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Author Topic: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1  (Read 23538 times)

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solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« on: June 23, 2008, 04:31:06 am »


Beginnings
So like all of you, I always got a kick out of either going to arcade or playing the occasional game at the local pizza place or family fun center. My time at the arcades was not till the early to mid 90s however, so my interests mostly fall in the multi-button 8-way and racing games that I played most often when out. For the most part those interests led to the design, although when I started messing around with MAME I found many other games I enjoyed. I originally started with the idea of creating a MAME cabinet in January using an assembled kit, an X-Arcade and an old computer and TV. Upon finding this site and checking out everyones projects however, the project featured an extreme amount of feature creep and ended up including a new TV, custom controls, custom artwork, lexan, LED lighting and other items.

Theme, Components and Design
The cabinet has gone through several different themes and ideas, going all the way back to when it was just going to be an assembled kit cabinet. It began as a sort of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mooninites / Space Invaders idea, which later morphed into a more moon-focused Lunarcade theme and finally into the sun-focused Solarcade (saving the Lunarcade name for a possible future cocktail). Artwork for the theme initially consisted of an eclipse in the logo and the sun hovering over the earth on the control panel. The original and rough control panel design below, followed by the final design. The final is a longer panel and one that uses a secondary control panel below.



The main pieces of this project will consist of...
  • 2 Happ Super joysticks
  • 1 Ultimarc UltraStik 360
  • 3 sets of 7 Happ pushbuttons (colored red, green and blue)
  • 2 sets of 3 ElectricICE pushbuttons (with RGB drives)
  • 3 sets of 2 Ultimarc Ultralux Chrome pushbuttons (colored red, green and blue)
  • 2 GGG TurboTwist 2s with 7" Mini Racer wheels
  • 1 Ultimarc U-Trak
  • 1 Ultimarc I-PAC4
  • 1 GGG LED-Wiz 32
  • 1 27" TV with Component inputs
  • 1 Happ Triple Entry Coin door

The design of the project will be based off the popular Lusid design found in Saint's book. The control panel will feature a less standard 3 person layout, with the 3rd player being the UltraStik placed in the center. The two TurboTwists 2s will be placed at an angle in front of the main control panel on the left and right sides. With them will be the 3 GGG ElectricICE buttons to add a little LED pizazz and easily accessible buttons when using either the spinner or steering wheel.


Current Status
Cabinet is now moved and have installed many of the major components. Still need to wire, install t-molding, make a monitor bezel and set-up computer.

Most Recent Post (8/23/2009)


Future Work
Install t-molding
Make monitor bezel
Install and wire controls
Set-up computer
Design front-end
Add PC steering wheel with pedals
Upgrade computer

Project Lunarcade custom cocktail??  :dunno
« Last Edit: August 23, 2009, 11:52:49 pm by solowCX »
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2008, 04:47:09 am »
Some pictures of the current status of the project, please excuse the crappy quality iPhone pictures, I will be sure to switch to a real camera when it actually gets going.

This was my first mock-up, made when all I had was my Ultimarc and GGG order. Was able to verify everything worked at least, despite it looking like a Hellcade candidate.


Again, this project will be including dual Mini Racers for games like Sprint and Off Road, among others. I am actually looking forward to getting APB going however when everything is completely assembled.


The lovely Happ coin door with colored reject buttons.


The new mock-up, with current rough tests for how I plan to place the spinners. Again, please excuse the terribleness of this, am still figuring out how I want everything placed.


The Ultimarc U-Trak Pearl, no mounting plates on this control panel...


TurboTwist with GGG buttons.


The TV currently planning to be used. Regrettably the 27" Happ bezel I purchased does not fit, so I need to decide if I want to de-case the TV, or sell the Happ bezel and make a new one.


It does have component input however.


That's all for now. Nothing incredibly new and exciting going on with this project, but I'll keep you posted anyway.  :P
« Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 02:01:35 am by solowCX »
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

HaRuMaN

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2008, 02:34:14 pm »
Awesome start.  Good job on the cardboard mockups, always a great way to get a feel for what works (and what doesn't).

 :pics :pics :pics

tk375

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2008, 12:11:20 pm »
that project should turn great, just make sure you have enough room for movement while you are playing, try to test the space by having someone seat right next to you and pretend you are playing, when I build my first arcade I didn't think about the separation or space that each player needs, so for my next project I had a friend right next to me playing street fighter 2.

TK375
 :applaud:

TK375 Why aren't you at your post? "He is building an arcade sir."

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2008, 06:34:05 pm »
If your going to sell that bezel, please hit me up. I have one that is in horrible shape that needs replacing.

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2008, 02:34:14 am »
Wow, long time. Anyway, have finally got around to doing some more work on this project. First, I have finalized my control panel design and artwork, which you can see below.




It is pretty similar to what I had planned, except that I will now be incorporating artwork (placed under lexan) on my lower panel. The reason for the slant is to provide a better angle for driving games using the 7" mini racer wheels along with the dual TurboTwist2 spinners. Also have incorporated lighted buttons on the sides of this lower panel for limited use in pinball and such. The buttons in the center surrounding the image of the moon will serve various admin functions in MAME.

The top of the panel still has the 3 players (2 Happ 8 ways and 1 UltraStik), along with the U-Trak trackball with RGB lighting.

Mostly what was finalized was the artwork and placement of the buttons and sticks. I finally broke down and purchased some super high resolution artwork, so the design should hopefully look really good. The overall theme has sort of merged into the sun (the lighted trackball) going supernova and the player is seeing this from a little behind earth and the moon.

Also finished up the marquee, which now has a solar eclipse with a few more rays coming off it. Again, high resolution images, so I am hoping for the best.



So after designing this thing I thought it might be a good idea to do another mock-up. This time it was actually to scale (or as best as I could make it) and included the artwork I created so I could test button spacing. I didn't make it functional, but it made me confident enough in my design to go ahead and get my artwork printed and to continue with the construction.






So what's next? The week after next I will be heading to my hometown where I will be using a pretty good wood shop and the help of one my moms friends to help get this thing cut. After that I will be using the 3 full days or so before Thanksgiving to try to get the pieces assembled and painted. Assuming everything goes to plan, after that it will be back to Seattle where I will start on wiring and getting it set-up...
« Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 02:02:11 am by solowCX »
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

jthompson

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2008, 12:52:24 pm »
Looks like you've really done your homework on this one, looks nice. In my opinion though, I think you CP would look a lot cleaner without all those admin buttons (Tab, load, save, Etc), plus it will save a lot of headaches down the road when your friends come over and say "hey whats this button do?" If it were me, I would get a wireless keyboard for the admin stuff and just put pause and esc on the CP. I'm just across the water from you (Bremerton) so if you need any help or anything just hit me up.

javeryh

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #7 on: November 14, 2008, 12:59:45 pm »
I agree.  The less confusion the better.  Also, why do you have 7 buttons in the middle for what I assume is your 4-way stick?  That seems excessive.  Plus, it looks difficult to reach because of the angled panel in the front.  If you use U360s as your player 1 and player 2 joysticks you can eliminate the 4-way altogether!  Finally, the pinball buttons look like they would be hard to press - IMO, you want to be able to rest the palms of your hands on a flat surface just like a real pinball machine.

I love your marquee art.   :cheers:

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #8 on: November 14, 2008, 02:02:20 pm »
I know people like to keep the clutter down, but I just felt it would be easier to have the important ones accessible when needed. Since the buttons are black they will also hopefully blend in compared to the lighted ones on the sides and front of this lower panel. Hopefully the labels will also tell people what the buttons do so they won't accidentally press them :). I have a wireless keyboard that I will probably be stashing under the control panel aswell if any other functions need to be done.

The pinball buttons are actually fairly comfortable to press. This was one of the many things I was testing when I built the mock-up. It is a fairly natural angle for me to place my hands on and since this machine will not primarily be for pinball I think they should work fine.

Might seem kind of odd, but the joysticks on the left and right are actually just standard 8-way Happs, while the middle one is an Ultrastik. The games I will be playing will probably mostly use 8-ways, but I wanted the ability to play 4-ways, simple analogs and maybe some 49-ways, so the UltraStik was a natural choice. Because of its varied use I chose to keep the number of buttons the same as the other controllers. Furthermore, it will be able to double as a 3rd player for 3 or 4 player games.
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2008, 12:42:31 am »
So made some actual progress the last couple weeks, but sadly not as much as I would have liked. I had wanted to have it assembled and painted by last Wednesday so that it could be transported, but all that got finished was the cutting and a small bit of the bottom assembly. The cutting went pretty good, only a couple pieces were cut incorrectly at first.  ;) There are few things I hadn't planned for, but I think it should (hopefully) work out in the end.

Since I am back in Seattle however I no longer have access to these pieces and won't be able to make it back down to finish work till mid-December. I am planning to take enough vacation to finish assembly and painting during this time, at which point I will just need to get it moved.

Overall it is probably good that I did not attempt to get it all finished, as I had sort of neglected how I was going to paint it till late in the process. I want to get as smooth as a finish as I can, but don't have access to a paint sprayer, so I have been reading up on the best way to do this using rollers. Despite taking a long time to dry, it sounds like oil based paints get the best results and that with MDF you need a couple good coats of primer, sanded in between, to develop a good base to paint on. I also read that a 30/70 ratio of glue to water is a good replacement for primer, but the use of water on MDF has me a little concerned.

Beyond figuring that out I guess it will just a little longer to wait. I have been planning this thing since last January, so I suppose an extra couple weeks will not kill me.  :)

Project Solarcade - Still in progress

JayB

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2008, 07:30:52 pm »
The MDF will be fine, the mix I used was a 4:1 and it seals it nicely. It does raise what can only be described as grain and then you can sand it back. I coated mine a few times as it dries very quick to work with.  :cheers:

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2009, 11:24:14 pm »
After a roughly 7.5 hour drive (!!) from Seattle to Vancouver, WA before Christmas I found the 2nd time around was not as productive as I had hoped. While I was able to get a majority of the cabinet put together, by the end of my time off I still had more things to do and painting hadn't even started yet. I can definitely see how these projects can take people much longer than they expected.  :)

Pics might appear complete, but still need to attach some shelf brackets to support the monitor shelf, install hinges for both the front coin door and an additional door I cut for the back and get started actually putting the controller panel together (pieces are already cut).

One thing I will need to figure out is how to brace this thing to become better aligned. Due to the ground in the garage I am building this not being entirely level I think the sides of my cabinet ended up slightly off. The problem this is causing is that my front coin door is not fitting exactly. It would fine if I could just screw it into the sides and force it to fit, but with it needing to hinge it will have to be braced some other way. I tried to do this slightly with the piece below the control panel, but that didn't really work.

I also encountered a problem cutting my lexan marquee, where I overcompensated on making the width slightly small so that it would have an easier time fitting into the cabinet. There is currently a roughly 1/16" or so gap on each side of the marquee, which I assume will be pretty noticeable with a bright light shining from behind it. Was kind of my kicking myself about that one, but was thinking some sort of thin black rubber on the either side might provide a good tight fit. I have no idea where the best place to get a piece of thin rubber like that would be acquired, or if another method might work better.

So overall, it was a productive holiday, but I think it is going to take 2-3 weekend trips to actually finish off the woodworking portion of this project. Pics are below...
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2009, 01:35:10 am »
Just wanted to bump this to see if anyone had any suggestions for fixing the undersized marquee lexan issue I described above. Basically, it ended up being cut about 1/8" too little, so there are gaps on the sides when it is placed in. I had thought maybe some sort of thin rubber or plastic on the sides might be good to make it fit better. Although not ideal due to costs and equipment available, I suppose re-cutting might also be an option.

Thanks.
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

Bender

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #13 on: January 10, 2009, 09:39:28 am »
I know some people have put black foam insulating tape on the back side, or you could cut two small pieces of marquee retainer and put then on the sides to match the top and bottom, that could actually look really nice
« Last Edit: January 10, 2009, 09:42:33 am by Bender »

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #14 on: January 14, 2009, 02:07:46 pm »
I'd be willing to bet you have some extra MDF kicking around: why not cut two thin pieces to align on either side? You could cut a channel down the MDF with a slotting bit or table saw, to slide the lexan in if you didn't have a marquee holder. Alternately, you could pick up an 1/8" hardboard sheet or a thin moulding from your local lumber yard/Home Depot and do something similar.

In what way is the coin door not fitting? Too tight? Too loose?

I bucked the trend and did multiple admin buttons on my cabinet. The feedback I've had from friends using the cabinet has been positive. It makes the cabinet more intuitive, since most buttons are dedicated to a single function and are as labelled.

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2009, 02:29:05 pm »
I get the feeling that just a few small pieces of MDF would look kind of odd though, but maybe not. That and I don't have ready access to a table saw or router (all cutting was done at a shop I have access to). In my mind I have this idea of a small piece of black rubber in something like a U shap, with the open side sliding over the lexan a bit and providing just a little bit more buffer. I know I have seen stuff like it before, just not sure for what. I will have to look into that black foam insulating tape.

The problem isn't with the coin door really, but the front piece of wood the coin door goes into. I was planning on hinging it, but currently the wood isn't really matched up very well on the front, so each side of the cabinet does not align when the coin door wood is tightly put in place. I will likely need to sand it down to get it to fit better, among other possible things.

Yeah, I like the idea of easily being able to access the admin buttons and I think putting them on the secondary panel below will put them mostly out of the way. If I find I don't like them however it shouldn't be difficult to just print up some new artwork and cover the holes.


I am heading back down to work on the cabinet this weekend, so will have a chance to try out a few things and try to get this finished up. My goal is to finish construction (hinge doors, assemble control panel, drill button holes) by Monday so I can then focus on painting at a later time. It remains to be seen if I will actually accomplish this though, as my timing for this project has so far been horrendously wrong.  :)
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #16 on: January 22, 2009, 03:11:47 am »
So, was able to make some progress this last weekend. A little less than I would have liked, but progress nonetheless.

First off, here is the pic of the marquee issue I described before. Ended up buying some black foam insulation tape on a whim at home depot but think it might be too thick. I will do some searching for thinner stuff online for the next time I go down.




Got my shelf brackets mounted.


Cut a hole for my DataPro USB cover.


Tried to improve air flow by cutting some holes in the back of the speaker shelf.


Got the control panel glued together. These pics are before I went to town sanding it down however, it nearly looks like one piece of wood in some places now.



Got my back door installed with hinge, magnetic door stop and cool chrome handle.




Also got the front door hinged and installed. Sadly was not able to get the surface bolt mounted before I had to leave.




So what is left to do? Finish installing the surface bolt and sanding the control panel and cabinet. Cutting the holes for the primary and secondary control panels, mounting them and hinging the primary. Fixing screw holes with Bondo, sanding and then finally painting. I am guessing (hoping) this takes me a couple more weekends or maybe 1 more long stay. After that, it should hopefully be all wiring and electrical.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 02:00:16 am by solowCX »
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

coindropper

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #17 on: January 22, 2009, 10:16:43 am »
If you are still looking for a solution for your marquee issue, you might want to look at something like this.

http://www.crazypc.com/products/8302.html

It is the molding used when people modify their computer case to put a window in it. Nice and clean...

GL

Oh here is kinda what it would look like

http://www.smartcomputing.com/images/smartcomputing/fullsize/00967583.jpg

It might not be what you need but at least another option.

Ps.

Liking the look of the CP
« Last Edit: January 22, 2009, 10:20:20 am by coindropper »

Gatsu

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #18 on: January 22, 2009, 10:17:07 am »
looking good homey. can't wait to see it finished!

I'm really hoping to actually start doing some cutting for my project this weekend.

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #19 on: January 22, 2009, 10:24:26 am »
Thanks coindropper! That was pretty much exactly what I was looking for, will have to order some and see how it works out.  :cheers:
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #20 on: January 22, 2009, 10:31:05 am »
Hey there, question.  These hinges:



How do they feel if you open the door, grab it by the side opposite of the hinges, and kind of twist it?  I used mailbox hinges because do so something similar and they are  :censored:

Thanks, and awesome job so far!
-csa

coindropper

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #21 on: January 22, 2009, 10:49:38 am »
Now I just might be grasping at straws here, but looking the the art work for the CP I am assuming
you want this to be eye candy as much as functional :)

Perhaps looking that the fan grills from here

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g36/c221/list/p1/Fans-Fan_Grills.html

or the place I linked to the window molding

http://www.crazypc.com/products/fanguards.html

Might give a little extra "pop" over the standard fan grills or mesh grills and there are lots of places to order them from. You can even get UV reactive ones ( or UV paint ) if you are into that soft of thing.

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #22 on: January 22, 2009, 11:15:26 am »
How do they feel if you open the door, grab it by the side opposite of the hinges, and kind of twist it?  I used mailbox hinges because do so something similar and they are  :censored:

Don't have it on-hand to test, but I seem to remember it being pretty sturdy. I can check the next time I head down, but that might be awhile.

Now I just might be grasping at straws here, but looking the the art work for the CP I am assuming
you want this to be eye candy as much as functional :)

Right now I just have some standard concentric circle grills, but maybe something different might be a good idea. The way I figure it though, most everyone is going to be looking at the front, so might as well put the most of your effort there first. On the other hand, was never really digging the standard ones, we will see... :)
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #23 on: January 22, 2009, 12:07:43 pm »
Hey, Very cool cabinet. Can't wait to see the end result.

I did have a question. I love driving games, but I couldn't figure a good way to get a wheel into my cab (Very different from what you're doing). I love the layout and the tilted edge for the wheels but don't they interfere with the sticks and standard buttons?

Just wondering.

solowCX

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    • Solarcade
Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #24 on: January 22, 2009, 12:26:54 pm »
I did have a question. I love driving games, but I couldn't figure a good way to get a wheel into my cab (Very different from what you're doing). I love the layout and the tilted edge for the wheels but don't they interfere with the sticks and standard buttons?

Well, I am using the Mini Racer wheel add-ons to the TurboTwist2 spinner from GroovyGameGear right now, so they just slid right off when not in use. With just a standard spinner wheel in place I did not have any issues when testing with my cardboard mock-up.

I had originally wanted to try to incorporate a 270 degree wheel in addition to the 360s, but I never figured out a good way and abandoned the idea for now. I could always get a PC driving wheel, but I don't have any good surfaces to mount it on my control panel right now, so there's another issue.
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #25 on: March 04, 2009, 02:19:23 am »
Dang, looks like the server upgrade ate my images. Oh well, got the images all hosted on their own solarcade.net domain now, will hopefully create a website for it sometime between when I finish the cabinet and the next millennium.

Got down to work on the cabinet again this weekend. Kind of a short trip, so only really was able to finish up some work on the control panel and pick up a random-orbit sander.

Major thing was I got all the button holes cut for the primary and secondary control panels. Only thing is that I forgot I moved my template to the right a little when setting it up to allow for more space next to the far left joystick, thus causing my Coin/Start buttons for the far left and right players to not be equal distances from the sides. :( Not the end of the world, but wish I could just adjusted those holes slightly.



Also decided how to mount the joysticks using tee nuts. Might add some glue to these to make sure they are actually secure.


Of course, once I got those added in I couldn't resist seeing how they worked. :)


After that it was just a little bit of sanding. Next time I am down I will have to finish that off, add holes to my lexan, add the hinge for my control panel, bondo up some holes on the side, prime and then finally paint the %@&# thing.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2009, 02:23:28 am by solowCX »
Project Solarcade - Still in progress

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #26 on: May 26, 2009, 01:12:21 am »
Nice 2.5 month break since my last update... Unlike other trips down to work on this though I actually completed nearly everything I was hoping to.

First, finished bondoing up some of the holes in the side. Due to some other issues with drilling later in the weekend I ended up making several batches, but this stuff definitely saved me several times. Love it.


Also got my hinges installed on the control panel top and base.


I know that my joysticks will probably end up hitting the screen this way, but didn't really have anything to hinge it on for a front swing.


Of course, once I got to this point I couldn't resist throwing some buttons on there.  ;D  This thing is definitely a frankenpanel. If I had to do it over again I think I would get rid of some of them admin buttons on the secondary panel, but oh well, no going back now.


Everything seemed to fit fine so I moved onto the last stage of my weekend work, PRIMING! Only did one coat since I used oil-based and it will take awhile to dry, but next time I go down I plan to sand it off a bit and do another coat. After that, hopefully will be ready for the paint.


« Last Edit: May 26, 2009, 11:05:24 am by solowCX »
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TOK

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #27 on: May 26, 2009, 06:05:09 am »
Do those t-nuts feel like they're in good? For a bottom mount, they should actually be in the top so that they're being pulled down into the wood, not away from it when the sticks are installed. You can make a shallow hole for them to drop down into. If you need a totally smooth surface on the top, you can then put a bolt in them to plug the hole and use filler to make the surface flush.

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #28 on: May 26, 2009, 09:45:28 am »
Yeah, I realize that they are supposed to go on the top but I didn't feel comfortable routing out more of the wood on the top in order to make it flush. Instead what I did was add some Gorilla Glue to the nuts and then hammer them in. Hopefully this will keep them secure, as I know it is less than ideal. For the trackball I actually did end up mounting them on the top because no wood was routed on the bottom. I suppose we will see how much abuse this method can take.
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cmoses

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #29 on: May 26, 2009, 05:52:47 pm »
What size Mini Racing Wheels are those?

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #30 on: May 26, 2009, 06:20:22 pm »
Those are the 7" racing wheels. I wanted something that felt at least somewhat authentic, so the bigger the better. Felt pretty good for the brief time I had them installed, especially with the 45 degree angle.
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Benevolance

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #31 on: May 28, 2009, 05:45:16 pm »
Looking good.

BadMojo12

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #32 on: May 30, 2009, 02:44:19 pm »
Looks like a terrific cab design; this is one of those times when I wish I could tear down my existing design and redo it with some additional ideas (yours).  I too have a 27" Panasonic and I am using component (really good color and picture).  But I too have a bezel issue and I'm glad I didn't order the happ given your experience.  How do you intend to resolve?

BM12
The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well.  --Rodney Dangerfield

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #33 on: May 31, 2009, 04:29:19 am »
Thanks Benevolance and BadMojo12.

Mostly just been working to get woodwork and painting done so I can move it up north to finish wiring and such. Have not really decided how I am going to do the bezel yet, I figure it will be the old poster board behind glass standby. Despite what anyone says about de-casing monitors, would rather just leave everything connected. Leaving it in the case will also make it much easier to remove in case I need to lay the cabinet down horizontally.
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solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #34 on: July 15, 2009, 04:06:21 am »
So have actually made 2 trips down since my last post. One about a month ago and another this last weekend. The oldest one allowed me to finish up my last coat of primer.



With that done this last trip was to get the thing painted. Since I decided on using latex paint I was able to wait less time between coats. I ended up with 3 coats, with minor sanding between each. It ended up being a pretty smooth paint job and I am mostly satisfied with it, especially for my first time really ever painting something. I also plan on possibly doing a coat of spray lacquer to give it some extra shine.



However, I was not so satisfied with the last thing I attempted before leaving, drilling holes in my sheet of lexan. I had been putting this off for fear I would screw it up, and you know what? I did. Things were going along great and the holes were coming out really good.



Then I got down to my final 6 holes and noticed that at some point my lexan had shifted positions despite being clamped and having my entire body weight on top of it when drilling. I re-aligned it, re-drilled and hoped it was minor enough that the edges of my buttons would cover the difference, sadly this was not the case.



So now I have a perfectly cut piece of lexan except for 6 messed up holes. In my opinion this won't fly, so it looks like I will be buying another roughly $60 sheet and getting this cut again. Of course, this also requires going to the shop where I did all my cutting before and I don't know when I will be able to get down there next.

The only good thing to come of screwing up the lexan? I will have enough extra to re-do my marquee sheets. At least the painting is done, after this lexan situation is resolved it will be time to move this beast up to Seattle and get started wiring it. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later, but who knows at this point.

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saleem

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #35 on: July 15, 2009, 05:04:00 am »
probably one of the more unusual but,complicated looking cps i have seen in the time i been here (which aint long) but,i have perused the site for long enough and have yet to see a cp like the one your building.
:)

smalltownguy

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #36 on: July 15, 2009, 07:27:59 am »
If (when!) you do recut the lexan for the CP, here's the approach I'd take, to ensure you don't get movement -- pick holes in each corner, and do them first. Then, if possible, mount the piece to your control panel, and mount buttons to the 4 holes. The buttons will serve as anchors that will keep things aligned much tighter than any clamp could. Then you can cut the rest of your holes.

If you're looking for a solution for drilling in plexi/lexan that can be done with a hand drill, see my post from another thread:

Find someone you know who has a forstner bit. They really do cut through plexi smoothly without melting the edges & causing all sorts of problems. If you can't borrow one, you should be able to get the bit for about $10-15.




Of course a drill press is the recommended option, to ensure straight holes.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE those mini racing wheels, mounted to a spinner. I gotta get me one of those -- perfect solution to my 'I wanna wheel but don't want it all the time' quandary. Plus, I should be able to integrate it by just adding a spinner, which shouldn't take up much real estate.  :applaud:
Man, will my cab EVER be finished?

solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #37 on: July 15, 2009, 04:20:07 pm »
saleem - Yeah, I wanted something a little different. I was actually originally hoping to create more of a 3 sided wing shape (similar to an Off-Road arcade panel), but the angles got to be a little too complicated for me to figure out when designing it. I kinda wish I had gone this route, but hopefully this will work good enough!

smalltownguy - Thanks for the button anchor suggestion! That is actually a pretty good idea.

I've been using a forstner bit for all my hole drilling (except for larger holes, in which I have used various hole saws) attached to a cordless drill and it has worked great so far. I think it should probably be fine to continue doing it this way, since I don't really have access to a drill press.

Yeah, I love the wheels so far too, at least in my initial testing. :) I have also been thinking it might be kind of cool to put a 3rd spinner on the top of the control panel, possibly to the right of my middle player buttons. Since it would just be a new hole and wouldn't really be in the way of the artwork I think it might be a better solution for traditional spinner games, especially if you need a joystick to go along with it like with Tron. It also could allow for 3 player racing games, albeit in a pretty cramped fashion. This would be down the road though, just an idea. ;)
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solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #38 on: July 28, 2009, 03:01:33 am »
So took another trip down this weekend and mostly finished up the woodworking. Got a new piece of lexan cut and also was able to have someone help me use their lacquer sprayer for the cabinet and control panel. I think it ended up with around 4 coats of clear lacquer, but due to not sanding between these coats it didn't end up the most smooth. I think it is fine though and it really is more for protection of the paint.





So since it was all painted and lacquered, I ended up taking the control panel back with me. No way my small little car could take the cabinet, so that will have to be moved some other weekend. But for now, I can try to work on the control panel by getting the vinyl fitted, installing buttons/joysticks and wiring it all. Also forgot to paint the bottom of the control panel top, so I might end up doing a small amount of painting in the apartment.

In any case, the panel is now in its new home.
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solowCX

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Re: Project Solarcade - Cabinet #1
« Reply #39 on: August 23, 2009, 11:50:08 pm »
Some more updates... First and most important, the cabinet is now in its final resting place (for now). Because of this I have been able to get to work getting everything assembled and installed. So far the coin door, lexan, joysticks, buttons, TV, hinges, speakers, speaker covers and marquee have all been installed.




Obviously nothing is wired yet, that is my next job. Also need to get the t-molding, marquee light and temporary monitor bezel installed. After that it should all be computer and MAME stuff. Yay.
Project Solarcade - Still in progress