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New cab project with removeable control panel
flowon:
Hello Eveyone!
Ok so i've finally decided to build an mame cab! I don't have a lot of room so I've decided to build the control panel first and then have my cab design so that the control panel can be dropped in and out at will... so I can start work on that when I finally clear out my garage lol.
Here is my initial design... bear with me please because this is the first time I have ever done anything like this... so I'm going to learn as I go... and make lots of mistakes too i bet!
What do you guys think of the design? I downloaded sketchup after reading about that lovely ARTIFACT game machine someone made and I have had a practice with it:
I'm not going for a totally authentic retro cab which may not go down to well on some forums... but in my opinion mame is not authentic so why should the cab be! I want to make it kinda new-skool/old-skool if you get me! fancy artwork but with basic black and white buttons and a white trackball... no spinner.
From an angle:
From the top:
One with the test artwork:
I will post the design of the cab that this control panel will drop into seamlessly later. This design also means I can take this thing to a friend's house and play there too. Portable mame cab!
Any input appreciated!
leapinlew:
Angled joysticks may SEEM like a good idea, but it's best if "up" meant pushing the joystick directly towards the monitor.
javeryh:
--- Quote from: leapinlew on August 29, 2008, 09:39:51 am ---Angled joysticks may SEEM like a good idea, but it's best if "up" meant pushing the joystick directly towards the monitor.
--- End quote ---
This x 1,000,000. Do not angle those joysticks! I like the design though - have you thought about maybe a red trackball to match the art? :cheers:
flowon:
Ok i hadn't considered this!! see what I mean about learning as I go? ... i like that the buttons are angled but do you think it would be ok/user friendly to have the buttons at an angle like this and then the joys at parallel with the monitor? Yes I think that would be better... having to aim 10 degrees to the right when you mean up would be confusing I suppose. But have the buttons angled on their own would be ok.
Originally I wanted an orange trackball and orange/black buttons but finding colored trackballs where I live was very difficult so I just went with this one... I can swap it out later tho. I will be in the states on business sometime later this year and its a lot easier to find them there. thanks for the input!
flowon:
Hello,
I've been working on this control panel and have taken some pretty poor quality shots with my phone if anyone is interested.
Made a box out of mdf fixing the corners with glue and three pieces of dowel and sanded. Drilled the holes for trackball and buttons:
I got a perspex sheet drilled for the overlay... it fits like a glove but the guys that did it for me drilled the four holes around the trackball also. I didn't really want this as I had countersunk them on the wood already and had intended to obscure the heads under the artwork for a cleaner finish. Oh well... i'm gonna make do...
painted the box (this is after the first coat, i did another 5 sanding between each one)
checked artwork and lay perspex on top
I clamped the perspex on and used a sharp craft knife to cut out the buttons holes from the artwork and trim the edges so it fits flush with the edge of the perspex.
you can see the holes for the joys that i haven't fitted yet, and also the black bolt heads around the trackball that were not intended to be there... but it looks ok. It's a lot more red in real life and doesn't look so orangey. I guess my n95 8gb camera isn't as good as I thought it was hehe.
im gonna stick the joys in when I get a chance and fire it up. The prototype i made (basically this without the trackball, art and perspex) works great so I don't anticipate any probs.
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