Need more buttons on Ace Driver Cabinet. Ideas?

[graeflicher]

I am in the process of converting an old Ace Driver: Victory Lap cabinet into a mame-machine. While I like the cabinet and controlboard, only having one button makes most games unplayable without the added keyboard on top of the controlboard. I would like to add more buttons without losing the aracade look and feel. To make things more complicated, the controlboard must remain in its original state. So no drilling some extra holes.

I think the cabinet is missing some kind of plate to cover the blue metal part. There is a 5mm gap where the controlboard is overlapping the edge. So i was thinking why not have some kind of cover and run the wires under it. Still it would be nice not to drill holes in the metal part. Are there arcade-like buttons that can be mounted flat in 5mm acryl? Maybe any other ideas? I will probably rework the coin return buttons to coin/start buttons but most games need many more. What about a heavy-duty keypad?

Please share your ideas.

[baritonomarchetto]

Drilling the control panel is not an option, nor is using a full keyboard. You have enought space there for a custom made button box or a stream deck

[PL1]

I would like to add more buttons without losing the aracade look and feel.

OK.

How many buttons and what functions do they perform?
- Check every game you intend to play.

Do you need to use them during gameplay?  This can influence size/spacing/color/mounting/reinforcement choices.

Do you need LED buttons with vinyl stickers/printed inserts so they will be easier to read because of the lighting around the button box location?

We can't give you the best advice unless you tell us exactly what you want/need and how you intend to use them.

The "6P" principle applies here -- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.   

There is a 5mm gap where the controlboard is overlapping the edge. So i was thinking why not have some kind of cover and run the wires under it.

Sounds like a good choice might be a 3d printed button box with a 5mm lip that goes into the gap and hooks under the metal panel so it doesn't lift up.
- Given that the gap is 5mm wide, you should have no problem feeding the wires through to the encoder inside the main control panel.
- When printing the part, turn it so the right or left side of the box is down on the print bed.  This will give you the best strength for the lip.  Printing it face-down is the second best option.  DO NOT print it top-down since that would give it the weakest lip.
- Design the box with a removable back panel for easy maintenance.  Heat-set threaded inserts would be perfect for this application, but a snap-in back would work, too.

Are there arcade-like buttons that can be mounted flat in 5mm acryl? Maybe any other ideas?

Lots of options for this.  Best choice depends on the details mentioned above.

I will probably rework the coin return buttons to coin/start buttons

Adding coin switches to the coin return buttons makes sense, but it seems like start buttons should go on the button box.   


Scott

[Fursphere]

Drilling the control panel is not an option, nor is using a full keyboard. You have enought space there for a custom made button box or a stream deck

I have Stream Decks on my Daytona Twin, and some emulators (Teknoparrot) often don't respond to them.  Something quirky with it. 

[Fursphere]

If you want 'coin buttons' and you have a 3D printer, I designed these adapters to work with a 25c coin 'button' and it fits in a Wells Gardner coin door.  I can get you the files if you want them.

[graeflicher]

I was thinking about 3 on the left side and 2 on the right side. Some games need a ridiculous amount of buttons, so having all buttons for all games is too much anyway. With a 3 + 2 setup the left side could be viewchange buttons and the right side action/start buttons.

I still have a few square 51x51mm arcade butttons and some smaller half-sized ones, but there is no way to mount them without drilling. Maybe i can rework them? There is an image of the buttons attached.
Was thinking about 3 half-sized on the left and 2 full sized an the right. I would not mind buying new, different ones, though.

There is a Cruisin' World cabinet next to it, so I would try to match button size and spacing. LED would be nice. Printed inserts are not needed, the buttons will be used for different games and most of the time the inserts would be incorrect anyway.

I have seen a few button-boxes, but most of them look bulky. While it would be nice to have a microswitch-klick, I would prefer something that can be mounted flush on the acryl. Microswitches are probably not possible. I have few leaf-switches from another project, maybe those can be used?

@Fursphere,
thanks for the offer! Let's see how the top buttons are working out first. It would be nice if the coinbuttons could remain in their original state, so i was thinking of just installing a switch where coin-return buttons would normaly make contact.

[PL1]

I was thinking about 3 on the left side and 2 on the right side.

Sounds reasonable.

I still have a few square 51x51mm arcade butttons and some smaller half-sized ones, but there is no way to mount them without drilling. Maybe i can rework them? There is an image of the buttons attached.
Was thinking about 3 half-sized on the left and 2 full sized an the right. I would not mind buying new, different ones, though.

There is a Cruisin' World cabinet next to it, so I would try to match button size and spacing. LED would be nice. Printed inserts are not needed, the buttons will be used for different games and most of the time the inserts would be incorrect anyway.

Mounting buttons on an acrylic sheet will leave the back and wiring exposed.  Pre-fab housings will probably be oversized.

Those 51mm buttons are really large.  Pretty sure the "half-sized" ones would be the better choice.  A link to the specific buttons (with dimensions) would be useful.

If you can provide the desired measurements and spacing, I can design a custom 3d-printable housing for whatever size/style/number of buttons you want.  Did a quick-and-dirty mockup of three 51mm buttons on a 190mm wide x 90mm deep x 76mm high enclosure with a 1/4" radius roundover on the top side edges.  It also has a hook on the bottom that fits between the control panel and the metal.
- The 5mm gap is large enough to make a solid hook and still cover the LED+, LED-, button ground, and 3 button wires that would feed thru a hollow on the inside of the enclosure and hook and come out under the metal panel.

Microswitches are probably not possible. I have few leaf-switches from another project, maybe those can be used?

Depends on the specific buttons and leaf switches, but probably not.   

Leaf switch buttons require a much larger footprint than microswitch buttons.

You need something with a small footprint to fit in a small box.

Something like the Ultimarc Goldleaf RGB would give you the smallest footprint with an RGB LED and it doesn't have a clicky-style microswitch.

If you want square ones with no LED and no clicky-style microswitch, maybe some 28mm Sanwa OBSF-24 buttons would be a good option.

 


Scott

[graeflicher]

Ahh, now i got the idea. You would build a button box and have the buttons face the front. Just the way it's supposed to be. I like the idea, but I am afraid the housing will not match the look and feel of the rest. Thinking about it, I still have a buttons panel from an old Scud Race that i could use. Similar to the one in the picture. Maybe i will not 3d print the housing but use 1mm sheet metal and spraypaint it. Would be nice to keep the rugged arcade feel with little DIY vibes.

My initial idea was to mount the buttons facing upwards. They could be flat on some kind of acryl cover and the leaf swiches would be in the acryl.

Since the buttons-bar is already available maybe I will just do a quick test and see how it feels. If it is OK, build some nice housing later on.

[Fursphere]

If you're going to use the Sega VR button panel (of the Model 2 / Model 3 era), I'd model up a nice housing and 3D print it.  Being plastic, it'll blend in better with the race of the dashboard.

[PL1]

Ahh, now i got the idea. You would build a button box and have the buttons face the front. Just the way it's supposed to be. I like the idea, but I am afraid the housing will not match the look and feel of the rest. Thinking about it, I still have a buttons panel from an old Scud Race that i could use. Similar to the one in the picture. Maybe i will not 3d print the housing but use 1mm sheet metal and spraypaint it. Would be nice to keep the rugged arcade feel with little DIY vibes.

A 3d printed design will be easier to make it look like an extension of the curved yellow plastic of the panel and 3d prints can be primed and painted.

If I add rounded edges to the face, hollow out the center, and add diagonal braces for some nut clips on the render I printed earlier, I think it would look really good and work well.  Attached pic is of a design I did several years ago that uses diagonal braces + nut clips.

Since the buttons-bar is already available maybe I will just do a quick test and see how it feels. If it is OK, build some nice housing later on.

LMK if you like the button bar and want a 3d model to house it.   


Scott