Tron Legacy - Update 05/03/2016 - Mala Woes

[Audiowizard]

I've got GroovyMame configured and am using HeadKaze's CPwizard to drive the 2nd monitor.  The joystick I'm testing with his a piece of crap so I'm not worried (too much) about slowing down because the cabinet is technically "working". 

I love that you said this and then your next post wasn't for nine months...lol

[wp34]

I love that you said this and then your next post wasn't for nine months...lol

Yeah I noticed that when I posted last night.  Pretty pathetic.

[CaptainMarvel]

As an admitted novice and someone who has been passively "researching" and envisioning the day when I will finally start my own MAME cabinet project, I have to say that this has been one of the single most educational build threads I have found/read yet.  I think I've learned more reading through this thread than any other reference I had found thus far ... THANK YOU !!!

 


Out of curiosity, what happened that you (apparently) had to side-shelf this project for nine months?

Had you made any further progress with the control panel?  Do you have your buttons, joysticks, track ball, etc?


I'm very much looking forward to seeing and continuing to learn from your further progress .... as I'm sure you are as well.   



TOM

[wp34]

Thanks for the kind words.  I sometimes felt like I was over-documenting so I'm glad to hear you got some value out of this thread.  Hopefully you clicked on some of the many other build threads I referenced that were inspirations.

To answer your question life got in the way but I never stopped working on it.  I've done a lot of R&D over the past year but just haven't posted because I was still experimenting.  I had to learn some new routing techniques and did a lot of practicing. 

My plan has been to use EL Panels to light up the CP.  I want the panel to have a "Tron" look within the limits of what can be done with EL Panels.

Here is a sample of what I've done.



This loop will go around the trackball.  I've actually got the major cuts done to the CP and ordered the last of the EL Panels this morning.  Barring any major roadblocks it should be playable in a couple of weeks.

As an admitted novice and someone who has been passively "researching" and envisioning the day when I will finally start my own MAME cabinet project, I have to say that this has been one of the single most educational build threads I have found/read yet.  I think I've learned more reading through this thread than any other reference I had found thus far ... THANK YOU !!!

 


Out of curiosity, what happened that you (apparently) had to side-shelf this project for nine months?

Had you made any further progress with the control panel?  Do you have your buttons, joysticks, track ball, etc?


I'm very much looking forward to seeing and continuing to learn from your further progress .... as I'm sure you are as well.   



TOM

[UFO]

WOW!

Great build. Bookmarked! 

[CaptainMarvel]

WOW!

Great build. Bookmarked! 

How do I bookmark threads ??   

[Brian74]

WOW!

Great build. Bookmarked! 

How do I bookmark threads ??   

Same as you do any web page )
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[BadMouth]

WOW!

Great build. Bookmarked! 

How do I bookmark threads ??   

Same as you do any web page )
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

If you use the "Curve" layout, there is a "My Bookmarks" tab and an "add bookmark" button.
Profile>Forum Profile
Modify Profile>Look and Layout

I think the buttons aren't there on some of the other layouts, but I haven't tried them.

[CaptainMarvel]

If you use the "Curve" layout, there is a "My Bookmarks" tab and an "add bookmark" button.
Profile>Forum Profile
Modify Profile>Look and Layout

I think the buttons aren't there on some of the other layouts, but I haven't tried them.

THANK YOU !!! - I didn't have the "Add Bookmark" button with the default theme.  Got it now.

 

[wp34]

I got a little further this weekend.

Here is a shot of the trackball.  This is just a test fit without the plexi.  I've thinking a black trackball would look nice.



Here is a test fit shot of the player 2 joystick.


For the longest time I've been worried about how the "C" ring around the trackball would look.  I'm real happy with the results.  The bad news is I messed up the pattern around the Tron stick.  The hole in the middle isn't quite centered.


Even worse I buggered the laminate up trying to fix it and have to start over.  It should go faster this time and it will allow me to make some adjustments to the CP.

[BadMouth]

I've thinking a black trackball would look nice.

Rather than illuminated?
You've already got the electric Ice ball.  I'd think it would be perfect.
Randy mentioned once that the electric Ice buttons were fairly UV reactive.
It might be cool to experiment with UV lights since you already have the tron handle.

For the longest time I've been worried about how the "C" ring around the trackball would look.  I'm real happy with the results.  The bad news is I messed up the pattern around the Tron stick.  The hole in the middle isn't quite centered.

The tron stick has a pretty big dustwasher.  Does it cover everything?
You can always make one slightly larger.

[wp34]

Rather than illuminated?
You've already got the electric Ice ball.  I'd think it would be perfect.
Randy mentioned once that the electric Ice buttons were fairly UV reactive.
It might be cool to experiment with UV lights since you already have the tron handle.

Great points.   I do have a UV LED strip that I could try inside the trackball housing.   

The tron stick has a pretty big dustwasher.  Does it cover everything?
You can always make one slightly larger.

I thought of that but I've got an EL Hoop that I would like to use as a light-up dust washer.  In order to do that I need to have the dust washer located under the laminate.  If I make the same mistake again I'll go that route---although my trigger stick did not come with a washer so I'll need to find one. 

[rablack97]

question, how are you routing the laminate patterns like that....very precise

[wp34]

question, how are you routing the laminate patterns like that....very precise

I'm using Template Guides with my router and a circle jig for the "C" ring.  I'll try and post pics of the process tonight.

[rablack97]

awesome much appreciated, i work with laminate alot, this would be great to add to the arsenal...

[Martijn]

Love it!, it must be a small (dremmel?) bit or router to cut that small ? and a circle guide?

Looking forward to that how-to 

[rablack97]

I was thinking same thing, those inside edges and inside curves are perfection....

[wp34]

I tried BadMouth's idea and threw some UV LED's inside the trackball housing.  I really like the look.



Here is a shot with the EL Panels just for color comparison.  I don't know if I like the two together.  But the UV Trackball might look really awesome with the Tron stick lit up with the UV LED's.  I'll try that when I get further along. 



Thanks for the idea BadMouth.   

[wp34]

Love it!, it must be a small (dremmel?) bit or router to cut that small ? and a circle guide?

Looking forward to that how-to 

Right about everything but the dremmel.  I did give that some thought but could not figure out how to make it work.

[wp34]

The basic premise of my plan is to take EL Panels and hide them behind laminate that has been routed into "Tron-like" shapes.  The reason for this is that the EL Panels don't have a very clean look when unlit.



Here is the same one lit.


Even then you can still see some of the wires.

I wanted to create a "C" ring around the trackball that mimicked the identity discs I used as side-art.  I used one of the "C" rings I removed from my identity discs as a guide.

[wp34]

A circle jig was used to create the ring.  I made marks on my template (using the blue "C" ring as a guide) where I needed to stop routing.  I didn't want a complete circle.  Also I put a waste piece on top and underneath the laminate whenever I routed.  This helps to keep the laminate from splitting.






I tried this a few times by making my own circle jig but was not happy with the results.  The jig I bought has marks every 1/16" of an inch.  That made it much easier to try different radius until I had the perfect size for the EL Panel.  The hole I drilled for the jig pin also served as a guide for the 3" hole saw I used later to create a hole for the trackball.

[wp34]

It took me a long time to figure out exactly how to make the patterns that go around the joysticks.   

This thread by MikeDuece was one of my original inspirations -
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=105795.0

This entire process would be much easier with a CNC.   Since I didn't have access to a CNC I wanted to find existing patterns I could use.  I spent hours walking through hardware stores looking for ideas.  The pattern had to be big enough to go around a joystick but also be the right size to allow me to use pre-cut EL Panels.  Ultimately the plumbing aisle yielded the best results and I used several different PVC fittings as patterns.



I carefully cut a sliver off the end of the PVC fitting with my chopsaw.  This was more difficult than I anticipated because I was trying to keep the sliver very thin.  The sliver was then sanded with my orbital sander to make it as smooth and level as possible.

I picked up a set of template guides off Amazon. 



The premise is that the bushing works somewhat like a flush-trim bit using the PVC pattern as a guide.  The bushing allowed me to use a very small bit--in this case a 1/16" double flute straight bit.  Using a small bit has a couple of advantages.  First I wanted to use the smallest bit I could find to avoid the "rounding" you inevitably end up with in the corners when routing.  If you look at the "C" Ring I cut you can see the rounding at the ends of the partial circle.  In that case I wanted the rounding for effect.  These patterns needed to be more crisp.  Secondly the smaller bit allowed me use a smaller PVC pattern.  I could not find a flush trim bit that would fit in the grooves of my patterns.

Here is a shot of the bushing installed in the router. 



I drew crisscrossing lines where I wanted the joystick to be and used those to center the pattern.  Double-sided tape holds the pattern in place very nicely.  I don't recall who on this forum gave me that idea but thanks.  That stuff is magic.   



Very carefully route out the pattern.  The key here is patience.  I turned off the router every time I had to move it from one section of the pattern to another.



And here is a shot of the partially finished laminate before I messed it up. 

[wp34]

I did a test fit of the rings around the admin buttons.  I'm not liking how this looks and will try a smaller reveal.  I used a 1-3/4 bit for this one.

[wp34]

The post above was made with an 1-3/4" hole saw. 

I made this with a 1-5/8" Forstner bit which gave me a much cleaner opening.


This one is 1-1/2".


I'm liking the 1-1/2 reveal at this point.

[Martijn]

Yep nailed it 

[rablack97]

how the hell did you do that....dude, your skipping steps.....i love that look.

lets back it up and teach the students properly...

[wp34]

how the hell did you do that....dude, your skipping steps.....i love that look.

lets back it up and teach the students properly...

Sorry I just got excited while working today and wanted to share.  I'll post some build pics later.

Sent from my Atari 800 mobile device using Tapatalk

[wp34]

I picked up these EL Hoops from EL Wirecraft in the UK. 



The cool thing about these hoops is that a standard arcade push button will fit inside them.


I want the laminate to cover the outside of the hoop and be slightly larger than the bezel on the button.  To do this I cut a pattern of holes the size I wanted.   Then using a flush-trim bit I used the pattern to cut my holes in the laminate.  As a test I tried using a forstener bit directly on the laminate but it chipped badly. 





Now you just make a sandwich of everything.  First put the EL Hoops on top of the MDF CP.



Now place the laminate on top of the EL Hoops and the CP.



When I go "live" the the plexi will go on next but I don't have that cut yet so here is a shot with just the buttons.



In this example the holes are 1-3/4".  I''m going to redo this with 1-1/2" holes this weekend as I didn't like how the 1-3/4" looked.

[rablack97]

Awesome man.

Are you recessing the wires?

[wp34]

Awesome man.

Are you recessing the wires?

Thanks. 

I'm going to drill holes near every panel to get the wire through to the underside of the CP.  I'll have to recess the portion of the wire that stays underneath the laminate.

[rablack97]

Yeah thats what i was thinking you would have to do...

Keep it going man.....nice innovations going on here...

[wp34]

Yeah thats what i was thinking you would have to do...

Keep it going man.....nice innovations going on here...

Thanks man.

This concept could be done much better with a CNC.  I'd love to see someone take this idea and improve on it.

[Le Chuck]

This is really fantastic work.  I love it when new ground is being explored and you've found something unique!  Now hurry and get it done so we can see how awesome it is.

[wp34]

Thanks Le Chuck.  That's high praise coming from you.

If all goes well I'll be copying some of your work tomorrow -
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,116602.msg1235923.html#msg1235923

[thehammer12]

Awesome freakin work man, wow.

[wp34]

Awesome freakin work man, wow.

Thanks man.  I appreciate it.

No real progress this weekend.  I wasn't being careful and accidentally broke the 1/16" router bit.  I can't get much further with the laminate until I get a replacement.  These things are very delicate and I've now broken two of them.  Oh well.

[wp34]

Very small update today.

To get around the problem I was having with the joystick hole being centered I found some PVC fittings that fit in the center of my templates.




With the insert in the middle I can route the joystick hole and have it be perfectly centered within the template.


The one of the right was done with the new technique.


While I was routing my CP top the double-sided tape on my template slipped and I ruined my last piece of laminate.  I think I made the mistake of not wiping off all the sawdust before putting down my template.  Now I know (somewhat) how Somunny felt with his Ark Project laminate troubles.  I went from seeing the finish line to basically starting over with the CP top.   

I promised a friend I would build him a cocktail cabinet for Christmas.  So that coupled with  my laminate issues has forced me to set this aside for a few weeks.

[Hoopz]

Hadn't popped in here in a while and I have to say this is amazing work!

[lcmgadgets]

Wow this is sweet! & you've documented so thoroughly! I'm going back to read thru this from the start--there's so much helpful stuff here! 

[wp34]

Thanks Hoopz and lcmgadgets.