MAME Control Panel

[Infrasonic]

I'm interested in manufacturing drop-in control panels for you folks building mame cabinets.  I was wondering if there was a common size that would tend to fit most of these, and what would be a good configuration.

I want to construct these out of wood w/Lexan for an overlay.   The Lexan would be mounted to the panel via stainless steel button screws and the joystick2 would be mounted 1/2 inch deep via a stud-and-nut method, without the fasteners being visible.

I don't know if this topic should be in the buy/sell/trade forum,  I am not selling anything here,   I'm just looking for information on what people want.

Also, what be a good electronic interface? What kind of PC port would it connect to (usb/keyboard/etc)?

[neuromancer]

I'm interested in manufacturing drop-in control panels for you folks building mame cabinets.  

Since this forum is for people who want to build thier own controls, you might not get too many takers ;-)

I suppose a hair under 24" wide fits a lot of cabinets, but depth varies a lot. Most people have specific requirements as far as what they want on their panel -- If you really want to be able to sell many, you probably want to one-off them.

If you can only set up for one layout, it would be the Capcom 2 stick, 6 button configuration.

Bob

[Infrasonic]

I'm kinda thinking of something that would either be "perfectly" sized, or something that can be easily cut down.  Me, myself, personally - I'd never buy anything like an X-Arcade, or Mas Stick, because I build those.  I would however buy a used full sized arcade machine (no multi game), because I think they are cool but I don't have the place to put it or the money.  

What I am thinking of is a kit that would ship unassembled, but would have all the necessary equipment, such as joysticks and buttons.  It would have a clear plastic sheet covering the panel under which people can put whatever graphics they want (though I haven't investigated whether Kinko's or whoever produces 24" printouts just yet).  It would still allow anyone to build the complete cabinet themselves, but the difficult machining of the top panel would be taken cared of, all the parts would fit, all the parts would be included from joystick/buttons -> wiring harness -> interface.  And the complete kit would costs less than the sum of all parts bought separately.  

On that note, maybe I'd leave out the panel and just sell the joystick/buttons, interface, and wiring harness.  I don't know yet I'm just toying with the idea.

I'm thinking that I would want to produce a variety of different panels, custom made to cust spec.