Help needed with a rapid build arcade cabinet!

[Funkoid]

I’m hoping you may be able to provide me with a little assistance.
 
I work for a Liverpool based company, each year we break away from the normal daily grind and have a creative day called “Play” during which projects are proposed and implemented during a 24-48 hour period. Last year a time sheet completion beer fridge was created that only unlocks if everyone completes a full weeks’ worth of timesheets before 4pm on every Friday.
 
This year I’m proposing one project to build a MAME PC based 2 player arcade cabinet complete with coin mechanism, the idea being everyone in the office can play a game of whatever for 10-20p, a high score board is kept and an ongoing championship with high score boards roll on. All proceeds from the machine will be donated in full to our company charity which changes from year to year so it's always for a good cause.
 
I have until the evening of 17th October to get a full plan together and all parts ready for assembly on the 18-19th!
 
What I’m after? I have a few questions I’m hoping you’ll be able to assist me with, I'll detail my plans so far as I go along.
 
Control wise i've gone for an IPAC2, I’m looking at 2 player joysticks, 6 buttons a player, plus a 1 and 2 player button and most importantly an input for the coin mechanism. I would really really love to put a trackball in too but I'm not sure how easy this is to achieve given the timescales and whether the IPAC2 would be capable?
 
Coin-mech wise it doesn’t have to be snazzy, it can even have money drop out into a cardboard box within the cab, providing games cannot be triggered without cash going in I’m happy. I was looking at this one the guys at Arcade World UK have recommended for my purpose http://www.arcadeworlduk.com/products/Mechanical-Coin-Mechanism.html

So that's the control side of things, the following are my major problems though!

What screen!? It's been discussed at length numerous times from what I can see. Given the choice of a 17" LCD monitor, a 20" VGA CRT or an old 4:3 TV what should I go for? I'm leaning toward a 20" VGA but I'm thinking this may be too small for two players? Really need your thoughts on this one! This is my highest priority at the moment as it dictates the outcome of my next issue... CABINET PLANS!

Cabinet Plans – At the moment, I have no cabinet plans what so ever. I’m looking at a simple thick but strong MDF setup which will hopefully be decorated with vinyl trim if that's possible so it looks professional? White would be awesome it really needs to look tidy and materials need to be obtainable in the UK quickly. A marquee light and any cool little asthetic extras must be included, but most of all it needs to be hardy and serviceable. Ideally I'd like a very small and tidy keyboard and mouse draw with a lock so it can be used for servicing in the event anything goes wrong.

Are you aware of any free plans kicking around or perhaps plans we could get started with in some form of CAD software? I need to confirm the screen size before I get get wood cutting but am lost at where to start at the moment.

Is there any decent windows based CAD software I can use too?

I've lost touch with MAME in recent years but I was under the impression that the high score dat file no longer exists? In my really big dream, and its a dream, I'm 99% confident that this isn't obtainable, I would like to pull the high scores from a running game into a text file - obviously all games store these details in different places so its probably not possible, with that said though, is there perhaps a mechanism / mame branch that could potentially provide such functionality.

Many many thanks for your time, I appreciate I’m being seriously cheeky with all these requests but any help will be very much appreciated! As I'm sure you're aware I'm up against it with timescales and planning!

[HaRuMaN]

Trackball: you can find trackballs with USB that just plug into the PC.

Screen size:  20" VGA CRT is fine for 2 players.

Draftsight is a free windows based CAD, 2D software.  Works with dfx and dwg files.

[Funkoid]

Trackball: you can find trackballs with USB that just plug into the PC.

Screen size:  20" VGA CRT is fine for 2 players.

Draftsight is a free windows based CAD, 2D software.  Works with dfx and dwg files.

You sir are a star :-D

Any pointers on cab plans?

[HaRuMaN]

Start with the monitor you pick & design around that as far as width & depth are concerned.  Look at other games, see how high their control panel is off the ground, angle of monitor, etc.

[Funkoid]

Start with the monitor you pick & design around that as far as width & depth are concerned.  Look at other games, see how high their control panel is off the ground, angle of monitor, etc.

Thanks

I've ended up going down the 17-20" monitor route. I'm looking at using project mame plans from here as if I want to put a larger screen in laster there should be room. http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/stepprojectmame.htm

Starting to struggle with the budget side of things at the moment, was looking at sourcing acrylic for a bezel but with shipping it seems dear.

[severdhed]

are you looking for clear acrylic or tinted?  if clear, i'd check out lowes or home depot, that is where i get mine.  It isn't too expensive and you don't have to pay shipping

[shiori1425]

Why not order one of the ikea cabinets that are coated with the black melanine. I mean, I know you are supposed to build it yourself but just assembly would take a day or two and then you still have to set up your SW. I think you easily have two days of work if you get a pre-cut/ready to assembly cabinet and go from there.  If you google pre cut arcade machine there are some really good options that will save you a ton of time and allow you to focus on making it functional and aesthetically pleasing instead of cutting wood for days.

As for adding a trackball. It should only add about 20 mins to the entire project.  You have to router out two spots for the trackball mount.  Then it's just 4 screws and a usb plug away from working.

[shinobivsme]

You are in a sinlar situation to me then! I'm torn between an old cab or flat pack, cheapest I've seen is from Turnarcades about £160 for the master or slim line master flat pack! You could also get plans and go to a large B&Q I believe they have a cutting service so you would just need to assemble and then do the holes for the controller etc, Hope that helps.