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| Major Havoc roller repro - need input |
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| OSCAR:
I just posted this message in RGVAC and I would also like to get your opinions, too. Granted this type of specialized controller has a very limited market, but since I am very likely to only do a single run, I might as well make it the best I can... I've had my shop drawings for the MH roller complete and on the shelf for about a year now, but because I've been super busy lately I never got around to having a batch made. In the coming weeks it looks like I will have some free time, so I am revisiting this project. Before I just send out my drawings for fab, I would like to give you guys a little heads up on what I want to do, and get some opinions from you all to see if I am heading down the right path with this. One of the other reasons I haven't made any of these yet was because I wasn't sure how I wanted to fab the top plate. The problem I've been stumbling over is how to have the ears (pieces on each end of the roller) integrated into the top plate. I want to make these available as economically as possible, but having the ears machined as a single piece with the top plate is not very cost effective. First off, I'm planning on having the entire top plate machined from aluminum stock and black anodized. So I would have to start with a 1/2" thick plate, and then hog down about 95% of that to about 1/16" thick. So not only would I be paying for all the material that ends up on the shop floor, but I would also be paying for the time to put it there. Most authentic, but also the most costly approach. To make the assembly cheaper, I then thought about eliminating the ears altogether. That would make the assembly look like the prototype photos on Clay's site. This approach would be considerably cheaper as I could have the entire top plate CNC laser cut with just some c'sinking and tapping. Another idea that came to me was to have the ears laser cut separately and then screwed into the top plate with some c'sunk flathead screws. Again, these pieces would be black anodized aluminum to match the top plate. This would preserve the look and functionality of the ears, and should be more economical than machining the entire top plate out of a single piece of aluminum plate. Here are some screen shots of my shop drawings to help clarify: 1-piece machined top plate section http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/3-top_plate-original.gif Ear pieces screwed to top plate http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/2-ears-detail.gif http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/4-assembly1.gif Shop detail drawing http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/1-roller_shop-detail.gif Another thing I am looking to do is to make an adjustable and universal optic board bracket. My design would allow for an original Atari, Happ, or my own optic board to be used with the controller. I would ship the controller with my own optic board attached, but the customer could put their own Atari or Happ board on it if they chose to do so. For those not familiar with my optic board, it is electrically compatible with the original Atari board but the pinout and pin header are both different. Screen shot showing both an Atari and OC optic board on the bracket. http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/5-opticbracket-assy1.gif Side view of the adjustable bracket (in yellow) http://www.oscarcontrols.com/mhavoc/6-opticbracket-assy2.gif Those are the only cosmetically-obvious changes I'm considering making to the original design. Of course I will be maintaining the classic green roller and it will have the dual shaft & ball bearings, as well as have the correct mounting hole dimensions so it fits a MH cp. The housing itself would be cut from galv sheet and CNC bent, and the bearing retainers would be machined from CRS stock. I would appreciate any feedback on my proposed designs and I am certainly open to different ideas, anything that would help get this off the ground. The most helpful info I'm looking from you guys would be: 1. What would be the make or break sell price for these? Obviously I want to make them as cost effective as possible, and I am not looking to make a lot of $$ off these. This is a project that I just want to do, and not for monetary gain. Quite honestly, I would most likely just tack on about 5% over fab costs. It is very likely that I have to go out of the country next week due to my real job for about 7 days, and I am planning on sending out the controller details for quotes when I get back. 2. Which ear design would be most desirable; one piece machined plate, screw-on ears, or no ears at all? Based on my experience, I would say that the cost would go down on the above choices, respectively. Just to pull numbers out of the air, let's say that the one-piece design came back with a complete assembly sell price of $110, would the screw-on ears be a better option if that design was $90? Those numbers are totally hypothetical, I'm just looking for opinions now if how the ears are mounted to the top plate would be a major impact, or if they could be possibly eliminated altogether if the price was right? I anticipate this would be a one-time run of about 50 units. Maybe give or take a little based on the pricing I get back from the fabricators. I am not considering doing a pre-order on these. If the pricing comes back on these and I think it looks favorable, I am just going to go ahead with it. For anyone that is wondering, the number range I have in my head is around $90 - $100 for a complete unit, but I would love to get that number down if I can. That's why I'm asking you guys if you have any ideas to help out. Thanks! Kelsey |
| saint:
Original controller for those (like me) who didn't know what it looked like: (Image from Basement Arcade btw) |
| OSCAR:
Thanks, John. :) Here's the link to Clay's prototype that referred to in the post, too: http://www.multigame.com/mh_controller.html |
| sirwoogie:
I remember when basementarcade sold these. The KLOV site doesn't have a great picture. See this one: edit: See above posts for images They don't have any more, but they did list $125 as the sale at the time. If you get under that, you'll have people happy. As for the design, I would use a screw-on ear style. Gives the most options for CP design. I don't have any great advice on the machinging aspects other than inferring what the layout will be. Your universal bracket idea is intriguing. I look forward to seeing the finished product. |
| spidermonkey:
YESSS! my wish may finally come true ! :D. Oscar, I too like the screw on ears as well. I don't want to know how much a one peice machined plate with the ears integrated into it would cost as I'm sure the amount wouldn't be pretty. A one peice unit is definately a custom request so you would be paying a premium to the machinist just for his sheer "know how" and labor. A screw on ear design however would probably be easier to accomplish for an average joe and the machinist knows this. Designing the mounting plate with seperate screw on roller supports/ears doesn't demand nearly as much machining skills as a one peice unit so the machinist should be able to give you a more reasonable price since his skills won't be tested as much. Man I hope this really does happen. Count me in for one. :) |
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