| Main > Project Announcements |
| My new cabinet |
| (1/5) > >> |
| fgh:
Hi everyone! I’m posting to show you my new arcade cabinet. It’s not going to appeal to everyone, as it’s slim, simple, has an lcd screen, has no t-molding, doesn't have a name, etc. So not a purist or historically correct build, but never the less it’s exactly what I want :) I became a byoac member in 2004, converted an old gutted atari cab to mame in 2005 ( Picture / Thread), and gave it away the next year. Have been on and off the forums since then, but when I saw Blip being built (loved it!) I decided that I wanted another cab when we settled down. And when I saw Mimic - after picking up my jaw from the floor - I immediately got the idea for the second screen for artwork. It’s taken until now as I wanted to move to a bigger place first, and I haven’t been able to prioritize it. Software for game selection was mostly coded in purebasic back in 2017. I bought parts and tools over time, and MDF and control panel parts in 2018. Finally started the build in December 2019. Was playable before christmas, so woodworking progress stopped, but today I finished the last trim pieces around the screen, so time for some pics. The MDF is a special type from Portugal, called Valcromat, which is coloured before pressing so it has color all the way through. It’s more expensive, but it makes it super simple and I like the look. (It comes in a variety of colors) Inspired by Mimic, I went for RGB leds everywhere, to make it easy to pick up for guests. Servosticks, ultralux buttons, ipac ultimate, all from Ultimarc. The leds are operational, and only the required buttons for each game light up, in correct colors. But I need to rewire a few things so leds are currently disabled. The two 40 inch TV’s and the laptop cost me a total of $70, so it would have been a cheap build had it not been for the expensive control panel and colored MDF. I’ve kept the design and construction very simple. It’s fixed to the wall by a large ‘french cleat’, so I just lift it up and slide it in place and it’s dead stable. I'm not a perfectionist, so it's a bit rough when you look closely, but I'm happy with it. Not going to put a thousand games on it. 20-30 or so is enough. I want to keep the frontend as simple as it is now, just left/right to switch games (all graphics change) and any button to start. It's a bit more work to add games with semi custom graphics, mame layout files etc, so I'm only at ~12 games so far :) Will probably have a few console games as well. (Last ninja, superfrog, super mario, ++) I'll upload some build pics later. (Edit: Added some in the next post, and a video of the front end.) Thanks to Laythe for help and code examples for purebasic and Ipac programming, and to everyone for inspiration over 15+ years ;) Let me know what you think! Cheers, Frode (Norway) |
| fgh:
Here are some more pictures: (click to expand) A minimalist and lightweight construction for a cab, as it's designed to hang off the wall. 1: Routing MDF sure makes a lot of dust! 2: A rather simple frame! When fixed to the TV supports, it's sturdy enough though. It hangs on the wall on the 2x8. 3: Not a lot of excess space 4: Almost there! The horizontal (when upright) board provides some shear rigidity. 5: Rear side. I did clean up the cable mess, I promise! The horizontal shelf is loose, will be fixed when I figure out the rear speaker. Left: Control Panel layout. One of the japanese layouts from slagcoin.com. I'll make some speaker grilles for the CP to protect and improve the look of the speakers. Right: I didn't sand anything, as I somehow liked the rough style of the untreated MDF with saw marks still on all edges. (Plus I'm lazy) 1: CP mess. It was designed without the small PCB on the servostick, so I had to rotate the iPac to make it fit. 2: LED's for Street Fighter 2 3: As I angled the lower screen, there is decent clearance from players legs to the screen. I might make a detachable front plate that covers the entire lower screen. (Or add some plexiglass) 4: I did add a small kick plate at least. 5: Rough cuts and small gaps here and there. But at least no visible screws, haha. About the home made front end: It's a ~500 line program made in purebasic. I've made a CSV file with game infomation. Rom name, emulator, 4/8 way stick, button colors. The frontend mainly does this: 1: Read the game list 2: Display the relevant 1080x1920 files on each monitor for the current game 3: Sense buttons for next/previous game (p1 l/r) and game start (any p1/2 button) 4: When starting game, set servostick 4/8 way position and button colors Here is a video of the frontend in action, and starting a game: Arcade.mov (100MB quicktime .MOV from my phone) Other notes: - The speakers on the floor are temporary. I put the TV speakers on the CP (!), and I'm planning to install a tiny active sub on the small shelf behind the top monitor. (Or an amp + speaker). - I'm currently running this off a laptop I got for free. It's tucked in below the CP along with a USB hub, a displayport to HDMI adapter, and a USB-HDMI adapter that runs the lower screen. It's only USB2 so low refresh rate but for still images it doesn't matter. |
| javeryh:
This is seriously awesome and I think it's the first "dynamic front panel" I've seen. Great job. I'd really like it if you could go into detail on how you built the cabinet and made everything work (software, etc.). The "wow factor" must be off the charts when you have guests. Great job. :cheers: |
| Greenman:
Love it!! Well done. |
| yotsuya:
What’s protecting the lower front panel? |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |