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What about this trackball mounting method?

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benwillcox:

I just got my 3" Happ Golden Tee trackball from Todd at TNT amusements ($30) and am thinking about how I can mount it. I was going to order a mounting plate, but I'm now wondering if there may be an alternative way....

My CP is 9mm MDF which will have 3mm polycarbonate or clear acrylic over it, artwork in the middle. There will be no bolts or screws visible on the top at all. I guess the goal is to get the ball as high out of the CP as possible, which is why the mounting plate is useful.

However I'm thinking that why not ditch the top half of the assembly all together, that will make the ball sit higher in the cp..??!

Here is how I think it will look (crappy drawing alert!):

Standard mounting with mounting plate:




Top cover of trackball removed:



Trackball mounted to CP using countersunk screws from above:




Anyone see any problems with this method?

Ben

simplygriff:

Wouldn't that leave the bearings exposed to dust and such.  Granted, not a lot but more than not having the cover.  I dunno just my $.02
-G

patrickl:

I'm planning on doing something like that too. Nannuu's handy work in the Mini-Multi-Williams hybrid project announcement thread gave me the idea. Granted that iball is not an arcade trackball, but I liked the idea. You don't need a mounting plate. The ball will (or can) sit higher (which I like). It might a bit more difficult to  get a nice hole routed.

rchadd:

get the mounting plate - for sake of 8 quid its not worth the hastle of mounting it any other way.

NoOne=NBA=:

If you are going to do it that way, you need to take into account that the hole in the CP will need to be bevelled to keep the ball from just falling out, or from having too much gap around it.

I did that when I mounted my I-ball because there weren't any other options for mounting it, but opted for the mounting plate on my Happ's, for ease and appearance.

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