Modular controls panel discussion

[DougHillman]

Looking through the old posts, I know there's a handful out there.  Who's got 'em?  How're you attaching them?  What are the different layouts you're using on your modular pieces and the panel as a whole?

My cabinet is started (though on hold, as I build a 4-player cab for a friend) and I'm at the point where I need to really finalize my CP plans.  I've planned to go modular all along as I want the CP contained within the sides of the cabinet for that old-school aesthetic, yet I'd still like to be able to play 2-Player and controller specific stuff without it being a jumbled mess.

I'm thinking that some sorta 1/2 turn Dzus type fastener may be the way I attach things.  Should give a good solid mount.  Just gotta figure out what the mounting requirements for them are.  I've never used them on anything other than thin panels like a motorcycle body panel.  


So far, my planned pieces will include:

• 4  x  4/8 Way sticks
• 2  x  7 button groups    (Probably will change the layout from the one pictured below)
• 2  x  trackballs  (likely 2 1/4")
• 2  x  Track & Field 3-button groupings
• 1  x  Tron style trigger stick
• 1  x  Spinner  (This may actually become 2 spinners)
• 4  x  2" spacers
• 2  x  1" spacers

Possible other modules could include button specific layouts for games such as Defender, Asteroids, etc.   Though I could get away with using the Tron type stick & a regular one, I may go with a matching trigger stick for Battlezone.

Here's a quick 3-D rendering of some layouts possible with the above listed modules.  Total panel width is 30" with the room for the modules being 26" wide.  This may seem a little tight, but I never had trouble playing 2-Player games next to someone at the arcade in the 80's.  Though I'm not quite the same size I was in the 80's, I suppose.   I'm gonna lay this out on foam board tonite, if needed I can go a little wider for the modules.

From top to bottom:

• 2-player general
• 2-player trackball
• Robotron
• Track & Field - Centered spinner
• Normal 1-Player mode (would be left this way most of the time.)

[Tilzs]

My biggest concern for you is have you really thought about what games you intend to support on you machine and what is needed for those games. For example you have one with 2 trackballs, there are only a few games that use 2 trackballs at the same time. Also one would really like track and field to have a dedicated cp for that type of game when you'll probably fine one of your other buttons might work out just fine.

[SirPoonga]

It looks pretty good.  Having 2 tballs is good.  The point of modular control panels is to support as many games as possible without having a frankenpanel.

[DougHillman]

My biggest concern for you is have you really thought about what games you intend to support on you machine and what is needed for those games. For example you have one with 2 trackballs, there are only a few games that use 2 trackballs at the same time. Also one would really like track and field to have a dedicated cp for that type of game when you'll probably fine one of your other buttons might work out just fine.

Marble Madness dude!  No other reason to build a 2 trac panel, but more than enough incentive to.


You obviously didn't grow in the 80's or at least didn't spend much time in arcades playing "Track & Field."  If I don't have the space to place my left hand between the buttons and use one of these



(colored red of course) as a lever so I can run faster, it ain't "Track & Field."


As has already been said, you make modular panels so that you can have more arcade realistic control setups without using a crapload of space and making the thing look beastly.  (IMNSHO)


{Please note that the colors & stuff of the modular panel peices in the rendering are only there to differentiate one from the other while I'm arranging things.  The final product will be covered with vinyl or lexan with a CPO.)




D

[Tilzs]

Well you can do what you want. I was in the 80's and know the pencil trick in tnf. The point I was trying to make was to make sure you thought about your cps before you put them all together. I've seen a bunch of people put buttons on things just for the sake of putting buttons. You it seems have thought about it.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I'm still working on mine at the moment.
I opted for a little simpler approach than the one you are planning.

I layed out all my "must-have" panels, and started going nuts with the spacers etc...
I then started simplifying, and decided that I could do everything I wanted without a huge number of spacers.
My CP area is exactly 24" wide.
Using that area, I decided that I could do most of the modules 6" wide.
The trackball modules, one T-stik plus module and the Tron stick modules will be 12" wide.

That will let me do just about every game I can think of near-perfectly.
The modules necessary for it are:
(2) 2-button (Asteroids left side)
(2) 4-button (Asteroids right side/Star Trek buttons)
(1) 4-button diamond layout (Vanguard)

(2) T-stick Pluses (on 6" modules)
(1) T-stick Plus (on a 12" module to center perfectly for games like Pac-man/Donkey Kong)
(2) Top-fire Happs (needed for tank games, etc...)
(1) Repro Defender Stick w/Reverse Button (Can't do Defender justice without it)
(2) Tron Sticks (need two for games like Vindicators/Sarge)

(1) DOT Spinner
(1) Model 3 Spinner (need two spinners for Blasteroids)
(2) Trackballs

(2) 6" Spacers


I don't play fighters, but (2) 7-button panels would cover that as well.

As far as how I'm mounting them, I'm using Connecting Bolts to screwed into T-nuts to hold the modules down.
The screws have an allen-wrench head on them, and I bought a bit for my cordless screwdriver to make the swapover faster.

I'll post some pics after I get it to a more finished state.

[Valence]

Here is my

Project thats modular

I use an L bracket in the front that slides in to hold them down.
I need something still for the back but I found these pushbutton lock that are almost flush.

[paigeoliver]

Ok, I am going modular on my latest project.

Also, quick suggestion about yr track and field/spinner panel. I would suggest changing it to a dual 5 button layout to properly support Space Duel, and other 2 player vectors (also the dual 5 button layout would nicely support Stepmania in Pump mode).


I currently only have ONE panel completed (which is keyboard hack for now), but I am going to move over to a JAMMA fingerboard system for all of them. All panels are stock Defender sized panels, and are attached in the standard manner for a Defender.
Here are the for sure panels.

Defender panel. Completed. Slightly non-original. Has NOS Willis brand Defender overlay, very nice (but technically incorrect) 2-way, and all NOS illuminated leaf switch buttons.

Tac/Scan (Spinner) panel. I have FINALLY managed to get the darned spinner off the stupid panel it was on (only took me 8 months). I am going to attempt to remove the overlay as well so I can reuse it. Even without applying any heat it seems like it is going to peel off pretty easy, so I should be able to salvage it undamaged using a blowdrier.

2 player panel. Standard 2 player 6 button layout. Going to use half of my Road Fighter overlay for it (overlay is large enough to cover 2 panels). I may or may not use Wico sticks on this one. I prefer them, but I am out of them, and NOS ones have been getting harder and hard to find. I might just go with perfect 360s.

Trackball panel. Using my 3" Imperial PS2 trackball, and the other half of my Road Fighter overlay.

4-way panel. Using a Willis Q*Bert overlay and a used Q*Bert stick mounted in the standard manner, not in the Q*Bert manner. (at least I THINK it is a Q*Bert stick, it is 4-way, and its nonstandard center hole deally sure matches up with the overlay). I MIGHT possibly use a Happ's Universal in 4-way mode instead though, since those can easily be rotated 45 degrees for Q*Bert mode.

Asteroids panel. Using up another NOS Willis overlay for this one.

I am also mulling over a dual 49-way panel (I have a complete Arch Rivals panel that even fits my cabinet), a mechanical rotary panel (I have ONE, buy I am not sure if it actually works), a Baseball panel (I have a couple of those spring loaded analog baseball sticks), a 270 steering wheel panel, and a Stepmania panel.

I really want myself to care about Tron enough to do a Tron panel, but the fact is that I only played that game ONCE in the arcade, and maybe twice in Mame since then. It just doesn't grab me.

[DougHillman]

Paige, sounds more like you're going with swappable panels.  Modular is having seperate pieces for things like your buttons, sticks, etc and the assembling them in whatever order you need at the time.  Here's a view of the seperate pieces I plan on having, along with the CP cutout which they will fit into.  SO I can have all those different layouts without having to store a half dozen full sized panels.  I only need to make room in the cab (or wherever) for the small seperate pieces that aren't being used.




Is anyone familiar with Dzus type 1/2 turn fasteners?  Are they available in depths deep enough that they'd be usable on a CP?

[Lilwolf]

btw, it think modular control panels are pretty cool

before you finalize your design... shouldn't you consider the COMBINATIONS of controls you have?

It should be pretty easy to swap... why would you have a spinner and trackball with a flightstick AND 7 buttons?  What are you trying to take care of?

IE, you might have 4 modular plates... forget about different size spacers... or random locations for those spacers.  Because hopefully you will be setting up your controls for the games... not tyring to come up with a bunch of generic solutions..

I liked someones approach (sorry forgot who?) who had a joystick with two buttons next to it... and then the next moduler had 4 on it.  So you can have an 8way with 6 buttons or trackball with 4... ect...  they where all the same size

[DougHillman]

btw, it think modular control panels are pretty cool

before you finalize your design... shouldn't you consider the COMBINATIONS of controls you have?

It should be pretty easy to swap... why would you have a spinner and trackball with a flightstick AND 7 buttons?  What are you trying to take care of?

IE, you might have 4 modular plates... forget about different size spacers... or random locations for those spacers.  Because hopefully you will be setting up your controls for the games... not tyring to come up with a bunch of generic solutions..

I liked someones approach (sorry forgot who?) who had a joystick with two buttons next to it... and then the next moduler had 4 on it.  So you can have an 8way with 6 buttons or trackball with 4... ect...  they where all the same size

Well, I'd have a spinner and trackball along with a flightstick and 7 buttons because with the addition of a 4/8 way, it'll cover pretty much 99% of the single player games with a generic no-fuss solution.  The bottom configuration in my initial post exhibits exactly that and will be the way it's set up most of the time so that I can jump on and play something at random.   It'll change for specific games or gaming sessions.  

I want true Neo-Geo and Street Fighter layouts, so splitting the buttons between panels is not an option.

Due to the space limitations, I cannot have all modules the same size and have them all fit in a generic configuration.  I could maybe get the layout that I've pictured to work as 6" panels if I was able to combine the spinner & Tron type stick into one panel, but I've decided to go with an Oscar Up/Down spinner which will require more space that what it pictured.  It should fit in the generic layout with the removal of the spacers.


BTW, don't anyone feel rude if they wanna throw out constructive criticism or comments such as a couple people have.  The more discussion the better.  It helps anyone thinking about going modular and it may open our eyes up to better solutions than what we've got now.

[DougHillman]

Lexan / acrylic overlay?

Anyone put lexan on their modules?  I'd like the protection that it offered to my CPO and the replacibility factor if it happened to get scratched, but I'm now keen on the idea of how visible the panel lines would be.

I'm of the mind that a printed high quality vinyl of some sort is gonna be the way I go.  If it's black & all my fits are pretty exact it should hide the panel lines fairly well.

D

[DougHillman]

'Nother question.

What are you guys doing as far as hooking your modules to your keyboard encoder?  Seems like most guys doing this are using molex.  

I read in one of the threads about someone using Cat5 from the modules which plugged into a multi-port RJ45 wall jack.  I LOVE that idea.  As far as I can tell, a 6-port jack should be sufficient.  P1 Stick, P1 buttons, P2 Stick, P2 buttons, Tron stick (which would sometimes be installed on the panel at the same time as the normal P1 Stick, ergo it needs it's own port to the I-PAC) and maybe one extra for something else.  This would cover every possible module configuration I can think of.

If whomever's idea this was reads this, could you post a few detail pics of this setup?

I haven't yet recieved my Opti-PAC, trackball or spinner so I don't really know how these hook up.  Would it be possible to route them through Cat5 as well?  (I'll check some online installation instructions later tonite when I get a chance, I suppose.)

D

[hyiu]

I'm the guy who is using cat5 with the RJ45 jacks... hee hee...  

but I'm not doing modular panel....

basically.... each player on my panel has 8 buttons and 1 stick...
and uses 2 cat5....

I use these because I'm building "interfaces" for my stick / panels...
so that the same stick can be re-used when I plug in a hacked gamepad...
or PSX pad... so that the same stick can be used for multi system....

as for pics... hmmm.... I'll need to dig it back out....
I believe I have some pics for the xbox hack and my sticks in the console section.... will need to do a search... and seems like the search button doesn't work for now....

[edit] here you go....

http://www.geocities.com/hyiu2/pics/gaming/

click on the xbox*.jpg....

[/edit]

[NoOne=NBA=]

I don't have any pics posted at the moment.
I'll reply here once I get them posted.
I'm still working on the panels and such, in addition to all of life's other impositions, so that's taking alot of my time.

What I did though was cut a hole through the back wall of my control panel area and mount the 6-port wall jack directly to the back wall.
The permanent wires go from the wall plate backward to the I-pac inside the monitor area of my cab.
The modules are using 3' patch cables hacked in half.
I picked up the patch cables free when we moved into our new building at work, so it save me from having to actually crimp the male ends onto bare wires.

[telengard]

Very good idea going modular.  If you're looking for another example you can check out mine:

http://users.adelphia.net/~bsturk/mame.html

And I have a marble madness panel.  

Just haven't tried it yet with AnalogMame ( or found someone to play with that likes the game either )

Good luck with your cab...

[DougHillman]

Bah.  I no longer have any interest in Dzus fasteners.  

telengard, I'd seen your site before and really like the idea of using rack mount stuff.  Donno why that never occured to me in the first place, as I'm a DJ.

What I don't want though, is much in the way of visable hardware.  I'm not overly keen on the abundance of rack mount screws that are on the modules.  I'd also like something that's quicker and easier to change.

While discussing this with my girlfriend she pointed me in a good direction.  She talked about some sort of friction fit.  Her approach was a little different than what I'm thinking of now, but it got me going in this direction.

What I'm invisioning now is a system with something like the rack mount rails in the base control panel shell with sets of pins imbedded in each module.  What I see are some sorta pins with the springed ball bearings at the end.  Anyone know what I'm talking about?  Any idea where to get something like this?

[Garrett]

I'll add my 0.02 here - I recently finished my modular panel, and it's working out really well so far (but still needs a bit of tweaking).  I've got 11 panels, with a variety of buttons, joysticks, spinners, and a trackball.  Each panel is hooked onto a bar at the top of the CP box and then connected at the bottom with a rubber latch.  I wanted to make it easy to move panels around and not mess with screws or bolts.  I can add or remove a panel in a few seconds.

My wire connections are via molex connectors.  I recently had to move all of my wiring from the main part of the cab to directly below the CP box because it was bunching up too much.  Works great now.  The unused wires hang down out of the way.

The panels themselves are constructed of 1/2" acrylic with a cover of 1/8" translucent blue plexi.  I'm hoping at some point to illuminate the panel from below.

Pics are here:  http://home.wi.rr.com/mschwab/mame.  Still doing a bunch of tweaking, touchup, adding artwork, etc, but as far as functionality, everything works perfectly.

[DougHillman]

I'll add my 0.02 here - I recently finished my modular panel, and it's working out really well so far (but still needs a bit of tweaking).  I've got 11 panels, with a variety of buttons, joysticks, spinners, and a trackball.  Each panel is hooked onto a bar at the top of the CP box and then connected at the bottom with a rubber latch.  I wanted to make it easy to move panels around and not mess with screws or bolts.  I can add or remove a panel in a few seconds.

My wire connections are via molex connectors.  I recently had to move all of my wiring from the main part of the cab to directly below the CP box because it was bunching up too much.  Works great now.  The unused wires hang down out of the way.

The panels themselves are constructed of 1/2" acrylic with a cover of 1/8" translucent blue plexi.  I'm hoping at some point to illuminate the panel from below.

Pics are here:  http://home.wi.rr.com/mschwab/mame.  Still doing a bunch of tweaking, touchup, adding artwork, etc, but as far as functionality, everything works perfectly.

Good job Garrett.  Yours is one that I've looked at before, got the site bookmarked and will probably end up with a wall full of inspiration as you have there.  I need to start printing out all the modular panels.

Again, as with some of the other options I've contemplated, I'm really trying to come up with something fairly solid, easily removable, and visually unobtrusive.  My GF suggested (along with some other ideas during our brainstorming session) a method similar to yours.   Hooking under a rail in the back and then some sorta latch or friction fit in the front.  We'd have to find some way to do it with no visible latches though, and I think that might be difficult.

I really like the idea of using acrylic for the entire panel and lighting it from beneath.  I've seen some interesting stuff done with etched acrylic that has LED's or EL lighting run around the edges.  


I'd give my left nut for a nice SW pin like you've got there.  You think I could sell a testicle on the black market for enough to buy one?

I'm a bit of a SW fan myself.  Here's a pic of one of the walls in my (unfinished) basement.  

[FractalWalk]

I've got absolutely no experience with modular designs, but if i were to design one, I would probably have all the module freely sit on rails that are secured by a single bar on the front of the panel that hinges up and down. The back of the panel would be slotted to hold the module's "lip" in place.

That way you have only one fastener to open/close at a time and swapping modules would be quick.  

[DougHillman]

I've got absolutely no experience with modular designs, but if i were to design one, I would probably have all the module freely sit on rails that are secured by a single bar on the front of the panel that hinges up and down. The back of the panel would be slotted to hold the module's "lip" in place.

That way you have only one fastener to open/close at a time and swapping modules would be quick.  

I'm pretty sure I've seen this done somewhere.  Can't remember exactly what I thought of it though.  Hopefully if it rings a bell, someone can post a link.

This is an idea that has some promise, as I could probably make it pretty unobtrusive.  I could deal with one Dzus fastener or something similar being visible to lock the front retaining bar in place.

[NoOne=NBA=]

My swappable panels were held in with a piece of metal that slid under wood in the back, and roller-type cabinet catches in the front.
That made them completely tool-less, and allowed them to be swapped in a matter of seconds.

While that worked fine for the swappable panels (because they sat on top of the sides of the control area, and couldn't go down), it won't work for the modules I'm building because they need something to keep them from falling into the control panel area.

The only problem I had with the method above is that the cabinet catches had to be bent back into place occasionally, to prevent the CP from jiggling forward and back.

[DougHillman]

My swappable panels were held in with a piece of metal that slid under wood in the back, and roller-type cabinet catches in the front.
That made them completely tool-less, and allowed them to be swapped in a matter of seconds.

While that worked fine for the swappable panels (because they sat on top of the sides of the control area, and couldn't go down), it won't work for the modules I'm building because they need something to keep them from falling into the control panel area.

The only problem I had with the method above is that the cabinet catches had to be bent back into place occasionally, to prevent the CP from jiggling forward and back.

Those cabinet catches were exactly what my GF was describing.  She couldn't tell me what they were used for and I couldn't figure out what the hell she was talking about though.  Now I get it.

Is there any reason you couldn't make a CP frame like I'm doing with inside ledges for the cabinet latches on the modules?

[NoOne=NBA=]

I re-framed on the front and back, inside the CP area, so that I would have something there to hold the T-nuts I'm using.
I opted for the screw-in approach because it seemed more permanent to me.
Using the cabinet-style connector bolts, it's not really that big a deal to me to screw/unscrew them with my cordless screwdriver to swap them.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Here's what I was using to hold on my swappable panels.



Here's what I'm going to.



The 6-port jack at the back is where the modules that go to the I-pac will plug in.
There is also a USB hub tucked in against the front wall, that will be used for trackballs, spinners, and such.

[telengard]

Bah.  I no longer have any interest in Dzus fasteners.  

telengard, I'd seen your site before and really like the idea of using rack mount stuff.  Donno why that never occured to me in the first place, as I'm a DJ.

hehe, I used to be a DJ quite a long time ago but never dealt w/ rack mount stuff until I started working with computers.  All I knew was the turntables and mixer.    

What I don't want though, is much in the way of visable hardware.  I'm not overly keen on the abundance of rack mount screws that are on the modules.  I'd also like something that's quicker and easier to change.

I think you'd be surprised how easy it is to change the panels I have.  I have really short screws and a hand held battery powered screwdriver.  Doesn't take long at all.  The molex connectors are pretty straight forward too.  I used colored wires to make that easy.  I do agree with you on the visibility part though.  I have also found that I only really need two screws for each panel ( at least the smaller ones ) one at each diagonal.

For me it was *all* about stability.  I'm seem to be a rough player and ( unconsciously ) pull and push joysticks really hard.  What I did had to stand up to my beatings while playing Robotron!    

While discussing this with my girlfriend she pointed me in a good direction.  She talked about some sort of friction fit.  Her approach was a little different than what I'm thinking of now, but it got me going in this direction.

What I'm invisioning now is a system with something like the rack mount rails in the base control panel shell with sets of pins imbedded in each module.  What I see are some sorta pins with the springed ball bearings at the end.  Anyone know what I'm talking about?  Any idea where to get something like this?

I looked for something like this, never found anything.  That would have been ideal.  The nice thing about the rack screws is that they aren't a specialty item.  But I can appreciate your idea.  That would definetly be easier to swap modules around with.

[telengard]

Paige, sounds more like you're going with swappable panels.  Modular is having seperate pieces for things like your buttons, sticks, etc and the assembling them in whatever order you need at the time.  Here's a view of the seperate pieces I plan on having, along with the CP cutout which they will fit into.  SO I can have all those different layouts without having to store a half dozen full sized panels.  I only need to make room in the cab (or wherever) for the small seperate pieces that aren't being used.




Is anyone familiar with Dzus type 1/2 turn fasteners?  Are they available in depths deep enough that they'd be usable on a CP?

Wow this looks just like what I've done.  I have small 1U and 2U spacers also.    That wood thing looks exactly like the metal frame I had laser cut too.  Is this something you've built?  I'd love to see pics.

I keep hearing about these Dzus connectors and think they are mis-typing Dsub.    
I wanted to use some kind of half turn screws but they probably wouldn't work with the rack rails I'm using.

You bring up a good point about storing them too.  I haven't figured that out yet although storing the smaller modules is easier than storing the 8 separate panels I had.    

[DougHillman]

Haven't built it yet.  Well, not outta wood at least.  I'm in the process of making a foamboard mockup to finalize the sizes & stuff.  

I've got a friend's cabinet to finish before I can get to mine.   I'll post some pics of both when I get them.

Here's the home page for Dzus Fasteners

http://www.boomerangracing.com/Dzus.html is one of the multitude of places that sells them online.  Donno if they'd be something that can be picked up at a local auto store or not though.  

[GGKoul]

Hello

I just thought I'll add my 2 cents to this discussion.

I'm panel on making modular panels as well, but with a twist.

Mine panel is presently is a 4 player cab with a trackball in the middle and a row of start & coin bottons along the top.  

My plan is to keep my existing trackball in the middle and row of start buttons on the top. Therefore forming a "T" Shape when all modular panels are removed.  See attached picture.  The area in red will be removable.

So I'm planning to connect my modular panels to the existing "T" support mounts on the side and top of the panel.  Therefore I can quickly slide a panel off and on with out losing trackball / Mouse support in Windows and I dont need to purchase a new set of player buttons.


I'm still in the planning stages as I'm still wiring everything is parallel cables.  But I plan on making the following panels.

1)  2 player per side - For 4 player games
2)  1 player per side with 2 joysticks each & six buttons in between the joyticks
3)  1 Rotary per side with 4 buttons per player
4)  1 - 270 Steering Yoke wheel per player & High/Low/Turbo Shifter for player 1
5)  1 - 360 Steering wheels per player
6)  1 - Trackball with 3 buttons per player

Once I get the IPAC & Otipac wired up with parallel cables, I'll start wiring up the panels.

-GGKoul

[Garrett]

Just wanted to say great ideas all around here, it's really cool to see what different people come up with while trying to accomplish the same thing.  In fact, I think it would be a cool idea to have specific section for modular designs here at the byoac site.

Doug - Trust me, I tried for a long time to come up with an idea make my panels totally clean and hide the latches at front, but finally just decided to push forward to get the project done.  I'm still considering some kind of flip down compartment that covers them, maybe something spring loaded so you could just pull it down, attach, and then let it go.

I also thought it would be nice to have the panels kind of snap down into place, with some kind of button for release.  Alas, that's as far as I got, couldn't figure out a way to do it.


I used the metal bar w/hooks idea to attach because I wanted to be able to put any control any place I wanted on the CP, and not be limited by slots or tracks or screw/bolt holes.  It works great, I highly recommend it.

Nice wall of stuf you have there.  I collected vintage figures for a long time.  What's turned out to be a rather costly arcade cabinet was actually funded entirely by selling them all on ebay.

But the pin I will never give up...  

[DougHillman]

GGKoul, very interesting and inventive idea.  Is that 3/4" acrylic you're making your panel out of?  I'm really starting to like the idea of a wholly acrylic panel with some sorta lighting effect.

Garrett, I've got a huge collecton of original figures too.  They're not on display at the moment though.  Easier to display a pegboard wall of packaged ones that set up all the open ones in a diorama.  

I'm heading out to Menard's in a few minutes, chock full of ideas gleaned from the examples & discussion here.   Hopeully I'll get started on the actual CP build within a day or two.

[GGKoul]

It's actually Mirrored Plexi.  Call FABBACK.  Purchased from my local Home Depot.  
It's mounted on 3/4 MDF.  I'm not sure if I'm going to use it.. Because its a pain in the ass to cut and drill thru.  As it cracked when I was drilled thru the plexi.   But thats because I didnt glue it down before drilling

What I going to do is design each panel to look like some original game art.  Therefore each panel to have their own colour layout.  Similar to what Frosticillus did with his rotating panel.

So for the driving panel, it'll look like a Pole Position Panel, for the rotary panel.. like Ikari warriors....  At least thats what I plan on doing.

So it's alittle different then whats been done in the past.

[NoOne=NBA=]

As far as hiding the hardware, a spin-off of both my designs would accomplish that.
If you built the back end so that it got trapped (like my swappable design), and then had the front end screw/pin through a hole just under the front lip, all the hardware would be hidden.

Garrett posted this above:
Just wanted to say great ideas all around here, it's really cool to see what different people come up with while trying to accomplish the same thing.

My take was exactly the opposite.
I was surprised by all the different GOALS posted here for which this same general design (individual removable components attached to a carrier board) seems to be the answer.

My goal for my modular system is to be able to accurately reproduce ANY arcade CP using a minimum of parts to do it.
I am switching to modular (from my current swappable system) mostly because I am tired of playing games with generic panels, or having to play off-center to the screen.
It's a small annoyance that I COULD live with; but I don't HAVE to, so I am changing it.

Many others here seem to be looking for a way to switch between several generic panels, without having to store the full panels that are not in use.

Still others are building semi-permanent controls for certain functions, while incorporating changable controls in other areas.

[telengard]

As far as hiding the hardware, a spin-off of both my designs would accomplish that.
If you built the back end so that it got trapped (like my swappable design), and then had the front end screw/pin through a hole just under the front lip, all the hardware would be hidden.

Garrett posted this above:
Just wanted to say great ideas all around here, it's really cool to see what different people come up with while trying to accomplish the same thing.

My take was exactly the opposite.
I was surprised by all the different GOALS posted here for which this same general design (individual removable components attached to a carrier board) seems to be the answer.

My goal for my modular system is to be able to accurately reproduce ANY arcade CP using a minimum of parts to do it.
I am switching to modular (from my current swappable system) mostly because I am tired of playing games with generic panels, or having to play off-center to the screen.
It's a small annoyance that I COULD live with; but I don't HAVE to, so I am changing it.

That's pretty much my goal too.  After going to Funspot I realized that a big part of playing was the layout of the controls.  Galaga with a centered 4 way joystick just doesn't feel right to me.  I can ( within a small tolerance ) duplicate just about any panel except for the large ones like Gauntlet.  I wanted to keep the look of a vintage cabinet so that was a sacrifice I had to make.  My panel is large enough for the games I like to play.  I've also bought up a bunch of original controls for which I'll put screenshots up soon once they're done.  I just picked up a star wars and spy hunter yoke, an original berzerk joystick, tron joy, and battlezone joys.  I have a bunch of other stuff too.  My favorite to play so far is Beer Tapper with the tapper handle.  Like building the cabinet itself, collecting controls can become an obsessive thing.  

Many others here seem to be looking for a way to switch between several generic panels, without having to store the full panels that are not in use.

Still others are building semi-permanent controls for certain functions, while incorporating changable controls in other areas.

[DougHillman]

Allright after an extended time of no time for cabinet building, I've been able to complete the cab I was hired to build.  

Now I can get back to work on mine.

Anyone finished or started their own modular panels since this thread was last active?

[telengard]

Allright after an extended time of no time for cabinet building, I've been able to complete the cab I was hired to build.  

Now I can get back to work on mine.

Anyone finished or started their own modular panels since this thread was last active?

Is anyone ever done with a modular panel?    

Well, I finished switching over to RJ45s for my modular setup and got around to wiring the OptiPac so I can use my trackball and spinner modules.  I've been playing a lot of Centipede with a perfect layout.  

I haven't seen any new ones yet, but I'm sure some folks are working on them.

~telengard

[Hamselv]

The coolest (finished) modular setup I have seen is Doc's Modular MAME: http://www.beersmith.com/mame/.

Well thought out, well built and well documented

[SirPoonga]

I like jelloslug's rail system.

Doc's system
"Can't cover panels with lexan/art"

That's wrong.  It's possile, you just need a well thought out repeating patern that the edges of each panel match up.  Like a repeating pacman maze that I have seen as a wallpaper.


Jello's rail system is how he over came Doc's con of "Need to secure joysticks - though I overcame this one"

[patrickl]

Doc's system
"Can't cover panels with lexan/art"

That's wrong.  It's possile, you just need a well thought out repeating patern that the edges of each panel match up.  Like a repeating pacman maze that I have seen as a wallpaper.

Well maybe it's not "impossible" to put art on it, but it's very hard to get it right, the seams would show, a generic repeatable pattern is not really nice, it would be very hard to design a more elaborate style of art since the controls are in different locations on the panels ...

I thought someone was working on an art idea though.

I doubt putting Lexan on it would work. That would be a tremendous lot of work and probably look really horrible. The seams would show up really bad.

[SirPoonga]

Unless you made the seems part of your art design then you wouldn't know there were there.

[patrickl]

Unless you made the seems part of your art design then you wouldn't know there were there.

That might hide the seams a bit, but it will still show (you see edges from the cuts and it will also get damaged over time). Besides, I'd guess that will do even more damage to the artwork than the seams themselves. If you put vertical lines on the artwork per module then it will scream out "hey I'm build from modules" more than a flat black cover (with some hard to notice seams). Also, I don't think a (4"?) repeating pattern would look nice.

I just can't think of a good design that would look even better than the black doc uses now, but that could be my lack of imagination  

[SirPoonga]

Like I said, use the seams to your advantage.  Camoflauge them in.  You could route out fake seams.  Make a grid like pattern then.  Combine an art pattern with that.  It wouldn't be that hard to make it look good with some color yet camo the seams.  Would require some good wood working skills.  of course a metal modular CP you could engrave a pattern or something cool

[Doc-]

I like jelloslug's rail system.

Doc's system
"Can't cover panels with lexan/art"

That's wrong.  It's possile, you just need a well thought out repeating patern that the edges of each panel match up.  Like a repeating pacman maze that I have seen as a wallpaper.

Jello's rail system is how he over came Doc's con of "Need to secure joysticks - though I overcame this one"

I agree with you on the artwork.  My panels are covered with black vinyl, but someone on one of these threads pointed out that if you have some artistic tallent it is quite possible to develop a nice pattern and have it printed on vinyl and then install it on all of the panels.  My guess is that if you painted the edges (like I have) it could be made to look quite nice.

As for securing the joysticks - Jello's rail system clearly works great, but mine system does too.  Its a matter of preference.  I like the ease of being able to swap a single panel out by just popping it out.  I'm frequently changing the center panel between spinner and various specialty joysticks.

Going back to the original question - NO - a modular system is never really done.  I have a Pole Position 360 degree wheel that I'm going to mount on a panel for 360 driving games.  I've also ordered a few more buttons for some game specific panels.  

 I still have a list of minor fixes and software issues I want to work through.  It is never really done!

Doc-

[NoOne=NBA=]

Mine keeps getting LESS done as I go.

My idea for the artwork is going to be something along the lines of the Nintendo vs. art.
A grid area in the middle of each module, so it looks like the art is SUPPOSED to be in 4 pieces.

The seams themselves will hide pretty well with a black "granite" paint job like the front of my cab.

I'm not really that concerned about it LOOKING modular though.
That is the main focus of my cab, and looks alot less "out of place" than a frankenpanel to me.

[DougHillman]

I haven't put too much thought into the CPO design yet, but it's probably about time to do so.  

Early ideas are to have a coupla lines that run across the top & bottom of each peice to tie the modules together with some sorta contained graphic in the middle of each piece.   Probably a controller surrounding type graphic such as the one we used on the cab I just completed.  http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=23028    

 

[SirPoonga]

As for securing the joysticks - Jello's rail system clearly works great, but mine system does too.  Its a matter of preference.  I like the ease of being able to swap a single panel out by just popping it out.  I'm frequently changing the center panel between spinner and various specialty joysticks.

True, I didn't elaborate and why I like jello's rail system.  Yours works, but it will only work with a specific setup.  you need a lip to put the panels under. While with the rail system it wouldn't matter how your cabinet was designed.

I'm not saying yours is bad, I'm just saying why I like jelloslug's.

[goofy]

This was a great discussion/brainstorming of Modular panel ideas. I'd love to hear more about this stuff as it's the direction I'm leaning for my first project. I've seen Doc's panel and I think I like that one the best although my concern is the panel widths, dowel holes and dowels all have to be so precise otherwise you get gaps or other problems. So, I'm still looking for another idea.

I've been thinking about slots the you can slide the panels into and then something to snug them all together. That still leaves securing the other two directions to deal with (basically you have to secure side-to-side, front-to-back and up-and-down).

If there are any other modular control panel designers out there, post links here to your projects, home page or forum discussion.

Thanks and keep it going.

[telengard]

This was a great discussion/brainstorming of Modular panel ideas. I'd love to hear more about this stuff as it's the direction I'm leaning for my first project. I've seen Doc's panel and I think I like that one the best although my concern is the panel widths, dowel holes and dowels all have to be so precise otherwise you get gaps or other problems. So, I'm still looking for another idea.

I've been thinking about slots the you can slide the panels into and then something to snug them all together. That still leaves securing the other two directions to deal with (basically you have to secure side-to-side, front-to-back and up-and-down).

If there are any other modular control panel designers out there, post links here to your projects, home page or forum discussion.

Thanks and keep it going.

I have a modular panel and I don't have to worry about precise cuts as much.  I use standard rack mount blanker panel parts which are very standard.  They fit together perfectly and are *extremely* sturdy.  Being secure was numero uno for me since I tend to be a little hard on the controls.  The only downside is that they need to be screwed down which doesn't bother me.  Takes about 1-2 minutes tops to change to a whole new panel now that I'm using ethernet cables to plug the modules in.  For the flexibility and sturdiness it's well worth it, for me at least.

I've also gone for as much authenticity as I can for controls buying old unique stuff like the Tapper handle joystick, Galaga 2 way, etc.  I couldn't figure out a way to do the artwork, plus I have *zero* artistic ability so I just use black pica vinyl and to me it looks quite good.

The other modular setups are very good and creative and there are probably more ideas folks haven't though of yet.

Here's my link   http://users.adelphia.net/~bsturk/mame.html

Good luck with your cabinet!

[Doc-]

This was a great discussion/brainstorming of Modular panel ideas. I'd love to hear more about this stuff as it's the direction I'm leaning for my first project. I've seen Doc's panel and I think I like that one the best although my concern is the panel widths, dowel holes and dowels all have to be so precise otherwise you get gaps or other problems. So, I'm still looking for another idea.

I shared many of the same concerns you had when I started.  In fact, I almost stopped several times and went back to my static panel because I thought this whole thing would never work.  I also thought I was never going to be able to secure the panels without mounting screws.  However, once I had the dowel rails installed and fit the first 5-6 panels into the rails, I realized that this crazy idea actually might work.  It did.

I have come up with a modification that can make the modular panels easier to build.  If you put a front dowel rail in that is perpendicular to the panels (just like the back one is) it makes it much easier to drill the panels since all panel holes are now vertical into the panel.

On my original case, I could not implement this idea because I had pre-existing pinball buttons that interfered.

As for the rest, you do need access to a table saw to cut the panels, but once you set the table saw up for a given panel size, you can run them all through in a few minutes.  If you can borrow a table saw and mark the wood in advance you could probably cut all of the panels in an hour or two at most.  Obviously you cut the panel just shy of the desired width (say 1/16" less than the desired width).

I know that the holes can be cut without a drill press, since I had to do so for several of the larger panels (my tiny drill press was not deep enough).  The key here is to carefully measure the holes and then start with your smallest drill size to drill an accurate pilot hole.  Then move to a medium one, and finally the full drill size.  Use some tape wrapped around the drill bits to make sure you don't drill too deep.

Fitting the panels is also worth some discussion.  The vast majority of the panels don't fit perfectly the first time you pop them in.  I used a pencil to mark the holes that did not match well and then a drill bit to auger out the holes a bit until I arrived at a good fit.  It takes a little bit of patience at first, but by the end I could fit a panel very quickly with no slop.

I'm sure there are many other ways to do this - (there are 5-6 other examples cited in this thread) but I wanted wood panels that I could make in the garage and remove from the system with no tools.  Hopefully someone can take the basic idea and simplify it even further.

[spidermonkey]

Paige, Q-bert sticks were made by Suzo. Look on the underside of the mounting plate. It should have this stamped into it "STC ROTTERDAM 22-0265"  Also, the black ball top on a Q-bert stick is much smaller then the typical balltops.

[neuromancer]

You could simplify things a bit.

For instance, the T&F panels will probalby only be used with each other, so you can make them fill the space.

The red joystick modules always have at least an inch on the left, so you could make them an inch wider and not need that many more spacers.

Bob

[l8nite]

Anybody considered using magnets to secure the front portion?

Anybody considered using dowels or "edge slots" on the sides of their modules so that they can achieve a really snug fit and help secure the entire panel?

Has anybody built a modular 4-player panel?

These are a few deas I had while thinking through my panel design.  I'm still looking at the best ways to do this and trying to come up with something easy to swap and nice to look at.

Regarding modular artwork, my initial impulse was to use a simple color scheme and do the standard art (such as arrows around joysticks, starbursts on buttons, etc) and then a very simple horizontal 'stripe' pattern that could have areas that moved up and down within a single panel.  Look at the art on the front edge of a dig-dug control panel for an example of what I'm thinking about.

Dig-dug artwork
http://irc.topgamers.net/~l8nite/img_3223.jpg

I think if the right colors were chosen, it could look very tasteful and still retain the ability to move around the art.  If you have varying width segments, making it symmetrical might be more of a problem, in which case you could go with half triangles on each panel that alternated a few colors and blended together (think like the atari logo).  If anybody wants I can do a small mockup of that idea.

[patrickl]

Has anybody built a modular 4-player panel?

I think the "star wars wing type polyester CP" that someone was working on a while ago was 4 player and (sort of) modular.

BTW Wasn't there someone who build a whole cab from lego? Now that's modular  

[telengard]

Anybody considered using magnets to secure the front portion?

Anybody considered using dowels or "edge slots" on the sides of their modules so that they can achieve a really snug fit and help secure the entire panel?

Has anybody built a modular 4-player panel?

These are a few deas I had while thinking through my panel design.  I'm still looking at the best ways to do this and trying to come up with something easy to swap and nice to look at.

Regarding modular artwork, my initial impulse was to use a simple color scheme and do the standard art (such as arrows around joysticks, starbursts on buttons, etc) and then a very simple horizontal 'stripe' pattern that could have areas that moved up and down within a single panel.  Look at the art on the front edge of a dig-dug control panel for an example of what I'm thinking about.

Dig-dug artwork
http://irc.topgamers.net/~l8nite/img_3223.jpg

I think if the right colors were chosen, it could look very tasteful and still retain the ability to move around the art.  If you have varying width segments, making it symmetrical might be more of a problem, in which case you could go with half triangles on each panel that alternated a few colors and blended together (think like the atari logo).  If anybody wants I can do a small mockup of that idea.

Unless the magnets were either really powerful or they are used as a secondary securing mechanism I'm not sure how they could work.   I'm having a hard time using a magnet to hold an optical board in place so I don't have to re-do a module.   The dowel thing sounds like a good idea but lining up the holes sounds difficult.  I don't think I've seen a modular 4 player panel yet.

Your artwork idea sounds very cool, I'd like to see it.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I didn't build a whole cab out of Legos, but I did build a Tron handle with them awhile back.



Telengard,

Why are you holding the optic card in place with magnets?
I'm curious if it's to swap it out between modules, or just to keep it in place on a single module.
If it's just to keep it in place on a single module, I've had really good luck with the 3M foam tape.
I've used that almost exclusively on a bunch of "can I get this working" temporary projects that I've done recently.
I'm actually planning on using it PERMANENTLY to mount some of Oscar's boards to the Ivan Stewart's Off Road wheels I bought awhile back.
They used the curved Atari-style optic cards, and the mount for them works PERFECTLY if you foam tape an Oscar board to it.

[telengard]

I didn't build a whole cab out of Legos, but I did build a Tron handle with them awhile back.



Telengard,

Why are you holding the optic card in place with magnets?
I'm curious if it's to swap it out between modules, or just to keep it in place on a single module.
If it's just to keep it in place on a single module, I've had really good luck with the 3M foam tape.
I've used that almost exclusively on a bunch of "can I get this working" temporary projects that I've done recently.
I'm actually planning on using it PERMANENTLY to mount some of Oscar's boards to the Ivan Stewart's Off Road wheels I bought awhile back.
They used the curved Atari-style optic cards, and the mount for them works PERFECTLY if you foam tape an Oscar board to it.

It's sorta a long story.  2 years ago I bought a steering wheel assembly from Oscar (he doesn't carry these anymore).  It required the use of a USB mouse hack which would be a pain to use w/ my OptiPac.  So I ordered an encoder board from Oscar.  Works great.  The problem is the footprint is different from the original optics so the bracket that holds the optical board needed to be moved so that the wheel could reach the optics.  I'm lazy so I've been using magnet tape to hold the bracket.  I should *really* make another hole to attach the bracket with.

Are you planning on making a mold with your lego Tron stick?    

[Doc-]

Anybody considered using magnets to secure the front portion?

Anybody considered using dowels or "edge slots" on the sides of their modules so that they can achieve a really snug fit and help secure the entire panel?

Has anybody built a modular 4-player panel?

These are a few deas I had while thinking through my panel design.  I'm still looking at the best ways to do this and trying to come up with something easy to swap and nice to look at.

Magnets might work if they were very strong as a secondary connecter for joysticks.  You would still need dowels or something in the front rail to prevent sliding side to side.

Edge slots or dowels would work fine, but might make it a lot harder to swap just one panel at a time.  I frequently swap a single joystick or spinner out without touching the rest of the panel.  I don't think they are really needed if you have a dowel system like mine or the screw down system that some others use.

I do have a friend building a 4 player modular system based on my design.  He's started cutting wood for some of the panels - I will let you know how it turns out.

I think the artwork would work just fine - particularly if you printed it on sticky vinyl, and had a repeating pattern or pattern centered around the controls (arrows, starburst, etc).  Unfortunately I have no artistic talent whatsoever.  The only downside is that you would need to print quite a few panels (there is lots of area on a modular panel as you add more modules!).

[ChadTower]

Isn't a really strong magnet that close to your PC and monitor a big giant no-no?  

[l8nite]

Well I was thinking of it more on the front of your CP, in which case it's far away enough that I doubt it would cause any interference.  In either case, it seems the general consensus is that it wouldn't be as effective as a system which secured the board into place.

Hey Doc, if you're still following this discussion and your friend has any plans for his design on the 4-player cp I'd love to see them if he's willing.   I plan to start cutting for my cabinet this weekend, so I'm trying to nail down (har har) some of the finer details of my design to figure out how much wood I'll have to buy.

Thanks,
Shaun

[Doc-]

Shaun,
  I believe he was planning something like mine, except that he obviously has a control panel that hangs over on both sides much like the common 4 player panels.

  If I understand him correctly, he intends to make all four players modular.  I believe the basic design is to use two rails under the panel (like mine) along with a monitor bezel piece that is extended to secure the rear edge of the panels.  He then intends some rounded edges mounted permanently on the sides to form edges for the modular sections in the middle.  The dowel rails and method for securing panels will be the same as the system I used, with the exception of the front dowel rail which will be a separate rail mounted at a slight angle to make it easier to drill all of the panel holes vertically.

Cheers!
Doc-

[l8nite]

Excellent!  That's funny - I was thinking about the problem of having a really square looking CP if I did this myself and came to the same conclusion that a couple of 2" wide 'wings' on the ends wouldn't look too bad at all.  They could even contain cup holders or other wackiness.

I'm not sure how extending the monitor bezel would work in my current design since it's actually inset to the panels, but I'm gonna toy around with some other edge-mounting ideas.  Hopefully I'll have something mapped out and ready to go for me Saturday morning

Thanks for your great input and design, it's really inspired me to go the extra mile in designing this thing

Shaun

[Xiaou2]

 Didnt read the whole thread.. but I think I know whats going on...

 I had an interesting idea I thought Id share about this...

 Make a pull out drawer system.  You then pop in the enclosed sections in the order you want... then close the drawer till its flush with the cabnet...

 Under the drawer... youd have the Happs spring loaded control panel clamps.   These things are super strong when installed propperly.  

 With only the 2 hidden but easily accessible clamps, the pressure should hold all the mini sections in place without any harm to them, yet will not budge even with the strongest of bashings.

 The drawer itself would have the nice rounded corner side edges, and or a front wrist rest, ect.
 
 To keep from having issues with some sections being a little longer than others (and not locking in some of the panels)... you could have foam or rubber inside the front of the drawer, that would compress enough to accomodate any accuracy deviances... yet still remain strong in holding power.

 Im not sure if people who have made modulars have enclosed each section... but I do think its a good idea... as setting the sections down without protection could lead to damages.

 You may also want to make a modular parts drawer that in below the control panel drawer... that stores all the modules. (but fully closes flush with the cab so as to be completely hidden)

[l8nite]

I've already decided and designed on making the coin-door panel a pull-out drawer thanks to the excellent idea/work of someone else on this forum (I saw the cab picture and was like "sweet!").

I'm not sure I understand fully what you're talking about with regards to how the clamps would work though.  

[l8nite]

Me again,

I've started building my cabinet!  I haven't actually got to building the control panel yet, but I'm coming up on it quickly (and all my buttons arrived today).

I've been dreaming up mounting ideas for my modular panel and whatnot, but I usually come back to pretty much what doc did for his.  The only thing is, I don't have a monitor bezel to put the back lip under.  I assume the only force this helps prevent is when you're pulling back on a joystick or rolling down on a trackball.  Do you really put enough pressure to lift the back of the board up?  I might end up moving the dowels on the back rail sideways and have the control module push into them and then rest on a rail that goes across.

Also, regarding artwork... I've come up with a few basic design sketches that I like (which would work with swapping), but I'm wondering about actually applying it to the control panel modules.  Should I stick with the 5/8" MDF and then put art + lexan on top?  Will the edges of the lexan look completely crap?  

Is printed vinyl a viable solution?  I tend to have sweaty palms, will the vinyl hold up to the moisture and movement of playing?  Can you get laminate custom-made with artwork? etc..

Thanks in advance!
Shaun
(edit, do edits bump? I hope so.)
(I guess not.)

[l8nite]

Small bump - Hoping to get some clarification before the weekend is out  If you can just point me to a FAQ or something I can look there.. I've searched the boards quite a bit, but this search interface is horrid.

[neuromancer]

Instead of printed vinyl, I would print on paper, and have it laminated with THICK plastic on the top, and self adhesive on the back. It looks and feels like the die printed plastic of the 80s, but it's a lot cheaper.

Bob

[Xiaou2]

heres a rough proto for a spring pressure clamp locking system.  

 Yellow = The happs spring loaded control panel clamps
 Lt Blue = Cabnet and Bolts
 Red = Pressure plate (needs some refinements)
 Green = special slide drawer
 Purple = Controller with shell surround
 Dk Blue = wire from controller & inside cab (plus connectors)
 Purple = 2*4 to mount spring clamp hooks to

 

[neuromancer]

I've got it.

All you need to do is build each module into a box instead of a panel.

If the "panel" is a box 3 to 4 inches deep, then all you need to do is build a box into the cabinet to recieve them.

You will be able to pull them from the cabinet with no mechanism and without effort, but it will be impossible to move them through game play.

Bob

[Xiaou2]

 almost..

  you see... if you didnt have a locking mechanism in place, youd might end up pulling the control boxes upwards at times... possibly dislodging the wires.

  Thats why Ive designed a spring pressure system.  It clamps the control boxes with a slight pressure so that they will not fly out or rattle arround.

  Building the mini boxes will also help to protect the assemblies from  damages durring transit and swaps.

[l8nite]

Seems like a pretty solid idea, what are you building the control module boxes out of?  Seems like using even 1/2" MDF or plywood is still taking up quite a huge portion of the space in your 'receiver box'.

Could you get the same benefit (protect components and provide some support) by just building two sides of the box (front and back)?

I'm about to start building my modules this weekend (got most of the cab finished this past weekend, woo hoo), so the more discussion that happens here the better!

-Shaun

[Xiaou2]

heh,  I just designed this to help out : )   My panel idea will be something different.  I had modular ideas long ago -  but then I came up with the rotating control panel idea.

 If you think that the 1/2 mdf will be too thick... you could take thin metal and bend its edges over a corner - hammering it to 90 degree angle - and create a nice little box  using this method.    That, or maybe you can find a nice premade bo or plastic container that will work as well.  

 However... just remember that the pressure you squeeze on the boxes may ruin them if not strong enuff... but you could make it  so  that only the top part is pressured... or something  like that.

 4 out of 6 sides box?  Might work well enuff.  Make sure to use corse thread drywall screws if using mdf else screws will  strip out and assembly wont hold  together well.

 The best thing to do is to plan very well.  Make many drawings and mockups...  before you start to build.  This will save you lots of money from mistakes, failures, ect..  and overall you will be more pleased with the results - which is much better than looking at the thing  saying 'i wish i hadnt done it this way'.