So I had some connections with a local metal door manufacturer and asked if I sent over a CAD file if they could cut out something for me on a plasma cutter or whatever they use.
"What kind of material were you thinking?" they ask. Having not worked with various gauges of metal any, and assuming that Thicker == Stronger and Stronger == Better, I request "Whatever the thickest panel you have is."
Well I ended up with a pretty substantial chunk of metal as a result.
Thankfully since I everything was cut to exactly the dimensions I gave them, it fit perfectly in the existing CP hole:
Unfortunately because it was cut to the exact dimensions I gave them, that also meant that when I measured the outer diameter of the buttons I ordered, that meant that they were just a bit too snug to fit. I think if I had added like 0.5mm to the size it would have made the difference.
Being a company that builds a lot of our own equipment (Doing industrial waste agitation, hence the project name), I was able to take the panel down to our machine shop and have them bore out the button holes with a drill press just a hair larger. We also coated it with several layers of a metallic flake automotive paint and sealer, ending up with this lustrous sheen:
We cut the center out of the original CP and used an epoxy sealant to affix the metal, so the original mounting grooves for the CP could be used, as well as the monitor transition bracket lining up. The T-Molding from the front edge had been missing for years (probably fell off in the warehouse at some point and was discarded), so we're still trying to decide how to pretty up that front part. I'm thinking maybe some diamond plate metal that covers the entire front of the cabinet.
Anyway with as difficult as the metal was to cut through I decided to do something a little ill-advised....
With the top panel looking so nice, I really didn't want bolt heads showing through. So I roughed up the area around the trackball, laid down some epoxy and hoped for the best!
I didn't have any C-Clamps in the office, so I used what I had to put some pressure on it over night:
Seems like I used enough because the edge around the bottom of the trackball had a bead of epoxy that squeezed out:
I decided that when something goes wrong, that's a problem for Future Me.
The joysticks got the same epoxy treatment and lead acid battery clamping technique:
I used a set of those zero delay encoders that seem to be popping up everywhere now for both sticks. The encoders themselves seem fine, but the buttons are very cheap and don't feel very nice. Also the microswitches on the joysticks could be smoother. The seem to take a long time to actuate. I'll probably spring for a set of GGG switches at some point, but as I've already exhausted my company budget of "Just don't spend anything on it", I'll probably wait until someone actually complains other than me.
For as sketchy as the epoxy felt, the finished product really took me by surprise with how much I liked it. Also, it is solid as a rock. The complete panel probably weighs something like 15lbs. We'll see how well the epoxy holds up to people beating on it with fighting games and the like, but the wood of the cabinet is going to break before this thing gets bent or flexes.
I printed out a small instruction card for either side of the monitor and affixed it under the glass with some double sided tape. I'll probably redesign it at some point to explain button order a little better. Since most of the people actually using the cab have no experience with the idea of a multi-game cabinet, or emulators it needs to be pretty self explanatory.
I've got a small LCD monitor that I'm considering using as a marquee or controller layout display on the top of the cabinet, but I haven't used the control layout programs to generate images before, and have not started researching how it works. Links to someone else's project doing something similar would be appreciated.
I also need to re-print the marquee. It's just copy-paper that I cut in segments and taped to the back of the plexi. Also after taping it and flipping it over I noticed that I taped the wrong segment down on the left. That's a fix for another day. Either that or I'll fit that small LCD on one side and just have an asymmetric layout.
Until then, it's getting plenty of break-time use!
We're toying with the idea of picking one game a month to use the coin door at the bottom (since the encoders look like they have unused button inputs), running a high-score tournament, and letting the winner decide to which local charity we should donate the proceedings. As a company we do a lot of community service and charity work.
So it took a while from picking up this cabinet to getting back in service, but it's been fun finally getting it running.