custom acrylic control panel overlays

[krick]

In responding to a different post, I came across this page...

http://www.acrylicbirdcages.com/corners.htm

They make custom acrylic bird cages.  However, I think they might be a source for custom acrylic control panel overlays.

Come to think of it, has anyone done a control panel using just a thick piece of acrylic _instead_ of wood?  I think it would be pretty cool.  you could see the "guts" of the control panel.  It could even be lit from underneath with PC case illumination.  You know, for that extra Bling! Bling! factor.

[Zakk]

How about the famous ms pac cab?

http://www.coinop.org/features/coinopmuseum/images/clear.jpg

[krick]

The control panel isn't clear though.  I think a normal cabinet with a see-thru control panel would be interesting.

[Zakk]

Argh!  So there's no pleasing you!

Personally, I like the metal panels since it hides my horribly sloppy wiring jobs.  Why, I'd have to neat under there if you could see it!!

[soslo]

Yeah, I've thought about doing a thick CP in colored plexi (like blue or red), and then lighting it from behind, but the bottom would be nasty with the wires and control stick bases...it might be difficult to pull off.

Here is what I've thought about though...perhaps I shouldn't say anything, but I guess I'd be over it if one of you guys did this and posted the pictures.

Do the CP in thick colored plexi. Mask off a design on the back and paint the rest black. Then light it up from behind.

This way, you just see a lit up colored design in the CP, and not the whole underside. You can cover up the button/stick bases and route the wires away from the design. It would look pretty pimp IMO.

[Gumby]

You could also do it with Frosted plexi...so that the light shows through, but you can't really see the wires inside.

or, build your own wiring harness with shrink tubing over the wires so it looks neat and clean (what a chore)...

-G

[Zakk]

hehe or really rice it out and use braided chrome hose sleeves for the wiring!  Put a 12" wing on the top of it, and install a single windshield washer arm (for keeping the beer spatters cleaned up) over the glass.  Now if you wanted to kill Howard C you could always do all of this to a nice mint stargate or galaga cabinet

(sorry Howard, couldn't resist  ).

[krick]

Here is what I've thought about though...perhaps I shouldn't say anything, but I guess I'd be over it if one of you guys did this and posted the pictures.

Do the CP in thick colored plexi. Mask off a design on the back and paint the rest black. Then light it up from behind.

This way, you just see a lit up colored design in the CP, and not the whole underside. You can cover up the button/stick bases and route the wires away from the design. It would look pretty pimp IMO.

That's brilliant.  It reminds me of Radio Controlled cars with their clear acetate bodies.  You paint them on the inside in reverse order from how you would normally paint something.  Because the paint's on the inside, it's always glossy.

It gives me an idea that might be better...  Why not make a light up control panel that's like a marquee?  Sandwich a printed picture (acetate? vinyl?) between 2 pieces of plexi (a thin one on top, a thick one on bottom) and light it from underneath with a flourescent light?

You'd have to be careful about routing the wires because of shadows but if you chose the design carefully, you could work around that.

[soslo]

That would be awesome too!

[MinerAl]

You could completely frost or paint the back of the acrylic and light it from behind, then engrave a pattern in the top and end light that in a different color.  The engraving would glow the second color on the first color's background...

[Garrett]

Weird, I've never seem this come up before, but I am just finishing up my cab project which uses 1/2" acrylic panels covered with 1/8" blue translucent plexi.  It's a modular panel, with each piece of acrylic sized about 6x16 housing one type of control.

I had hoped to light it from underneath, but it didn't work as well as I thought.  All the underneath stuff shows through and looks kind of ugly.  I've been working on some ideas to get around this, though.