AMAZING - a machine shop online

[mattv]

Check out this place. they will make ANYTHING to your design. This is amazing.

http://www.emachineshop.com/

Replacement bits for your pinball machine that no-one makes any more? Stainless steel joystick handles for other models? Cogs, brackets anything at all.

I'm still trying to absorb what this means. Basically I now have the means to assemble any crazy damn thing I want. have been wanting to make a robot for ages but had no way to make the hundreds of parts needed, now I do!

The fat dude at the locak machine shop will never laugh at me and say they only do runs of 50 or more again!

And this is a place that will etch custom circut boards to your design. too cool
http://www.pad2pad.com/

[Tahnok]

Looks expensive! If you were to buy a whole bunch of single parts it would end up costing you a few hundred.

[ericball]

And this is a place that will etch custom circut boards to your design. too cool
http://www.pad2pad.com/

There are a bunch of places which will do small runs of PCBs.

[Hoagie_one]

Check out this place. they will make ANYTHING to your design. This is amazing.

http://www.emachineshop.com/

Replacement bits for your pinball machine that no-one makes any more? Stainless steel joystick handles for other models? Cogs, brackets anything at all.

except im clueless on how to design a part with thier software

[bdsjake]

And this is a place that will etch custom circut boards to your design. too cool
http://www.pad2pad.com/

someone should take Oscar's ipac led driver board and input it into pad2pad.  

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/led/index.shtml

I started to try it, but got lost trying to match up oscar's components with the ones listed in pad2pad's software.  Would be interesting to see the quote.

[GameDork]

I work in a machine shop!!  We do "government work" all the time. I have made/worked on many pieces for my cabinents.

[deibit]

Anyone knows if its posible to make an steel control panel (with punched holes) with this tool? I tried to make one but the software tells me that the cost to build it its around $1900 so I think Im doing something wrong  

[danny_galaga]

thats brilliant. they even have injection molding  

[dagintm]

And this is a place that will etch custom circut boards to your design. too cool
http://www.pad2pad.com/

someone should take Oscar's ipac led driver board and input it into pad2pad.  

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/led/index.shtml

I started to try it, but got lost trying to match up oscar's components with the ones listed in pad2pad's software.  Would be interesting to see the quote.

I would also be interested if someone is able do this.

[crashwg]

Holy cow, this place is a joke!  I DLed the program and put in the dimensions of a 2" corner bracket with no holes in it (commonly used in DDR hardpads) and just 1 came out to be $90!  For 16 it was like $170.

[GameDork]

Holy cow, this place is a joke!  I DLed the program and put in the dimensions of a 2" corner bracket with no holes in it (commonly used in DDR hardpads) and just 1 came out to be $90!  For 16 it was like $170.

Do you need these or were you just checking it out? If you do need some brackets, I could make them for alot less than that!!

Ckeck this thing out I made:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3689170475&ssPageName=STRK

[crashwg]

How much is "alot less"?

Basically what I need is a standard 2" corner bracket, pretty much the exact same thing as the ones made by Stanley but with either no holes or just two holes but not in the same place.

Pretty much all it consists of is a 2x2x4 triangle with two 2x(3/4 - thickness of material).  I need it to be stainless steel.  The thickness of the metal of the stanley ones is perfect.  Oh, and the price for 16 & 32 would be awesome.

[GameDork]

How much is "alot less"?

Basically what I need is a standard 2" corner bracket, pretty much the exact same thing as the ones made by Stanley but with either no holes or just two holes but not in the same place.

Pretty much all it consists of is a 2x2x4 triangle with two 2x(3/4 - thickness of material).  I need it to be stainless steel.  The thickness of the metal of the stanley ones is perfect.  Oh, and the price for 16 & 32 would be awesome.

Eh, i can't do the stainless steel. It's pretty hard to come by where i work, sorry.

[crashwg]

Nooooooooo!  Please oh please, I need these things.  Is there no way you could just buy a sheet?  Would that cost too much?

On the other hand, with no basic knowledge of galvinization nor knowing where you work and the capabilities/resources you have...  Having galvinized zinc or something similar in looks would work too.  I just need it to look close to the panels on my pad and not rust.

[GameDork]

Nooooooooo!  Please oh please, I need these things.  Is there no way you could just buy a sheet?  Would that cost too much?

On the other hand, with no basic knowledge of galvinization nor knowing where you work and the capabilities/resources you have...  Having galvinized zinc or something similar in looks would work too.  I just need it to look close to the panels on my pad and not rust.

Stainless is pretty expensive.

Yeah, I could check on buying some from a steel supplier.

[Gamecab]

And this is a place that will etch custom circut boards to your design. too cool
http://www.pad2pad.com/

someone should take Oscar's ipac led driver board and input it into pad2pad.  

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/led/index.shtml

I started to try it, but got lost trying to match up oscar's components with the ones listed in pad2pad's software.  Would be interesting to see the quote.

I'll input the board for you.  Wanna take bets on how much the price would be for 1?

[vputz]

Actually, a fellow where  I work had some stuff, can't remember the brand, which essentially allowed you to print a circuit diagram on a printer and easily transfer it to a board for etching, making do-it-yourself circuits a good deal easier.

Basically, you use a laser printer to print your circuit design on a sort of water-soluble paper.  You then use an iron (yes, iron-on circuits!) to melt the toner onto the etchable board  But now your paper is stuck to it, so you soak it in water to remove the paper.  Now you have a circuit design on your board--dunk it in acid to etch, and you're ready to roll--scrub the toner off with acetone and you have purty copper traces ready to go.

Here's an article on the subject: http://www.qsl.net/ve2emm/pcb/pcb2e.html

Haven't tried it myself, but looks kinda fun.  I just used protoboard for small projects like my IR controller.

-->VPutz

[kldavis]

You guys who are getting outrageous prices must not be reading the instructions and tips about keeping costs down or you may not be understanding the proper process for building your item.  I put together a metal control panel that is an exact replica of the metal control panel from my Street Fighter cabinet made from aluminum with a 23.75 width, 14 large holes, 10 screw holes, two slots, and three bends, and it came out to ~$140, which I think is pretty decent.

Of course, I made the exact replica initially so that I can now futz with it to add holes for trackball or spinner, which I'm currently lacking.  I've been waiting for something like this for 2 years.  Wish I'd found it sooner.  :-)

Kyle

[mairsil]

Has anyone else been able to construct anything out of thick wood (i.e. 0.75" MDF) and get a quote from it? I can only get it to accept a thick piece of wood by using a 3-axis mill; trust me, that is not the most cost effective way of making a replacement control panel. The instructions claim that they can laser cut wood, but I could not choose wood with a laser cut part.

Sent them an email almost a week ago about it, but have not heard back from them. That really does not bode well for a machine shop like this.

[bdsjake]

I'll input the board for you.  Wanna take bets on how much the price would be for 1?

you think it would be under $50 at least?

[MasTequila]

How do they make ball-tops, are they injection molded?  Could this place be used to make some custom joystick shafts and handles?

~Mas

[kldavis]

Has anyone else been able to construct anything out of thick wood (i.e. 0.75" MDF) and get a quote from it?

mairsil, you can't laser cut it because it's too think.  MDF would have to be .354" or less in order to laser cut.  I was able to lathe it and apply a few other machines as well, so I'm not sure why you're only able to mill it.

[mairsil]

mairsil, you can't laser cut it because it's too think.  MDF would have to be .354" or less in order to laser cut.  I was able to lathe it and apply a few other machines as well, so I'm not sure why you're only able to mill it.

It all depends on what model laser cutter they have and what material they are willing to run through it. Our machine shop had a Trumpf that could do 0.75" hardened steel, so it is quite possible that thick MDF could be cut as well. My problem was not so much that thickness, but that I could not choose any type of wood when using a laser cut part, even though their help files said that wood was a compatible material for the laser.

I finally received a reply from the company about the problem and they stated that they would correct it in the next release. Though, they did not answer my question about what the maximum thickness they could cut was.

It is not really important, I was just playing around to see how much it would cost to replace the CP top on my SFA3 machine (converted from a Pit Fighter cab). CP's fine, but when they drilled the 6-button holes, they must have been guessing. Playable, but annoying sometimes.

[Pad2Pad]

You may provide your design files and list of components for assembly to Pad2Pad for manual quoting.

[Pieman2004]

Some of you might find cheaper pieces from a sheet metal fabricator. They would not be able to do joystick shafts and stuff like that. but for control panels and brackets, they can make them pretty easily out of whatever type metal you'd want.

My father owns a sheetmetal shop so when I build my cab I may do it out of metal, but then it would have a hollow metal sound to it so I may just put metal on top.

anyways I'm new here really and just saw this thread and thought I would let you all know.

[Mameotron]

Hey crashwg, did you ever get your stainless steel corner brackets?

A few years ago I used to order stainless steel blanks from a manufacturer pretty cheap.  They were 2" wide, 1/8" thick, and from 8" to 16" long.  They had six 1/4" holes drilled and countersunk at one end.  They were about $12 - $16 each, depending on length.

You could probably have a local welding shop make these into brackets for you cheap if you supply the material.  Labor rates around where I live are about $60 an hour, so as many as they can do in an hour (hopefully at least 6) would make your price $10 plus what you paid for the material.

[GameDork]

Hey crashwg, did you ever get your stainless steel corner brackets?

A few years ago I used to order stainless steel blanks from a manufacturer pretty cheap.  They were 2" wide, 1/8" thick, and from 8" to 16" long.  They had six 1/4" holes drilled and countersunk at one end.  They were about $12 - $16 each, depending on length.

You could probably have a local welding shop make these into brackets for you cheap if you supply the material.  Labor rates around where I live are about $60 an hour, so as many as they can do in an hour (hopefully at least 6) would make your price $10 plus what you paid for the material.

I made him a joystick mounting plate and a couple of these DDR brackets to test out, not sure if the brackets  are thick enough yet..........

[crashwg]

Just so everyone else knows (I have already been in contact with gamedork) I recieved the afformentioned corner brackets and mounting plate.

The metal used in the first test run of corner brackets seemed a little thin to me and we are currently working out exactly what thickness would be best and all is going well in that department.  Brandon has been an outstanding person to work with and knows how to keep a customer.

The mounting plate he has made for me looks great and I can't wait to put it to good use.  I designed it myself on autocad one night for my t-stick plus and shortly after came into contact with Brandon.  He quickly finished the product after I had given him the files and I recieved it very shortly after that.  It looks outstanding and he even painted it.  I haven't had the time to do all the routing that is necesarry to install it yet so I can't attest to how it functions, but how much function does it realy have anyway?  The only requirement it has is that the welds don't break...

Anyways, if that wasn't detailed enough for you I will be posting a full review of the mounting plate and the corner brackets in the next week (plate) or two (corners).

I'm pretty sure GameDork (Brandon) is willing to do other stuff similar to what he's doing for me, but I'd suggest waiting till the review is in, I don't want your project putting mine on the back burner ya know...  

And if you too would like to have a mounting plate for your t-stick, I half no problems with Brandon using my plans again.