Frame

The Frame is the structure that turns a set of modules into one device. Each module already has its own board and shell; the Frame is the skeleton that holds a chosen combination together, lines up their connectors, and gives the finished build its form factor — the shape you hold or stand on a desk. It doesn't change the electronics: same modules, same connectors. What the Frame decides is the shape.

How modules mount

Modules join in one of the two arrangements described in the Overview, and the Frame is built around whichever one a build uses. In both, a module stacks on the Core's back BTB; the difference is how the selected Power module attaches and whether Control modules are added:

• All on the back. When the selected Power module provides a rear BTB passthrough, it can sit between the Core and an Expand. The Frame holds that stack together as a single block.
• Expand on the back, Power and Control by cable. An Expand still stacks on the Core's back BTB, while the Power module and one or more Control modules attach by cable — a 7-pin power cable from the Core to the Power module, and FPC cables from the Core through the keyboard and/or gamepad. The Frame gives each piece its place.

The build datasheet specifies which arrangement and connectors its exact module combination uses. A rear passthrough is a feature of a specific Power module, not every Power module.

Either way the Frame ships with its mounting points already in place, so a module screws directly to the Frame — there are no loose fasteners to source.

Form factors

The Frame is also what gives a build its form factor. The five form factors, and which builds come in each, are defined on the Series Overview:

• Pocket — a flat handheld; the smallest Frame.
• Deck — a Pocket with a keyboard along the bottom.
• Station — stands on four screw-in legs for desk use (it doesn't tilt).
• Arcade — a tabletop Frame with an angled base.
• Flip — a clamshell. Planned.

Which Frame each build uses

Each Complete Build ships in the Frame for its form factor, built from these structural parts. Builds in the same form factor don't necessarily share a Frame — each has its own parts. The codes are Attaky's internal part codes (full part names are maintained by the hardware structural group); each is also listed in the build's own datasheet.

Each build's own datasheet carries this same breakdown alongside its dimensions and weight. Mesh Flip and Retro Flip are planned.

Reading a Frame part code

Each Frame part above is identified by a code. Read it left to right: a three-symbol prefix beginning with ▮ identifies the build the Frame belongs to, then one or more final symbols identify the part's position on the Frame.

Some Frame parts are shared between builds — a part's prefix is the build it was designed for, but the same part can be reused in another build. The Station and Arcade Frames, for example, reuse several of their Pocket counterpart's parts and add their own. So a prefix in a build's parts list won't always match that build.

Build prefix (the first three symbols)

Position (the final symbol or symbol pair)

Example. ▮ ● ◢ ◤ reads as prefix ▮ ● ◢ (Mesh Pocket Junior) + ◤ (top-left) — a Mesh Pocket Junior Frame part in the top-left position.

Case

A separate outer case is on the way — see Case.

See also

• Connectors — the connectors the Frame lines up
• Series — the builds and their form factors
• Swap a Module — changing a module in the Frame