Phoniebox

Phoniebox

Kids Music Box with RFID Reader and Spotify

I was searching for an open source alternative to a Kids Audio Box (e.g. Toniebox, Tigerbox, etc.) and found the Phoniebox as well as the Git for it.

I went on to design a box that would fit all components (pi, powerbox, rfid reader, etc.) and found the tigerbox aesthetically pleasing. My box is larger to fit everything, around 14cm edgewise, but its still light enough to be lifted by my son who's not even two yet.

The figurines are from thingiverse, remixed to include a slot which fits a RFID chip. Depending on the figurine put on top of the box a different playlist ist played, currently mostly kids audio books and a spotify music playlist.

All in all a very cool project that i hope to expand when my son grows older.

Electronics

Phoniebox

• Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B+ - 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 with 1GB RAM
• Pimoroni OnOff SHIM for Raspberry Pi
• Adafruit I2S 3W Stereo Speaker Bonnet for Raspberry Pi - Mini Kit
• Adafruit Perma-Proto Quarter-sized Breadboard PCB - 3 Pack!
• Colorful Square Tactile Button Switch Assortment - 15 pack
• Rugged Metal Pushbutton with Red LED Ring - 16mm Red Momentary
• Speaker - 3" Diameter - 4 Ohm 3 Watt
• USB RFID Reader
• Panel Mount Extension USB Cable - Micro B Male to Micro B Female
• Anker PowerCore 15000 Redux
• M3 Screws (e.g. BangGood)

RFID Figurines

• RFID Button - 16mm (125kHz)

Printing

The files are a Work in Progress, as i'd like to include some of the changes i made in post-processing after finishing the box.

Basically you need to print one of each of the files. I used Vertigo Grey for the bottom part and ReForm rPET for the rest.

I printed everything at 0.28mm layer height, kept the bottom as-is and sanded, primed, painted and clearcoated the rest as needed.

Edits

• 2020_02_26: Uploaded the Source Blender File and a blank Front Plate

Assembly

Introduction

The Assembly can be separated into four modules:

• The Bottom Unit contains the Pi with Speaker Bonnet as well as space for the powerbank
• The Front Unit with the Button Setup
• The Back Unit containing the Speaker as well as a USB Port for charging the powerbank
• The Top Unit containing the RFID Reader, Power Button including OnOff Shim and optionally two leds to show the status of the RFID Reader

Step 1: Back Unit

This is the simplest unit to assemble, as you just need to mount the speaker and the extension cable to the backplate.

For the speaker i used some cables i had laying around, i think around 18 gauge. I soldered them to the speaker and put a jst connector on the other end.

Step 2: Front Unit

The front contains the GPIO Buttons, that are mounted to the quarter sized breadboard.

To solder the buttons i used a common ground for all buttons and soldered the data lines directly to the pi.

If i would to this again, i would use connectors to keep it more modular.

Button Layout:

1 2 3

4   5

Button --- Function -------- Pin
1 -------- Previous title -- GPIO20
2 -------- Pause/Play ------ GPIO X (Use a free pin, BUT NOT GPIO21)
3 -------- Next title ------ GPIO26
4 -------- Volume Down ----- GPIO19
5 -------- Volume Up ------- GPIO16

Please check the pinout with your setup in mind. If there's a pin that's used for multiple functions, things will go wrong (e.g. GPIO21 is the default for Phoniebox' Pause/Play function, but has to be used by the speaker bonnet).

Step 3: Top Unit

On the top theres a recessed area for the rfid figurines. Thats the spot on the inside of the top, where you should mount the RFID Reader (if its not working, you can always disassemble the reader and mount the coils on the top and the board somewhere at the side).

The power button can be mounted in the hole, nothing special here. I used connectors to keep the design modular.

Step 4: Bottom Unit

On the bottom there is room for the powerbank and mounting holes for the pi. As you can see in the picture, i directly mounted the speaker bonnet and soldered the OnOff Shim as well as the cables from the Front Buttons on this.

Step 5: Software and Dry Fit

Now is a good time to connect everything together, setup the pi (i used Raspian Stretcher, because Buster was not supported at the time) and test, if everything is working.

Here you will need to change the pins used by phoniebox to correct any conflicts (like with GPIO 21, that in default will be used by phoniebox as well as the speaker bonnet).

At this step i found out that the top and bottom will fit nicely together, but give way if handled roughly (as is expected when used by a toddler). I bore some holes and inserted copper rods to stabilize the connection and counteract any lateral movement of the parts.

Step 6: Assemble the Phoniebox

If the software is running and the dry fit went well, you will need 8 M3 screws for the final assembly.

• Step 6.1: Connect all the cables and electronics
• Step 6.2: Fit the powerbank into the bottom compartement and connect it to the pi as well as to the extension on the back plate (depending on the cables used, it may be a very tight fit. I had to rotate the powerbank maybe 30° to fit my usb cables, because the connerctors where protruding quite a bit)
• Step 6.3: Connect top and bottom, no screws needed. I glued the white middle part on one side and inserted copper rods (with matching holes in the bottom) to prevent lateral movement).
• Step 6.4: Insert the front plate and use 4 screws to mount it to the top and bottom parts (these screws are hidden)
• Step 6.5: Insert the back plate and use the last 4 screws to mount it to the top and bottom parts (these screws will be visible from the back)