3" HAPP trackball mounting with Lexan

[elfman12]

Hey all, I'm ready to mount my HAPP 3" trackball. I have the flush plate, and was thinking of routing out (from the top) a very slight recess for it to sit in, to make it flush with the CP.

BTW, it's a 1/2 MDF panel, and I'll be putting artwork and a 1/4" lexan on top of this. Which brings me to the question: should I mount the trackball higher than this, seeing that the lexan will take away of bit of it's height if mounted as I mentioned above? Should I, instead, not route the top of the CP and, instead, route the BOTTOM of the LEXAN where it fits?

Also, if I route a slight recess in the lexan, will the resulting area look 'cloudy' or in some way weird? I know that straight cut outs of lexan are fine, but I haven't tried any partial routing.

Thanks for any input. (I'm just full of questions... hehe)

[Frostillicus]

Just mount the plate on top of the lexan.  It's a good protector for both your hands and the CP when you get mad crazy on the trackball.  Lexan scratches - so in no time at all you might be looking at a cloudy bit of space around the trackball anyways just from the scratches.  

I mounted my 3" happ trackball on top of lexan and it looks and feels great, with no loss of height whatsoever.  You can always try with a spare piece first, then go from there.

[u_rebelscum]

I don't have lexan, but if you have the high lip (with 1/4" lip), you might be able to route 1/16" off the bottom of the lexan so: 1/16" mounting plate + (1/4" lexan - 1/16" route) = the 1/4" lip, and the trackball would be flush with the top of the lexan.  But I don't know how the routed lexan would look, plus Frostillicus' comment of lexan scratching anyway.  If you have the older normal TB with 1/16" lip, you will have to mount it on top of the lexan anyway, and this might be better for the high lip model too.  [shrug]  

I used wood and no lexan, with 1/16" routed of the top so the plate would be flush with the wood, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[elfman12]

Just mount the plate on top of the lexan.  It's a good protector for both your hands and the CP when you get mad crazy on the trackball.  Lexan scratches - so in no time at all you might be looking at a cloudy bit of space around the trackball anyways just from the scratches.  

I mounted my 3" happ trackball on top of lexan and it looks and feels great, with no loss of height whatsoever.  You can always try with a spare piece first, then go from there.

Ok, so did you just cut the "football" shaped hole and the 4 mounting screw holes in the lexan, or did you actually cut out the profile of the mounting plate from the lexan?.... well, rereading your post you say "on top", so I assume the former!  

The only problem with that is how I would like to do the overlay artwork on the panel, but what I MAY do is cut that particular piece of the overlay and paste it directly to the mounting plate, then coat it with something. Hmmm, maybe even do that piece in vinyl, or, better yet, just paint the plate and be done with it (it's a stainless steel looking plate).

[CM]

On my cab, I recessed the entire plate into the MDF and then overlayed the lexan with a 3" hole cut in it.   This allows for the artwork to go on flat for my enitre control panel.  (I'll admit when I get crazy on the trackball I somtimes wish I had polished down the edge of the lexan around the ball though. )

[Frostillicus]

Ok, so did you just cut the "football" shaped hole and the 4 mounting screw holes in the lexan, or did you actually cut out the profile of the mounting plate from the lexan?.... well, rereading your post you say "on top", so I assume the former!  

The only problem with that is how I would like to do the overlay artwork on the panel, but what I MAY do is cut that particular piece of the overlay and paste it directly to the mounting plate, then coat it with something. Hmmm, maybe even do that piece in vinyl, or, better yet, just paint the plate and be done with it (it's a stainless steel looking plate).

yeah, i just cut the holes in the lexan the exact same as the wood beneath it - the 4 corner holes and then one big one in the center. and screwed the lexan and wood together using the plate hardware:

         ---O---   trackball
-------|-    -|--------- lexan
====|=   =|===== 3/4" wood
         
(i hope that makes sense cause it took me 30 minutes to draw it  j/k!
 Painting it might be a good option, since I just assumed you got the black finish mounting plate.  Depending on what your panel artwork will look like, black is always a nice choice - it will really bring out the color around it and give it a clean look.  

[elfman12]

yeah, i just cut the holes in the lexan the exact same as the wood beneath it - the 4 corner holes and then one big one in the center. and screwed the lexan and wood together using the plate hardware:

         ---O---   trackball
-------|-    -|--------- lexan
====|=   =|===== 3/4" wood
         
(i hope that makes sense cause it took me 30 minutes to draw it  j/k!
 Painting it might be a good option, since I just assumed you got the black finish mounting plate.  Depending on what your panel artwork will look like, black is always a nice choice - it will really bring out the color around it and give it a clean look.  

Ok, that's what I'll be trying... when you say the "big hole" in the middle, did you mean the football shaped hole or the large square?

Also, the mounting plate should help hold the lexan down, along with all of the buttons... nice side effect!

[Smittydc]

I routed out the hole in the top of the wood to recess the mounting plate, then put the lexan over that.  I wanted to be able to put the control panel graphics over the top and the mounting plate takes up too much room!

and, I think he meant the football hole.

[Frostillicus]

I would go with the hole that is just bigger than the trackball unit itself. Guess that would be the football one.  Drilling the holes in the lexan(go slow with those! cracking is possible) can be a pain, but will provide a little more in the way of support for the lexan in general.  Once you get the joysticks and buttons attached, that plastic isn't going anywhere.

Also - did you attach the joysticks yet? and will you be using those bolts with the square section before the rounded top? Just be careful not to overtighten as those can act like a metal wedge and crack the heck out of lexan(if you aren't careful that is).  Hope it helps. Post pics too if you can.

[elfman12]

I would go with the hole that is just bigger than the trackball unit itself. Guess that would be the football one.  Drilling the holes in the lexan(go slow with those! cracking is possible) can be a pain, but will provide a little more in the way of support for the lexan in general.  Once you get the joysticks and buttons attached, that plastic isn't going anywhere.

Also - did you attach the joysticks yet? and will you be using those bolts with the square section before the rounded top? Just be careful not to overtighten as those can act like a metal wedge and crack the heck out of lexan(if you aren't careful that is).  Hope it helps. Post pics too if you can.

I'm just getting ready to mount the j-sticks. I have a bit of a monster CP - it has 3 8-way supers, 1 4-way ball top ms. pacman/galaga stick, which is mounted to an Oscar mounting plate (so it can be swapped easily with an 8-way super for 4 player 8-way games), and 2 8-way supers on restrictors with the Raider Pro trigger stick hack. Add to this the 3" Happ trackball, Oscar Pro spinner and about 12 thousand buttons.  

I've been busy as heck getting this cab built (trying to have it ready for a new years eve party) and I've taken like 150 pictures... I plan on putting up a web site for this, but it'll have to wait a couple of weeks. I WILL post a few pictures here as I get the CP settled.

Man, I'm sure glad I follwed advice and pretty much finished the cab before I started on the CP! I could see myself playing on this thing to "test" it for so long  that I'd never get around to building the cab properly...

[Frostillicus]

Man, I'm sure glad I follwed advice and pretty much finished the cab before I started on the CP! I could see myself playing on this thing to "test" it for so long  that I'd never get around to building the cab properly...

Man, ain't that the truth - I got so anxious to play that I just built a huge 4 player CP without even thinking about the rest of the cab.  needless to say I soon started in on a regular 2-player cab so I could get the 'full' upright experience.  Then I asked a smoker friend to light up a cigarette to get the right atmosphere.  He drew the line at Mike and the Mechanics on the stereo, though...  

[elfman12]

Man, ain't that the truth - I got so anxious to play that I just built a huge 4 player CP without even thinking about the rest of the cab.  needless to say I soon started in on a regular 2-player cab so I could get the 'full' upright experience.  Then I asked a smoker friend to light up a cigarette to get the right atmosphere.  He drew the line at Mike and the Mechanics on the stereo, though...  

Hehe. Yeah, I'm thinking that I'm going to have the ARCADE84 movie (the one with Journey's STONE IN LOVE and the virtual arcade) play when my cab starts up. Gotta get the mood right.

[wee beastie]

don't know if this helps, as it seems you've already discussed this to its end and you've got a mounting plate.

Here's what I did.  I cut out the football in my MDF to fit SNUG around the TB housing.  Then, with a 3" holesaw (I have a 3" TB), I cut a hole in my lexan.  From there, I just mounted my TB directly to the lexan.  no mounting plate, or special hardware.  Because I cut the "football" hole well, there is not too much undue stress on my lexan.  It seems to work quite well.

[Smittydc]

You're probably already done, but if you mount your trackball under your lexan you can take a dremel-tool sanding drum and bevel down the edges of the hole to make it more accessible.  Works very well.