Control panels with Plexiglass top surface

[alexkyriak]

Hi all, a few queries about building a control panel with Plexiglass as the top surface:

1. What's the best construction method and build-up for this type of control panel surface? Was assuming to use 3/4inch / 19mm mdf board with plexi on top. What thickness of plexigalss is appropriate?
2. I assume due to thickness of 3/4 MDF and plexi that I will need to route the joystick mounts into underside of MDF?
3. What is the best method to hold the Plexiglass down to the MDF? I don't want to see visible screws or restraints if possible.
4. Have seen various posts here about printing artwork directly onto the underside face of the plexiglass. How well does this work? What are the best alternatives - printed vinyl to top surface?
5. Does anyone have any drawings of this build-up in cross section? I have looked here but nothing specific as far as I can see.

Many thanks! 


A

[Ian]

Hey man welcome!

Well I have built two cabs... first with the plexi and now my second cab has polycarbinate. So I have a bit of experience with both. I'll break it down to the basics...

3/4" mdf is too thick... Think about doing it in 1/2" mdf. It's sturdy and I have had no problems with it. Plus it's easier to route out the joysticks and drill all of the buttons etc.

When using plexi I only put in 4 screws on each of the corners with rubber washers. The buttons hold down the rest just fine. I was more or less worried at the time about the corners lifting which they never did... nor did I feel like they would. Those corners are sharp so what a lot of people here do is raise the t-molding a hair so it covers the edges of the plexi. So really all you need is the buttons to hold the plexi down.

I never printed on plexi. Sorry.

I did go to I think Kinkos and print out my horrible homemade artwork for my first cab and used the plexi on top of it. It looked good... until someone spilled a beer on my control panel which caused the artwork to smear and turn to crap. That leads me to my first negative about plexi... once stuff gets underneath its a real pain to take things apart to clean.


My second control panel is almost done and i think it is coming along amazingly. I went with the Polycarbinate laminate from http://www.gameongrafix.com/index.php. It has the adhesive backing and the top is extremely durable. I am extremely impressed. Plexi scratches with time and I will probably never go back to it. I would definitely check out gameongrafix as an alternative.

Ian

[rackoon]

I have pexi on all five of my cabs. I think its 3/16 thick; got it from Tap Plastic for around $15

The first couple builds have just regular round head bolts and they look rusty so I switched to stainless.

I have seen some cool looking colored bolts on a few arcade part web sites. I am going green this time. Dont know how to do it with out bolts showing.

[n3wt0n]

If you are going to use t-molding on the edge of your CP you need to equal the width of your t-molding. 5/8" MDF + 1/8 plexy = 3/4" t-molding.

[lamprey]

Hi all, a few queries about building a control panel with Plexiglass as the top surface:

1. What's the best construction method and build-up for this type of control panel surface? Was assuming to use 3/4inch / 19mm mdf board with plexi on top. What thickness of plexigalss is appropriate?
2. I assume due to thickness of 3/4 MDF and plexi that I will need to route the joystick mounts into underside of MDF?
3. What is the best method to hold the Plexiglass down to the MDF? I don't want to see visible screws or restraints if possible.
4. Have seen various posts here about printing artwork directly onto the underside face of the plexiglass. How well does this work? What are the best alternatives - printed vinyl to top surface?
5. Does anyone have any drawings of this build-up in cross section? I have looked here but nothing specific as far as I can see.

1. Generally, as N3wton mentioned, 5/8" ply/mdf/mdo and 1/8" plexi.
2. Generally, and undermount is good. you can also top mount to the wood and put the plexi over the top if you like. Depends on how far down/up you want the stick.
3. You can you bolts, but I'd just use the pushbuttons to hold it down.
4. I haven't printed plexi before. I put the overlay onto plexi on my CP. I used black plexi and top mounted the controls to the wood and used the plexi as an overlay so that I could remove it without disrupting the artwork if I needed to service something. I'm not sure if you are going for a clear plexi or not. My preference is to use a nice overlay with a polycarbonate film so I don't need clear plexi as a protectant.
5. I thought the WIKI has this, but I'm not seeing it.

[alexkyriak]

Thanks guys, very useful to hear your input.

Ian: thanks for advice on the CP panel thickness. Was hoping to get the panel laser cut - I have access to a cutter and think they can cut to this thickness. From the 'beer incident' it sounds like I should either print to plexi or go vinyl direct to an mdf panel...! The gameongrafix option sounds quite promising also, however, will def check it out.

Rackoon: bolts don't sound like what I'm after in terms of finish,  but where do you place them, if used - right to the edges?

n3wt0n: thanks, that was the remaining question I was supposed to ask: will do some research on t-mould profiles, was assuming I need to match T-mould width to the resultant overall CP thickness (MDF and top panel).

Thanks all 

[EDIT]: thanks also lamprey, just saw your post. Will post my CP design on this forum soon for comment, hope you can comment re: push buttons holding down the plexi/polycarbonate.


A

[PL1]

5. I thought the WIKI has this, but I'm not seeing it.

Thanks for mentioning this.   

Added this section to the FAQ -- LMK if there is anything else that should be added.   

http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#What_thickness_and_materials_to_use_for_the_Control_Panel.3F


Scott