New pinball table build: PIN-o-RAMA - 40/28/12

[elfman12]

Ok, I'm back and now commenceth my pinball cabinet construction… I’ve been checking out the projects of others and have been inspired. I have lusted after many of them, so I figured it was time to get crackin’ on my own. I’m tentatively naming this build “PIN-O-RAMA”, but that could change. (I like PIN-ACHE, but that sounds so dang pretentious!)

I built my first MAME standup cab “Arcade Renaissance” back in the winter of 2002 –
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=4154.0
a four player rig we’ve enjoyed ever since. I learned quite a bit during that construction (made it a bit too big) so I hope to learn from my mistakes… hehe.

I’m basing this around a 40” LCD panel, with (for now) a 24.2” WS LCD Backglass and a 9”x12” 4x3LCD for the DMD.

When I built my first MAME cab, I followed some great advice from here on BYOAC and saved my control panel for last! This kept me from getting sidetracked with PLAYING before the cab was finished… and helped me get it along most of the way done, hehe. (I never did plexi the top of the control panel…)

Now with this pincab, I’ve been stuck since that I’ve loaded up Hyperpin and VP/FP and have my monitors in their TEST positions. It’s tempting to just play and not work!!!

Gotta concentrate… gotta concentrate….

Anyway, my biggest dilemma has been the playfield monitor. I decased the 40” last night, and I BELIEVE that I’m going to be able to fit this into a 22”(ish) box and use a standard lockdown bar. The LCD measures 21-5/8” width decased, and 37-3/8” long. I’m looking at using ¼” “Plytanium” plywood (from LOWES) for the sides, so the total width of both should be 22-1/8” wide. Terry from pinballlife.com (great folks) provided me with the INSIDE measurements of a standard Williams/Bally lockdown bar: 22-3/16”. This will be CLOOOOOOOOSE, but I think I can make it work (maybe a bit of creative routing). We’ll see…

Here’s my parts list so far (most ordered from Newegg):

PLAYFIELD: SCEPTRE 40" 16:9 4.5ms 1080p LCD HDTV X400BV-FHD
BACKGLASS: Hannspree Black 28" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
DMD: Dell 12”x9” LCD monitor (used)
GRFX CARD: EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB
CPU: Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz (will OC to around 3.6GHz)
MBOARD: EVGA P55 LE 123-LF-E653-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel MB
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
PWRSUPLY: Rosewill Green Series RG800W
HDD: 500GB Seagate
OS:   64bit Vista U
FE:   Hyperpin

I’ve put the PC parts into a cheap mid-tower case. On my MAME cab I have the MB mounted with an arcade PCB holder, but I don’t like it that way for a couple of reasons: Grfx boards in PCI slots are wobbly: Screws etc. falling from work on other parts of the cab might land on running MB: RF interference will be cut down with a proper metal case. It’ll also be easier to work on the PC by removing it quickly and moving it to the bench.

I’ll try to document this build as best I can, especially since those who have done so have helped me IMMENSELY in preparing for mine – so thanks fellas!!!
-Elfman12

[Kman-Sweden]

Sweet! Can't wait. 

[elfman12]

A few pics:

Here are a few pics:

mockup before decasing

The 'puter

Perfect surface to decase an LCD on!

Easy as pie

Almost there

All done

Length of the 40" LCD

Width

A tab that's in the way, but nothing a dremel can't handle.



2nd Mockup. I had trouble configuring my second NVidia card (an older 9600GSO 512K) for the third monitor. (Running 64bit Vista) I'll work on that later.

...on my way!

[elfman12]

Super-quick 3dsmax render for layout/sizing.

I wondering about scaling the backglass box up (vertically) a bit so that the DMD monitor doesn't have to go down into the cab.
Any thoughts?

[IG-88]

I love these builds. 

Can I ask how much $$ you've spent so far on the monitors and other parts?

Have you considered running win7 or even XP over Vista? (I got me a sour taste for vista lately)

[bgspot]

This is gonna be sick! I'd luv to build one of these someday too. Keep us posted!

[elfman12]

Thanks, all. I put Vista on it but will eventually upgrade it to Win7. I have been running the RC of 7 since last July, and love it. I just had this license handy when I was setting it up, haha.

I'm finding sales on monitors (there's always a good one on sale), since there are only certain things that are a must (1080p on the playfield, view angle, response time, DVI or HDMI inputs, etc). And since only a few manufacturers actually MAKE the panels for all of these TV's, the specs are pretty consistent. A 40" LCD can be found for as little as $425 new and even $300 open box at some places (BestBuy is a great place to look). I found a 37" for $325 new (but wanted to go 40"). Since all you'll be using is the LCD panel itself, that makes the tuner/remote control/speakers etc. not that critical. A second monitor (for a 2-monitor setup) can be found for under $150 new. A simple dual-core PC can run Visual Pinball or Future Pinball quite well.

As for the pinball parts, just drop by your local amusement machine place and pick up many parts there. If not, ebay or pinballlife.com are great resources. The woodworking is simpler than my MAME cab, and I'm only using about 2 4x8 sheets for the main bits. The side art graphics will probably cost more than all of the wood and small hardware! 

I'm planning on building a table for a friend of mine (a surgeon that loves pinball, so he has the cash ), so I hope to have mine paid for by the profit from the that one. (I say hopefully of course, haha)

[Gamester]

Wow, a core i7 860 to run a pin?  That's a pretty beefy system.  Surely the requirements for Future Pinball aren't nearly that high?  If so, I may be putting off my pinball build longer than anticipated... that's a lot of coin.  I knew that it required a pretty capable video card, but I didn't think it needed a CPU anywhere near the level of an i7.   

Anyway, very cool project.  Curious to see how it all comes together!   

[elfman12]

Wow, a core i7 860 to run a pin?  That's a pretty beefy system.  Surely the requirements for Future Pinball aren't nearly that high?

Nah, just got a good deal on that CPU - was planning to use it in a video edit system, but that fell through. (I work with/configure PCs for a living) I might even test a smaller board/cpu in this after I finish the build, and if there's no major difference I'll move this PC out and put in something smaller. The GPU is the most important thing, though, you're right about that.
As I said in an earlier post, any dual core with an Nvidia (9800 or later) card would do just great, so don't worry!

[IG-88]

Did you decide to de-case the 40" just so you could use a lock down bar? I don't know if I would have had the "guts" to do it. My luck the damn thing would fail 2 months after I got it built and then no chance of returning it.... 

[elfman12]

Did you decide to de-case the 40" just so you could use a lock down bar?

Yes, pretty much. I want as little a bezel as possible, since I think that just looks more realistic, as a pinball cab. I wanted to be able to slide the 40" down into the table a little bit, or else I would have done like some others have done and "rest" it on the top of the sides, which really cuts down on the bezel size. That way though, the glass sits right on top of the LCD, and my preference is a few inches of space between them, which gives a more 3D look.

And since I was going to mount it de-cased, I needed to get measurements ASAP to plan the rest of the cab. Hopefully my measurements of the 40" can help others in their planning without ripping into theirs right away.

As for the de-case, I tested the monitor for several days to try and make it screw up, but it worked fine. Also, the de-casing itself is so clean that I should be able to put it back together with no issues (although I'm sure the techs could tell, but there weren't any obvious stickers saying "WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED" or anything. Of course, if I lop those metal tabs off, there's no going back...

But yeah, it's taking a chance, and probably isn't for everyone.

[IG-88]

Totally off subject but I see you are a LOTR fan. Have you seen/heard this:

http://tinyurl.com/ybm5eko


Pretty cool.

[elfman12]

Totally off subject but I see you are a LOTR fan. Have you seen/heard this:

Cool, was that you? Nice job whoever it was - it's kind of hard to pick it out from the movie, since it's so subtle.

[IG-88]

No, not me   I could only imagine how I would make that sound.

[elfman12]

Ok, so I'm SCRAPPING my idea of using 1/4" plywood for the left and right sides of the bottom cabinet (to force a standard lockbar to work). I was going to use 3/4 for the bottom, front and back, but after checking the 1/4" out in person, it's just too flimsy.

Question is: Has anyone used 1/2 HQ plywood in their projects? I'm thinking of using 1/2" for the sides, and 3/4 for the bottom and backglass back. I started to move back to MDF, but really liked the idea of a table that will weigh less than a ton... (like my MAME cab does!)

[Kurt]

Nice hardware, Good luck with the build.

I'm using 16mm MDF on my full size pinball cab and im suprised it doesnt weigh as much as i thought. Easy to rout and fix.

[elfman12]

Yeah, MDF is easy to work with, that's fo sho. I'm just torn between MDF and plywood, now that's I've been standing in the aisles at LOWES comparing weight, grain, etc.
ARGH! Decisions, decisions, decisions! 

[Umpa]

Great project. I intend to start one very soon!

[Kman-Sweden]

 

[brock.sampson]

I have used mdo plywood for a couple of projects and have had good results.  It's a plywood core with mdf faces.  You get the best of both worlds.  Smooth easily paintable face and lighter plywood core that holds screws much better than mdf.  I haven't seen it at Lowes or Home Depot.  There is another chain in town called Menards that carries 3/4 and 1/2. 

[elfman12]

Ok, got the wood (3/4" HQ plywood) and got to cuttin'. Man, I couldn't cut a straight line to save my LIFE today! Gonna use lots of filler on this one (haha). (I wish I would have looked for some MDO now, sounds like nice stuff to work with! Thanks for the tip though, Brock)

I was able to get the base assembled and screwed and glued (the left/right/bottom only for now).
I have most of my parts in now (will need to get a custom lock down bar, though - the standard one I have is about 1" too short.

Anyway, next will be to sand/prime, cut the door in the back panel for access to the PC, cut the coin door hole in the front panel, then test the height of the playfield monitor and mount the side rests for that. Then I'll start on the backglass assembly.

I included the final file from 3DS Max of the build. Ignore the naked dude there, haha, I just downloaded a mannequin mesh to give it some perspective. He's about 5'5", my height. That helped me decide if the leg height and view angles would work well.

[elfman12]

More work tonight. I added the support 2x2's inside. Just had to add a few spacers to fit the cabinet hardware for the computer shelf. I had to add some stops to keep the drawer from going too far back into the cab.

I cut the back door out (very poorly I might add... hehe. I used the jigsaw from the wrong side and got chipping on the good side, and the blade hit the side of the table I was cutting it on and it curved a bit). But it's done. I think I'm going to go with the solid door hinges along the bottom to secure the door, and a pivot latch at the top.

Quick question, y'all. For those who have pin cabs (self-built or commercial tables) what is the height of your flipper buttons - from the center of the main buttons to the floor? I'm getting ready to secure the legs, and want to make sure I get them in the best spot possible. I measured an APACHE table and I believe it was 36".

Anyway, thanks!

[javeryh]

Nice!  I like the slide out drawer - it should make admin a snap.  I really want to build one of these things someday but I don't have room in my house!

[brock.sampson]

Javeryh I'll take one for the team.  Send me that DK cab you recently finished any you should have plenty of room.

 

[saleem]

why not buy a guide clamp.they are good for drawing straight lines,clamping (sort of) and they guide the power tools once you set the distance so the blades on the line you want to cut,clamps in place and leaves your hands free to cut,i used one (a lot) for my project and i got some nice flush joins.without it i would hate to think what would have happened,i used a jigsaw mostly.

[elfman12]

why not buy a guide clamp.

Thanks, I think I need one of those. I've been using a 48" straight edge (level) and clamping it to the board, but the clamps I have don't have that deep of a throat, so that wouldn't always work. A guide clamp would work great. Do you suggest any particular one?

[saleem]

i dont know realy as i think many people will suggest different products and i live in united kingdom.

all i can do is show you what i bought and its here:
http://www.rutlands.co.uk/hand-tools/work-holding/clamp-grip---guide-system

i ended up with a 50" one.dakota brand,it dont clamp to any particular depth of wood as it grips the edges of the wood you want to cut,seems sturdy enough quality.all i know is i wont go without it now,it is an essential piece of equipment for my tool collection and woodworking.i would have had the rickitiest cabinet ever without it.
 

[elfman12]

Thanks again for the info. I think I'll need to invest in one, since I've promised to build a couple of MAME bartops for friends... and that will save a ton of time.

One questions, is there a way to use it when you are cutting a line at an angle to the ends it's clamping to?

[javeryh]

A less expensive (and more accurate, IMO) method of cutting straight lines is to use a straightedge (I use a strip of plywood) and then a router with a flush cutting bit.  Use your jigsaw to rough cut your workpiece about 1/8" from where you want your straight line to be.  Then you can use two $0.99 spring clamps to hold the straightedge to the work piece.  You can line up the edge exactly with your pencil line and you don't have to worry about an offset or anything.  Once you get the hang of it you can make very accurate cuts very fast.

[Kurt]

+1 I have built my whole pin cab using this method.

P.S The draw idea is catchy  

[bigpete405]

Looking good . I can't wait to see more pics of the building process.

[IG-88]

.....Once you get the hang of it you can make very accurate cuts very fast.

Even tho you have to essentially make the same cut twice?

[skepticalgeek]

SERIOUSLY impressive! Would you consider posting the woodworking plans and instructions online once you are done and get the kinks worked out? While I have neither the skills, tools or inclination for that, I have friends woho do and can be bribed with pizza and booze.

[javeryh]

.....Once you get the hang of it you can make very accurate cuts very fast.

Even tho you have to essentially make the same cut twice?

Oh definitely.  It's not even close - the rough cut with the jigsaw takes seconds, it takes about 30 seconds to line up and clamp down the straightedge to the line and then less than a minute to trim it flush if you are going slow.  The hardest part is the layout.  You also never have to worry about missing your cut - if the straightedge is on the line and where you want it to be the cut will be perfect every time.

[IG-88]

I like that idea too. I'll have to try it out.

[elfman12]

Nice suggestion, javeryh. I th ink I might try that on the large backglass piece. The biggest trouble for me has been getting a clamp on the straightedge, and this method solves that. Thanks for the ideas!

@ skepticalgeek, Thanks! I'll try to post my notes later, since I'm making up stuff as I go (hehe). I think that the 2 biggest factors in a pincab are the size of the playfield monitor and the width of your lockdown bar. Sure, I'm going to have to adjust my lockdown bar, but I still wouldn't have made the cab wider, since I want as LITTLE bezel around the playfield as possible.

[elfman12]

A little more work - I put hinges and magnetic stop on the computer door, and will finish it with an arcade cabinet lock at the top right later.

I also installed the main cooling fan for the bottom section in the same door. It's a 250mm Red LED fan - it's REALLY quiet, and comes with a nice bezel cover and grill. I thought this might work better than 6-8 smaller fans, but we'll see when it's finished.

I routed out the circle dead center in the middle of the drawer and drilled 4 holes for the screw stems on the bezel assembly. I'll be putting one in the center of the back of the backboard as well.
I got it from here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835705054

More to come. I hope I'm not boring anyone with these pics, but I know how much I love watching other people's system slowly build, and the more pictures the better IMO!

[Kurt]

Now that is a fan. how silent is it?

Pinball cabs comming out of the woodworks lately.

[elfman12]

Now that is a fan. how silent is it?

<24db is the spec. If you can get by without the grill, it's even more quit, weirdly enough

 I have an 80mm "silent" fan rated at 25 that I was going to use, but it's louder than this one.

[Necro]

Now that is a fan. how silent is it?

<24db is the spec. If you can get by without the grill, it's even more quit, weirdly enough

The grill introduces more turbulence to the air, which increases noise somewhat.  You can hear the air 'humming'/moving across the grate itself if it's moving fast enough.

[elfman12]

That makes sense. I was thinking about putting a couple of small fans on the bottom for intake, and not use a grill. But then I remembered how curious my cat is... haha.

[elfman12]

Well, I'm getting there. Finished up several little things and a few big ones.

First, I got the coin door routed and fit in the front panel. Then managed to get her standing on her own four feet! I did a few checks with the PC case on the shelf, and the subwoofer in it's place.

I attached the backglass bottom piece to the plate on the main body, using 4 bolts, 8 washers, 4 lockwashers and 4 nuts. They are pretty hefty and should hold the whole assembly pretty tight.

It's looking like a pinball machine now! WooHoo!!! 

I still want to figure out the BEST distance from the glass to put the playfield LCD... I would like it to be about 1.5" near the backglass, and 2" near the player. I think that would give a cool 3D look with the depth and reflections, but I'm not totally convinced. Any opinions?

[elfman12]

Ok, I lopped the metal tabs off of the edges of the frame on the playfield monitor. Burned through a couple of heavy duty cut off wheels on the dremel, but it worked.

I put a couple of temporary braces inside the cab (rear) to hold the monitor as I tested it. I let the front rest on the sub woofer, and would adjust it there for optimal height. I'll make better bracing when I nail down the final location.

Right now, as you can see in the last pic, I have about 1-1/4" from the screen to the glass height in the back, and about 2-3/4" in the front. This just seemed to feel right as I stood at it, but I'll be able to get a better feel when I hook it up and test I guess.

Question: What's YOUR opinion on that slope? Will it help with the viewing angle of the LCD? Does it create a good illusion of depth, or does it hurt it? What are the slope measurements in your cab?

Thanks so much for any advice!!!

[elfman12]

Ok, I finished a few things on the front panel (buttons, ball launcher) and mounted the backglass and DMD monitors. I made a last minute decision and went with a Hannspree 28" for the backglass instead of the 26" I had originally thought I'd use. It just fits the space better and gives a fuller look to the backboard.
They were VERY tight in there and I had to remove the top board to slide the top monitor in, but it works great when they are mounted. I'm going to have to figure out a way to have the top board remain easy to remove just in case I need to get in and work on the monitors... maybe something with latches on the inside?

The funnest thing though was hooking up the PC to all monitors and getting a quick play/eye line test on this rig! I have made the playfield monitor parallel with the 6.5degree slope of the side, and it works better than I thought it would. No viewing angel problems at all. I still have to get pinmame and vpinball setup to run all 3 LCD's, but I'll worry about that when I'm ready to finalize things. (because if I do it now, I'll start playing the cab and will NEVER finish building it! haha)

Next step - strip it back down to bare (assembled) wood, then spackle the screw holes, sand and primer.

Just keeping this thing updated. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear 'em!

[Kurt]

Comming along, what are the blue things at the bottom left and right? nudge with your legs 

[elfman12]

Comming along, what are the blue things at the bottom left and right? nudge with your legs 

HAHA. Yes. I'm going to try that. I didn't want to have 3 buttons each on the flipper sides to do that, so I thought I'd see if this works. It's actually at the right height and feels a little bit natural, at least for me. If it doesn't work, I'll just plug the (normal button sized) holes and do something else.

I'm working on the backboard front piece now - kind of a pain...

[Kurt]

I'm working on the backboard front piece now - kind of a pain...

Tell me about it im working on mine at the moment it's a real pain.

[dekar24k]

This beast is awesome. Can't wait to see it completed.   

[Epyx]

Fantastic job so far...this will definitely be a future project for me but I might have to wait a spell between the current and this for marital reasons 

Should look great when finished! 

[Paladin]

Let me try and read your mind ---  'Must not play, must keep working!'.

Am I close???

Excellent job so far, can't wait to see it finished.

[elfman12]

Thanks you guys. And yeah, it's easier to work on it when it's non-functional. Otherwise "hey, just 1 game" takes over...

[Jeff AMN]

I'm planning on doing this, but I'll probably scale everything down by 3/4 or maybe even 1/2. This looks amazing so far and is only driving my desire to do it more and more.

[elfman12]

Thanks all.
Here's more pics of work on the backbox (grrrrrr).
I started off wanting to do a 1/3 sized 1/2" thick board covering JUST the DMD and speakers, then drop glass down to that and cover the backglass monitor. The seam in the middle was the toughest thing to figure out, and I think it would have been really hard to make look good. (you can see that mocked up in the pic)

Sooo, I cut a full size 1/2" sheet to cover the front, put grooves in the sides and bottom of the box, then slid this sheet down in there. After painstaking measurements with the monitors locked down, I started routing out the holes in that sheet.
I kind of like the way it looks. I'm going to do some paint and artwork on those surfaces eventually. I wish I would have tilted it forward slightly. I made it perfectly upright (I slapped a level on it in one pic to show that) but in person it has the illusion of being slightly slanted back (because of the forward sloping sides).

Anyway, my main point I reached was "why use glass/plexi" at all on the backbox? It made sense on a MAME cab, when you're right there in front of it, but this is pretty far from the user. And besides, our TVs are all "uncovered" in the house - I play XBox 360 with friends in front of an "unprotected" big screen all the time, no protection isn't a big issue. (It certainly would be in a public place, however.)

If I cover the exposed frames and everything with a bezel or with wood like I have here, shouldn't that be enough? Am I missing something in my logic? If so, I will put a full 1/8" sheet in front (I allowed space for that in the channels I routed) or maybe BEHIND the front piece just cover the monitors.

Does that make sense?

[Kurt]

More a personal choice to use glass or not i decided to use glass not only for a finishing point of view but i didnt like the ugly reflections LCD's give in some lighting, eg: your 2nd last pic..

Have you worked out a theme yet.

[elfman12]

ugly reflections LCD's give in some lighting, eg: your 2nd last pic..

Well, the reason for that reflection is that I still have the protective plastic sheet on the monitor. I'm paranoid about scratching them will all these tests, so I keep it on both the backglass and playfield monitors. The DMD monitor doesn't have the film on it (cause it's an older monitor).

Yeah, the theme is sort of a late 60's era pins, with classic bowling-style graphical doo dads..... still having to clarify that but I've attached my "idea" sheet. I'm probably most inspired by "Barney's Bowl-o-Rama" on the Simpsons. It has that 50's-60's style in the art.

To do that right, I will need to use lighter colors, which is tough in hiding things in that backbox... so the full front piece might make that easier for me.

[elfman12]

Finally finished the routing for the backglass monitor and speaker holes. I used a chamfer bit to smooth them out, then started sanding, sanding, sanding. Everything. Not near as big a mess as cutting MDF, but still very dusty. Allergies kept making me have to sneeze, so I'd remove my filter mask to sneeze, then breathe in dust, then cough. Kind of an endless loop. hehe

Put the primer on today, 2nd coated the outside surfaces. I'm probably going to have most of the external wood surfaces covered in printed artwork (not the back of the backbox, and not on the monitor/dmd/speaker bezel), so I'm going to begin wiring controls and installing side rails, glass, etc next - so it'll stay primer white for awhile.

Quick question (I'm not that great at painting). In the last picture here is an example of how the paint is kind of stippled - from the roller - does that need to be sanded out with a fine grit sandpaper, or do I just leave that texture? I left it on my MAME cab, but it was black and I didn't use any artwork that needed a flat surface. Any help is most appreciated. thanks!

[saleem]

use realy fine sandpaper if the texture of the undercoat bothers you too much.you might find you have to redo the priming a few times though to get it smooth.sand,prime,sand,prime.
 

[javeryh]

use realy fine sandpaper if the texture of the undercoat bothers you too much.you might find you have to redo the priming a few times though to get it smooth.sand,prime,sand,prime.
 

Exactly.  Painting is the hardest part (at least to me).  Getting a smooth finish is challenging and time-consuming but it can be done if you really want to.  Also, get some bondo for those edges!  No matter how much paint you apply the edge of your side panel will always show through.  If you cover the edges in bondo and sand it down to match the front you will get a seamless transition from the sides to the front - it takes 20 minutes and it will make a world of difference.

Very nice work so far - I'm loving these pin builds.   

[elfman12]

Good points, thanks. I didn't realize how big that gap on the edge was until I started painting it. Time to puddy that sucker up now!

[elfman12]

Here's a quick update and pics. Waiting on glass and lockdown bar re-adjustment. Should have those in mid-week next week. As of now I have 2 coats of primer on, just need to paint the inside area above the playfield monitor black, on the sides and front.
I've mainly just been getting cables planned out.
On the bottom near the front, I've put in a USB panel mount and an HDMI pass-thru plate. This last will run to a 1x2 HDMI splitter, and will feed the 2nd inputs on the playfield and backglass monitors. An external source can then be fed from this jack... for ex. notebook computer, main home theater rig, Xbox360/PS3, etc. (might as well use it if it's there, right?)
I've also put 4 cold cathode blue tubes on the underside - looks pretty nice.

[saleem]

are them blue things buttons?you dont need the leds on the bottom of the table,i think they look ugly,if they ahd been hidden and cast their light would have been nice but,its like me taking leds and just putting them round the edge of my computer tower,they look ugly and serve no purpose.

how about more maturer buttons to lift your project from good to greatness?

look at this for example of button:
http://www.frozencpu.com/ele-71.html
 

[elfman12]

you dont need the leds on the bottom of the table,i think they look ugly,if they ahd been hidden and cast their light would have been nice

Actually they aren't visible unless you're about 1ft tall. :-) All you see is the soft blue glow on the floor below the table. It's pretty simple: if it doesn't look good in the space this ends up, unplug.

maturer buttons

Not sure what you mean by that.... as I explained above, I'm going to test those "knee nudge" buttons to see if they work well or are practical. If not, they get plugged up.

Thanks for the opinions, though. ;-)

EDIT: Just looked at the buttons you linked to. Very nice!
However, in this build I need to be able to insert custom labels in illuminated buttons. This is much more important on a pinball cab than it is on my MAME cab. The navigation of the FE is less intuitive, and I want to make it to where anyone can walk up to this machine and get around on it.
Buttons like launch table, exit table, game start, extra ball, flyers, game card, special and custom game lists need to be addressed. On my MAME cab I can double-use some of my player buttons, but there are only 2(4) flipper buttons on a pinball cab, so several need to be added.

[Kurt]

Looking good mate, did you end up sanding the primer a little?

The button linked would be crap as admin buttons, i just installed the same vandal switch on my pin as a power button thats all its good for i think.



I mounted it behind the backglass so the kids have no way of playing with it.

[elfman12]

Yup, still sanding with fine grit. Mainly getting it smooth for the vinyl pieces. I'm realizing that anything other than black requires much more attention to detail. (flat black, that is. Piano black takes a ton of work, it looks like. But man it sho do look good!)

I'm using that purple standard button below the cab near the front right for power. I want to put a raised ring around it to recess it a bit, but I put it there because that's where I remember the power toggles were on the old pins I used to play. Is that where they are on newer machines?

[Kurt]

No idea man i havent seen or looked at a real pinball machine in 15yrs. I put mine high just so the kids can't play with it as they like to do.

[elfman12]

No idea man i havent seen or looked at a real pinball machine in 15yrs. I put mine high just so the kids can't play with it as they like to do.

Smart! haha. I was thinking about putting a fan with no grill on the bottom of my cab, until I realized how curious my cat is! hehe. Kitty go "ouch."

[elfman12]

Got my playfield glass in today!  1/4" tempered, clear. $40 at local glass shop for a 22-1/2" x 39-1/4" sheet, took 1 week to arrive. I got some new "closed cell" foam weatherstripping for the glass to rest on. I had the squishier rubber kind, but it squashed quite a bit (plus I had it in 3/8" and needed to move up to a full 3/4 to support the glass). This newer stuff is meant to reduce vibration, shock etc. I'm putting a thin (5/16") strip of felt on the underside of the side rails, so that they aren't resting directly on the glass. I had to Dremel off several inches of the side rails (pic) and grind it out smooth. They fit well now. I'm going to wait to cut out the 2nd flipper holes though, when everything gets reassembled.

So finally, I CAN PUT MY MAIN FLIPPER BUTTONS IN! WOOHOO! (bout time, hehe) I installed them with leaf switches, and also mounted a microswitch with a long actuator to work with the plunger (see pic). Works great, but let's see if the metal bends after awhile. I also had to put in heavy duty drawer rails and a new drawer, since the medium duty ones I had were bending with the weight of the PC when pulled out.

[Kurt]

Looks awesome man well done, Glass takes it to a new level 

Where did you get the leaf switches and holders for the flipper buttons? I'm yet to source them here in Oz.

[epthegeek]

You're using a de-cased 28" for the backglass LCD?  Would you mind measuring how wide it is?  I picked up an old empty gottlieb cabinet to build into a pin cabinet and the head box is only about 25 1/4 inches across on the inside.  Trying to decide if I can squeeze in a 28 or not.

Your cabinet looks excellent! Nice work!

[elfman12]

I bought those flipper leaf assemblies back when I was building my MAME cab (in 2002) and I thought they were from Happs, but can't remember for sure. Pinball Life has the buttons:
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1864&parent=0
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=151&parent=234

The 28" de-cased is exactly  24-3/4" x 16-1/2". It is this model:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=H94-2810
Looks like it should fit perfectly, 1/4" on each side.
EDIT: Be aware that this TV won't do power return (reuturn to power on state after power is removed), and it won't come on by taping the power button down. I'm hacking a universal remote to power it on... :'( Otherwise it does 1:1 and looks great with HDMI 1920x1080 input, colors are great.

Thanks.

[epthegeek]

Thanks for the info!  Pity about the power on problem though.

[elfman12]

I ran into a little issue with the lockdown bar height. As you can see in the pics, after I added the foam strip that the playfield glass rests on, and after attaching the felt onto the side rails that touch the glass (I have brown ones here, replacing with black when it comes in) - Well, that raised the height about 5/8" over what it was initially. (Look at the gap under the piece of the lockdown bar). So, I just put a 3/4" thick strip onto the front piece to make up for that.
I just wanted to point that out in case others might need to account for that earlier in the build than I did! haha

I also changed the case for my PC. I'm using an acrylic "test station" case, which works perfectly for this type of project. It's easy to get to parts, is low weight and has a small footprint. Costs around $59 if you catch it on sale. Here's a link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166053

Now, on with the wiring.... 

[Kurt]

d'oh im going to have that issue with my lockdown bar as well, I like that tech station case suits the setup.

If you get a chance are you able to take a side shot of the rails also close up.. Im thinking off drilling my rails to add the extra buttons but alittle worried the metal shop will screw it up.

[javeryh]

Looking really nice.  I want to build one of these so bad!

[elfman12]

Here a pic of the hole I cut in the side rail button area. It's a bit bigger, but that was only because it was the only hole cutter handy.

[blueznl]

All these pins are great, is there a site that describes how to set up the software? Especially those backboards seem to be... eh... somewhat difficult :-)

[elfman12]

Future Pinball is pretty easy to setup and run, Visual Pinball can be a lot trickier (but it's a better sim, IMHO). There's an install package out there for VP that setups up most everything for you. The big thing to remember is to get the machine specific script files in the TABLES folder, the roms in the ROMS folder and setup both VP and FP to run in XP3 compatibility mode and as administrator.

vpforums.org has all of the files you need. If you are setting up a "cab style" setup, then you'll need the cabinet build version of the VP dll, (just search downloads at vpforums). And use HyperPin as your Front End, it will take care of the backglasses for you. The help file for HP will also explain all of these steps, I believe.

[elfman12]

Well, I hit a milestone with this build: I've moved the rig from the garage into the game room! I finished the wiring and sanded everything down again, then moved it upstairs.
I still have to fit the playfield bezel, and get the lockdown bar reassembled/welded. I had a bulb go supernova and melt the button it was in before it burned out (last pic). Weird. It did seem to glow brighter than the others (check it out in earlier pics) but I didn't think it would do that. I wonder if I can get a replacement from Happs? Oh well.
I think I'll end up removing the "knee nudge" buttons, although I'm going to continue to test them for a bit before I decide for sure. When sitting on a stool, you can't really use them easily and they get accidentally bumped then too. It was worth a try, though.
I am also finishing up a logo for the DMD screen and for the side art. I'm liking the white/black of the cab right now, actually, so I may rethink the amount of vinyl I was going to put on (but I also might then have to do another coat of paint to smooth things out a bit.)

[Kurt]

Well done mate, Night pics look great awesome work have you set anything up as far as nudging goes?

White grows on you aye.. I have to cover mine up and soon before mdf primer becomes the finial coat  

Edit: I just noticed the cup holder lol, there is no time for beverages when playing pinball shame on you.

[rchadd]

looks great i could be tempted to try a similar project.

one question - how does the pinball software support 3 monitors?!

i've seen graphics cards with 2 monitor support for shared windows desktop but how to support 3?

do you need special gfx card or more than one card?

[mwong168]

one question - how does the pinball software support 3 monitors?!

i've seen graphics cards with 2 monitor support for shared windows desktop but how to support 3?

You will need two graphic cards preferably Nvidia instead of ATI cause lots of problems getting it to work properly with Visual Pinball.  You should check my pinball build as in my first few posts I go into pretty good detail of how to setup the software.

[elfman12]

Sorry, been away for a bit. Thanks!
And yeah, I purchased a few mercury level switches for nudging, but have yet to install them. I'll post when I do.

[shilmover]

one question - how does the pinball software support 3 monitors?!

i've seen graphics cards with 2 monitor support for shared windows desktop but how to support 3?

You will need two graphic cards preferably Nvidia instead of ATI cause lots of problems getting it to work properly with Visual Pinball.  You should check my pinball build as in my first few posts I go into pretty good detail of how to setup the software.

I have one high end video card (nvidia 260 GTX) for the backglass and playfield and USB video for the DMD.  Works great!

[shilmover]

double post

[rchadd]

usb video? didn't know such things exist!

[shilmover]

I have the previous version to this:

http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=100-U2-UV19-TR&family=USB

It kicks ass!

[pmt257]

Nice!

[rchadd]

doesn't using usb video introduce additional cpu/memory overhead?

maybe it is not significant as DMD are pretty simple static images?

[shilmover]

doesn't using usb video introduce additional cpu/memory overhead?

maybe it is not significant as DMD are pretty simple static images?

Possibly, but I dont see any issues with it...  I would not do a backglass.