Cabinet size??

[DataWest]

Ok. I don't want to walk into my local arcade and start measuring like a weirdo.

http://webpages.charter.net/rbecker5/files/Lusid_Rev7.pdf

Is that a pretty standard height for a cab?

[matsadona]

More or less... It is a beast.
And there are so many better looking designs (IMHO) that I would suggest before going down that road.

[grasspuddle]

This is better than walking in an arcade with measuring tape:

http://www.jakobud.com/plan-list.php

[VanillaGorilla]

With all due respect, please don't do another lucid. Whatever you choose, in the end, its just a box. Take something as a mechanical basis, and then let your imagination take charge. Cant wait to see what you come up with!

[DataWest]

Thanks for the replies.

With all due respect, please don't do another lucid. Whatever you choose, in the end, its just a box. Take something as a mechanical basis, and then let your imagination take charge. Cant wait to see what you come up with!

That's exactly what I was planning on doing.  the lucid just looked pretty standard as far as height so I'd thought I'd ask.

Any links to original plans? I'm specifically doing a wide body. Looking for dimensions and inspiration. 

[VanillaGorilla]

Well, my cab is a wide body classic taito cabinet, (about 6 inches wider) which let me put a 28" LCD panel in it, but its still a work in progress... you could take a look at the link in the bottom of my posts.

Something else you may want to check out:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/search?q=arcade&styp=m&btnG=Search

A great repository of cabinets modeled in 3d...

Download a copy of google sketchup.

go to the tools>Dimensions menu option, then you can grab any measurements you want off of those models, by just selecting 2 connecting points.

[DataWest]

Thanks  I actually have your project bookmarked because Im going to use your mounting idea for my joysticks (sanwa JLW's) and trackball. 

[Rice Cube]

haha i went to my local arcade and start doing measurements, i looked up some measurements online but i wanted to look at something in person, guess im a weirdo, my friend still makes fun of me for it.

[mgb]

if its wrong to walk into your local arcade and start measuring, then I don't wanna be right.
I either use a small tape measure or some times just my arm and a sharpie for reference.

[ids]

I did the same to an air-hockey table at a local "arcade" - I will build it one day...real soon...

[DataWest]

Well I am heading to my local arcade on Saturday to measure.  I gave in to all your peer pressure.

[ids]

Don't forget to take something for measuring the angles!

[Cynicaster]

What I did was research some tried-and-true designs online to extract common ranges for "key" dimensions (such as total height of the cabinet, and height of the CP top surface).  I fixed those in Sketchup, then started working in the other known quantities (such as dimensions of the monitor--screen width, screen height, and casing depth for CRT).  I then figured out the approximate height of my eyes when I'm standing, and drew a line that tall in sketchup out in front of the cabinet, and drew another line from my "eye height" position down to the screen.  Adjusting the view in sketchup to "gun sight" the second line, I could get an idea of whether the screen angle was good or not.   

Once you have all those critical items fixed (or at least, within some bounds) you can just go nuts and build a box around it.  I had all kinds of crazy ideas but ultimately I ended up going for a basic "archetypal arcade cabinet" look because I wanted to make sure that I didn't design in features that would be too difficult to achieve with my rather novice woodworking skills.  There is nothing radically original or jaw-dropping about my cabinet design but I do take pride in the fact that I at least designed the thing from the ground up and now I have a one-of-a-kind. 



 

[yotsuya]

Well I am heading to my local arcade on Saturday to measure.  I gave in to all your peer pressure.

Not only did I take a measuring tape, but I took reference photos as well!!!

[Donkbaca]

Ok. I don't want to walk into my local arcade and start measuring like a weirdo.

Right, because there are no weirdos at the arcade normally?

[DataWest]

Well I am heading to my local arcade on Saturday to measure.  I gave in to all your peer pressure.

Not only did I take a measuring tape, but I took reference photos as well!!!

Im taking tape and a chart to fill in dimensions so I can have options LOL

Ok. I don't want to walk into my local arcade and start measuring like a weirdo.

Right, because there are no weirdos at the arcade normally?

Well, it used to be that way. But the one near me is mainly kids birthday parties.  there's always the occasional weirdo with measuring tape though.

[Nacimroc]

I found a good starting point is to make the top of the screen about 4 inches below your eye level. Hold old your hands as if you were playing and thats the height of your CP. I used the maximum width of a door to decide how wide it will be. The rest just fits to match these dimensions.