CP Assembly Questions

[Honkyharris]

Hey all (Ginsu)

   I have a couple of questions about CP assembly. First, is it best to top mount  or bottom mount the joysticks / trackball? I plan on using an artwork overlay and plexi or some sort of protective layer on top of that. It seems like it would be easy to do it either way. I'm assuming a top mount means your route out enough mdf from the top to have your joystick / trackball sit flush with the top of the cp and then put the overlay and plexi on top. The one problem I see with a top mount is if you need to remove a joystick or trackball, you have to remove the plexi/artwork to get to it.

   Secondly, what is the standard method of holding the artwork/plexi in place. I saw at mamemarquees you can order your overlay with an adhesive back, is this the way to go? As far as the plexi goes, I realize that the button tops are slightly larger than the opening required i.e 1.3" > 1.13" or something like that. In this case, the bottons would actually aid in holding the plexi in place, but I'm not sure it would be enough. What methods do people typically use to hold their plexi or protective layer in place?

   Lastly, my cp will be 3/4" MDF and my t-molding I've ordered is fit for 3/4" . The plexi or protective layer is going to sit above the molding which I thought might look bad. Is this standard practice? I was thinking of putting a rounded bevel on the edge of the plexi and then allowing it to sit 1/8" above or so (depending on the thickness of the protective layer) would not be a big deal. Please advise.

Ginsu I thank you in advance
Thanks all,
Honkyharris

[Ginsu Victim]

Hey all (Ginsu)

Ha. I was the fifth person to look at this thread.

I have a couple of questions about CP assembly. First, is it best to top mount  or bottom mount the joysticks / trackball? I plan on using an artwork overlay and plexi or some sort of protective layer on top of that. It seems like it would be easy to do it either way. I'm assuming a top mount means your route out enough mdf from the top to have your joystick / trackball sit flush with the top of the cp and then put the overlay and plexi on top. The one problem I see with a top mount is if you need to remove a joystick or trackball, you have to remove the plexi/artwork to get to it.

It's easiest to bottom mount joysticks, but if you can top mount your sticks flush, route it out and do that. For the trackball, mounting it from the bottom without a visible mounting plate is preferable.

Secondly, what is the standard method of holding the artwork/plexi in place. I saw at mamemarquees you can order your overlay with an adhesive back, is this the way to go? As far as the plexi goes, I realize that the button tops are slightly larger than the opening required i.e 1.3" > 1.13" or something like that. In this case, the bottons would actually aid in holding the plexi in place, but I'm not sure it would be enough. What methods do people typically use to hold their plexi or protective layer in place?

If you're planning to order from mamemarquees, you might as well go with the adhesive-backed, especially because of your next question...

Lastly, my cp will be 3/4" MDF and my t-molding I've ordered is fit for 3/4" . The plexi or protective layer is going to sit above the molding which I thought might look bad. Is this standard practice? I was thinking of putting a rounded bevel on the edge of the plexi and then allowing it to sit 1/8" above or so (depending on the thickness of the protective layer) would not be a big deal. Please advise.

The stuff from mamemarquees is tough, but thin (in a good way). It won't look bad at all. If you go with plexiglass, it will sit above the t-molding, so the mamemarquees CPO is the best way to go.

Ginsu I thank you in advance

I need to quit being so predictable.

[Honkyharris]

Ginsu,

   Great response as per usual. I do have a followup question. When bottom-mounting the joysticks, how much of the 3/4 mdf should be routed out? If I only route out a a small bit it seems like the stick itself wouldn't be long enough to use. I am using happ competition joysticks. I am planning on doing some test installations on some scrap mdf, I just wanted to get a feel of what you thought was the method of best practice for bottom-mounting. Also, do you just countersink the top for the location of your mounting hardware to allow it to sit flush?

Thanks again,
Honkyharris

[Kman-Sweden]

Lastly, my cp will be 3/4" MDF and my t-molding I've ordered is fit for 3/4" . The plexi or protective layer is going to sit above the molding which I thought might look bad. Is this standard practice? I was thinking of putting a rounded bevel on the edge of the plexi and then allowing it to sit 1/8" above or so (depending on the thickness of the protective layer) would not be a big deal. Please advise.

I'll top mount everything. I'll do the top of the CP in a thinner MDF so that MDF + Plexi = 3/4".
Thisway the t-mold helps holding the Plexi in place.

[Ginsu Victim]

Ginsu,

   Great response as per usual. I do have a followup question. When bottom-mounting the joysticks, how much of the 3/4 mdf should be routed out? If I only route out a a small bit it seems like the stick itself wouldn't be long enough to use. I am using happ competition joysticks. I am planning on doing some test installations on some scrap mdf, I just wanted to get a feel of what you thought was the method of best practice for bottom-mounting. Also, do you just countersink the top for the location of your mounting hardware to allow it to sit flush?

Thanks again,
Honkyharris

I'm not sure how much to route (I never do), but you might want to use the mounting kit from Ultimarc.
http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html#mountingkits

[Honkyharris]

I'll top mount everything. I'll do the top of the CP in a thinner MDF so that MDF + Plexi = 3/4".
Thisway the t-mold helps holding the Plexi in place.

This is another option, but a much more expensive one. I already have a panel cut out of 3/4" which I wanted to do to make the top beefy. It would be nice to have the t-molding help, but my layout has a total of 18 buttons located throughout the cp which I would think would be enough to hold it in place. My only real concern is the edges.

If I were to make another cp not only would this take more time, but would also require that I bought another thinner MDF board at a cost of $25 or so.

Honkyharris

[Honkyharris]

I'm not sure how much to route (I never do), but you might want to use the mounting kit from Ultimarc.
http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html#mountingkits

I have the mounting kit for the trackball, I just wasn't sure about the joysticks. I'm concerned about the height of the joystick (above the top of the cp) when it is bottom mounted. I guess this is why I'll be doing some test installs

Honkyharris

[Ginsu Victim]

I've bottom mounted U360s with the regular shafts and Happ Competitions (again, no routing) and the length was fine by me, but might not be okay for everyone.

[Honkyharris]

I've bottom mounted U360s with the regular shafts and Happ Competitions (again, no routing) and the length was fine by me, but might not be okay for everyone.

Well i'll certainly look into it. Thanks again for the help.

Honkyharris

[Nacimroc]

   Lastly, my cp will be 3/4" MDF and my t-molding I've ordered is fit for 3/4" . The plexi or protective layer is going to sit above the molding which I thought might look bad. Is this standard practice? I was thinking of putting a rounded bevel on the edge of the plexi and then allowing it to sit 1/8" above or so (depending on the thickness of the protective layer) would not be a big deal. Please advise.

Just starting my first build so no expert, but I bought 13/16" T-Molding instead, allowing for room for plexi to be covered!