While Valve’s Steam Machine launched at a higher-than-expected price due to the AI-driven chip shortage, it seems that the company is not sitting on its haunches and is still working hard to make the product more enticing to users.
One of the coolest features of the Steam Machine is the user-customizable front faceplate, and Valve has just made it better. The company open-sourced its “Inkterface” project, which allows users to build their own e-ink faceplate for the Steam Machine.
If you have technical skills and access to a 3D printer, you would be able to build your own e-ink faceplate for the Steam Machine.
From 3D files to firmware, Valve left nothing out
Valve put the full bill of materials, 3D print files, and assembly instructions on GitLab. The parts list includes an Adafruit ESP32 Feather board, an eInk Breakout Friend, a 5.83-inch eInk panel, M2.5 screws, and small magnets to hold it all onto your Steam Machine.
Once you have the hardware, you just need to 3D print the cover, put the pieces together, and flash the firmware onto the ESP32 board. Valve also released an assembly video to walk you through it.
Valve says an official companion app is coming to Steam eventually, but it isn’t live yet. Until then, you can build your own AppImage using the instructions on GitLab. Once it’s paired with your Steam Machine over Bluetooth, the faceplate can show real-time hardware stats, custom images, and more.
Why this matters?
Valve had said that the E-Ink faceplate would stay an internal prototype, which left a lot of fans disappointed after seeing it flash CPU and GPU temps at the reveal event. Instead of leaving it there, Valve open-sourced the whole thing for the community to build themselves.
It’s a smart move too, since third-party makers like Jsaux were already teasing their own E-Ink panels for the Steam Machine. Valve basically beat them to it by handing out the recipe for free. If you’ve got a 3D printer, your Steam Machine could soon be flexing live stats right on the front.