Rotating monitor - Yet another take

[csa3d]

Of course, that would mean I would need to purchase u360 sticks....

Be warned:  There is currently no solution to light the balltop on those   Feel free to figure that out as well 

-csa

[javeryh]

CSA asked for a shopping list, and the thought occured that he might not be the only one who would like one..Of course this it not an endorsement of any particular vendor and I am not affiliated in any way with solarbotics.. they just happen to have the parts I used :>)

From Solarbotics:

GM3 motor (easier to mount than the GM2)
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gm3/
The Regular Motor 2 upgrade
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/rm2/
The mounting Bracket
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gmb39/
A wheel
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gmpw/
A Extra Grip Tread (it is a friction drive after all- the more tire that meets the road)
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gmtt/

And then for the Electronics you need:
A Chip socket:
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/dc-16_pin/
The secret Motor Driver Kit
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/k_smd/

And of course a soldering iron and some solder. The Chip holder isn't required, but if you are a novice at soldering its a good idea. Too much heat on that IC and you could bust it. Solder the socket to the PBC and that can't happen. Plus if you wire something wrong and blow out he chip, you can just put another one it, rather than trying to desolder it or buy another kit. 

For wiring I used a CAT 5 (ethernet) cable. I have my own crimping tools, but you can cut one in half and just solder the open ends to the board.

Then you need a DB25 to RJ45 converter..
Similar to this one..
http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/SearchDetail.asp?productID=805

I placed the order for parts!  Everything came out to about $50 (including the $20 in shipping - ouch!).  Delivery is scheduled for March 6th too so it will be a little while before I can test everything.  In the mean time I'm going to try and mount the monitor...

[csa3d]

I placed the order for parts!  Everything came out to about $50 (including the $20 in shipping - ouch!).  Delivery is scheduled for March 6th too so it will be a little while before I can test everything.  In the mean time I'm going to try and mount the monitor...

NiiicE!  I did that a few hours ago!  Go team rotate LCD!

[DaOld Man]

weisshaupt:
That program I wrote does not control the motor. I was working on one that will control the motor, but the program Koz319 wrote will work for me, except it can not change input polling from positive to negative.
He said he was going to make it so you can set it up. he was also going to experiment with PWM to control motor speed.
I tried using PWM on my project, but I burned up my H Drive and had to build another.
The motor I have has a right angle gearbox, and the output is only about 50 RPM, so I dont think I really need PWM anyway, so I gave up on it.
I am looking at writing an app to turn the monitor with Glaunch (my first love).
Have you thought about braking your motor? Shorting out the motor leads after the drive shuts off will stop the motor pretty quick.

Here are some links that might help you:

My adventures thus far with rotating monitor. You can read about my PWM attempt too, Lots of folks have made contributions to this thread.
Koz319's thread about how he did his setup. (also a link to his website, check it out).
For those of you who dont want to build your own drive. Heres one already put together. (got link form Koz319's website)

I wanted to go with a more powerful motor than you are using, just because I originally planned on turning a CRT, and looks like I am still going to. The motor I used is from a firebird headlight, the ones where the headlights pop up when you turn them on. Got in from a junk yard. They are on ebay too. But all thats in my thread.
So Im just going to let you guys read it, I feel like Ive already hijacked this thread, and I dont want to do that.
Just a few reminders about using the printer port:
Its current capability is very small. So unless your motor is very tiny, it will need some sort of drive. (Check out the relay drive in my thread. Its simple, but speed control is impossible.)
All the outputs will come on when the machine first boots. This can turn your monitor crooked on boot-up. (I think you overcame that with an and gate? I used a pnp transistor to "kill" my optos. see thread.))
On my machine, output #4 is set on by Windows, so i stayed away from it.
I would look into using isolation, opto isolators are cheap and simple. If you mis-wire something and send 12 volts into your printer port, you could fry your computer. (Thats if you use an external power supply for the motor).
Good luck everyone, and I expect comments on my thread when I get back to that project.

[weisshaupt]

That program I wrote does not control the motor. I was working on one that will control the motor, but the program Koz319 wrote will work for me, except it can not change input polling from positive to negative.

Hey DaOldMan,

Sorry to hear you aren't writting a motor control program.. that means I might have to try..
I looke at the MALA SDK, and while my programming skills are very rusty, if I am reading it right, it shouldn't be too hard to write one -- except I am not smart enough to build fancy menus to set the motor speed etc, and I would read those values from a config file.. (new fangled windows  popups with radio buttons-- too complex for me.. )

Okay, I see what KOZ 319 did.. interesting routing the logic through the limit switches. I suppose it saves a pair of resistors, since you are only sending the Ports own logic signal  back to it rather than pullling the input to the power supply.. another enhancement to the cause.. I am using positive logic to drive the H-Bridge at the moment, but there is no reason I can't decide 0, 1 means go CCW instead of 1,0... and it simplifies the circuit, which I think is where most people are hoping we head with this, the benefits of Opto isolators notwithstanding..

My program does brake the motor--(either both leads high or both low brakes the motor on the Secret motor driver kit-- its just a small motor so the stop isn't instantaneous with enough rotational momentum..)

All the outputs will come on when the machine first boots. This can turn your monitor crooked on boot-up. (I think you overcame that with an and gate? I used a pnp transistor to "kill" my optos. see thread.))

I am curious about this.. If they all come on, then you are sending 1,1 to the H-Bridge, which SHOULD brake the motor. At least it does on mine..

Its current capability is very small. So unless your motor is very tiny, it will need some sort of drive.

I wouldn't even try that! Under no circumstance what-so-ever try to power ANY  motor with the +5v feed from the printer port! Even these little hobby motors are going to kill it.

[DaOld Man]

Okay, I see what KOZ 319 did.. interesting routing the logic through the limit switches. I suppose it saves a pair of resistors, since you are only sending the Ports own logic signal  back to it rather than pullling the input to the power supply.. another enhancement to the cause.. I am using positive logic to drive the H-Bridge at the moment, but there is no reason I can't decide 0, 1 means go CCW instead of 1,0... and it simplifies the circuit, which I think is where most people are hoping we head with this, the benefits of Opto isolators notwithstanding..

The problem I found with doing it this way is that the printer port inputs normally float high. This means to use a high to trigger them, you first have to bring the pin to low, through a resistor. Then you use another resistor to bring the pin back to high when the switch is made. On the 2 computers I have been playing with, the resistance values had to change from one PC to the other. The inputs may make, or may not make. The printer pin looks for a logic 0 9which is around 0 -1.5 volts, i think) to register a low in the memory address.
If the resistors arent calculated correctly, or if the voltage varies a little (noise), then this voltage could change, and swing the input back high.
In my experiments, I have found that bringing the pin low when the switch is made is a whole easier, just requiring a 100 ohm resistor, just to limit current through the pin.
But the program, whichever one we use, must be able to register the pin going low to say the switch is on.
Also taking the pin low requires no outside power supply. Its the easiest and simplest, IMHO.

My program does brake the motor--(either both leads high or both low brakes the motor on the Secret motor driver kit-- its just a small motor so the stop isn't instantaneous with enough rotational momentum..)

I had my motor wired like KOZ319 did his. When the switch makes, a normally closed contact breaks the current flow to the motor.
In this situation, when computer boots, all inputs go high for a couple seconds.
This does not brake the motor, because one wire to the motor is open (because of the open switch)..
The motor will turn until the monitor comes off the switch, then the motor will brake.
Your circuit may be different, I need to go back and study it more.

.

[DaOld Man]

Heres a quick sketch that might better explain what Im talking about on the input pins:

[DoctorWHO]

For your info, there's a bundle, GM3 + Wheel at 10$, you can save an extra buck:
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/gmpw_deal/ 

[psychotech]

First, .. ...just get everything working with a switch - it seems (sort of) easy enough to do.  It doesn't seem like it would be too tough to make the jump from that to something that interfaces with the computer for automatic rotation which is my ultimate goal.

Yeah, just what I was thinking

DaOld Man, Thanks for the software, have to try it in the near future..

weisshaupt, that Secret Motor Driver sure looks the part I'll have to buy in a few weeks' time And like DaOld Man said, "Your writeup and information is very valuable" ..it's just that I had to get instant gratification, err I mean I had to test the mounting as soon as possible

At full speed, my monitor would have hit the hard limit and BOUNCED!

- That's just the reason I had to install the small wheels, nearly frictionless the monitor started bouncing back from the limits ..not damaging anything but really annoying. With a little added friction, well...

Thank you guys for all the additional info & inspiration !! Feel free to "Hijack" this thread

Hopefully this thread serves as a starting point for at least a few people starting with monitor rotation..

I really like how with everyone's contributions here now is
1) a possible mounting/drive method description with more possibilities mentioned in the discussion
2) semi-automatic rotation control descriptions & diagrams for instant gratification
3) software and instructions to add some automation to the switch controlled solution
4) parts list for the drive mechanism and links to additional information
5) software and information on full software control to take the system to the next level

So, yet another take -> yet another getting started with...

I'll be following all the threads mentioned here for sure

[Cornchip]

    Looks like things will heat up over at Solarbotics if this method takes off. The GM3 motor seems to pack a punch for little cash. That rig really seems to work.

 I noticed your rig seems to be a little unbalanced causing the motor to underdrive/overdrive.  You might want to try adding some counter weight opposite the heavy spot (I thing the monitor cable might also have something to do with that as well). It might smoothen out the movement. My CRT is also severely bottom heavy...but the balancing wasn't needed as the motor uses a 'worm' drive combined with extra gearing with the sprockets. Still there is a perceptible note change to the sound of the motor as it travels from vertical back to horizontal.

 Cornchip.

[csa3d]

    Looks like things will heat up over at Solarbotics if this method takes off. The GM3 motor seems to pack a punch for little cash. That rig really seems to work.

I've been waiting for Randy to creep out of the woodwork and hit us with yet another amazing hardware release   An "out of the box" solution would be welcomed I would imagine.

-csa

[Cornchip]

   Maybe it's time for a little market research?   

 Cornchip.

[psychotech]

Cornchip, Yeah, the monitor is slightly bottom heavy but it's really about the weight of the monitor cables (both the DVI & power cables) it's dragging behind ..they're just lying on the floor in those videos. And the fact that it's running at only 4.5V... Already tried the same solution with the cables in place adding their weight but not just dragging along the textured carpet seen in the videos; much better Another thing's that at some point of building the monitor mount I degreased most of the bearing parts (instead of washing my hands every fifteen minutes) ..just added some again .. I'm quite hard pressed to really hear a difference anymore. Might shoot another video clip later as I get hold of the camera.. Can't do videos on mine

That counterweight thing sounds good! Well, I've still a cabinet to design and build before fine tuning this ..

And hey, your solution is just awesome  Way beyond my capabilities!

Anyway, with this little motor and the semi-automatic solution with no other additional control than friction & voltage management it's an balancing act ..weight/friction/voltage/speed.. Think I've got it quite nicely set up at the moment. Wouldn't recommend this solution to anyone using a CRT, though Well, maybe with a lazy susan and weisshaupt or DaOld Man's software. Oh, no CRTs with lazy susans ..

I'm happy with the mounting, the bearings and the actual friction drive solution at the moment, but with DaOld Man and/or weisshaupt's motor control software I'm sure it'd be just awesome! Well, I've time to learn more and make it better..

csa3d, 20% off for all BYOAC orders.... that should be fair ?

Cornchip, make a package deal and you'll be yet another overnight BYOAC millionaire Still, whoever comes up with a reasonably priced and (at least relatively) easy to implement complete solution should at least get ________, ________, __________ and ______________. And that's a fact!

[weisshaupt]

    .  You might want to try adding some counter weight opposite the heavy spot

Highly recomended- My 20 inch LCD was having a diffiuclt time with the little motor till I did that...

[csa3d]

    .  You might want to try adding some counter weight opposite the heavy spot

Highly recomended- My 20 inch LCD was having a diffiuclt time with the little motor till I did that...

Works on my rotisserie grill! lol

[psychotech]

Well, DOH!

I already knew that..  Will try that as soon as possible 

Talking 'bout a balancing act and all ... 

[weisshaupt]

   Maybe it's time for a little market research?   

 Cornchip.

Okay. ...

How many people are willing to pay for a simple Cable (Parallel or Serial) and software that connects to a PCB with headers for connecting the motor and and the limit switches ? How much would you pay?

How many would want to see a package that included the limit switches and motor? How much would you pay?

How many would want to see a Pre-fab-ed Mounting assembly (with standard VESA mounts)  ready to slap a monitor on, with Motor, and electonics etc integrated into the assembly? How much would ou pay?

What sort of a premium (over the cost that you would get at say newegg) you you pay for Pre-balanced Monitors KNOWN to have a wide viewing angle  in both aspects and the convience of a one-stop shop...?

[csa3d]

At this point, I feel I'd want the "kit" to be packaged like so:

Includes:

Complete "Lazy susan" stand assembly.  This three part stand...
   1.  Comes with bolts, drilling guide (ala GGG trackball mounting instructions), and hardware to permanently mount it to a wooden cross brace which the owner provides on their cab
   2.  Comes complete with the lazy susan axis which the user can assemble
   3.  comes with a mounting plate that fits standard VESA mount monitor spacing.
   4.  Pre-drilled and for electronics, including limiting switches, brackets, and wire ties to tidy it up out of the box


Complete motor mount.  This motor mount..
   1.  Would be assembled in such a way, that a user could adjust heights, thus changing contact friction depending on mount style.
   2.  Could be somehow build into the above lazy susan stand, thus eliminating mounting and adjustments.
   3.  Would use 5 or 12 volts, and hook directly into a PC power supply for power
   4.  Would come with friction wheels, chain drive, etc. matching components big enough to rotate a typical monitor weight of say a 24" monitor

All Electronics and connecting wires would be included to complete this kit.  They would come pre-soldered like Randy's trackball lighting kits.  If we need to wire anything, it comes with screw terminals and clear instructions on what goes where.  Though the user has to do nothing beyond wire splicing and connecting cords (usb, parallel, serial,  cat5, whatever)

All software for this kit would be included, and proven to work with the GameEX, Atomic, and Mala, and DOS

Price point on this would not exceed $200-250 max.  For the money, you are getting assembled electronic boards, limiters, wires, the hardware, the software, materials, and the ability to plug and play a solution.  You don't need tools beyond the basics of screwdriver, knife, and basic wiring needs.  The user supplies the monitor and external power supply.  Builders don't need saws, soldering knowledge, programming knowledge.  So you are saving money both in time invested in learning, and in not having to buy tools to make the magic happen.

I have spent 50$ thus far on ording parts from the above shopping list, and all ready own woodworking tools necessary to build the unit.  If I was going with the pie plate/lazy susan technique, that's gonna run another 25$, plus bolts and hardware (15$ I'm guessing), limiters (have them but 10$ max), angle brackets (10$), and maybe some more wood (50$).  That's 105$ more dollars roughly, plus the 50$ I spent, is about 150$ money my DYI self puts in.. plus the free and gracious software help this board supplies for free!  Since you're suppling instructions and software with tech support, that ups the price and for what it's worth, I think that price point is about right.  I'd imagine some items will cost more to make, some maybe less.  Just my opinion.

-csa

[psychotech]

Well..

Wouldn't be a feasible solution for me as it would be an overseas order ..and with all the postage, taxes, possible customs and everything..

Anyway, for someone starting from scratch, I'd think csa3d's price estimate is about right - with the set he's described here. Oh, now I'm sure this BYO is .., well, the option for me

Good luck. Long live and prosper 

PS. Thanks for all the valuable information..

[Bender]

WOW!
This Is hot SH#T!
Makes me want to automate the rotating CP I'm working on
Nice Work!!!

[javeryh]

My parts arrived and I am already overwhelmed without even opening anything!  The "secret" motor driver came in pieces.  I think there are resistors or something in the bag with some pretty wires...  As far as I can tell, the rubber tread goes on the wheel.  The wheel attaches to the motor with the little screw that came in the bag.  I have to swap out the GM2 motor with the GM3 one that came separate.  I've never soldered before either so I hope I don't screw this up...

[weisshaupt]

My parts arrived and I am already overwhelmed without even opening anything!  The "secret" motor driver came in pieces.  I think there are resistors or something in the bag with some pretty wires...  As far as I can tell, the rubber tread goes on the wheel.  The wheel attaches to the motor with the little screw that came in the bag.  I have to swap out the GM2 motor with the GM3 one that came separate.  I've never soldered before either so I hope I don't screw this up...

Don't work, it looks harder than it is..

PM me if you have questions. When soldering:

1) Go slow. Don't be in a rush
2) make sure you have some solder flux - Radioshack sells little syringe type tubes of it. I little dab of that will make things much easier
3) Helping hands (or some other way to secure the piece and wire  being worked on) helps a lot
4) Have a solder wick handy (basically a roll of thin braided copper wire)  If you make a mistake, heat up the solder wick and watch your solder get pulled off of the piece.
5) Don't use globs of solder. A small amount is sufficent to hold the wire in place. You want a solid connection, but you are NOT welding.


Work is progressing nicely on the MALA plugin
I hope to be ready for my first hardware tests today...

[csa3d]

My parts arrived

You beat me!  Mine should be in soon.  I have to visit radioshack myself, and pick up said soldering supplies.

I have picked up a 15 3/4" pizza plate, and a 12" lazy susan bearing.  I'm pretty read to go once my parts arrive.  How are you planning on incorporating a lazy susan bearing into your rig?  Going with a wood top or metal?  The good thing (i thought) about the 12" bearing was that it has like a 5" center hole, which is enough space to mount the vesa screws directly to the pizza plate w/o having to add a middle wood riser or other sort of mounting plate.

-csa

[javeryh]

csa3d:  I'm not sure on the lazy susan yet but I am thinking of using a wooden one.  I might just buy the whole thing (not just the bearings) and attach the monitor to the plate with screws.  The problem might be finding the exact center point of the lazy susan and lining everything up.  I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.  Right now all I need to buy is the lazy susan and I've got to borrow my friend's soldering iron. 

weisshaupt:  Thanks for the advice - I will take all I can get.  I'll be taking pictures and stuff to document my progress when I get around to it.  I'll definitely be asking tons of questions.  Also, awesome news about the MaLa plug-in!  That would be the easiest software solution for the uninformed masses such as myself.

[javeryh]

Well, I just spent the better part of the morning making a circle cutting jig for my router so I can cut the large wheel... I haven't picked up the lazy susan yet but I wanted to try and move this project forward a little bit.  My wife works weekends during tax season so I'm with the kids... it's kind of tough to work. 

I'm hoping to go to Home Depot this afternoon to pick up the 4 mini-casters and the bolt to pivot everything on... if they have lazy susans or bearings I'm probably going to go with that instead of the center bolt.  We shall see...

EDIT:  Home Depot does not carry the mini-casters or any type of axle/lazy susan bearings according to the 4 different people I asked.  I hate that place.  All I managed to pick up was the screws for the monitor mount ($0.98!).  I am headed to Target this morning to buy an actual lazy susan.  I hope to cut the MDF circle today and mount everything (pending my schedule).  I don't have a soldering iron so I don't think I'll be getting anything up and running but at least I'll have something to look at...

EDIT#2:  I just struck out at Target.  I'm hitting Michael's later this afternoon.  What a pain!

[DaOld Man]

The home depot in my area does have the rotating lazy susan bearing.
I had to show the guy a picture of it before he could find it.
Check in the area where the casters are kept.

[csa3d]

I would advise against the lazy susan bearing.  this past weekend I mounted my 12" bearing, only to find it had too much side to side play during rotation, and too much friction for the solaberics hobby motor to handle.  I have pics which I didn't get time to post this afternoon.  I DID buy mine from lowes... but i'm pretty convinced a 7$ solution was too good to be true.

-csa

[csa3d]

Posted my Lazy Susan mounting experience to supplement my warning   I'm still interested to see how you end up with your lazy susan Javery.

-csa

[DaOld Man]

The one I bought from home depot looks different from yours. It was also cheaper.. around 5 US dollars.
I havent had a chance to mount it yet, but it does appear to have a slight side-to-side "slop" in it.
I dont think that will matter on my CRT though, cause most of the weight will be in the front. I will be using the bearing to hold the monitor in correct position front to back.
I am a little worried about how much noise it makes when turned. I see yours does too from the video.
I have not been able to find the small casters anywhere around here.
I did find these at homedepot.com, havent had a chance yet to check them out for real (closest home depot is 30 miles away). They are drawer rollers, and come in a pack of two for $2.33.
In my case with the CRT, these will probably be easier to mount, in your case you may have to modify them a bit.
Click here
If the link dont work, go to homedepot.com and search for item # R 7147
These look a little weak, so I dont know, I need to look at them for real.

[csa3d]

The one I bought from home depot looks different from yours. It was also cheaper.. around 5 US dollars.
I havent had a chance to mount it yet, but it does appear to have a slight side-to-side "slop" in it.
I dont think that will matter on my CRT though, cause most of the weight will be in the front. I will be using the bearing to hold the monitor in correct position front to back.
I am a little worried about how much noise it makes when turned. I see yours does too from the video.
I have not been able to find the small casters anywhere around here.
I did find these at homedepot.com, havent had a chance yet to check them out for real (closest home depot is 30 miles away). They are drawer rollers, and come in a pack of two for $2.33.
In my case with the CRT, these will probably be easier to mount, in your case you may have to modify them a bit.
Click here
If the link dont work, go to homedepot.com and search for item # R 7147
These look a little weak, so I dont know, I need to look at them for real.

I'm thinking I will probably look for small wheels as well... two of them placed at the bottom of the wheel to  help minimize the side to side wobble, and possibly 4 under the bearing to either suppliment or replace it all together.  I haven't looked at the hardware store yet, but I'm betting the quality of the small wheels suck, just like the cheap bearing.  I've been thinking a bit, and remember as a kid, that skateboard wheel bearings were things you could buy good quality vs. bad quality.  The good ones would turn forever.. so I might pop into a skate shop and see if they have a bagain bin of skate wheels and then pick up the best bearings they sell, and mount them using bolts and L-Brackets from the hardware store.

Dunno.. I forsee the rotating mechanics costing a bit of research money.

-csa

[DaOld Man]

I think if you could find the small rollers that psychotech used, his way would probably be the best do far. (for LCDs).
But I would do it just a little differently (bet you didnt see that one coming  )
I would cut the wood disk that the monitor fastens too bigger.
This would allow room to mount 4 blocks on either side of the monitor. These blocks would extend out flush with teh front of the monitor.
You could then cut out a round poster board circle (the thick foam filled stuff).
You would cut out for the monitor viewing area in the center of poster board.
This poster board would be big enough to cover the gap between the round wood disk and the monitor panel of your arcade. The rest of the poster board would cover the entire monitor panel.
The blocks need to be thin enough to get very close to the edge of the monitor board of the arcade.
The round poster board would fasten to the 4 blocks with small screws.
I would then cut another piece of very thin poster board, same color as the first board.
This second board would cover the entire monitor panel too, but also extend in far enough to cover the gap between the first two boards and the screws that mount the round poster.
You would then have a clean rotating monitor, IMHO.
I have attached a crude drawing that may help explain my concept. It is not to any dimensions or scale.
The thin last piece of poster board is not shown.

[javeryh]

csa3d - great info!  Thanks for that post.  I never even though there would be side-to-side movement but now that you've said something I can totally see it.  I was planning on using a 3" lazy susan like THIS but now I'm a little unsure how it will perform.  I'm hoping the smaller size will leave less room for movement other than along the bearings...  I will let everyone know!

[javeryh]

I just bought a 3" lazy susan bearing for $4.15 shipped.  I'm hoping there isn't too much side-to-side play between the bearings and the casing.  I'll report back once I get everything set up!

HERE is the link to the eBay auction I bought from - I did a "Buy It Now" and the cost was $1.15 for the lazy susan and $3.00 to ship it.

The plan is to mount this to a circular panel made out of 1/2" MDF.  The tricky part will be getting it exactly centered.   

EDIT:  Woo hoo!  The eBay seller shipped it yesterday - that was fast!  Now I'm hoping it will be here in time for the weekend so I can mess around...

[psychotech]

Hello there

Great stuff! Soon we're all rotating 

Really have to appreciate the software development DaOld Man, weisshaupt & all have done on the rotation front. You guys rule for real 

---------------------------------------

After a bit of Googling I did actually found the wheel/caster/whatever I used.. actually bought mine from a car parts store, but these should be available at your local gardening/home improvement/whatever stores also..?

Anyway..

The wheel I made my bearing out of was almost identical to these: http://www.hjulex.se/index.php?id=16&type_ref_id=11&L=0 - Bought the rightmost for 3.95 EUR (something like $6), not bad? I think the Art. No. 299064 comes closest, if not identical. It's a roller bearing solution ..and it's awesome!

You might be able to see a similar roller bearing here @ http://www.hjulex.se/index.php?id=16&type_ref_id=22&L=0 or on a picture from my initial post.. like this:



or


The beauty of the roller bearing is that the bearing(s) actually go(es) through (almost all of) the mechanism and so it should be a real "strong" solution.. Fun for a lifetime ..maybe.

And, hey. Here: you can see the (almost rusty looking) spacer between the washers.. that's a part of the wheel mechanism also. So, no need for additional tinkering here either.

All the "washerwork" seen in the pictures is to make the monitor plate to "just about to" touch the small wheels for added friction. The big wheels bearings really do not need them. No slack, no sideways movement. No give.

With weisshaupt's new MaLa plug-in, I'm pretty sure the bearing would be enough!?

Mounting the wheel bearing? In my case the main housing was something like 25mm (just a hair width short of 1" ..) and so I just used a 24mm holesaw and finetuned with sandpaper.. installed with a hammer and some glue ..it's never gonna come out again. Maintenance? Maybe some grease every  seven years or so, should work

Whatever you do, don't do it like i did it. Do it right.

L8r. psychotech

[javeryh]

I have to do some yard work and then I'm going to give this a shot...  The bearings have about 1/32" play  but it doesn't seem like it will be a concern.  Using my hands, I put some shearing pressure on both "plates" of the bearing to simulate the weight of the monitor (and then some) and I was easily able to rotate them with an equal amount of friction.  I think this is going to work. 

[Zobeid]

I would cut the wood disk that the monitor fastens too bigger.
This would allow room to mount 4 blocks on either side of the monitor. These blocks would extend out flush with teh front of the monitor.
You could then cut out a round poster board circle (the thick foam filled stuff).
You would cut out for the monitor viewing area in the center of poster board.
This poster board would be big enough to cover the gap between the round wood disk and the monitor panel of your arcade. The rest of the poster board would cover the entire monitor panel.

Sort of like. . .    this?


I'm looking at building a wooden cage around my monitor, effectively.  It will be a panel-mount monitor, so it will actually attach to the front piece of wood.  Four blocks will connect it to the rear piece, which in turn will connect to the lazy susan bearing, which will connect to the board in the cabinet supporting the whole assemblage.

It could work just the same with a rear-mounted (VESA) monitor.  In that case the monitor would attach to the rear circle instead of the front one.  But the front piece would still be required to support the rotating part of the bezel and for the user to push on.  It has to be solid because that's what the user will grab onto when he rotates the monitor.  (It's done manually in my plan, as you know.)

There will be some sort of knob or a hole -- not shown -- in the front circle where you can grip and give it a push.  So it has to be strong both in front and in back.

I was wary of desktop LCD monitors because I could never find out whether the VESA mounting point is centered, whether it requires access to the front panel to adjust, whether it will come back on after losing power, etc.  With an industrial panel-mount monitor there should be a lot fewer variables.

The bezel will be another thing.  My hope is to have a circular bezel made of laser-cut tinted acrylic that moves along with the monitor, and a slightly overlapping frame of laser-cut ABS around it.

[DaOld Man]

yeah that should work.
I am going to use blocks from the circular board to the edge of the screen. (Im using a CRT).
I can then attach the thin poster board cut in a circle, to the blocks.
This should give a plush appearance.
Plexi will go over all that.

[javeryh]

OK, I found an hour last night and tried mounting the monitor using the lazy susan bearing.  What a huge pain!!!  I mean it was easy to do but I encountered a few extra steps I didn't think about - first and foremost was after attaching one panel to one side how do you attach the other panel to the other side???  I worked it out but I had to drill a ton of holes.  As for the rotation... I'll let you know.  I bought some 1" machine screws to mount the monitor but they had the wrong threading so it's off to Home Depot today to try and find the right kind...

I'll do a more "formal" write-up with lots more pics once I sort everything out.   Also, my camera totally blows.  Everything is out of focus and 1/2 the pics I took are useless. 

Picture 1:  Cutting the circle was fun.  I made my own router table/circle cutting jig and it came out OK.  Definitely good enough for this project.  The board just pivots around the center pin - easy!

Picture 2:  Here you can get a pretty good look at the lazy susan mechanism.  Imagine screwing it down to the panel.  Now imagine trying to screw down the opposite panel.  Madness I tell ya!!!

[javeryh]

Picture 3:  Here you can see all of the layout I had to do to get this to work.  The holes in the 4 corners of the "square" are for the monitor bolts (these are through holes).  The holes on the diagonals that are inside of the monitor bolt holes are for mounting the lazy susan bearing.  Finally, the large holes are for mounting the opposite panel to the lazy susan bearing.  I had to go through the circle panel in order to attach anything to the other side.

Picture 4 and Picture 5: Here you can see the lazy susan mount actually screwed into place.  The first pic shows it out of place and the second pic shows it in place where you can imagine coming through the large holes from the other side in order to secure it to the other panel.

As for the rotation of everything, it is quite good.  Not much play and the rotation is smooth.  I'm not going to be sure this will be the way to go until I mount the monitor and set it at the proper angle.  That's about it for now.  Once I find the right screws I'll take a short movie of it rotating so everyone can see how it works.  It's a start!   

[weisshaupt]

  I bought some 1" machine screws to mount the monitor but they had the wrong threading so it's off to Home Depot today to try and find the right kind...

They are metric- M4...