How to make control panel removable?

[JoeStrout]

I'm planning a Gauntlet-style cabinet, where the control panel is a single piece of wood that fits snugly atop the side panels.

I don't need the CP to be swappable, but I'm also not foolish enough to think I will get it exactly right on the first try, or never need to fiddle with the wiring inside.  So I'd like to plan on the CP being removable without having to disassemble the entire cabinet.

But I also don't want any visible screws, bolts, or other fasteners on the outside of the cabinet (or CP).  And, finally, the CP of course has to feel very solid and firm when players are wailing on it.

All this has me a bit stumped... I've even checked the wiki page on swappable control panels, but it's completely silent on exactly how this is done.

My current best idea is to have some corner blocks attacked to the backside of the CP, which slide snugly up against the sides and front of the cabinet (but do not physically attach to it).  Maybe even glue on some rubber gasket material to both sides where these come together, to make it very frictiony.  But this seems like a hack and may require more woodworking precision than I'm capable of.

Any suggestions on how to do this?

Thanks,
- Joe

[Miskatonic]

The best way is to do it exactly as you've described already, little wooden batons will hold it firmly in place and, while some may consider it "b-grade", I actually think it's just about the best way to do things, especially if you need occasional access to the underside of the panel on the regular.

I did just this with my vertical bartop and it really makes a lot of sense. The first thing I'd suggest is to put supports UNDER the panel, connected not to the panel but to the sides of the machine. Position these at exactly the height/angle that you want the control panel at and secure them with good wood glue. This will make them super strong. Then, once these have stuck (leave them overnight as you don't want them shifting at all when doing this next step) put the control panel on, preferably without the buttons/joystick installed if at all possible, and stick some more batons on, this time to the front underside of the cp itself. These will hold it in place at the front and ensure it doesn't move around.

One final step which you could do if your panel is open at the sides (mine isn't as you can see, which means I didn't need to do this as the sides hold it in place anyway) is to put batons on the underside of the sides of the cp that line up with the batons on the inside sides of the cabinet so they are, again, held firmly in place and can't shift around.

Perfectly acceptable way to do things, imo.

[mgb]

There are many ways to do it.
The batons like aleady described above will work well for keeping it aligned and snug.

Some ways others have used include magnets (you can even try electromagnets so that when the machine is powered up, the cp is held tight and when powered down, easily removed. Overkill, I know but a lot of what we do here is) and velcro.

I prefer the way it was handled on actual commercial arcades which are hold down clamps.
Like these.   http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=219_225

They hold tight and to release them, just reach in and up from the coin door.

[JoeStrout]

Thanks guys!  My CP is a little different from @Miskatonic's because the CP itself rests on top of the sides, rather than between them... I think you can see that pretty well in this image:



But, the same basic technique should work.

And @mgb, thanks for pointing out the hold-down clamps.  That's a really interesting idea — I think I see how they work.  I wasn't planning on having a coin door on my cab, but I could certainly reconsider that... it's a clever way of accessing the innards that I really hadn't considered.

[mgb]

Yeah in my opinion, the hold down clamps are the best way. This is how most every commercial machine did it and if it holds up to general public than a private machine should most definitely have no issue.

I won't go into my opinion on coin doors but to me it just doesn't look right when they're not there.
Alternatively you can make the front area of the cabinet open for accessing the inside.

Other alternatives for holding down the cp without having to reach inside could be to have a small access area below the cp and have it held in with magnets.
Or you can use key latches on the side of the cabinet holding the cp. one key lock on each side right below the cp. I have seen examples of this on commercial games before but don't have time to look up an example right now. I think I've most seen it done on redemption games.
If your panel overhangs, you may be even see the locks under normal conditions.

[Miskatonic]

I agree on the coin door area, if it's a full size cabinet it has to have this otherwise you might aswell build a bartop (or go home). That's just my opinion, though, and it's based on what I'm used to seeing on machines of that size. You can connect the coin mechs up, too, so they work for credits in mame. Bliss

[Miskatonic]

And, as I said, even with overlap you can still go down the wooden batons route but perhaps these release clips will more suit your needs ? I've never used them so I couldn't say. They look legit, though, and clearly as mgb says, if they've stood up to commercial use they should be perfect in a home environment (unless you live with a wild ape or something, which is unlikely)

[stavros693000]

I'm planning a Gauntlet-style cabinet, where the control panel is a single piece of wood that fits snugly atop the side panels.

I don't need the CP to be swappable, but I'm also not foolish enough to think I will get it exactly right on the first try, or never need to fiddle with the wiring inside.  So I'd like to plan on the CP being removable without having to disassemble the entire cabinet.

But I also don't want any visible screws, bolts, or other fasteners on the outside of the cabinet (or CP).  And, finally, the CP of course has to feel very solid and firm when players are wailing on it.

All this has me a bit stumped... I've even checked the wiki page on swappable control panels, but it's completely silent on exactly how this is done.

My current best idea is to have some corner blocks attacked to the backside of the CP, which slide snugly up against the sides and front of the cabinet (but do not physically attach to it).  Maybe even glue on some rubber gasket material to both sides where these come together, to make it very frictiony.  But this seems like a hack and may require more woodworking precision than I'm capable of.

Any suggestions on how to do this?

Thanks,
- Joe

you could also use L brackets which is what I used.....which screw to the bottom of the CP one L bracket on each side and fix to the inner wall of the cabinet side panel....then when you want to take the cp off its just a matter of undoing two screws...simple,easy and effective

attached pic...something like this will work

[Jakobud]

I also did the L bracket approach in my original cabinet back in 2002. Worked well.

[JoeStrout]

Trouble with L brackets is, there's no way I can see to remove them from the outside.  So I'd have to either pull the cabinet out from the wall and take the back off, or (possibly) do some contortions through the coin door if I have one.

Not horrible, and I see that it would work, but I'm hoping for something a little easier.  I don't expect to change my CP often, but I suspect I'm going to need to get in there now and then to muck with things.

Having the whole front panel removable might be even better, but it presents the same problem — only worse, since I can't use gravity to help hold it in place.

[yotsuya]

Just use the clamps. Good enough for the arcade, great for the home user. 

[opt2not]

[JoeStrout]

Yep, I expect that's what I'll do.

[Jakobud]

Trouble with L brackets is, there's no way I can see to remove them from the outside.  So I'd have to either pull the cabinet out from the wall and take the back off, or (possibly) do some contortions through the coin door if I have one.

Not horrible, and I see that it would work, but I'm hoping for something a little easier.  I don't expect to change my CP often, but I suspect I'm going to need to get in there now and then to muck with things.

Having the whole front panel removable might be even better, but it presents the same problem — only worse, since I can't use gravity to help hold it in place.

With my control panel, the top was hinged so I could open the control panel at any time and then the wing nuts for the L brackets were accessible. Sounds like you are creating a completely enclosed CP. I'm not sure the best solution.

[Malenko]

clamps and a hinge, just like TMNT, XMEN, Simpsons, MK, MKII, UMK3, MK4, NBA Jam, Open Ice, NFL Blitz,etc

[mgb]

clamps and a hinge, just like TMNT, XMEN, Simpsons, MK, MKII, UMK3, MK4, NBA Jam, Open Ice, NFL Blitz,etc

And almost every other control panel out there

Even if you don't use the hinge the clamps will work great for holding it


Many older cabinet such as Pac-Man and just had the control panel being held in by clamps and when you released them you just lifted the whole panel out