Chameleon Swappable-Expanding Panel Cabinet

[HippoDan]

I'm finally working on my Cabinet.  Started years ago planning a 27" CRT and a rotating panel.  Then my kid was born....  Fast forward 10 years, and I'm starting again.  Space is a premium now, so it'll have to be LCD and swappable panels if I still want customization.

My idea is extendable wings on drawer slides with up to 4 12"x12" panels.  I'm still trying to work out the best way to hide the drawer slides, and prevent sharp corners when the wings are out.


Two panels.....................................................................................Four Panels

I have two monitor surrounds here.  I like the rounded version, but I'm afraid it would block the view for players 3 and 4.  What do you think?


And a view with 3 Panels.  I'm also thinking of half panels, to surround a steering wheel, with a blank, and a shifter.  Blank panels can also surround a single center panel for simpler games like Donkey Kong or Qbert.  I want it to be tailored to the individual games, and I think I would probably leave it in a single configuration for a few weeks, and then change it to encourage more play time.



There's a long way to go here, and hopefully some pleasant surprises along the way. 

P.S.  Does anybody have any ideas how to best "lock up" drawer slides so they don't wiggle when extended?  I can prevent it from sliding in and out, but want the whole thing to be tight  as well.

[Mike A]

Just build a simple 2 player cab.

It has already been ten years.

If you try to build this weird thing it will be another ten years and you still won't be playing video games.

Just build a simple cab so you can start playing. If you play it a lot then you can start building a more complicated cab to replace that one.

[Richie_jones]

I agree keep it simple. But it's your machine so I'm interested in what you come up with.
Drawer slides in my experience, the more you spend the less wobble..Dont buy cheap..

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk

[Jimbo]

I agree with Mike 100%

[Mike A]

Jimbo is very smart.

[Richie_jones]

The problem with this design is this hinge can't be flush. It would have to be gapped quite alot to accommodate the button heights, so each side would fold flat. If you had very low profile buttons that stuck up say 3mm. You'd need a 6mm gap for it to fold flat..

Edit...

Ah I see you mean these side flaps come out like drawers...yeah can't ever see that working practically..the stationary bits in the middle wouldn't be able to have anything with any depth in them or they'd stop the sides coming out...

[rbarr110]

The problem with this design is this hinge can't be flush. It would have to be gapped quite alot to accommodate the button heights, so each side would fold flat. If you had very low profile buttons that stuck up say 3mm. You'd need a 6mm gap for it to fold flat..

Edit...

Ah I see you mean these side flaps come out like drawers...yeah can't ever see that working practically..the stationary bits in the middle wouldn't be able to have anything with any depth in them or they'd stop the sides coming out...

The way the drawing/3D sketch looks to me, is that the CP slides out and swappable panels get dropped in the middle to get the extra large panel.  Players 1 and 2 now get moved to positions 1 and 4, and new positions 2 and 3 get dropped in, but I could be wrong.

[HippoDan]

The way the drawing/3D sketch looks to me, is that the CP slides out and swappable panels get dropped in the middle to get the extra large panel.  Players 1 and 2 now get moved to positions 1 and 4, and new positions 2 and 3 get dropped in, but I could be wrong.

Actually, the plan is for all 4 panels to be interchangeable for any combination of 1-4 players.  The drawers slide out to give more attachment points.  I've spent a lot of time working out how to do the drawer slides without getting in the way of the panel attachments.  I'll post more details on that as I make more progress.  I'm planning to CNC a mockup of the drawer section first to work out any bugs before committing that part of the design to the larger cabinet.  Yes, a 2-player would be much easier, even with the swappable panels.  I honestly don't know how much 4-player play we'll get, but I have a Gauntlet that will have to go to make room for this and we do play it, so I'd hate to give up the possibility of 4-player Gauntlet.

So far, the planned panels include: Rotary 8-way Joystick + 6 buttons (These are the "default"), 8-way + 4 buttons (Players 3&4), Dual trigger sticks (Assault, Vindicators), Trackballs x2 (Marble Madness), 4-way + 2 buttons, Spinner + buttons, Star Wars Yoke (Spy Hunter, RoadBlasters, Star Wars), Shifter (1/2 panel)

The panels being only 12x12 are very easy to make, so I can make them over several times for better ergonomics if necessary once I have something to attach them to.

[darthpaul]

Just build a simple 2 player cab.

It has already been ten years.

If you try to build this weird thing it will be another ten years and you still won't be playing video games.

Just build a simple cab so you can start playing. If you play it a lot then you can start building a more complicated cab to replace that one.

Been there, done it, now I'm dismantling it, I could never get it to work the way I wanted it to, see my Automated Cabinet. Unless you are like me and enjoy building it more than playing it, keep it simple.