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Rotating control panels in the CNC age... why so rare still?
yotsuya:
--- Quote from: keilmillerjr on September 24, 2013, 12:42:31 pm ---Have an arcade cabinet that works well with most games, not a cabinet that works with every game. A rotating monitor would be cool, but my 27" lcd is large enough that vertical games would still be playable in the horizontal position.
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Bingo. I think the longer you are in this hobby, the more you realize a "OMGZ!!!!1!! I can play every game known to man" cab is what you start out wanting and maybe even build, but you soon realize that it's not going to work out that way in a fun and effective manner.
AGarv:
--- Quote from: DaveMMR on September 23, 2013, 06:09:22 pm ---
--- Quote from: AGarv on September 23, 2013, 05:07:34 pm ---1UP's Pacmamea and Frostillicus' machine are old-school CRT cabs. The coin door had to pull forward to allow for rotation, and the heavy CRT monitor had to stay locked into place. In the era of affordable 27"+ LCDs, the monitor itself could be designed to swing up during rotation, then drop back into place after rotation, with no need for the "dead space" (it would be behind the monitor).
Are there any 3D models floating around that have 1Up's rotation mechanism that I could drop into sketchup?
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I was actually thinking about that same idea at one point and then I just kind of came up with something while I was killing time at work here. Don't know how doable this is as this is in no way "to scale" or anything but I was thinking about a four-sided rotating panel with an overhang on each one to flush with coin door front panel and extra space towards the back for the monitor panel to rest on.
Again, not tested or measured or anything - but if it looks useful to your project, feel free to take it and run with it.
(EDIT: You could probably move that monitor back some and would probably need to make the overhangs longer for the sticks (or whatever) to clear the front. Again, quick sketch - literally 30 seconds including the scan.)
(EDIT 2: Wonder how you'd get the monitor to lift up easily without adding ugly handles... See therein lies the issue with the rotating panels, so many challenges to overcome....)
(EDIT 3: Figured out the answer to my own question: Open front, push down, let the panel gently push forward the monitor and lift the rest of the way. But make sure you connect everything with one of those 'spinning connectors' - like they have for phone cords. And ratchet the rotation so it only turns forward.... Ugh, AGarv - turn my brain off!!! ;) )
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Very cool ideas (and the pulley system, PL1)! I hadn't thought of having the rotating box itself be the mechanism that releases the monitor. The monitor pivot point could easily be lowered (from the top) to allow for easier clearance of taller controls (e.g. a yoke or Tron-stick).
DaveMMR:
Heh - the more I play with sketch-up the more I see the limitations of making a rotation mechanism that keeps the machine not looking like it's a Transformer. And when you have to start figuring in pistons and pulleys and wheels - and most importantly the lack of under-panel space - it makes swappable panels seem like an overall better solution (even if it's less elegant.) Plus I looked at every rot example on the web and there's always that one thing about it I wasn't too crazy about - looks-wise.
Not to discourage you - if you really want to go for it you can always try to find more elegant solutions that we've seen. But I've now seen why you don't see many rotating panel projects: there's just too many 'simpler' and 'better' solutions out there to justify the extra work.
PL1:
--- Quote from: AGarv on September 24, 2013, 04:57:15 pm ---The monitor pivot point could easily be lowered (from the top) to allow for easier clearance of taller controls (e.g. a yoke or Tron-stick).
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If you choose to do this, make sure that the monitor board is bottom heavy enough to close all the way.
Scott
Xiaou2:
Swappable CPs are not easy to just put anywhere. If you have a single tron CP, its barely going to fit in the bottom of a cab thats already filled with electronics. Especially if its a slim variant. And thats IF you make your CPs with less width than the cabinet itself. Most arcade CPs are the same size or larger than the cabs bottom... width wise. And vertically storing them still wont get you more than 2 CPs... if you can fit them easily.
And... its still a pain and hassle, to swap them every time you want to play a different game.
I just know someones gona say Modular. ugg. I was probably the first person to draw up a modular CP, and for a while, thought it was the greatest idea ever... but then I realized the logistics of the thing.. as far as storing parts and again, swapping them over and over again.
In the end, I may still build a CP thats similar to Unclets cab. (Horizontal Rotation) But fully enclosed, with more CP options.
The vertical rotation on the prototype I built worked well, ... but, I realized it would be far nicer to have a sit-down experience rather than stand up.