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DIY Wii clip holds your Wiimote to your Classic Controller!

joystiq.com — Tired of waiting for Nintendo to produce a solution, Chris Williams, a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, made his own clip to attach a Wii remote to the Classic Controller, handily solving one of our Wii annoyances. All it took was three hours of labor and some high-tech equipment to make Williams something of a hero in Nintendo circles.

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  • freetyme, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Looks cool my only worry is that it might get in the way of your hands, some people do wrap their unused fingers to the back of the controller.
    • MatttK, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Yeah, I really don't get the point of this. It'd interfere with your hands. It'd add weight to the controller. It'd look stupid. There's nothing good about it. I always just put the Wii remote in my lap, on the bed, on the chair, on the desk, or on some kind of other surface. It really isn't a bother.
    • jewdass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4See my long-winded comment down below. The classic controller + wiimote weighs no more than an xbox s-controller, and it's balanced well. Even just stapped on with zip-ties, it didn't interfere with my grip (Size XL gloves) and with a plastic clip that can stand off 1/4-1/2", you have even more room to curl your fingers. And it's not about getting it off the floor/table, it's about adding motion and rumble to the classic controller for original current-gen games.
    • tripm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I've never noticed a problem with the remote just dangling. The Wii has received all my classic controller's commands even when the remote is pointing the opposite direction of the sensor bar or the Wii console itself.
  • txcrew, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Wouldn't that add a considerable amount of weight to the controller?
  • slammyd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12If this guy were really a hero, he'd post the CAD files somewhere and let us Wii owners fabricate our own clips...on the million dollar stereolithography 3-D printing machines we all have in our basements. ;)

    But seriously, that's cool. His graduate advisor should be proud, and should let him have next Saturday off.
  • defectDS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17So how exactly would you Do This Yourself? :P
    • DatDudeWiggs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16"3 and a half hours and some high tech equipment". . .I don't have either
    • thadiusdean, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, I guess that was just an attention getter.
    • ericcoolls, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6all u need is a school with alot of money
    • whiskeyclone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9surely for a poor-man's version all you need is 3 and a half seconds and a pack of blu-tack...
    • terribly1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Or duct tape.
  • skyfire1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Too bad he didn't suggest a more worthwhile company to make them such as Datel.
  • haooken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8hehe, I actually have access to a stereo lithography machine. But I don't have a Wii *is crushed* :(
  • washingtonydc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4now just give me pilotwings with motion control
    • terribly1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I can't digg that enough.

      Birdman? Skydiving? Yes please!
  • Easty, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1WTF is the middle button for anyway?
  • Stumblinforward, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9So has this really been a problem? I just lay mine on the arm of my chair or in my lap, Ive never had a problem with it being in the way or bothering me.
    • eric1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree. It could be useful if they wanted a motion sensing game, but a different controller for it. I'm thinking some sort of flight simulator type game where you wanted the motion sensing capabilities of the Wiimote, but need more buttons etc... like on the Classic Controller. It might be useful for something like that.
    • heysuburbia, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Seriously. Essentially, it's the equivalent of attaching a weight to your controller, lame.
  • conna, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2If someone can get the CAD files I am sure they can make this

    http://www.beyond7.com

    Beyond 7 Designs
    Custom Water Features: Bubble Walls and Waterfalls
    Custom Displays
    Custom Fabrication: plastics - wood - metal - stone - glass - Light
  • alantocheri, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Is this really an issue for anyone? I just have it on my lap or beside me ... why would I need the wiimote to face the tv?
    • skyfire1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Some people (like me) prefer to play while standing up.
    • jewdass, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Well, there's the fact that your classic controller would now have motion sensing... and rumble... and (i guess) pointer functionality, although that seems like a byproduct and might not be ergonomically feasible. Also you have another d-pad and a few more buttons in semi-easy reach. Again ergonomics will decide if they actually get used or not.

      I've been saying for months now that nintendo is just waiting to release the clip. It will come out when first wave of games utilizing this new control scheme hit the market. Classic controller for current gen games. Everything cool about the sixaxis design and then some.

      I've tested the idea by attaching the wiimote to the classic controller with zip ties before, to get an idea of weight and balance. It weighs about the same as an original xbox s-controller and is balanced perfectly. Holding it still feels natural, the remote doesn't get in the way. It's a sound design.

      It's just a matter of time until the clip and the games that utilize it are out there.
    • chicaneuk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@alantocheri: same here? I never even REALISED this was any sort of problem amongst Wii owners until I saw this post? I just sit on the sofa and put the Wii-mote next to me or, as you say, on your lap. The cable from the classic controller is more than long enough for it not to be a problem.

      Why don't you folks who prefer to stand just stick your wiimote in your pocket or somethin? Its not like the wiimote has to be pointing at the TV when you play classic games anyway?
  • onimusha115, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The big question is where the hell do you get a Classic controller? I can't find them anywhere, so I resorted to getting a gamecube controller instead, works just as well I suppose, but its not white and shiney.
    • thebass, on 10/12/2007, -6/+0s to the h to the i-n-e-y
    • washingtonydc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3there's a lot on the internets. I got two from Toys R Us online.
    • spitcoff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0in the Detroit area they are everywhere
  • thebass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think the real story in this digg is the stereoligraphy machine, and how sweet it would be to have access to one
  • TWillz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1meh.
  • edm1950, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It would be better to machine the blank from a more durable material then hand finish it. Stereolithography resins tend to be pretty brittle. Something like nylon or delrin would be better. Though it's a neat class project and a good evaluation piece.
  • scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1nevermind
  • westoncampbell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Why are both controllers needed at the same time anyway? Using the classic controller to play something like Super Mario Bros. requires the Wiimote for ... ?

    /Sorry, I don't have a Wii yet. I'd really like to know the answer though for when I do get one.
    • scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5He's made it because for some OCD type of reason he can't just can't bear to shove the wiimote somewhere else despite the fact that he has no use for it.

      His other reason is that maybe someone will make a game that requires the two combined (neatly forgetting that maybe they would sell you a damn clip if they were selling you such a game)
    • goeatsmsht, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Remember when your younger brother/sister or mother/father played Super Mario Bros. when you first got your Nintendo? Remember how they would jerk the controller up to make Mario jump? Now it will actually help them to play!
    • Twindagger, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The classic controller plugs into the wiimote.
  • edm1950, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Y'know actually for one clip the easiest thing to do would be to bend up 2 pieces of fairly heavy gauge shim stock orient them and pop rivet them together.
  • Boofster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5How is this DIY? Or maybe I am the last person on earth to not have a laser-polymer-resin-UV-ray-CAD-operated machine in the closet.
  • Skittleteeth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Now I can jerk off with my other wiimote-free hand! Yay! Come on guys, is it really that much of an inconvenience that you need this thing?
  • Snyz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0When I use the classic controller I just let the wiimote lay on the floor. My only gripe is that they didn't make the cord long enough.
  • gardnmi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The perfect solution is called the Gamecube Controller
  • Willeth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The most annoying thing is that if you look on the side of the Wiimote, it was clearly designed to slot into something. There's a big groove up the side that tapers at the bottom to allow something to grip it. Similarly, the classic controller has a mechanism on the back for a clip of some sort.

    There WILL be a plastic thing released at some point to clip the two together. This is a neat stopgap solution.
  • iAmGeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't know if anyone else read the comments on that page but someone posted a link for a concept design that I think would actually like to see instead.
    http://madiart.blogspot.com/
    At the top as of Sunday, Feb. 18th, 2007, this person has the wii expansions with just the buttons. It looks like a pretty cool idea and I would like to see it happen.
  • NikonDork, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Personally I think people should stop posting items as "DIY" when rapid prototyping machines are involved.
  • nimadude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0wtf is this? it takes a phd in mechanical engineering to come up with a plastic clip that attaches two objects? rofl really "high tech"
  • PorkFat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0What the classic controller needs are large, clip on, XB or GB style ergonomic grip "wings". It's really uncomfortable without them.
  • ircgoliath, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.joystiq.com/gallery/diy-wii-classic-controller-clip/163038/

    Wii pr0n?
  • beanoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0should he be studying?



    http://www.wiiyou.com
  • crossers, on 07/16/2008, -0/+0of course looks cool! but works?
    http://www.shpe-sac.org
    http://www.ocflex.com/
    http://www.trgovinca.org
    http://www.chasr.org/

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