Author Topic: Cabinet design, where to start (Read 3182 times)

Silverwind · « **on:** January 17, 2003, 02:28:18 pm »

Well.. i'm going to be putting together my CP this weekend.. have all the neccesary parts..

my question is.. should I design my control panel.. and then do the plans for the cab later? or do I need to come up with the cab plans first and arrange the CP after that?

I do have some basic knowledge of woodworking but i'm far from expert..

Here are my plans:
4 player control panel, no trackball/spinner yet, but I may add them later.
WG D9200 is what I plan to use - don't have yet
4 player coin door, probably happs over/under multiplayer

I need to build a cabinet to accomodate the above plans.. I checked lusids designs.. and he had done the control panel seperate and then attached it. This is how I want to design my CP.

I know wood isn't too expensive.. but i'd like to have the least amount of failures

SirPoonga · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2003, 03:55:28 pm »

The biggest thing about building the CP first is you just need to make sure you know how you are going to secure it to your cabinet once that is made.

Silverwind · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:20:28 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on January 17, 2003, 03:55:28 pm

The biggest thing about building the CP first is you just need to make sure you know how you are going to secure it to your cabinet once that is made.

going to screw it into the cabinet...

probably from under the CP up through the cab (lip) and into the bottom of the CP...

rampy · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:21:53 pm »

Quote from: SirPoonga on January 17, 2003, 03:55:28 pm

The biggest thing about building the CP first is you just need to make sure you know how you are going to secure it to your cabinet once that is made.

The 2nd biggest thing is to not get distracted playing games on the CP and never guilding the rest of the cabinet =P

rampy

Silverwind · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:28:54 pm »

http://free.hostdepartment.com/s/SirPoonga/images/y_con12.jpg

that is a good example of how I pictured attaching the CP

not sure how it is attached (screw location, etc) but I planned on doing it like that... where you have like a built in ledge on the cab.. and then build the CP seperate and attach it on the frame..

Silverwind · « **Reply #5 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:33:12 pm »

Quote from: rampy on January 17, 2003, 04:21:53 pm

The 2nd biggest thing is to not get distracted playing games on the CP and never guilding the rest of the cabinet =P

rampy

Yes, very wise. I do have to "test" it before I do the rest though... that way if I want to change the configuration I only have to rebuild the CP and not the whole thing...

I don't think I will stop at just the CP though.. why invest so much in tools/wire/controls/components/wood/etc and then not go through with it? It's vegas or bust baby!

BASSOFeeSH · « **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:45:36 pm »

Once I got my CP into working order I stopped working on it.

Getting the CP on my cab "working" is going to be the VERY last thing on the to-do list.

eightbit · « **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:49:09 pm »

Quote from: Silverwind on January 17, 2003, 04:33:12 pm

I don't think I will stop at just the CP though.. why invest so much in tools/wire/controls/components/wood/etc and then not go through with it? It's vegas or bust baby!

You say that now but many good men have gone before you and failed. I have found myself often enough with upgrades dangling from my cabinet while playing just one more game of Mr. Do. You see I need to make sure my new trackball or other addition is fully working and doesn't conflict with saving Mr. Do.

The dark side is powerfull, it is the easy path, be wary young one or your task will remain uncompleted..

Jungle · « **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:50:52 pm »

A couple of things to keep in mind:

- You might want to make the control panel/box removable instead of just screwed into the frame. If you ever want to move this thing, the control panel will likely be wider than any door you have. I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom of my control box and bolted it to my cabinet. Very sturdy and easy to remove if I need to move it.

- Think about how high you want the controls to be. All of the plans out there (LuSiD, Scott's Unicade, etc.) are pretty easy to modify to get the height you want. My wife is 5' 2", so my controls are a little lower than what was originially in the Unicade plans.

Silverwind · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2003, 04:59:53 pm »

I was thinking about making it removeable... i can't remember which thread I saw it.. a thread about mounting a control panel..

but instead of messing with hinges or etc.. just use an L bracket or such under the cab... then you attach the bottom of the CP to the side of the cab using an L bracket... if you want to remove it.. then you'll have to undo a few screws..

Silverwind · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2003, 05:02:55 pm »

Quote from: eightbit on January 17, 2003, 04:49:09 pm

You say that now but many good men have gone before you and failed. I have found myself often enough with upgrades dangling from my cabinet while playing just one more game of Mr. Do. You see I need to make sure my new trackball or other addition is fully working and doesn't conflict with saving Mr. Do.

The dark side is powerfull, it is the easy path, be wary young one or your task will remain uncompleted..

What is this Mr. Do you speak of... I have not tried it..

Maybe it'll be the first "test" hehehe

I do intend to finish it though... I shall not fail! Give me liberty or give me death!

SirPoonga · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2003, 05:35:19 pm »

Quote from: Silverwind on January 17, 2003, 04:28:54 pm

http://free.hostdepartment.com/s/SirPoonga/images/y_con12.jpg

that is a good example of how I pictured attaching the CP

not sure how it is attached (screw location, etc) but I planned on doing it like that... where you have like a built in ledge on the cab.. and then build the CP seperate and attach it on the frame..

Wow, who's cabinet could that be

Just needed to ask and I will tell you how it is attached.
http://free.hostdepartment.com/s/SirPoonga/images/y_cab17.jpg

The latch (in that pick unlatched) holds the CP down, so does the shelf. The cp slides slightly under the shelf. However, I plan on putting a board on the back of the cp and dropping the shelf as it gets in the way of golden tee. On the left and right you see brass guides, those keep the cp from moving left and right. So the cp just slides in under the shelf (right now about 1/2") then I reach up through the coin door and secure it with the latch. If you want a better pic chat with me in the chat room. I'd post mroe pics but the host is redesigning how they store stuff and I noticed I don't have ftp access to the images folder right now.

To go along with the conversation. Actually, I am not distracted at all even though my cab is not done. I just don't have any money right now to finish it. It's playable but not refined. Right now with the PC I currently have in it all I can do is mame, not other emus or games. I needed basic playable though so I can test my FE on it

And I have already had parties in which all night we played on it.

Silverwind · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2003, 06:15:42 pm »

Interesting way of doing it (with the latch inside the coin door access)

What is a good layout for four player cab? Most layouts have been for two players only...

SirPoonga · « **Reply #13 on:** January 17, 2003, 06:27:04 pm »

Your cp going to be removable?

Silverwind · « **Reply #14 on:** January 17, 2003, 07:24:44 pm »

Well... i'm not going to be removing it to put an alternate CP in there if that's what you mean...

But I would like the ability to remove the CP without too much difficulty so that I can do work on it or make the cabinet easier to move...

Also if in the future I design a control panel (of the same size, different layout) I can replace my existing CP.

But everyday swapping? No, just a four player plane jane.. with room for possibly a trackball in the center (for later)

SirPoonga · « **Reply #15 on:** January 17, 2003, 07:44:13 pm »

WEll, then just having blocks mounted in the inside to screw to will probably be good enough. Mine's menat to be easily removed because I will eventually have mroe than one panel. need to play yoke and steering wheel games, right?? hehe

eightbit · « **Reply #16 on:** January 18, 2003, 11:45:27 am »

Quote from: Silverwind on January 17, 2003, 05:02:55 pm

What is this Mr. Do you speak of... I have not tried it.. Maybe it'll be the first "test" hehehe

DANGER DANGER
Mr. Do needs your help, go now and collect the Cherrys!

cdbrown · « **Reply #17 on:** January 19, 2003, 11:19:04 pm »

Quote from: Silverwind on January 17, 2003, 04:59:53 pm

I was thinking about making it removeable... i can't remember which thread I saw it.. a thread about mounting a control panel..

but instead of messing with hinges or etc.. just use an L bracket or such under the cab... then you attach the bottom of the CP to the side of the cab using an L bracket... if you want to remove it.. then you'll have to undo a few screws..

Undoing screws and then doing them up again isn't really ideal as the screw will not bite as well into the hole. Screws are generally designed to go in and stay in - you will probably want to use nuts and bolts for this. Unless it is only going to occur very rarely.

I have 4 player layout on my site (check under the avatar)

Cheers
-cdbrown

eightbit · « **Reply #18 on:** January 20, 2003, 01:25:59 pm »

You guys are talking about this like your going into your control panel everyday. Unless your doing swappable control panels you should only be accessing the insides very rarely. While your building it, it seems like you access it constantly but once you get done you will find yourself not going in. Just like if you set up your control panel with a little thought about the configuration you you will be able to avoid using the keyboard completely.

Peeper · « **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2003, 10:08:42 pm »

I stole this idea from somwhere else (www.mamerrom.com maybe?):

Draw Slides!
My keyboard drawer is right underneath my control panel. Open the drawer, undo the window latch that holds the CP to the cab, and slide my control panel out on the drawer slides.


Main	Restorations	Software	Audio/Jukebox/MP3	Everything Else	Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements	Monitor/Video	GroovyMAME	Merit/JVL Touchscreen	Meet Up	Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing	Woodworking	Software Support Forums	Consoles	Project Arcade	Reviews
Automated Projects	Artwork	Frontend Support Forums	Pinball	Forum Discussion	Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board	controls.dat	Linux	Miscellaneous Arcade	Wiki Discussion	Old Archives
Lightguns	Arcade1Up	Try the site in https mode		Site News


Unread posts \| New Replies \| Recent posts \| Rules \| Chatroom \| Wiki \| File Repository \| RSS \| Submit news