I definitely thought about using swappable panels. The downside of that is the cost of the multiple controls but don’t count them out yet. I’m trying to catch up on posting things before the madness of the start of school so here’s my next update. Fast forward a few weeks….
Once the basic concept was in place I needed to work on how the panels would attach to the control panel. Lot’s of interesting projects out there. After looking at Doc’s modular design I wanted to come up with something clever and innovative or use his method.
http://www.beersmith.com/mame/controls.htmI had lots of ideas but they all complicated the design. They needed more hardware, more machining and more time. True to my goals I went back to a simple design. I usually stick with playing one game for a long time. Sometimes Missile Command will be the only thing I play for a week. Given this I don’t anticipate having to swap out controls often and don’t need to do it with the speed of an Indy 500 pit crew. Screws will work. I’ll get a cordless screwdriver to make things go faster. The panel will have more of an industrial look to it. I also decided that the 1 and 2 player start buttons would be on the frame with some admin buttons (these ended up being removed later). No need to have separate panels for P1 and P2 buttons.
Here’s my second attempt at designing things.
My first frame design was to have a piece of plywood under the control panel with a lot of t-nuts.
Then I found telengard’s modular design...
https://bsturk.github.io//mame/controls.htmlHis design is pretty much what I was looking to do except for his panels are fabricated of metal. He even has 7” high panels. The most genius part of his design is the use of rack equipment rails to screw the panels to. They work perfectly with panels in increments of 1.75 inches. Using them saved me a ton of time and allows me to use smaller sized panels if needed. Lots of inspiration and ideas from projects on this forum. I am continually impressed by what people have done.
After much work on my CAD designs I gave up on SketchUp for this project. It frustrated me too much when it came to placing things accurately. I switched to AutoCAD LT. So much happier. I spent a lot of time measuring joysticks and laying out panels. I nailed down the dimensions and have designs for panels for
8/4 way Joysticks
4 way diagonal joysticks
Williams 2 way joysticks
Trackballs
Spinners (Ultimarc and QuickSpin)
Fighter game 8 way joystick with 7 buttons
Full size panels with 1 (centered and offset) , 2 and 3 buttons
Half size panels with 1 (centered and high/low) and 2 buttons.
Full size, half size and one quarter size blank panels.
Control panel frame with fewer admin buttons.
This project required precision that I couldn’t deliver so I decided to have things cut out on a CNC router. Here’s my final file that got used with the CNC. I also have a Joust panel in there for my Defender Multi-Williams project. Luckily a friend owed me a lot of hours on his machine.
The panels were cut from Baltic Birch plywood. Everything needed some sanding, squaring off of inside corners, priming and painting.
I used original Kilz primer with a small roller to fill in the grain and create a texture. The texture will hide a lot of imperfections in the finish. After priming there’s no need for sanding. I used Rustoleum Gloss Black Hammer Finish paint on top.
Panels with their first coat of paint.
The frame went together quickly. I hit it with multiple coats of Gloss Clear. To mount the rack rails I screwed down 3 panels and then fitted it into the frame. 4 screws from the back secured it but I also added 4 holes through the frame for more strength. Microswitch 1 and 2 player buttons for the moment. I may go with leafs later. Slot cut and t-molded. Panel hold downs screwed in. Fits my Midway cabinet’s control panel box nicely. Looking good.
Bottom view of the control panel frame. I'll probably add some bracing at some point.
Panels fit in nicely. I'm still not sure which screws I'll end up using.
Not too shabby so far. Things are defintely looking better than I thought they would. Next up - more painting.