Space Base - A homebrew ICB/ZP

[orangewhip]

I didn't even know we had a comedy club here, and probably don't any more. I bet you it was a scummy night club and not a comedy club.

But yeah, Surrey get s huge bad rap....it was pretty bad in the 1970s but is a completely different place these days. Sure, every major city has its sketchy areas, including Surrey, but those areas are changing the most...new city hall built there, new library, tons of new high rises. Its because Surrey is quickly taking over the population of Vancouver and within a half dozen years they suspect it will be larger than Vancouver.

That being said, I also read somewhere that Patton LOVES Vancouver, and his shows in Vancouver are amongst his favorite...well, I hate to tell him but I bet you 40-50% of the people who go to the Vancouver shows are from Surrey, because we take up a huge chunk of the population, and Vancouverites are a bunch of hippy, tree-hugging, prius drivers, who probably don't even know who Patton is (no offence to Vancouverites).

Plus Vancouver being the 2nd most expensive city in the world to live, even an empty lot in Vancouver is around $1.2 million these days, most Vancouverites couldn't afford to go to a show! hahahaha


Now, let's get back to the original thread content...enough hijacking the thread about Patton and Surrey. LOL

[SavannahLion]

What is the estimated enclosing "box" dimension of the scoreboard?

[ids]

I don't have the dimensions you are looking for, but iirc the individual components are: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9932 packed as tightly as can be on perfboard.  I've yet to solder them all up so I can't provide any more detail.  The pins on these don't perfectly line up with standard perfboard holes but it seems you could pack them in nicely.  I should be soldering soon at which point could provide more precise details.

[SavannahLion]

Holy crap, an inch high?

Are you using a decoder IC for the 16 segment or are you leaving it up to whatever controller you have under the hood? I was just looking for 14 and 16 segment decoders the other day to see what their tables look like but only found MAXIM's chip. Can't recall the part number off the top of my head but I believe it was a BCD to 16 segment programmable decoder.

[ids]

iirc I'm using a set of four TLC5916 constant current shift registers to reduce pin count on the controller.  Two drive a single display, the four are so I drive one on each row (a column) then quickly cycle through them all.

[SavannahLion]

No, sorry. I meant the "truth" table.

Eg BCD to 7 segment decoder IC lets you feed it 4bits and turn on the appropriate segments matching that value.

[ids]

oh sorry, well, if I understand you better now, the "truth" table is this:  I've coded a mapping between letters, numbers, etc, and the sequence of 1's and 0's to be serialized out to the shift registers.

There is an interrupt routine scheduled to cycle the columns - it picks out the n'th letter in the string of text to be shown, looks it up in the mapping, and shifts out the 1's/0's for the column, and then switches which column is "on".  No assistance of any BCD to 7-seg or any such things - it was all brute force creating a big mapping table.  The microcontroller is doing it all.

[SavannahLion]

I've got the same deal in mine.

Mine has, for lack of a better term, 7 bit RAW and BCD 7-segment mappings but none yet for 14 or 16 segment characters. I would be interested in your character tables if you're willing to share.

[ids]

Sure, I'll PM the code to you

[Le Chuck]

I meant to get past this point during the holidays but I had some work related duties come up that took up most of my free time so I'm finally getting back to this now.  I've got the side panels laid out in my cam software, this is about the fourth iteration due to necessary tweaks and issues that come up during the design.  I'm running channels for battens and channels for the glass and playfield to reside.  Side panels I'm planning to be 3/4" stock with the body panels at 1/5".  Because my cutting surface is just 50"x50" I'll be doing it in a top and bottom.  This works out for the one I have to send up to IDS in the great white north as it can be a bartop or he can add a box, I'll likely do his in 1/2" to save on shipping.  On mine I'm toying with either doing a 3D vinyl woodgrain or carbon fibre over the sides to cover the seam and give it a nice look.  If that doesn't strike my fancy I'll do it in 1/2" and then cover the two pieces once joined with a sheet of 1/4" MDF and just buzz it with the template bit before painting. 

Still to do in cam is to lay out the front panel with the speaker, and measure all the panels so I can get those cut easily.  After that it's a matter of taking it all to the shop and seeing if it comes out how I'm picturing it. 


Might not look like much but it took me long enough to get it all worked out in my head.  If I had a ICB or ZP to work off of this would have went a lot faster but I was figuring it out as I went   Can't wait to see if it actually works.

For those that care about such things it is 23.5" deep, the playfield is 34" but the viewable area is 29.5".  The PF and bezel are at a 2^o angle and the CP is at a 7^o.  The body panels are 23.25".  The channels for the PF and BZ are .125" deep and the batten channels are .25" deep.  I'll use 3/4x1/2 strips for the battens.  Height of what is shown is 38 3/8".

What's neat about this design is that we'll only need about 4" of clearance behind the PF so really this whole build could be about 10" deep.  It would be terribly unstable at that depth for a stand alone but as a wall mount it could work rather well.  I will do up wall mount cut plans if anyone is interested once complete.   
 

[SavannahLion]

I'd appreciate you stop stealing my ideas....

[Le Chuck]

I'd appreciate you stop stealing my ideas....

Ha! Stealing would be waaaay easier than this, you should post those ideas and save me the time

[Le Chuck]

Have a four day weekend coming up.  Did some prep work last weekend so I'll be able to assemble, paint, and who knows what else.  Should be a lot of fun.  Prototype construction on fullsize unit begins. 


Biggest piece to get right up front is doing the joinery on the side panels.  Once joined I'll be skinning them in 1/4" stock to bring them up to 3/4" deep and add some stability.  I'm not too worried about it, if it doesn't pan I have a great routing template done

[eds1275]

looks pretty slick!

[Le Chuck]

What a great day!  I was off work, kids had school, darling wife went shopping and to get her hair did, leaving me to my devices.  Glorious.  Got a lot done and am very pleased with how the build is coming together.  From here I still have so much to do it's not really worth listing but next few things I'd like to get accomplished this weekend are paint, glass, panel the sides with a single sheet of 1/4", and build the base (needs to sit 3.5" higher).  Maybe I'll get to a few other things but I have some other projects needing some attention this weekend as well. 


Went ahead and dropped in the coin door just to see how it looks.  I'm pretty stoked with how it is looking.


Playfield and CP detail.  Lots more to do in that area.


Detail of the front panel.  Added in "Space Base" engraved with a v-bit to the kick plate area to add a bit of eye candy.  Really happy with how that piece turned out.  This panel actually got cut twice, the first one I used an end mill and blocked in the letters but wasn't pleased with the look so I ran off a new one last night.  Much better IMO.


The view offers a very good detail of distortion that I'll need to sand out from doing the end joining.  Used the batton recesses so I couldn't mess up the alignment and then stuck the whole mess together with pocket screws.  All panels are pocket screwed and glued as well.  I'll hit those bumps with a bit of sand paper and then when I overlay the 1/4" panel it'll be like they were never there. 


View of the inside just because.


Top panel will be hinged so one can slide out the bezel and playfield as necessary.  LED lighting will go between the bezel and PF to light up the top of the PF but I need to play with that quite a bit as I'm worried about glare and whatnot. 


I love CNC machines.  Everything can fit together so nicely if you tell it to

[BorgDog]

Playfield and CP detail.  Lots more to do in that area.

Am I the only one that sees naked people in that hole pattern?

Looks like a good days work.

[eds1275]

I looked but couldn't see naked people. And I really, REALLY wanted to.

[yotsuya]

Looks Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, bro! 

[Sjaak]

I nominate Space Base for the 2015 UCA in the "Full Size - Non Restoration - 2 Stick - Big Coin Door" category  .

[yotsuya]

I nominate Space Base for the 2015 UCA in the "Full Size - Non Restoration - 2 Stick - Big Coin Door" category  .

Gotta find two more to make that category, brother. 

[ids]

Looks spectacular!

[Vigo]

[johnrt]

[gb_phil]

Wow...that looks awesome!

Finally sat down and read through the whole thread so now I'm all caught up. 

[johnrt]

Am I the only one that sees naked people in that hole pattern?

Yes! It's time to get laid now brother! 

[yotsuya]

The SNL commercial this GIF comes from is an all-time classic....

[Nephasth]

For years I've wanted an ICB. But then I played one for the first time recently. Definitely dig this project though. Love the mechanical nature of the machine.

[wp34]

That engraving on the bottom is off the hook.   

Can you give some more information on how you did that?

[Le Chuck]

Thanks for the kudos guys!  It's coming along, I went to see American Sniper with a buddy (OMHFG that movie was intense - definitely hit a few nerves) and when I popped the garage door up I was so happy to see this build sitting there in the middle of the garage.  No where near complete but I've been working on this for god, almost two years in some form or fashion.  Really nice to see it starting to come alive. 

Any opinions on skinning the sides?  MDF for a black paint job (body panels will be black) or a nice wood panel and stain?  I'm leaning towards stain as homage to the inspiration machines. 

That engraving on the bottom is off the hook.   

Can you give some more information on how you did that?

Sure, to start it's machine cut, wish I could do that by hand - there are some contraptions out there with which you can but I've never used them.  The cam software I'm using is called ArtCam.  It's not great by autocad standards but it really blurs the line between cad software and image manipulation software so it's easy for me to use being a photoshop guy.  It's able to take all the installed system fonts right into vector (unsure if all cad software does this, assume they do) and after that I just cut it apart and add some more lines to give it the look I want, same as you manipulate a font in photoshop.  Kearning, line spacing, ratios all adjustable.  I set the program to use a 1/4" 60^o V bit and cut to a depth of .1" on the outside of my vectors.  The settings for that bit have it making four passes to get to full depth at a cut rate of 30 inches per minute.  This gives a super clean edge.  For comparison the panels were cut in two passes at 100 ipm so it's a big slow down. 

Having a CNC machine available completely spoils one, at least it has spoiled me.  I dread cutting things by hand now because, even tho I have good saw boards and can cut a clean line, there is something wonderful about those perfectly machined lines.  I still love my sculptural work but when I'm trying to be exact, well, nothing beats the exactness of that CNC machine.  Plus, it was really something to draw it all out before hand.  I never do that, I just get two or three key measurements in my mind and head out to the garage and build around those.  My builds kinda grow.  This needed to be spot on and it's very important to me that when it is done I can publish cut plans.  Just a different process, its new to me and I'm excited about it.     

For years I've wanted an ICB. But then I played one for the first time recently. Definitely dig this project though. Love the mechanical nature of the machine.

Heh, I've heard something to that effect from a few people.  I can't wait till it's playable, and I think Space Base has a few features that will really improve some aspects of gameplay over ICB, but at it's heart it's still a bar and ball game.  This is such a labor of love for me it's all about the process for now. 

[wp34]

Thanks for the detail on how you did the engraving.  I've looked at those rigs that let you copy an image with a router but I can't imagine it would look nearly as nice as what you get with a CNC.

Any opinions on skinning the sides?  MDF for a black paint job (body panels will be black) or a nice wood panel and stain?  I'm leaning towards stain as homage to the inspiration machines. 

If you were serious you would hand scribe a small pattern over and over and over again into the sides using a dremel tool.   

[ChanceKJ]

Thanks for the detail on how you did the engraving.  I've looked at those rigs that let you copy an image with a router but I can't imagine it would look nearly as nice as what you get with a CNC.

Any opinions on skinning the sides?  MDF for a black paint job (body panels will be black) or a nice wood panel and stain?  I'm leaning towards stain as homage to the inspiration machines. 

If you were serious you would hand scribe a small pattern over and over and over again into the sides using a dremel tool.   

HA!  This. +1 This.

 

[ChanceKJ]

Seriously tho, paint the sides black, then do a stencil or vinyl sticker set of some geometric lines. Use the same bright green, purple, and a touch of grey as the chick on the playfield art.

That or a nice grey ash wood Formica laminate.

[AzureKnight]

This might sound crazy but, for the sides I'm seeing a metal/grey with rivets look.  So paint it or apply a laminate and then drive in some bolts?

[ids]

I really like that idea, fits the artwork theme quite well

[yotsuya]

This might sound crazy but, for the sides I'm seeing a metal/grey with rivets look.  So paint it or apply a laminate and then drive in some bolts?

Yeah, I think metal would keep in with the rocket/space theme as well.

[pbj]

Drill some holes in the side and use actual rivets.

[Le Chuck]

I laminated the sides in some beautiful grained 1/4 oak this weekend.  Haven't stained it yet, still working on the paint job for the body panels.  I like the ideas on the metal panels.  Wonder if I can incorporate the wood into it rather than just covering it.  I'm not opposed to skinning it in metal (and the cost of the MDF sheet to the plywood sheet was negligible) I just don't want to miss out on really capitalizing on the grain I have.  I will play with some designs of doing 1/2 skinned or even doing metal sideart that brings that space look.  I also want to call back to the original cabinets.  Kind of a tightrope design wise but I would love to hear more ideas.  Just know that if there are to be rivets involved on the sides they'll be actual rivets   The same probably can't be said for the CP tho. 

[SavannahLion]

Rivets... that's an idea I'll use.

[BorgDog]

Rivets... that's an idea I'll use.

Dammit, now I need to buy a whole other set of tools 

[Le Chuck]

The paint job isn't complete, after I took this I pulled the PF, CP, and coin door back off then sanded'er down and put on what should be the last coat of black.  Anyway, here is is on the base with the sides done - minus a lot of art, controls, and t-molding this is more or less what we have to work with.  I think it looks great as is (unstained as of now) but if I can find some inspiration I'll do something creative with the sides.