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How To Make 1 to 30,000 Virtual Reality Cardboard Headsets an Hour

54 points by kqr2 12y ago

morsch 12y ago
Interesting. Seems like the flat die (spoiler: works like a cookie cutter) would work fine on a much smaller scale. For example, you could manually press it down on a piece of cardboard, maybe with a lever action. A cursory search seems to indicate such contraptions exist. Seems like that ought to get you up to laser cutter speeds (3 mins/part) with a much smaller investment. PS - not usually one to complain about this, but the contrast of the font on that page is ridiculous.
utopkara 12y ago
It is cool that somebody is doing this. I wouldn't mind cutting and making one for my own as a weekend project though. The lenses cost $3-$4, you can get them from your local toy store packaged inside toy binoculars.
rahimnathwani 12y ago
FYI if you live in China, you can buy a kit (including machine-cut cardboard, velcro and lenses) for <50 RMB ($8). Magnets and NFC can be bought cheaply from other taobao sellers. I made one by hand myself, and bought kits from two different vendors. - the one I cut myself works, but it looks like trash and is not durable. Also, the lenses I used distort too much - the one from the first vendor is great. The design has been modified so that the lens holes are a little wider, to accommodate the wider lenses supplied: http://tb.cn/qdMexXy http://tb.cn/qdMexXy - the one from the second vendor was almost as good, but the doesn't have the slightly wider lenses/holes If you're using an iPhone, I recommend the app '3dtube' for watching 3D videos. Also, search the App Store for 'durovis' to find other compatible apps.
- SimpleMinds 12y ago
  Thank you very much for posting to vendor. Could you also post links and/or names to other parts? That way it will be complete information
  - rahimnathwani 12y ago
    Sure. I didn't buy any NFC tags, but used these magnets: - Ring magnet 20mm x 4mm: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=23637980267 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=23637980267 - Ceramic magnet 20mm x 3mm: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=18786950677 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=18786950677 I haven't bought an NFC, but this might work: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38598120822 http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38598120822
- makomk 12y ago
  Neat! If you don't live in China, you should be able to buy them from the usual places like Aliexpress and eBay for a slight markup. Looks like there's a handful of people reselling them. (Some stuff doesn't make it over but the more consumer-oriented stuff usually does.)
sfeng 12y ago
I would love to know the unit cost for each method.
drjacobs 12y ago
I got to try one of these out at a wedding last weekend, it was a ton of fun and well worth the price. Going to have to buy one of my own to play around with.
ZoF 12y ago
These guys did well moving quick to capitalize on this. Saw several ads for it, probably sold quite well; getting to use 'Google' in your product's title definitely lends it some extra credibility too.
donclark 12y ago
$14 & free shipping (no ratings yet): http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-DIY-Google-Cardboard-Virtual-reality-mobile-phone-glasses-with-NFC-TAG/1961979491.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-DIY-Google-Cardboard-V... Lots more here: http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=cardboard+google&catId=&initiative_id=SB_20140715062011 http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=cardboard+goo... and then there is this? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Google-Cardboard-Virtual-reality-Mobile-stereoscopic-3D-movie-game-wearing-glasses/1971556452.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Google-Cardboard-Virtual-real...

54 points by kqr2 12y ago

Interesting. Seems like the flat die (spoiler: works like a cookie cutter) would work fine on a much smaller scale. For example, you could manually press it down on a piece of cardboard, maybe with a lever action. A cursory search seems to indicate such contraptions exist. Seems like that ought to get you up to laser cutter speeds (3 mins/part) with a much smaller investment. PS - not usually one to complain about this, but the contrast of the font on that page is ridiculous.

utopkara 12y ago

It is cool that somebody is doing this. I wouldn't mind cutting and making one for my own as a weekend project though. The lenses cost $3-$4, you can get them from your local toy store packaged inside toy binoculars.

rahimnathwani 12y ago

FYI if you live in China, you can buy a kit (including machine-cut cardboard, velcro and lenses) for <50 RMB ($8). Magnets and NFC can be bought cheaply from other taobao sellers. I made one by hand myself, and bought kits from two different vendors. - the one I cut myself works, but it looks like trash and is not durable. Also, the lenses I used distort too much - the one from the first vendor is great. The design has been modified so that the lens holes are a little wider, to accommodate the wider lenses supplied: http://tb.cn/qdMexXy http://tb.cn/qdMexXy - the one from the second vendor was almost as good, but the doesn't have the slightly wider lenses/holes If you're using an iPhone, I recommend the app '3dtube' for watching 3D videos. Also, search the App Store for 'durovis' to find other compatible apps.

SimpleMinds 12y ago
Thank you very much for posting to vendor. Could you also post links and/or names to other parts? That way it will be complete information
- rahimnathwani 12y ago
  Sure. I didn't buy any NFC tags, but used these magnets: - Ring magnet 20mm x 4mm: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=23637980267 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=23637980267 - Ceramic magnet 20mm x 3mm: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=18786950677 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=18786950677 I haven't bought an NFC, but this might work: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38598120822 http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=38598120822
makomk 12y ago
Neat! If you don't live in China, you should be able to buy them from the usual places like Aliexpress and eBay for a slight markup. Looks like there's a handful of people reselling them. (Some stuff doesn't make it over but the more consumer-oriented stuff usually does.)

sfeng 12y ago

I would love to know the unit cost for each method.

drjacobs 12y ago

I got to try one of these out at a wedding last weekend, it was a ton of fun and well worth the price. Going to have to buy one of my own to play around with.

ZoF 12y ago

These guys did well moving quick to capitalize on this. Saw several ads for it, probably sold quite well; getting to use 'Google' in your product's title definitely lends it some extra credibility too.

donclark 12y ago

$14 & free shipping (no ratings yet): http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-DIY-Google-Cardboard-Virtual-reality-mobile-phone-glasses-with-NFC-TAG/1961979491.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-DIY-Google-Cardboard-V... Lots more here: http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=cardboard+google&catId=&initiative_id=SB_20140715062011 http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=cardboard+goo... and then there is this? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Google-Cardboard-Virtual-reality-Mobile-stereoscopic-3D-movie-game-wearing-glasses/1971556452.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Google-Cardboard-Virtual-real...