So my board was sent a defective queen, and me being me I opened it up by removing the felt on the bottom. The problem was resolved, a new piece is on it’s way, ect… but, seeing the id chip on the bottom of the piece, and the way it interacted with other pieces on the same square, gave me an idea. Other issues with an “noisy” power supply indicate that the touchsense pieces work similarly to a touchscreen with some cool and complicated interactions with the plastic of the piece and not some scale on each square.
It got me thinking: could you 3d print (or otherwise manufacture) pieces of a different style? A different look for the pieces? I don’t wish for that to take priority over new updates, but 1-2 years out, It might be great. I don’t imagine creating them would be too hard, but mass producing them might be. So, I just wanted to hear the community and team’s standpoints on this.
We may in the future offer the set of sensor discs for sale, in which case there probably would be more mod efforts. But selling those is not a for sure thing, just a maybe.
Currently, removing them from the piece ruins the felt. On a bad piece, no concern of course.
I am not sure if anyone has ever modified a set (at least not that I know of yet).
In the future, selling the sensors and making the firmware semi-open source ( Core functionality protected:) would be amazing and would make this product way more interesting than the competitors. I totally understand that making it completely open-source could be detrimental in context of competitors but opening it up a little could also make a specialized niche. I love this board either way and can’t wait for the updates. You guys have the best customer support than any other crowdsourced project I’ve backed, and I’ve backed hundreds of them
I second that. Having the sensor discs sold separately will create a whole new world for customization given the fact how many people are into 3d printing nowadays. I would love to be able to print my own chess pieces.
If there is a market someone will supply it. Some 3rd parties make chess pieces with space reserved for Chessnut sensors. Competition the mother-of-invention.
Hi all. Just chiming in… would really like to use a different set of pieces. I think there are other sets much more readable… like the FIDE plastic one or the new DGT one.
Not sure, but I was thinking taking the magnet out is actually a benefit. We’ll see. If there’s a magnet, they’ve already put something in there, so it might work to take it out. Are your sensors flat-pad RFID?
Really interesting that you tried scanning the bases — I was curious about that myself but never tested it. It’s super cool to hear that you’re thinking about 3D printing custom pieces.
I’m with you: having an official way to buy the sensor discs would open up a whole creative world for people who love unique chess sets.
Out of curiosity — what style of pieces are you thinking of designing? Classic Staunton, themed, or something totally new?
I was going to do some resin 3d printing of a more modern style set. Not entirely sure of the design yet, but man it would have been really nice if I could just write the same ID codes to an NFC sticker that I have an stick to the bottom of a 3D printed piece
That sounds awesome, @cdyerkes — a modern-style resin set would look incredible on the ChessUp board
Totally agree about the NFC idea. Even just having access to blank sensor discs (or official replacement discs) would open the door for hobby makers to build unlimited custom sets — fantasy, minimalist, futuristic, tournament-style, etc.
A modern set could also be really functional:
• taller pieces = easier to grab
• sharper silhouettes = faster recognition in blitz
• cleaner edges = great visibility on the LED squares
If you end up printing a prototype one day, even a single piece, definitely share a picture — I’m sure a lot of people here would love to see it
Would you consider making the king & queen have a different height ratio than Staunton, or keep them traditional?
That makes total sense — doing it mostly for fun is the best reason
A personal project takes the pressure off and lets you experiment freely.
If you ever want inspiration: minimalist, fantasy, or futuristic sets could look really cool on the LED board — especially with sharper silhouettes for blitz visibility.
But honestly, whatever style you enjoy is the right one.
Looking forward to seeing pics if you ever prototype a piece one day — I’m sure the whole community would love to cheer you on
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