
That night at Nekomiya Residence.
After sufficiently resting, Rimu sat in front of her mini PC in her room. Riku was currently playing on their PS2 in the living room, so she was the only one in the room.
On the side, there was an opened box which she had taken out the contents of.
"A mini LCD screen, a Bluetooth keyboard, a mini speaker, a power bank, an audio jack, a memory card, a USB cables..."
The contents of the box were the items that she had purchased during the trip with Kouta to Shizuoka Department Store. As the teller said at that time, the package was sent to her house not long after her departure.
What she wanted to assemble was a laptop.
Although her mini-PC was functional, it was not, in a sense, comfortable to use. It was understandable since some of the parts like the keyboard and monitor had been taken from the trash.
The size was also an issue, the monitor, the keyboard, and their big cables made it inconvenient to move.
By miniaturizing the DIY PC into a laptop, at least it could be taken out of the room.
Originally, she had planned to assemble her computer using these items yesterday. But unfortunately, Riku's unexpected attack made her unable to do so. She had no choice except to postpone her plans to the next day, or in short... to this moment.
"Now that everything is in place, it's time to start."
With that said, Rimu swiftly designed a bunch of 3D models. These models were the design of the "frame laptop" that she intended to print with her 3D Printer later. During designing, Rimu carefully measured the size of the LCD screen and the other items using a ruler before she shifted her glance to the 3D models at the monitor again.
As a former employee of an eroge game company, her 3D modeling skills have obviously been tempered. Although she didn't take a major in Animation, there were many of her colleagues that did so.
Being a black company, sometimes even unrelated personnel would be dragged and forced to help their colleagues to make the deadline. Rimu, who was supposedly the character designer, ended up being the victim of this the most.
Whether she wanted it or not, she ended up absorbing the knowledge and skills of 3D modeling from her colleagues.
And now after she time-traveled to the past, her skills during that time were not lost. Even if the software she used was different, the essential points were still the same.
This could be said a blessing in disguise.
♦♦♦
A few minutes later, the design was basically done.
"Okay, this should be it."
The laptop frame she designed was based on the DIY laptop design she had seen on Youtube with a few adjustments.
It was a design where there were no bolts or glue required to connect the pieces. The finished models were like Lego puzzles that could be assembled or disassembled at any time. This made it easier to replace the mechanical parts inside if there was a problem, without having to damage the overall frame.
Rimu took out the 3D Printer from the closet and quickly connected it to her PC before starting the printing.
WHIIING!! SHUUUSH! SHUUUSH!
The frame pieces were printed separately and everything took a few hours to finish.
The biggest piece, the box where most of the stuff was placed, had a few sliding tracks, whose use was quite obvious. And then in the bottom part, there were a few holes for ventilation.
Rimu assembled the parts carefully on the desk. She placed the Raspberry Pi, the Power Bank, and the other stuff into the frame, connecting them using the USB cables before proceeding with closing the lid. It took about two hours to finish.
Now her Mini-PC had become a laptop.
"Lastly, let's turn it on."
With a press of a small button on the side, the laptop booted up and the familiar logo quickly appeared on the screen. A few moments later, the logo screen was replaced with the usual desktop screen. The process was proved successful.
Looking at the finished item in front of her, Rimu nodded with a grin.
"Kukuku... This is perfect! Hahahaha."
Rimu couldn't help but let out a laugh as she looked up and spread her arms open. Using her legs, she spun the rotating chair with her full strength. A blissful expression could be seen on her face as she savored the twirling sensation from the spinning chair.
The moment she had finished her masterpiece, a sense of accomplishment instantly enveloped her mind. This feeling was similar to how an athlete felt after winning a gold medal at a tournament, or when a student took first place after a difficult exam.
This feeling of satisfaction after making your own laptop was certainly incomparable to buying a ready-made one.
When the rotating chair stopped its spin, Rimu's laughter also stopped.
"Maybe I have a talent for engineering...?"
Rimu couldn't help but feel complacent, but then she quickly dismissed that thinking.
"As if... I was just following a Youtube video. It's not like I understand a thing about this stuff."
For some reason, Rimu felt somewhat familiar with her father's expression during his experiments. Right now, she felt that she could connect herself to how her father thinks. He must have yearned for this feeling during his research. And each time his research took a step forward, perhaps he also felt this way.
The joy of discovering new things!
Rimu shook her head.
'Well, there was no need to think about unrelated things. Since I am in it anyway, I should reconstruct my scanner too.'
With that said, she reopened the 3D software on her newly assembled laptop and started designing the 3D model for her Scanner (lol) frame. Then, 30 minutes later, the pitiful cardboard frame of the Scanner (lol) has been replaced with a 3D printed one.
At least, it looked better than before. The (lol) in its name can be removed now.
This was sturdier and would not easily get crooked!
"As expected, this 3D Printer is very useful."
Rimu nodded with satisfaction.
She then turned off the laptop and recharged the Power Bank inside it before heading downstairs to grab a drink.
Even with a YouTube tuto,I don't think anyone can just build a laptop. She do got some skills.
Thanks for the chapter!
Its more like a netbook
it's definitely possible. the hard thing about is how to fit everything together in exact specifications
It's not like she's assembling a commercial-grade laptop from commercial-grade parts. She's baking a DIY laptop with parts designed for DIY. It requires far less attention to detail than a computer technician servicing a regular laptop.
Anyone who has experience with Raspberry Pis and 3D printers would know that it's easier than it looks to non-technically inclined people.
You could literally just find and print someone else's case design from the internet and simply plug all the components together. It would be less work than assembling Ikea furniture, especially since she chose a tool-less design. Literally on the level of plugging things in and stacking a few lego blocks.
Far less work than assembling a desktop PC from components - something that even child computer enthusiasts can manage. After all, every part can only fit in its proper place. I built PCs as a kid. You'd have to be incompetent to manage to somehow do it wrong.
She took it further and did some custom fitment because she does have the skills for it, considering she has the experience of an adult having done work in similar fields.
The frame pieces were printed separately and each took a few minutes to finish.
I wish they were that fast...
Sadly it would be closer to 2 or 3 days to print off the scanner frame and laptop case. Maybe even longer. But at least it is possible
With that DIY PC, I think Riku will start to feel he's the inferior one...
This loli is very cute
Looking forward to the future chappys. Thanks for the content thus far!
<3
I love when she goes full chuuni.
Thanks for the chapter! Also first!