Operation Pico Recreate the classic Operation game using a Raspberry Pi Pico and some croc clips 11 January 2025 4 minute read By Kevin McAleer Share this article on Table of Contents Bill of MaterialsPimoroni Pico JumboMonk Makes SpeakerPins usedCodeLaser cut DXF filesGalleryLaser CuttingReady for paintingPaint job doneFace close upBellyTableFinished model Tags: raspberry pi pico pico micropython kids electronics Difficulty: beginner Category: raspberry pi micropython kids Code: https://www.github.com/kevinmcaleer/operation_pico Home Blog Operation pico Operation Pico Recreate the classic Operation game using a Raspberry Pi Pico and some croc clips 11 January 2025 | 4 minute read | By Kevin McAleer | Share this article on Video For every project I create, I often make a corresponding YouTube video. Sometimes, there might be more than one video for a single project. You can find these videos in this section. Explore more through this this dedicated video. Operation Picb is a fun project that I built using a Raspberry Pi Pico (the Pimoroni pico Jumbo), laser cut pieces, a large LED and some croc clips. The project is a recreation of the classic Operation game, where you have to remove objects from a patient’s body without touching the sides of the cavity. The game is a fun way to learn about electronics and programming, and it’s a great project for kids and beginners. Bill of Materials Item Description Quantity Price Total Pimoroni Pico Jumbo RP2350 based Microcontroller 1 £15.90 £15.90 LED Large LED 1 £2.00 £2.00 Croc Clips Crocodile Clips 2 £0.50 £1.00 Laser Cut Pieces Basswood pieces for the game 1 £5.00 £5.00 Monk Makes speaker Speaker for sound effects 1 £9.67 £9.67 Tin Foil For the cavity 1 £1.00 £1.00 Total    £34.57 Pimoroni Pico Jumbo When the Pico 2 was launched Pimoroni released a large version called the Pico Jumbo. One of the unique features of the Pico Jumbo is the crocodile and banana connector compatible pads. This makes it easy to connect croc clips to the Pico Jumbo and use it in projects like this one. Monk Makes Speaker The original Operation game simply had a buzzer that was connected to the battery and made a circuit whenever the tweezers touched the sides of the cavity. I wanted to add a bit more fun to the game so I added a Monk Makes speaker to the Pico Jumbo and played a sound effect whenever the tweezers touched the sides of the cavity. The Monk Makes speaker module also has crocodile clip connectors, so it was easy to connect it to the Pico Jumbo and play sound effects in the game - no soldering required! Pins used The Pico Jumbo has a lot of pins, so I used the following pins for the game: GP0 - LED GND - LED GND GP1 - Tweezer 1 GND - Tweezer 2 GP15 - Monk Makes speaker signal 3V3 - Monk Makes speaker power GND - Monk Makes speaker ground Code I used MicroPython to program the Pico Jumbo. The code is simple and uses the machine module to control the pins and play sound effects. The game has a main loop that checks if the tweezers are touching the sides of the cavity and plays a sound effect if they are. Make sure you copy the music.py and tunes.py files to the Pico Jumbo as well as the operation.py file. To automatically run the game when the Pico Jumbo is powered on, rename the operation.py file to main.py. Laser cut DXF files To create the game pieces, I designed the pieces in Fusion 360 and exported them as DXF files. I then used Lightburn to cut these on my 5w laser cutter. The pieces are made from basswood and are easy to assemble and paint Here are the DXF files for the game pieces: Table - The table that the Patient sits on Belly - The patient’s belly Hair - The patient’s hair Nose - The patient’s nose Nose aligher - For 5mm LEDs nose Body - The patient’s body Gallery Laser Cutting Ready for painting Paint job done Face close up Belly Table Finished model Code View Code Repository on GitHub - https://www.github.com/kevinmcaleer/operation_pico Liked this article? You might like these too. Hacky Temperature and Humidity Sensor Build a quick outdoor sensor for temperature and humidity using a DHT22 sensor and a Raspberry Pi Pico LidarBot LidarBot is a 3D printed robot that uses a Raspberry Pi Pico and Lidar to navigate its environment. It is designed for educational purposes and can be used to teach programming and robotics. Motion Controlled Arm In this project, we will build a motion controlled robotic arm using a Raspberry Pi and a camera Electric Trombone In this project, we will build an electric trombone using a Raspberry Pi Pico as a MIDI controller. Yukon & Omnibot 3000 Meet the Omnibot 3000, a Pimoroni Yukon powered Omnibot 2000. This is a work-in-progress project, so somethings may change! Omnibot 3000 This is a work-in-progress project, so somethings may change!
Operation Pico Recreate the classic Operation game using a Raspberry Pi Pico and some croc clips 11 January 2025 4 minute read By Kevin McAleer Share this article on Table of Contents Bill of MaterialsPimoroni Pico JumboMonk Makes SpeakerPins usedCodeLaser cut DXF filesGalleryLaser CuttingReady for paintingPaint job doneFace close upBellyTableFinished model Tags: raspberry pi pico pico micropython kids electronics Difficulty: beginner Category: raspberry pi micropython kids Code: https://www.github.com/kevinmcaleer/operation_pico
Operation Picb is a fun project that I built using a Raspberry Pi Pico (the Pimoroni pico Jumbo), laser cut pieces, a large LED and some croc clips. The project is a recreation of the classic Operation game, where you have to remove objects from a patient’s body without touching the sides of the cavity. The game is a fun way to learn about electronics and programming, and it’s a great project for kids and beginners. Bill of Materials Item Description Quantity Price Total Pimoroni Pico Jumbo RP2350 based Microcontroller 1 £15.90 £15.90 LED Large LED 1 £2.00 £2.00 Croc Clips Crocodile Clips 2 £0.50 £1.00 Laser Cut Pieces Basswood pieces for the game 1 £5.00 £5.00 Monk Makes speaker Speaker for sound effects 1 £9.67 £9.67 Tin Foil For the cavity 1 £1.00 £1.00 Total    £34.57 Pimoroni Pico Jumbo When the Pico 2 was launched Pimoroni released a large version called the Pico Jumbo. One of the unique features of the Pico Jumbo is the crocodile and banana connector compatible pads. This makes it easy to connect croc clips to the Pico Jumbo and use it in projects like this one. Monk Makes Speaker The original Operation game simply had a buzzer that was connected to the battery and made a circuit whenever the tweezers touched the sides of the cavity. I wanted to add a bit more fun to the game so I added a Monk Makes speaker to the Pico Jumbo and played a sound effect whenever the tweezers touched the sides of the cavity. The Monk Makes speaker module also has crocodile clip connectors, so it was easy to connect it to the Pico Jumbo and play sound effects in the game - no soldering required! Pins used The Pico Jumbo has a lot of pins, so I used the following pins for the game: GP0 - LED GND - LED GND GP1 - Tweezer 1 GND - Tweezer 2 GP15 - Monk Makes speaker signal 3V3 - Monk Makes speaker power GND - Monk Makes speaker ground Code I used MicroPython to program the Pico Jumbo. The code is simple and uses the machine module to control the pins and play sound effects. The game has a main loop that checks if the tweezers are touching the sides of the cavity and plays a sound effect if they are. Make sure you copy the music.py and tunes.py files to the Pico Jumbo as well as the operation.py file. To automatically run the game when the Pico Jumbo is powered on, rename the operation.py file to main.py. Laser cut DXF files To create the game pieces, I designed the pieces in Fusion 360 and exported them as DXF files. I then used Lightburn to cut these on my 5w laser cutter. The pieces are made from basswood and are easy to assemble and paint Here are the DXF files for the game pieces: Table - The table that the Patient sits on Belly - The patient’s belly Hair - The patient’s hair Nose - The patient’s nose Nose aligher - For 5mm LEDs nose Body - The patient’s body Gallery Laser Cutting Ready for painting Paint job done Face close up Belly Table Finished model