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Something quite different
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mike_bike_kite:
I've built a few Mame cabinets and love them all but this time I wanted to make something a bit different to other cabs. It will only run one game but the game will be a retro arcade game I'm writing myself for the cab. The cabinet will look like a smoked glass cube (because that's exactly what it is) and just have a few control buttons drilled into the top. The idea is when the box turns on the screen will appear, the controls will light up and I'll maybe have a few effects on the outside appearing through the glass.

The cabinet:
I saw this and thought it might be perfect. I believe I can get them in smoked glass as well. I guess things depend on whether I can drill the glass and whether there's any method of mounting the hardware to the internal frame. I don't know how suitable the box is as I haven't seen one in person yet.

The software:
The game is currently a java applet but I'll aim to convert it to a dedicated application - if you're interested you can try it out - I'd genuinely like to hear your opinions. I won't need Mame for this as I should be able to call the program directly on start up. I might use one of the smaller Linux OS (mempis looked good) as they boot up pretty quick.

The hardware:
I'll use something like a cheap mini ITX motherboard. Depending on cash flow I might use a small SSD as the hard drive. I'll use standard 2.1 speakers for sound. I'll suspend an LCD screen under the top glass and paint everything black to hide things. I'll use a small ipac controller for the buttons. An intelliplug to switch the power and perhaps an LEDwiz if it's required for the lighting. I don't know whether to use wifi or not - at the moment the high scores are kept on a server and it would be a shame to loose this.

The controls:
The aim is to drill 4 holes for the arcade buttons along the edge of the top. I'll put an on/off switch along with  a volume control somewhere (possibly underneath).

The bling:
Obviously the screen will light up with the game. The buttons will light up also. I thought about using an LED strip taped to one of the sides to write MBA which are the initials of the game. I might fix the motherboard near one of the glass panels and then light that up as well - possibly on the front.

Here's a few questions:
Has anybody drilled glass? I believe it can be done using diamond dust drills?
Can I control the lighting from within my Java application? I'd like to have control of the LEDs in the buttons.
Will I need ventilation or could I get by by perhaps fitting washers in the panels?
It's small, only about 45cm square and a little taller in height - would this still be usable?

I'd also like to hear your opinions.

Cheers Mike
ark_ader:
I saw one of these at Debenhams and it was a glass type cube, and I thought about it for a while and concluded that it would make a cool feature in the living room but as a display for pictures and the odd Mame game.  Something futuristic and arty mixed into one.

What I could not figure out was how suspend an image from the cube, without it looking hokey with wires coming from it.

Since your post is similar, I could only suggest  using a reverse image off the LCD onto an airburshed mirror and have the game suspend like a holograph.

I would use a remote bluetooth device to play the game.  Rather than ITX  would look at maybe an IBM TP 240X with a plexi surround with fairly lights.

Or scrap that idea and make it look like orac from Blakes 7.  ;D


bkenobi:
Perhaps use a projector on the bottom?  Only problem would be shadows cast by controls wiring.
mike_bike_kite:
I'll go to Debenhams and have a look at it then - that will save me £90 if turns out to be impossible.

I figured that if it's just smoked glass then I could put an LCD screen up close and on the underside of the glass. The measurements suggest there's enough space. The image should then just appear through the glass. If I use a mirror then I'll loose some of the brightness and I'm guessing the image would be too dim.

Oddly enough the blakes 7 computer actually held a real computer called the acorn system 1 and that was the computer I learnt to program on - in machine code, none of that soppy assembler language stuff. I'd love to get hold of one again.

Did the box look big enough to house the gear and did you notice what type of frame it had?
Franco B:
If I was you I would use acrylic rather than glass.

The glass will end up being very expensive as you will have to cut the panels/holes etc or have them cut before they are tempered.

You can get clear, smoked and frosted acrylic and it can be easily cut/drilled/routed etc.

Check out [this] jukebox case that mccoy178 made from acrylic.



He used a product called Weld-on to bond the pieces together. It is not availiable here in the UK but I found a product called Extru-fix that does the same thing. It is a fantastic product that gives very clean joints.

This is a video that shows Weld-on being used but Extru-fix is used in exactly the same way.



Just note that it only works on extruded (not cast) acrylic but extruded is cheaper anyway :)

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