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Asking for help getting started on a control panel for UAII cab

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Tzakiel:

Hi everyone... I am going to be getting a UAII cabinet and have resolved to make my own controls. For one, their price for the finished panel is quite expensive, and two, I want to have a Japanese style control layout and parts, which neither north coast or xarcade seem to offer.

So here I am. I have some knowledge of Japanese parts because I replaced the joystick and buttons in my Hori HRAP3 stick for ps3. I love that setup, so I know I want the arced button layout and Sanwa parts.

Here are the questions keeping me from getting started:

1. Looking at Sanwa parts... They offer the jlf and jlw models of joysticks. They also have several button styles. Given that I think I want to use mdf board and a plexi sheet (to sandwich artwork) for the panel, I assume I need the right stick and buttons for that type of install. Any idea what parts are the right ones? I know snap in buttons are for metal panel only, what about jlf stick?

2. What should the dimensions be for the control panel, given that I want it to drop into the UAII cabinet? Truthfully I am not even sure how this is supposed to work, only that many others have done it. Anyone know exactly how I should be designing the dimensions of this thing? I assume there is a width and depth I should be shooting for, and some sort of way to make it fit into the drawer(?) of the UAII. This is where I really need help. I see a lot of folks building these hinged drawer/box things and I don't even know what the basic idea is here yet. Does my panel attach to the UAII keyboard drawer or am I building something totally separate? A sample plan or walkthrough would be great help, if such a thing exists.

3. Once I determine the parts to be used in 1. above, I assume the MDF and plexi should be a certain thickness. How do I determine the right type of mdf and plexi to order? And I read somewhere that I will need to rout a groove for t molding which accommodates both the mdf and plexi thickness. Is that correct?

Also could use some perspective on which tools I will need and what the basic process is to get the panel laid out and cut. I will use a button template from slag coin. But I am not really sure how one cuts the curve for the front of the panel, or how to make a groove for t-molding, how to cut plexi, etc. All I have right now is a dewalt power drill and some hand tools. From reading around online, it seems I will need a router at minimum?

Thanks for any help! I'll try to update here as I progress.

Tzakiel:

Is there a better spot to ask questions, or maybe I just need to post some more specific ones. I think I am decided on mounting a jlf joystick and sanwa buttons. I believe I may need to route some of the 1/2" mdf and recess it. Now to decide on top mount or bottom mount.  Also my godfather went sort of nuts and bought me a router, circ. saw and jigsaw.  I'm excited! No idea what I am doing but excited.

severdhed:

The router will cut the slot, cut the plexi, and recess the joysticks, as long as you have the right bits.

I like under mounting the Sanwa joysticks, that way they can be easily replaced later.

I have not used Sanwa screw in buttons, but I know the snap ins don't fit in the standard 1 1/8th hole that happ buttons use

BadMouth:

You need to get down to about only 1/4" of material to mount the buttons.  I got tired of the huge mess the router made and started using 1/4" mdf for the top layer and then gluing that to a 1/2" layer with sections cut out that go around all the buttons.  They sell 2x4ft pieces of those at Home Depot for around $8-10.  It's not as cost effective as ordering a larger piece, but they usually don't stock the thinner stuff in large sheets.  You can get your control panel art printed with a polycarbonate laminate on top and skip the plexi if you want to simplify things.

My cab has the Z mounting plates for the JLFs, but they don't really add that much mounting depth.
I made my own adapters on another project using nylon spacers from Lowes.  It felt much sturdier than expected and I will go this route in the future.
I did have to drill out the original jlf mounting plate to get the screw heads sunk closer to level.



Tzakiel:

Thanks badmouth. I will look into some of those points. Can you elaborate on how to get artwork printed on laminate? What is that / how would I do that and how does it attach to the mdf?

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