevKit as the main controller, which provides plenty of GPIO pins, most of which are utilized in this build.
We also prepared custom D-pad and trigger button PCBs, which are used as button input boards.
For the analog controls, we used generic analog joysticks that I got from Amazon. These are used as the left and right analog sticks for the controller.
PCB SWITCH BOARD
For the PCB design of this project, I’m using two button boards that I designed specifically for projects like this, where I need to add button functionality. The idea is simple: place multiple buttons on a PCB, connect one side of all the buttons to GND, and route the other side to a connector that can be interfaced with a microcontroller for button input.
These boards are mainly intended for proof-of-concept builds like this one. The board layout, outline, and push-button positions were all designed by following the CAD file dimensions of both switch boards.
PCBWAY SERVICE
After finalizing the design, I generated the PCB Gerber files and sent them to PCBWay for fabrication. I chose a purple PCB with a white solder mask for both the trigger and D-pad PCBs.
The quality turned out to be excellent with a clean finish and sharp silkscreen, and everything matched the design perfectly.
Over the past ten years, PCBWay has built a strong reputation for providing reliable PCB manufacturing and assembly services, becoming a go-to choice for engineers and makers worldwide.
Honestly, if you’re making custom PCBs and not checking out PCBWay, you’re just making things harder for yourself. They also offer CNC machining and 3D printing services.
