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javeryh's Small-ish Bartop ["Jack Attack!"]
javeryh:
--- Quote from: JDFan on August 03, 2018, 11:17:41 am ---
--- Quote from: javeryh on August 03, 2018, 10:25:57 am --- It will be hard enough getting the buttons on the CP lined up!
--- End quote ---
When printing You should have the Button layer hidden so it does not print the grey holes on the actual print but prints the background layer that is currently covered up by them - that way if they do not line up exactly you will not have the hole outline showing. (they are mainly there during production to show what is ideally being covered up by the buttons and as a reference for the layout but should not be printed.)
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Thanks for this. I asked the artist to:
1. extend everything by about 1" all the way around so I can trim it back to the MDF after applying it
2. only print the "+" (center points) for the buttons and fill in the circles with whatever background would be there (I'll use the center points to drill my holes)
That's it. I'm pretty excited to see how this is all going to come out.
javeryh:
It's a go. The artist has started coloring the final pieces but said it might take a week, which is fine. Today I have a few hours and I'm going to try and finish as much as I can so that all that is left is art and installing all the components.
1. Install a stop for the back door. It can be pushed in about 1/2" and I can't have that. Thinking of using 1/16" black ABS plastic and just gluing it to the lip of the top panel on the inside... unless anyone has any better ideas. I could add battons to the sides that are held in by screws except I'm afraid that I won't be able to get the monitor glass in and out if I need to.
2. Install the magnetic catches for the control panel. Right now there is nothing holding the control panel in place. I don't think hinges will work because there is no where to put a latch where the CP meets the glass. I have 3 cabinet door magnets that should hopefully do the trick.
3. Attach the monitor glass in place. I know how I want to do this but I haven't drilled the holes for the wood clips I made. These will be held down with double sided tape and a screw - they have to be removable.
4. Solder the speaker wires to the speakers in the marquee area and attach the speaker panel (screws)
5. Cut piece of posterboard to fit behind marquee and cover with aluminum foil for the speaker light.
6. Bondo/fill 2 small dents on the cabinet body
I think that's it. Lots of small stuff. If I bang through this today I'll start trying to set up the software side of things. Yikes.
Mike A:
Nice. It will be good to see this completed.
javeryh:
#1 - complete!
I had some ABS plastic scraps laying around and they work perfectly.
I cut them into small rectangles and then busted out the crazy glue:
Next, I held the plastic in place on both sides of the cabinet for the recommended 30 seconds. The overhang is 1/4".
Finished:
Definitely the highlight of the whole project. Good luck replicating this - it's almost impossible. The dexterity and ingenuity involved are beyond what the average human can even comprehend.
javeryh:
#4 complete!
I busted out the soldering iron so I could solder some wires to the speakers. I had originally snipped the wires in the Amazon Basics speakers I ripped apart so before buttoning up the marquee area I had to solder the wires back on. I had some leftover 18 gauge wires so I just went with it even though the wires in the speakers are like 100 gauge they are so thin.
I was a little rusty so the first connection point took me a couple of tries. There was some solder already on the connection from the factory so I heated that up and attached the wire. Once I had a decent bond, I globbed on (technical term) some more solder to make sure it didn't come apart.
Easy peasy.
The last thing I had to do was screw the panel to the actual cabinet and holy crap I am going to have carpal tunnel's from this. There was absolutely no room for any tool to get in there so I had to use a drill bit and manually screw it in. This took longer than the actual soldering!
Done!
What can I do next? The magnetic catches are giving me fits - I am afraid of getting in the way of a button because the stupid cabinet magnets are so big and I definitely don't want to do that.... I have another idea involving rare earth magnets... stay tuned!