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Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: Laythe on June 30, 2018, 11:54:57 pm

Title: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 30, 2018, 11:54:57 pm
So, Gingerballs (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150902.msg1576639.html#msg1576639) made me realize I need to build a vpin.  Thanks, Malenko.

Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) is slick and I'm happy with it - but as a stand-up machine, with the basic joystick and buttons, it doesn't do driving games well.

I'm on a budget.  I have a small house.

So I got to thinking.

A full size vpin needs a burly computer with a good 3D vidcard, and a huge monitor for a playfield in portrait, and a big footprint.
A driving cab, or sim pit, needs a burly computer with a good 3D vidcard and a huge monitor for a front window in landscape, and a big footprint.

If those were the same, it could save me a fair chunk of money and a lot of square feet of floorspace.   

We had a thread here a little while back bemoaning the death of innovation, and I object to that.

Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) is every upright cab I need, horizontal or vertical, and does a great job at that.  Could one other thing cover the rest?

(I've got a wager with NotThatJennifer regarding what the overall reception here to the idea will be - we'll see who's right.)


So, I've got this idea.  I'm gathering parts toward building it.  Figure I'll show you all, and see what you think.  It doesn't have a name yet.  Lots of renders coming up.  No sawdust yet.

When you're playing the thing like a pinball machine, it looks like this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368818;image)

It's mostly a vpin machine, except for a 2" tall deck with rails on the sides of it that you can walk on, off to the right.  Three monitors, 16:10 backglass, 4:3 sideways DMD, 16:9 42" TV playfield, nothing crazy.

Yet.

From the side, it looks like this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368820)

Everything that isn't very vpin-like stows between the legs.  You don't end up with a full height pinball cabinet, but I think the shapes still suggest the right silhouette pretty well.  But that's just, like, my opinion, man, I know.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368822)

There's clearance behind it to still get to my crawlspace, that's the door behind the backbox.  But that sharply limits the max depth the thing can have front-to-back.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368824)

So, this is the basic idea of the thing, in it's stowed / vpin position.

But.

It's motorized.  There's a 8" throw linear actuator under that playfield, on a bell crank.  The axle is rotated 3' counterclockwise and inclined 3', and the monitor is mounted to that axle rotated 3' clockwise and inclined an additional 3', so in this mode, it's 6' inclined, but when the axle rotates 90 degrees on the actuator under it, and when the other motor pushes the seat back 50" and the midstage arm back 24"...  well, this happens.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368830)

(The sequencing of the motors and safeties is done by the host PC.  I plan to use an Ultimarc Ultimate IO to check positional limit switch inputs and drive relays to run the actuators.)

Once it's out in driving mode, the front-end I'll write will switch from giving the menu on the backglass, to giving the menu on the main screen, and it's a sim pit.  Heights and reaches to seat, screen and controls are pretty close to other racing games I've measured.  The seat will be adjustable fore-aft independent of everything else. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368826)

There's plenty of room to get into it, unlike some racing cabs and my first stab at a sim-pit a few decades ago.

When you're behind the controls, should look something like:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368828)

There's gotta be some relays to flip the audio from the backbox speakers left-right, to the newly exposed speakers in the front and back cabinet boxes, to keep stereo positioning working right.  But the PC can fire that relay while it's doing the transform sequence in either direction, I figure.


Anyway, this is what I'm thinking.  This is to be the thing that does everything Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) can't do well - Afterburner, Hard Drivin', Outrun, SF Rush, Daytona USA, Star Wars, some flight sims, and a selection of maybe twenty vpin tables. 

I have not gone deep into the weeds on how all the bearings and actuators and so on work in this post, because I figure there's no point going into all that if the initial reaction to the design as a whole turns out to be "Dear god what is that unholy thing".   ;D


Opinions?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Nephasth on July 01, 2018, 12:16:16 am
Opinions?

Ambitious. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 01, 2018, 12:21:34 am
Ambitious. :cheers:

Heh, yeah.  True that.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: yotsuya on July 01, 2018, 02:40:13 am
If anyone can pull it off, it’ll be you,my friend - but I think it’ll be in Pinball Mode 90% of the time.

You just need to buy a dedicated Hard Driving!!! That was my favorite memory of ZapCon 2018!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: barrymossel on July 01, 2018, 07:09:32 am
That would be so cool! Looking forward to seeing this build!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Mike A on July 01, 2018, 08:01:09 am
I don't think it will be worth all of the effort. First off, I have played a bunch of vpins. They just don't feel right. There are some really nice looking machines on this forum, maybe the play experience is better with them. The only ones I have played have been at the MGC.
I have no doubt that you can pull this off, but it doesn't look like you are saving any floor space by tucking the driving right underneath. There is still part of the frame on the floor when the seat is tucked underneath.
Go get a Hard Drivin' cab. You freakin' rule that game.

All that being said, if you do this, it has to make the classic transformers sound when it transforms back and forth.

Zapcon 2019. Be there. I didn't really get a chance to talk to you.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 01, 2018, 12:27:31 pm
Thanks, yotsuya and barrymossel. 

(Yots:  I did actually find a local Race Drivin', but if I'd gotten it, I'd never have a vpin or Outrun.  I think I can get everything but the FFB and shifter lockout working well in emulation.)

I have no doubt that you can pull this off, but it doesn't look like you are saving any floor space by tucking the driving right underneath. There is still part of the frame on the floor when the seat is tucked underneath.

My thinking on the frame on the floor is that it still counts as floor to me - I can walk on it, so it's walkway.  Some drafts had the chair on carpet-capable wheels, to avoid that frame existing - but knowing me, that'd mean I'd stack other crap in the way of it deploying and then either not be able to deploy it or crash it. 

That frame is kind of the equivalent of diagonal yellow stripes painted on a robotic factory floor, to me.  "Hey dummy this is the exclusionary zone."

All that being said, if you do this, it has to make the classic transformers sound when it transforms back and forth.

Yes!  This is required.  Randomly, either that, or the sound of a pit crew with air ratchets, or the Six Million Dollar Man noise.  The front-end will do this.   ;D

Zapcon 2019. Be there. I didn't really get a chance to talk to you.

I don't think I'm likely on 2019, though to be fair I didn't think I was likely on 2018 either.  I wouldn't be surprised if I made it back someday though, if the BYOAC horde keeps going.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: rablack97 on July 01, 2018, 04:41:13 pm
Having went through the process of building a vpin.  The puprose is to get it as close as possible to the real thing.  I will tell you this now, your playfield section will have to be waaayyyyy deeper than that, which will kill your rotating function.

Trust me when i tell you, every inch in the playfield section is utilized with parts, and it will be super heavy, not to mention the amount of wiring that will have to feed into the backbox from the playfield.

With a VPIN i've learned its all or you're building a piece of crap.  Half ass full size vpins are a waste of time actually.  Turning a TV putting a monitor on top and putting buttons on the side and front is not a vpin to me its a a big ass tate machine laying on its back.

So think long and hard about combining the two, you need easy access to the backglass and the table at all times as stated they are high maint and constantly evolving.  So IMHO i would go either or, or seperate the two.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: pbj on July 01, 2018, 05:16:54 pm
The hobby has moved on from vpins. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: yotsuya on July 01, 2018, 05:21:24 pm
Having went through the process of building a vpin.  The puprose is to get it as close as possible to the real thing.  I will tell you this now, your playfield section will have to be waaayyyyy deeper than that, which will kill your rotating function.

Trust me when i tell you, every inch in the playfield section is utilized with parts, and it will be super heavy, not to mention the amount of wiring that will have to feed into the backbox from the playfield.

With a VPIN i've learned its all or you're building a piece of crap.  Half ass full size vpins are a waste of time actually.  Turning a TV putting a monitor on top and putting buttons on the side and front is not a vpin to me its a a big ass tate machine laying on its back.

So think long and hard about combining the two, you need easy access to the backglass and the table at all times as stated they are high maint and constantly evolving.  So IMHO i would go either or, or seperate the two.

I had a good talk about these with Rodney when he was here. You might want to pick his brain Laythe.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 01, 2018, 06:38:16 pm
The hobby has moved on from vpins.
I'm pretty sure the world moved on from arcade games.   :dunno

If I were concerned by trends, I'd add some monitors for watching myself stream on Twitch.  But I'm not.


...  I will tell you this now, your playfield section will have to be waaayyyyy deeper than that, which will kill your rotating function.  Trust me when i tell you, every inch in the playfield section is utilized with parts, and it will be super heavy, not to mention the amount of wiring that will have to feed into the backbox from the playfield.

Thanks for the info!  I checked out your thread on The Grid.

I'm thinking the playfield box needs to contain the TV, the leaf-switch flipper buttons, left and right flipper solenoids housed behind the buttons, and a counterweight on the back side of the axle - since I'm looking at a 22lb force actuator, I'd want the CG pretty close to the axle.  Probably also some cooling fans, the TV could use the help in that orientation - though those may be able to reside on the lower back frame.

What parts am I missing that need to be in the playfield section?


As it may be relevant to what ISN'T up there:

The PC would be riding behind the shifter, under the flightstick, in that arm segment.  The encoder boards, power supplies, various relays for solenoid, motor and audio control, and the audio amplifier would reside in two stationary project boxes beneath the left side of the moving playfield, attached to the front and back frames.  That way I'm only pulling one moving USB line from the stationary encoder, instead of pulling the whole button wiring harness for all 12-odd buttons when the arm moves. 

The backbox contains two monitors - DMD is a portrait-turned 4:3 LCD sunk mostly down into the backbox neck...  two speakers, and probably a fan or two venting out slots in the top back.

My hope is that I can minimize constant service once it's Done.  I'll have to tweak leaf switches for sure, and replace microswitches when they die, but after I buttoned up Mimic I haven't had to keep messing with it... much.


Anyway, if there's playfield guts I'm not accounting for, this would be an excellent time to learn about them!   :D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: rablack97 on July 01, 2018, 08:48:03 pm
The hobby has moved on from vpins.
I'm pretty sure the world moved on from arcade games.   :dunno

If I were concerned by trends, I'd add some monitors for watching myself stream on Twitch.  But I'm not.

(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/013/974/clap.gif)

A few things Laythe, you need to determine your toy limits based on how interactive you want your vpin to be, the more you have the more realistic it gets.

You have solenoids (up to 10), knockers, blowers, shakers, gear motors, these are powered by 5v, 12v 24v psu's. I also have a sub in my cab, a large fan for ventilation.

If you want to keep the backglass a proportionate, i would recommend doing a pin2dmd for your dmd, if your not going to worry too much about topper videos etc.

I also wouldn't recommend going lower than an I5 and gtx960 for your video card, gtx970 is good card that has been proved to work well with 4k tv's if that is the route you want to go for your playfield, 1050's and 1080 work well too if you can source these at a good price.

You also might look into BAM and an xboxone kinect if you want a headtracking 3d effect on your Future Pinball tables.

Think of your lighting as well, flashers, strobes, addressable led effects.

You will also need to consider which frontend you will use, the top ones in use today if Pinball X and Pinup Popper.  When i say high maintenance I also mean time spent in the software.  There is a lot too it and you will find yourself deeply engrossed in all of the cool stuff vpins can do these days.

My build logs sucks, cause i grow tired real easy and get lazy about posting.  I would follow Terry Reds build for a more in depth look at what all goes into a VPIN, his is pimped out to the max. Mine is too, but he did a way better job documenting his and i followed his as a guide.

I just want you to be clear on what all is possible, cause when you start building these things you dont end of just throwing a few buttons on it, and the more you find out about them the more complex your project will get.  Your wiring will have to be pretty solid, will all of these twists and turns, cause the wiring in a vpin is pretty in depth.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: yotsuya on July 01, 2018, 09:34:11 pm
The hobby has moved on from vpins.
I'm pretty sure the world moved on from arcade games.   :dunno

If I were concerned by trends, I'd add some monitors for watching myself stream on Twitch.  But I'm not.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180702/295efb27071e8d14435e49408307f122.gif)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Mike A on July 01, 2018, 10:21:20 pm
You need a bunch of subwoofers aimed straight at your junk too.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 01, 2018, 10:38:14 pm
Thanks, rablack97!  Food for thought.

I've got a plan for the front end; I'll be writing one from scratch for my cabinet.  (That said, I'm surprised to see how poorly behaved VPX is in that regard - wow, you really have to force-kill it to close the editor window after playing despite starting it with command line switches?  Sheesh.)

pin2dmd looks great, and I'm tempted, but I've already got a couple of LCD monitors this size in my spare parts to put the DMD on.  Tried it out, it feels good enough for me, and I like that it can also do sixteen segment displays.  Does turn out to matter which way I rotate these LCDs though - they've got a strong side and a weak side on viewing angle, but I can put the weak side toward the wall, problem solved.

I managed to score all three displays - backglass, playfield, and DMD - for free out of my and my friends parts heaps... and I still think this is gonna be a $1500 project. 

I'll look through Terry Red's Pinkadia build log again, thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Malenko on July 02, 2018, 09:31:55 am
So, Gingerballs (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,150902.msg1576639.html#msg1576639) made me realize I need to build a vpin.  Thanks, Malenko.

Honored to be mentioned!

You can use (my) Pin2DMD colorizations with an LCD now, freezy updated his DLL. I just started coloring TMNT, and I'm redrawing everything (just like SF2)
http://vpuniverse.com/forums/topic/3616-tmnt/ (http://vpuniverse.com/forums/topic/3616-tmnt/)


The concept looks really cool and if anyone can actually pull it off, its you.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 16, 2018, 03:40:04 am
Minor update:  I've started making metal chips, if not sawdust yet.

I realized that my whole front cabinet box is going to be about 1 3/8" deep (interior space) - and being about 20" wide and 14" tall at that depth, that slot was going to be a pain to service any failed switches or whatnot in.  So, real coin door time just to give me an easy way back in.

1 3/8" behind the coin door doesn't say working coin mechs.  It's enough space to stash the pinball service button array, for a small touch of authenticity.  But I really like the feel of those re-purposed rectangular poker buttons as coin buttons, so I did the surgery necessary to mount them in place of the normal coin mechs and returns. 

I picked up a widebody Williams lockdown bar, 25" wide, so that's going to set one of my major dimensions.

Basically just wanted to say I've hit the "yeah I'm really doing this" stage.  Pictures to follow as it progresses.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Mike A on July 16, 2018, 06:26:46 am
Looking forward to this one.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: bperkins01 on July 16, 2018, 09:17:28 am
I don't have a horse in this race - I do admire the effort on the drawings  (Sketchup?)
Good luck!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Mike A on July 16, 2018, 09:35:20 am
The drawings look like they could be in an updated "Money for Nothing" video.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 16, 2018, 10:58:56 am
I don't have a horse in this race - I do admire the effort on the drawings  (Sketchup?)
Good luck!

Thanks!

3DS Max R5.  One of my other hats is a game developer, and I own a personal copy.  It's not really a CAD package, precisely - but I can force it to act enough like one for my purposes. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2018, 03:30:23 pm
I start projects like this in chaos.  I collect parts, I work on whatever catches my eye.

There's so much to do, and most of it doesn't depend on some specific order of operations that it doesn't really matter, as long as work gets done.

I do however want to be sure this is going to work before I get too far, so, I lean stuff up in a mock-up.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369388)

That isn't the real backglass monitor, it's just one I had around the house.  That is the real DMD monitor - I've got an identical pair of them so a replacement spare is on hand.  This TV ended up being spare, so I initially designed the whole cabinet around it.

25" wide Williams widebody lockdown bar, because I didn't want to fabricate one, and it's a big point of human interface with the vpin.

2" square 1/8" thick aluminum legs, because I am really concerned about the rigidity of the structure - a traditional pinball cab or vpin is a closed box, and I'm making something far less solid by effectively cutting away like 2.5 of the 4 solid sides.  I've got plans to sink them into the corners such that they kind of look like the traditional pinball leg L channels on the outside at the top when it's all done.)

4x 4" speakers and a 25-watt amp on the right.  Power control relay on the floor on the left.  Ipac Ultimate IO in the cardboard box. 

Having stacked most of the parts up, I wanted to see it run to know if this would satisfy me.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369390)

It's alive!  It worked, but the spare TV wasn't cutting it for a playfield.  Black level wasn't great, you could see it dithering, and the brightness or gamma would sometimes change of it's own volition despite turning everything off in the OSD menus.   So I found a deal on a 46" NEC commercial signage panel and ordered it.

It's nice.  Much better display, and I love that equal 3/4" wide bezel on all four sides.  Having the TV display slightly offset in pinball mode was irritating my OCD.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369392)

Additionally, the NEC has cooling fans and adjustable thermal profiles in it, being commercial signage - and it'll report it's internal temperature from three sensors in the onscreen display if you request it.  That could be very handy while running it in an orientation the engineers never intended.

The PC is going to be controlling the motorized rotation/transformation by way of relays and limit switches attached to the Ultimate IO.  The frontend is going to have to be bespoke - I want a menu on the backglass that lays pinball games out left-right, choice via flipper buttons, selection via start or launch or coin - and the far right option to be "Cockpit Games".   When you hit that, it'll slide the chair out, slide the dashboard out, rotate the playfield, move the game selection menu onto the playfield-now-windshield panel, and select from a list of driving/flying/space games via the flightstick or wheel or shifter paddles, with the far right option being "Pinball Games" to return to the first mode...

That's... not Hyperspin.   ;D 

So, I'm writing my own FE again.  I figure I'll use the DMD panel for status messages and make them look like a DMD - so, here's an early shot.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369394)

The frontend works as far as displaying the appropriate menus on the appropriate panels and starting some games, though it's still far from done.  It's far enough to confirm to me that it will work, though, and that's what the early stages of this look like for me - take each experimental part far enough along that I'm certain it's viable, before I get too deep.

Next up:  Coin door.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2018, 03:53:58 pm
My front box is about 2 1/2" deep - it's only as deep front to back as a lockdown bar is.  Internal space is about 1 3/8", which is just enough to contain a 4" speaker, the backs of the buttons, and a pinball 4-button service bracket.  Thinking about how wide it is, and how tall, getting inside it to work on anything was increasingly unappealing. 

So, I'm going coin door this time, for the sake of having a big access hatch.  I picked up one of the "mame" coin doors from twisted quarter, because there's absolutely no way I have room for coin mechs or anything like that behind it anyway. 

What I got appears to be a real coin door with a lot of plastic blankers to neuter it.  Cool, works for me.  Here's how it arrived:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369396)

I wanted to be able to fit decased poker buttons into the coin slot area, because I love how those look and feel on Mimic.  They'll fit, but, doing so requires some careful carving.  There's not a lot left of the chute insert once you get there.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369398)

The poker buttons are taller and narrower than what was there, so I've got a gap on the right I'll need to fill - I'll probably use epoxy clay for that and paint it all black. 

I cut both chutes to look like the one on the right, test mounted the switches, and discovered - heh, one, I'd removed so much of the plastic chute housing that there wasn't much for the button nut to grab on, and two, the chutes are tapered, so the nut isn't square to the coin door, it's got a downward tilt. 

So, some work on the door was necessary to have something solid to mount to.  Here's the rough initial fabrication.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369400)

This unruly array of aluminum bars, fender washers and spacers picks up all the mounting screws in the upper coin door, and makes something solid for the button nuts to grab.  It's quite solid, though not pretty yet.

From the side, you can see the results of the chute housing angle better.  I cut pockets in the upper bar to tune the angle more precisely.  I'll paint all this stuff black before final assembly, at the very least.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369402)

The result, as viewed from the front, is something I'm very happy with the look and feel of. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369404)

I've still got gaps on the right side to fill and blend, but, yessssss.  This is what I was going for, and that will do nicely.

Having gotten that assembled, I immediately wanted to see it lit up and working, so I started working on part of one of the wiring harnesses.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369406)

But, I ran out of time to work on it before getting it all lit up.  Next time. 

That's where it all sits for now.  It'll probably take quite a few months for me to finish this thing, but it will get done.  I waited until I was completely done with Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.0.html) to post anything about it here so I wouldn't keep people waiting, but this time I'm posting about it as I go.


(I've also been bouncing names around.  I vetoed "Cockpit & pinBalls".  Current lead candidate is perhaps "Shapeshifter".)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: rave0035 on July 22, 2018, 12:49:35 pm
(I've also been bouncing names around.  I vetoed "Cockpit & pinBalls".  Current lead candidate is perhaps "Shapeshifter".)

PinWheels
Bumper/Car
Tilt n' Roll!
Pinballs and Pinstripes
Paddles and Pedals

...too on the nose?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: markc74 on July 22, 2018, 01:13:54 pm
As long as you don't steal my 'FLiP' name we're cool  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 22, 2018, 02:12:10 pm
As long as you don't steal my 'FLiP' name we're cool  :cheers:

Hehehe.  Arright, it's a deal.  I cede the *ip namespace, you've earned it. :lol
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Malenko on July 22, 2018, 02:22:14 pm
Drain and Chicane
Pop Bumper Cars
Silver Ball Drifter
Flipper Pass

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Ian on July 22, 2018, 06:56:27 pm
I would call this Velocity. Since this is a speed machine, speed of Pinball and obviously racing. Plus it would look cool on the side of a cab.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Mike A on July 22, 2018, 07:04:30 pm
You have to work balls into the name somehow.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: pbj on July 22, 2018, 07:29:20 pm
Call it Speedball because everyone that plays a virtual pin wants to die afterwards.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: yotsuya on July 22, 2018, 09:06:51 pm
Shapeshifter
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: krangbrain on July 23, 2018, 05:36:44 pm
If there ever was a build that should have a Transformers theme, this would be it  :D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Ian on July 23, 2018, 08:41:17 pm
You have to work balls into the name somehow.

Fine,

High Velocity Balls
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Richie_jones on July 24, 2018, 06:58:07 am
YES..I love this design. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: menace on July 24, 2018, 07:33:20 am
So before I critique--I love vpin and all things modular--so I'm not biased (as some) right out of the gate.  That said, I wonder about a few things.  With square tube legs, how are they going to be bolted to a front section that's only 1 3/8" thick held together to the backbox by a relatively thin shaft that the monitor is rotating on.  I somehow see this thing buckling right at that connection point.  There's also the playability of standing there and having some pinball dude shaking it (cause thats what they do) trying to get some english on the ball.  Again, it just doesn't seem strong enough since you have used the traditional strength of a pinball (the large deep box) into a very shallow rotating one.

From an aesthetic standpoint I think square tubes are a step backwards--if its going to be a "pinball" machine--which is what it will supposed to be 90%-95% of the time, why not use real legs? 

Anyways, I get the idea and the desire to have one machine be useful for multiple functions, but I'm just not sure this is the best scenario :dunno
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 24, 2018, 11:18:01 pm
So before I critique--I love vpin and all things modular--so I'm not biased (as some) right out of the gate.  That said, I wonder about a few things.  With square tube legs, how are they going to be bolted to a front section that's only 1 3/8" thick held together to the backbox by a relatively thin shaft that the monitor is rotating on.  I somehow see this thing buckling right at that connection point.  There's also the playability of standing there and having some pinball dude shaking it (cause thats what they do) trying to get some english on the ball.  Again, it just doesn't seem strong enough since you have used the traditional strength of a pinball (the large deep box) into a very shallow rotating one.

That's an excellent point.  +1 for solid critique!

In the shots I posted, you can't really see the internals of the thing.  The black bits on the ground aren't just badly drawn shadows, they're a flat H bar of 2" wide maybe .25" thick steel flat, which the four legs are tied into at the base - that means the box has effectively got a floor to it.

Here's some shots of the thing with the playfield and driving guts removed, so that you can see the frame of it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369454)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369456)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369458)

There's going to be some framing connecting the "back" wall (as a driving cab, the "left" wall as a vpin) together.  As rendered, that'd be a 2" square steel weldment, since it also carries the lug the screen-tilting linear actuator attaches to.  I might juggle things to make room to make that out of plywood and wood, I'm not certain yet.

On the top center, the main axle being in flanges and thrust washers should mean that it is structural against tension and compression there as well.  I'm thinking maybe 1" diameter 0.25" wall steel tube there. 

With the bottom, the back and the top bridged, only the right/front wall is completely cut away.

So, I think the big flex question is going to be, if you were to punch the heck out of the launch ball button in the upper right corner of the front frame, how far can you flex it back?  That's the most unsupported corner.  I'm going to try to make that front box as rigid versus twisting as I possibly can - 3/4" plywood front and back as full shear webs - and yeah, there's going to be at least 4 bolts clamping each leg into the front frame because of that.

I might need to fillet the floor-laying H up into the legs a bit to stiffen that joint up.

Is it enough?  I'm not 100% sure.  Your concern is quite valid, for sure.  Props for being the first to raise it!


From an aesthetic standpoint I think square tubes are a step backwards--if its going to be a "pinball" machine--which is what it will supposed to be 90%-95% of the time, why not use real legs? 

The first answer probably covers the second question - now that you can see the whole skeleton, you can see why I wanted to be able to tie into the bottom of the legs as well, not just have them sitting on the floor.  I believe the 1/8" thick 2" square aluminum section is going to be more rigid than real pinball legs would be.

Seeing inside, whattya think?  Does that axle joint still look like probable doom to you?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: menace on July 25, 2018, 07:56:41 am
Thats funny what you said about the black bits on the ground--I did think they were shadows!  So that helps for sure.  On the back left rather than simply making a 90 degree connection between your tubes--could you put in some angles in there to help prevent front to back racking?  Taking it even further--could the the whole back left be a solid piece versus tubing?  you'd get more rigidity I would think than a bar with a 2" connection point. 

The large and heavy backbox will likely want to sway (in pin position that is) I used a 26" tv and a 19" display inside a traditional pinhead for mine and its as heavy as a mofo..And the fact that the 19" extends down into the pinbody does limit the connection surface.  The pinball cabinet I used (south park) had very nice metal brackets that realy stiffen the works. Maybe something on the back left for yours as well?

https://www.google.com/search?q=southpark+pinball&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj12c-9mLrcAhXo7YMKHYKhAdYQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=767#imgrc=joVUeSdYbfCRVM: (https://www.google.com/search?q=southpark+pinball&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj12c-9mLrcAhXo7YMKHYKhAdYQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=767#imgrc=joVUeSdYbfCRVM:)

don't know if that helps but it sounds like you aren't just throwing sh$t at a wall to see what sticks! Keep on keeping on!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on July 25, 2018, 11:11:47 am
Thats funny what you said about the black bits on the ground--I did think they were shadows!  So that helps for sure.  On the back left rather than simply making a 90 degree connection between your tubes--could you put in some angles in there to help prevent front to back racking?  Taking it even further--could the the whole back left be a solid piece versus tubing?  you'd get more rigidity I would think than a bar with a 2" connection point. 

The large and heavy backbox will likely want to sway (in pin position that is) I used a 26" tv and a 19" display inside a traditional pinhead for mine and its as heavy as a mofo..And the fact that the 19" extends down into the pinbody does limit the connection surface.  The pinball cabinet I used (south park) had very nice metal brackets that realy stiffen the works. Maybe something on the back left for yours as well?

https://www.google.com/search?q=southpark+pinball&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj12c-9mLrcAhXo7YMKHYKhAdYQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=767#imgrc=joVUeSdYbfCRVM: (https://www.google.com/search?q=southpark+pinball&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj12c-9mLrcAhXo7YMKHYKhAdYQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=767#imgrc=joVUeSdYbfCRVM:)

don't know if that helps but it sounds like you aren't just throwing sh$t at a wall to see what sticks! Keep on keeping on!

Oh, that helps, absolutely.

Webbing in as much of the back wall as I can would help stop the whole thing twisting up, yeah.  Good call.  (Won't be very visible when it's together and along side an interior wall, either.)

I hadn't given much thought to the backbox wanting to sway, I've been so obsessed with the flexibility of the front box.  Didn't even occur to me to worry about the backbox.  Thanks for the heads up!  I assume you mean swaying towards and away from the player?  I can address that, I just hadn't thought to - so that is very helpful.  Appreciated!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: stigzler on July 26, 2018, 02:02:38 pm
Add a dancemat and it'll be the mutt's nuts.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - name TBD
Post by: Laythe on August 08, 2018, 01:49:58 am
Shapeshifter

Yeah.  I think so too.  (Though I did enjoy the suggestions - thanks everyone.)



Meanwhile:  Progress.

The driving section of this cab could really use another coin door in front of the PC.  A friend of mine gave me a Coin Controls over-under coindoor from a Daytona USA, as thanks for some work I did for him.

I don't have the height to be going over-under, and the bottom door was a basket case anyway.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369612;image)

So, I cut it in half.  The top door alone was perfect for my needs.  This poses some interesting challenges, because the doorframe is one piece, and coin doors have a nice flange to hide the hole they mount in.

I cut to the outside of the half I wanted to preserve, and that left me with a fair thickness of metal on the bottom edge.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369614;image)

I clamped the frame up in my little benchtop mill, and made myself a new flange with half the thickness of the lower web.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369616;image)

This shows my angle of attack - I just continued cutting that step I'm making on down, until it was flush with the bottom flange.

Knocking off the remains of the bosses on either side that used to be the lower door frame, reveals my own flange:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369618;image)

It's not as wide, sure, but, any step over at all is enough to help hide the hole it mounts in.

I also did some fiddly inletting to sink a poker button into the coin chute.  Tight fit on these, there's barely enough plastic to make it work.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369620;image)

I made a blanker for the other side, because there's really no two player driving games that this thing is going to run.


To finish up the other coin door, I mixed up some black epoxy putty and filled the excess space to the right of the buttons there, as well.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369610;image)

Both coin doors could use a fresh coat of paint, but, I think they're otherwise ready to go.



I still haven't made any sawdust... but...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369622;image)

SOON
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 12, 2018, 04:25:51 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, I promised sawdust.  I said those words on the internet, and that's serious business.

By the obligations of honor and my forum title, I am bound - nay, compelled - to deliver.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369713;image)

Behold.  Sawdust.


Ahem, sorry. 

So, anyway, I started fabricating the front box of the pinball half of this thing.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369715;image)

Here's the first bit.  I used a jigsaw, dremel and orbital sander to inlet the coin door hole, I messed up one of the corners (top left, here) - but not worse than the coin door flange covers, so, enh.  Good enough.  The door fits quite well side to side and top to bottom, so the oversize corner isn't much of a problem.

Setting some stuff roughly where it belongs, here's the first mockup;

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369717;image)

Actually, I'm lying.  This isn't the first mockup.  The first time I set this stuff together I realized I'd made a math error, the front panel was too wide.  (cough)
Luckily, cutting it down to the correct width gave me a chance to also adjust the centering on the coin door by about 1/16", so it's very centered now.    This is actually the second mockup.

The yellow Sanwa button at the bottom will be recessed behind the plywood, and will be the Exit button for pinball games.



Looking at the thing from a lower angle, you can see how thin the whole front box ends up being.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369719;image)

Considering how much of it is 3/4" plywood, once that's glued and screwed together and the legs are bolted in with 8x 1/2" bolts, I don't think torsional flexibility is going to be a major problem.  This thing should be pretty stiff.  (Heh, heh.  Heh.  Heh.)

There's going to have to be some shallow relief cuts in the inside of the back wall to accommodate the switch housings on the buttons, about 1/8" deep.  You can very much see why the coin door access hatch is necessary for servicing parts, reaching down that slot to the bottom to swap an exit button would be hellish otherwise.

A thing I think is cool about this design is that the legs are outset by their wall thickness both forward and out.  If everything works out as I've planned, you'll see their 1/8" wall thickness like they were traditional L-shaped pinball legs bolted onto the outside of a traditional pinball cabinet. 

I've gotten started on the wiring harness for the front box.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369721;image)

Another interesting detail from this angle is that aluminum plate the exit button is mounted to.  I wanted it removable for servicing without repeatedly moving a screw in wood.  The screw and washer at the bottom never needs removed.  The plate is notched top and bottom, and fits snugly between that screw and the bottom carriage bolt of the coin door.  Remove the nut from the carriage bolt at the top of that plate / bottom of the coin door, and the plate tilts out from under the washer.  That'll mean it can be loaded from the top via the coin door opening when everything's permanently together.

Near the bottom is a 4-button bracket of pinball service buttons I'll be mounting in the box behind the coin door.

(This wiring harness still needs a fair bit of work and looming, it won't be quite this ugly when I'm done.  The door does swing completely open, the wire lengths on the coin buttons are good.) 

But, from the outside -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369723;image)

Kind of starting to look a little like the front of a pinball machine, maybe!  I'm chuffed.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on August 12, 2018, 04:33:49 pm
Progress. Nice. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: n3wt0n on August 14, 2018, 10:31:51 am
Good luck on this one, Laythe. I enjoyed following the Mimic build and look forward to seeing how this one comes together.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 14, 2018, 11:57:46 pm
Thanks, guys!

Update without pictures:  I'm redesigning this slightly, after realizing that I am at least slightly an idiot.

See, there's an arm in the middle of this thing that carries the steering wheel, flightstick, throttle, shifter, and PC... and I figured in my scribblings that it had to clear the lower corner of the playfield/main screen TV when it rotates by.  So I found the point that just clears the corner, and decided that's where it'd deploy to, and then made that a design reference line and derived the length of the chair track and the position of the pedals and so on, off of that.

Except that's wrong.   :D

It does have to come out that far to clear that corner... while the TV is rotating.

After the TV has rotated, I could suck that arm back in about 8" closer to the upright TV.  If it locked in place there, instead of at full extension, then I could move the pedals about 8" back under the pinball frame, and shorten the chair rail track that sticks out into the room by about 8", too.  That'd make everything look better.

So, I'm gonna do that.  I've got some scribbling and re-engineering to do.  I may render up another animation illustrating the revised transform sequence.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 19, 2018, 11:19:37 pm
I spent some time in the shop this weekend. 

My external overall width on the main cabinet is going to be 25", which not coincidentally means I can use an unmodified widebody lockdown bar.  Since it's the main point of human contact, I figured that having that feel right is important, and I didn't really want to make one.  So I acquired this Williams part.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369860;image)

What I did not know, being a total rookie to pinball machine internals, is that the interface they present to the attachment mechanism is... Interesting.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369862;image)

The other factory parts that mate to this were out of budget, so I decided to adapt.  I took a 2x4 and started carving and inletting.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369864;image)

(In retrospect, I wish I'd been a bit more careful selecting a 2x4 from the piles of stuff in my shop - that knot is going to come back to bite me.) 

I slit in from the ends with a bandsaw so I could cut the pockets for the back tabs, nibbled the curf wider for the front tabs, and used a dremel burr to cut a slot for the front lip.  I was surprised to learn those tabs are all pretty much at 90' to the face - the maybe 6' slope-down that the top face of a lockdown bar has, is not compensated for there - the tabs aren't vertical.

After some sawdust and fiddling, the factory part was starting to talk to my lumber.  (If you know what I mean.  And I don't.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369866;image)

That's sunk about halfway down; I'll be done when the beer foam gasket compresses against the wood on the back edge.

A lot more work will need done on this piece, but that's the beginnings of the top lid of my ludicrously short front box.  It'll be locked down with a pair of control panel overcenter clamps on the back wall that open through the opened coin door space... if everything goes according to plan.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 19, 2018, 11:57:06 pm
I started wiring up the other end of all these cables to the I-PAC Ultimate I/O I'll be using as an encoder, lighting controller, servo motor relay controller and general purpose robotics interface.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369872;image)

In the process, I discovered a problem. 

This yellow Start button - man, look at the light leakage from the white LED behind it!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369868;image)

The degree to which it does not match the yellow Launch Ball button next to it is absolutely untenable.   :cry:  What is this.  I can't even. 

I tore the button apart and swaddled the LED with yellow translucent tape.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369870;image)

Much better.  Now they match:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369874;image)

Crisis averted.  Project salvaged.  I can now proceed.

Though my front box is preposterously shallow - there's a whole 1 1/8 inch in there before you hit the back wall - I thought it would be fun to retain some small bit of simulation.  Since I've got a working coin door, the pinball service buttons should totally be inside it, like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369876;image)

To make that work, I had to saw off part of the factory bracket, then fabricate my own adapting bracket that fits inside and gives me four screws into plywood down below.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369878;image)

I've also been working on my wiring runs, it's less messy than it used to be.  I still have a long way to go, though - some of you people on this forum make gratuitously nice wiring harnesses that put me to shame.  This is at least less bad than it was, and I'll be doing a bit more to route it.

I'm also kind of tempted to put some art behind the coin door.  Maybe a photograph of the inside of a real pin.  Or just a wall of solid jumbled quarters. 


Anyway, once I had pinball service buttons, I had to play with them, so I lashed up another mock-up.  It was a chance to hack on the custom front-end software, too... and maybe a chance to sit down in a chair for a while, too.

Here's the custom front-end running in Pinball mode. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369880;image)

(The white masking tape line on the DMD monitor is the depth mark I plan to sink it to inside the backbox.)

Tables are selected with flipper buttons, they fade in and scale from the sides, the center one is fully opaque and much larger.  The next two games in either direction are visible.

Fake DMD display shows a fake DMD-ified logo, and scrolls DMD-styled instructions along if you don't get the hint.  I'm going to randomize among many Shapeshifter logos every time you go back to the menu, because I think it's charming if a machine named Shapeshifter doesn't stick to one visual theme there.

Pick a table with Launch or Start, and it loads up like so.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369882;image)

I have been tinkering a lot with the backglass configuration.  I am discovering that I am really picky - most vpins seem willing to aspect ratio squish the backglass art, and that drives me up a wall.  I had to add code to my front-end so that it overwrites the B2S resolution settings per table before launching, to allow me to micromanage how every single table on the list works individually.

I'm not using a real DMD because I want to be able to use that space differently in different tables.  Here's where I'm going with it so far:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369884;image)

On tables like Scared Stiff, it's pretty easy - the art fits on the big backglass monitor, the DMD fits on the DMD monitor, that's the straightforward case.  About half the tables turn out like that.

Cirqus Voltaire had the DMD down in the playfield.  I'd like to keep that look.  So for it, and for games that just had no DMD, I've carefully aligned the software position of the DMD panel to be centered, portrait, and below the backglass desktop, and I'm stretching the backglass across it.  It's not perfect, you'll have the bezel lines cutting it, but I like the effect better than blanking the DMD panel out - and especially better than squishing the art.

Whirlwind is an example of a game where the backglass did a good job with 15-segment plasma lights.  They look really nice.  With a lot of careful finicky tinkering I've gotten the segment display to line up nice in the DMD section, and that again keeps the art above at the right aspect ratio.  I lose the status lights below the segment display, but I think I can live with that.

That's about where I am right now. 


(I made the mockup fully playable.  That means I'm doomed, right?)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on August 20, 2018, 04:40:01 am
Great work so far.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ian on August 21, 2018, 05:36:52 am
I have become obsessed with Pinball this year. The real stuff is now near and dear to my heart. With that said, good luck and try not to sell the farm for mediocre pinball. I am excited about the racing setup, that should be pretty sweet!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 21, 2018, 11:19:07 am
Thanks, Mike!

Short update:

I knew that knot was gonna be trouble.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369904;image)

So I cut it back another 1/4" below flush so I can face the back of it - which is visible from behind when in racing mode - with 1/4" plywood.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369906;image)

Being profiled with that 6' taper angle, it now fits in place like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369908;image)

I have become obsessed with Pinball this year. The real stuff is now near and dear to my heart. With that said, good luck and try not to sell the farm for mediocre pinball. I am excited about the racing setup, that should be pretty sweet!

Ian - thanks!  I'd be worried about the overall viability of what I'm chasing, but when Gingerballs made it to Zapcon, I thought it was awesome.  My reaction to it was entirely "I have got to get me one of these", so I figure as long as what I build isn't worse, the result should work for me.  Thanks for speaking your mind, a build thread without commentary is a lonely place.  I'll be getting to the racing side of things soon - this for example will be the bank of view buttons for it:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369910;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on August 21, 2018, 04:46:59 pm
Watching with interest at what's going on here. We need more builders like you mister.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 21, 2018, 11:47:06 pm
Watching with interest at what's going on here. We need more builders like you mister.

Thank you.  It's good to see you around!  I'll try to make this worth your while.  Please call me out on anything that looks hinky or like a bad idea as I go.

It's kind of funny, but I do have to admit that I'm going to do a better job of priming and surface prep before painting, knowing Ond is watching.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ian on August 22, 2018, 10:22:38 pm
There is no doubt Laythe has some skill
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: opt2not on August 22, 2018, 10:46:37 pm
There is no doubt Laythe has some skill

Just watch him play Hard Drivin’, the guy is a master!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: yotsuya on August 22, 2018, 10:59:08 pm
There is no doubt Laythe has some skill

Just watch him play Hard Drivin’, the guy is a master!

Yeah, I wish we could find him a dedicated one somehow.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 22, 2018, 11:45:22 pm
There is no doubt Laythe has some skill

Just watch him play Hard Drivin’, the guy is a master!

Yeah, I wish we could find him a dedicated one somehow.

Hehehe, thanks.  This thing is designed to run a 90+% accurate Hard Drivin' - that was one of my specifications.  With the clutch, and the 4-position shifter.  I'm not sure I can get force feedback working, but I am sure I can get the steering wheel range right, and I've played on plenty of real dedicated cabinets with busted FF motors before.


Since I've been away from the shop, I've been tinkering on a tiny software detail.

In pinball mode, in the menu to select a table, the pinball DMD panel shows the name of this machine, and a scrolling line of instructions below that.

It occurred to me that given the theme, it'd be kinda neat if every time you boot the machine or come back into that menu the logo were different - just as an easter egg for anyone paying attention.

I've got it working now.  Here's some of the possibilities it can randomly be.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=369977;image)

(I see now why Malenko does DMD colorizations - pixel art on this scale is kind of addictively fun.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 26, 2018, 07:12:58 am
Progress update.

First, I skinned 1/4" plywood over that knothole in the lockdown bar assembly.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370147;image)

With a little filler in the corners, at least one of my poor life choices should be relatively well hidden.


Meanwhile...

Ian mentioned an interest in the non-pinball side of this cabinet, so I'll talk about some of that.

A couple years back I got a good deal on a Logitech G25 and shifter because it had no pedals.  Recently, I managed to find a set of G25 pedals alone for sale cheap because they were missing the main base.  Perfect! I was planning on discarding the base anyway.  The G25/G27 pedals are cool for being three individual modular units once you pitch the plastic base.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370133;image)

They normally sit flat to the floor, but the pedal proper can be flipped over on the lever and the whole assembly can be mounted inverted as though hanging under a dash, which I like better.

I propped up a seat at the design height and worked out the angle I wanted them to run at, which turned out to be a 15' forward angle off vertical.  Some research on kit car design, and mocking up tests, got me thinking that 4.5" on centers is about the right spacing.  In my design, the pedals have got to nest under a 8.5" tall moving seat assembly, so I sketched out a frame to hold them that would be 8.25" tall at highest point.  I also wanted to protect the outermost potentiometer a bit - you can see they're kind of swinging in the breeze off the outside of the pedal brackets.

Here's the parts to my frame, and the first round of inletting they needed.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370135;image)

There's four proud screwheads on the back of each bracket, so the back wall needed clearance for those.  I wanted to snug the side panels against the brackets to keep my whole pedal box as compact and out of the way as possible, so there's a lot of inletting on one side to sink the potentiometer and wires, and on both sides to take the nuts and bolts that protrude from the brackets.  Would have been a lot simpler another inch and a half wider, but it also would have been less compact.

Next I mounted some brackets to the back wall, which I had to modify a taper into.  Predrilled for the screws, and put glue on the side walls.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370137;image)

Fun to assemble.  The bracket screws went in first, which have a little wiggle room, and let me square everything up while the glue was still wet.  Then I predrilled the minor diameter holes in the back wall, centered in the bottoms of the major diameter holes I'd predrilled in the sidewalls.  It's more work, but I've really become a fan of pre-drilling things twice, one piece at the major and the other at the minor - it guarantees the screws always do the right thing and get great clamping force instead of stripping the wrong half of the hole or stubbornly bridging a gap.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370139;image)

You can see from the back why the bracket modification was necessary.  Additionally, the cable via I made for the leftmost pedal with the buried pot, to get the wiring through. 

Test assembly showed my initial round of inletting wasn't enough, though.  I had to extend a few relief cuts in various directions once the whole wood frame was assembled.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370141;image)

Here's the end result:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370143;image)

Turned out pretty clean!  The bottom turned out nice and square, it doesn't rock at all on a flat surface.  The side panels try to follow the shape of the brackets along the front, and the brackets tuck tight into the corners.  The setup feels rock solid; it's got the brackets on the back and wood glue along the joints clamped together by 3" screws going into the sides of the backboard.

I'll have to tear it apart at least one more time to prime and paint it, but the pedals can be disassembled from the solid wooden frame despite the two sides of inletting - they rock in on the diagonal.  (As I had to do a few dozen times getting all the clearancing cuts right, heh.)

Here's all the main controls that will be on the Not Vpin side:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370145;image)

I tested the setup for a while in Hard Drivin', and Afterburner.  I'm chuffed!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on August 26, 2018, 12:48:00 pm
Very intriguing, watching with great interest.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 26, 2018, 01:00:45 pm
Very cool watching this come together! :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 04, 2018, 04:53:00 am
Bit more progress to share.

Shapeshifter won't be clamping down the lockdown bar like a real pinball machine does, because the full assembly is 1) about $80 and 2) won't fit.  So, instead, I'm using a pair of overcenter control panel latches, like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370530;image)

The hooks mount on the lockdown assembly, the clamps mount on the back wall of the absurdly shallow 1 1/8" box. 

For a sense of how tight things get in here, have a look down into the top when the coin door is closed:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370532;image)

The overcenter latches and the coin buttons occupy the same vertical height.  That red line in the circle is showing the actual clearance between the right latch and coin button.  Good times, eh?  They don't touch though.

Man this thing is thin.


Speaking of tight clearances, I want one of the driving-game-mode speakers to be on the backside of the front box.  The speakers I'm using have a mounting depth of 2" under the flange, and I'm putting them into a box with 1 1/8" of interior space.

No problem.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370534;image)

Here's the result of a lot of Dremel work.  Reasonably happy with it, though the burr did get away from me once, I've got a scar in the wood to bondo up later as a result of that accident. 

If the fit looks a little rough, well... that's only a 4" speaker, man, this is a tight close up, the pic is larger than life size. 
And... also, the fit is a little rough.

It was important that the speaker drop sub flush -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370536;image)

because the playfield / windshield monitor assembly is going to be swinging by just above this surface.

So, how does sinking the speaker in like that that possibly work with the total dimensions?  Well, there's also a clearance carved out in the backside of the front panel.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370538;image)

And you can see on the left, the back side of the coin door, showing again how much clearance I tend to have in this thing - that's how much the speaker magnet doesn't hit the coin door frame by.


All this work has the front box frame getting moderately close to assembly.  I think I'm going to shift gears next and work on the back box frame for a while.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on September 04, 2018, 04:58:47 am
Nice progress.

You should take a pic of the inside of a regular pin through the coin door opening. Then mount it in yours.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 04, 2018, 05:29:13 am
Nice progress.

You should take a pic of the inside of a regular pin through the coin door opening. Then mount it in yours.

Thanks!

Heh, that'd be pretty cool.  I figure it's that, or a correctly scaled picture of a massive pile of quarters.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 24, 2018, 02:31:39 am
Mostly, I've been working on software configuration, which isn't really conducive to gratifying photos.  Making a lot of progress on that side.

I found that the pinball service buttons sometimes don't work, because the emulated pinball machine doesn't think the coin door is open, and there's safety interlocks there.  That got me to thinking, hey, I could map a key to a microswitch there, that'd be cool! 

Except, the software isn't straightforward for that, of course.  For the same reasons of computer-side convenience that lead to the old hi-lo shifter situation, they implemented it as a toggle, not a continuous input.

But I got to thinking.  I can still work with that.

So I made this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371444;image)

That's an aluminum bracket that mounts a lever-type microswitch just under the L flange on the coin door.  I bent the lever, like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371446;image)

Hard to see, but it's kind of a carat shape, ^ - high in the middle, low on the ends.

I lined everything up such that the door flange isn't normally depressing it, but when swinging past, it rides up the ramp and clicks the switch then releases it, in either direction.

(If you ever do fall out of parity, it's easy enough to just open the door and click the switch one extra time.)

Works like a charm, and it's pretty cool to open the coin door with a pinball game running and have it flash the high voltage shutoff message and enable the service buttons.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 30, 2018, 02:00:25 pm
Day [number a lot] of [oh gods]:  Fabrication continues.

Here's my take on making the VR view button panel, for the sim-pit side.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371540;image)

I used a file to square up the corners and to fit the buttons to their forward-most flange.  Yeah, I could have used round holes, but then the buttons sit further forward with an extra plastic collar on them... and I think that it looks a lot better like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371542;image)

I spent a while swapping LEDs from my bench into these to get the best colors when lit.  It's strange, but to get a really good yellow out of this view button, it looked best with a white LED behind it - where I previously had to fix a white LED behind the yellow start button because that looked terrible.  Go figure.  I guess it depends on how tinted the plastic lens is.

These are wired as five individual channels, so for Hard Drivin', I can light just the Start and the red as the 'Abort' button - whereas something like Daytona or Super GT can get all of them.


I've also been working on the back cabinet, which... well, it is going to be complicated.  This will be an undertaking.  Ambitious, as Neph observed.

But, one bit at a time.

The back cabinet requires inletting another speaker below flush, for the right side of sim-pit audio.  I figured I'd show how I cut these inlets, because it might be useful to someone. 

I'm using a big cylindrical burr in a dremel, freehand. 

Trace a pattern line onto the wood, and then the first step is just to believe you can do it - that this will eventually work.  Use the front corner of the burr to dig in around the edges of your pattern line.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371544;image)

You see now why the faith is necessary.  This is awful.  This is going to end in disaster.  There's no way this can work.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371546;image)

Keep digging.  The trick is, plywood contains layers of contrasting wood with opposite grain directions.  Dig until you hit a transition.

You can see at the upper left that I've just touched the next layer.  This is the key to making flat-bottom freehand inletting in plywood - you have a built in depth gauge. 

In this case, I needed to dig one layer deeper, but as long as you stop when you've exposed your target layer, it doesn't take too long to arrive at something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371548;image)

Not half bad, eh?  (You can tell I've gone one layer deeper than the prior photo, because now we're just touching horizontal grain again instead of vertical.)

Speaker drops into it like so -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371550;image)

and now I've got both inward-firing speakers ready for the monitor to swing over the top of their faces during transformation.



Another part of the backbox cabinet worth looking at is the bottom wall.  This will contain 3x 80mm fans blowing upward to force air into the box; the top of the back will have 3x 80mm fans blowing out as exhaust.  Given there's eventually going to be a stereo amplifier, relays, and two monitors in there, and not a lot of free square inches of air passage around all of it, I wanted to encourage the flow on both ends.

I decided to get fancy and embed the 80mm fans in the center of the board.  Fans have a kind of H profile, with flanges on the corners.  I split the board down the center, so it slides together around the fans and holds them captive. 

Some inletting was necessary because the inter-flange distance isn't QUITE 3/4" - so I thin one side of the boards like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371552;image)

Eventually, after priming and painting and whatnot, these two pieces will grab the fans like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371554;image)

The end is a big cable passthrough, because almost all of the wiring in this monster will be going through there.



I have to remind myself around this point, that Mimic had a similar feeling curve of progress - endless little jobs that don't individually seem to substantially matter much, just a pile of parts with no end in sight, until some step of assembly abruptly changes the whole thing from "basically a pile of parts that'll never be done" to "basically a finished machine that just needs a few final tweaks". 

It'll all work out. 

Eventually.   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 30, 2018, 02:22:15 pm
In an effort to spot upcoming problems... and mostly to keep my spirits up in the endless "pile of parts" stage...  I mocked up some of the backbox.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371556;image)

(Orientation:  The backbox cabinet is facedown in this picture.  The fanboard half-panel at the top of the picture is the bottom of the back cabinet, the cheek with all the structure showing is even in height with the playfield, and none of the conventional "backbox" parts above that height are shown yet at all.)

Since Menace warned me of the possibility of backbox sway/nod, there's a lot of structure in this throughout the neck region.  The front wall, currently laying on the floor, is 3/4" thick plywood.  The back wall, not shown, is also one big 3/4" thick plywood access panel that bolts down to this in ten places, and I think that should stiffen things up a lot as well.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on September 30, 2018, 02:28:59 pm
It can be tough to stay motivated until things start coming together.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Slippyblade on September 30, 2018, 03:42:27 pm
Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, man!  Do you not own a router?  Some of the best money I ever spent in this hobby was buying my first router.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 30, 2018, 04:16:41 pm
Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---, man!  Do you not own a router?  Some of the best money I ever spent in this hobby was buying my first router.

I have a router, but I never use it except for cutting T-molding slots. 

It's just never my go-to.  For anything.  I tried buying a bearing-bit and using it once to do some template-duplication style work, and the wood exploded badly.  I shrugged and put it in the back of a disused cabinet.

People here say they are great and do marvelous stuff with them.  I don't get it.   :dunno

(Edit:  I also find it to work for trimming laminate.  So, correction, there's two things I can do with it.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on September 30, 2018, 05:29:35 pm
Good progress here. All the best projects are ambitious, knowing what you're capable of, you've got this well in hand.  What I like about your projects is your approach to problem solving especially when there's a degree of complexity involved.  That VR view button panel, I can see the effort that went into it - the buttons sit perfectly and look great.

I can understand about the router; they can be daunting beasts on first use.  They need a fair bit practice to get comfortable with and be a "go to tool". With quality bits and the correct technique (and some respect for their power) they can be a real asset.  They are not the solution to every woodworking challenge though.  They are just handy.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 02, 2018, 02:28:11 am
Thanks!

I probably do need to give my router another chance; I won't develop any skills with it by leaving it in my cabinet of disappointment. 

(It was discouraging - I was trying to transfer a complex pattern onto a 1x8, thinking that a 3/4" depth of cut through fir softwood should be easy, and about 80% through the job it just shattered the board straight down the grain.  Knocked it in half.  I'm not sure what I did wrong.  I should practice on some less complex stuff that I don't mind potentially destroying.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Zoomie on October 02, 2018, 04:12:00 pm
Unrelated to building a combination pincade/racing chair, please do yourself a favour and try to experience a racing game with a good VR helmet.
My racing rig is a Playseat SV and an old PS3 GT racing wheel.  Playing Project Cars 2 and Dirt:Rally in VR completely changed my appreciation of racing games.

It is so immersive that I simply can't play racing games like a flatlander anymore.
Driving the Infineon Raceway in PC2 was so similar to the real deal that I started having flashbacks to my time on the real track.

On the plus side, it would also remove the need for your screen to rotate down for play.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 03, 2018, 03:17:51 am
Unrelated to building a combination pincade/racing chair, please do yourself a favour and try to experience a racing game with a good VR helmet.
My racing rig is a Playseat SV and an old PS3 GT racing wheel.  Playing Project Cars 2 and Dirt:Rally in VR completely changed my appreciation of racing games.

It is so immersive that I simply can't play racing games like a flatlander anymore.
Driving the Infineon Raceway in PC2 was so similar to the real deal that I started having flashbacks to my time on the real track.

On the plus side, it would also remove the need for your screen to rotate down for play.

Thanks for chiming in!

I run a VR lab as part of my day job.   :)   It's neat stuff, I totally agree.  I also agree that seated vehicle sims are probably the killer app for it as a gaming setup.

I thought about it for this machine, but it's a poor fit:

1) I want to be able to run arcade games like Hard Drivin' or Super GT, which are non-starters in VR.
2) I want to be able to run some games of nostalgic interest to me like Wing Commander 2 and Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries, which are also non-starters in VR.
3) I'm already using all 3 outputs of the video card - playfield, DMD, backglass.  There's no good way to drive a headset left over.

As to removing the need to rotate the playfield - alas, that ship sailed a while back.  The die is cast, forward to death or glory, I already bought the $160 high speed linear actuator, we're doing this.  Save yourself lad, it's too late for me.   :laugh:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Zoomie on October 05, 2018, 01:47:59 pm
Definitely ambitious. 
I realized the other day that I have a laptop, two tablets, a desktop, a media center, and yet I still put together a brand-new machine for my arcade machine.
I may have a problem.  At least I'm not buying linear actuators yet.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 07, 2018, 04:49:35 am
Making sawdust.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371785;image)

Lots of sawdust.  Parts like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371787;image)

Which might reasonably be mistaken for airplane parts.

None of this is likely to make much sense, but:

The subassemblies go together like so...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371789;image)

The number of parts is now starting to get smaller as things get attached to things, rather than bigger as I make more parts, and that's awesome.

Here's where I'm at, figuring out where everything goes inside the lower back frame.  (This is the area of the machine below the backbox.)  It's facedown while I work on it. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371791;image)

The monitor you see the back of is the DMD monitor, sticking up into the region that will be the backbox, and that closest, airplane-rib-looking board is the backbox floor, and the cutaways and holes are for ventilation.  Three intake fans at the bottom, three exhaust fans at the top, I'd like as much air to move through the neck area as possible.

I have a lot of gluing, screwing, filling and sanding to do, but it's coming together. 


What entertains me right now is, nobody would look at any of this and think "pinball machine".  Or even "game cabinet". 

I can't prove that I'm not building a turbo encabulator, here.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on October 08, 2018, 09:37:18 am
How are you making those detailed cuts if you are not a router guy?   :dunno  Impressive.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 08, 2018, 11:05:27 am
How are you making those detailed cuts if you are not a router guy?   :dunno  Impressive.

Jigsaw, bandsaw, drill press, forstner bits, a dremel, and sanding down to the line on a knife grinder style belt sander are my usual go-to methods.  That's how I did the front box, the pedal frame, and all of Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074).

For this back cabinet I'm currently working on, my dad convinced me to let him try running a sheet of plywood through a big waterjet machine with my pattern.  It works; ends up a little damp, but not terribly so, and there's some minor delamination around some edges that you have to reglue and clamp back together - but the cut quality is nice.  It's convenient, but I had designed this all to be parts I was confident I could fabricate with a jigsaw, bandsaw, drill press and sander.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on October 08, 2018, 12:23:07 pm

For this back cabinet I'm currently working on, my dad convinced me to let him try running a sheet of plywood through a big waterjet machine with my pattern.  It works; ends up a little damp, but not terribly so, and there's some minor delamination around some edges that you have to reglue and clamp back together - but the cut quality is

Huh, didn’t even know that existed.  Looks pretty cool actually. 

Funny how we all gravitate to one tool or another.  I have a hard time remembering to use something besides my router.  You’ve inspired me to breakout the band saw.  Jigsaw however I just can’t seem to get the results I want. 

Watching with interest. Those are some intricate parts you’ve got there.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on October 09, 2018, 08:07:47 pm
OK this is bananas.  Love the creativity - can't wait to see where this goes.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vincefaro on October 10, 2018, 12:04:43 am
This might be my next project now. I thought I would do a dedicated driving machine , but the pinball hmmmm. It is looking great !
!!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 14, 2018, 04:24:52 pm
OK this is bananas.  Love the creativity - can't wait to see where this goes.
This might be my next project now. I thought I would do a dedicated driving machine , but the pinball hmmmm. It is looking great !
!!

Thanks! 


Small progress update. 

Here's the roof of the backbox, and the fan panel that forms the top of the back wall.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371965;image)

I'm trying to be careful in this build to be sure I can get at everything for service later if needed. 

These two piece fan panels slide together to encircle the fans.  To replace a 80mm fan when one inevitably dies, you've got to slide one half of the fanboard away from the other.  So, those are all attached with button head screws and washers, into T-nut inserts in wooden brackets.  The brackets stick out the bottom with one additional T-nut slot, because the back hatch attaches there. 

So, changing a fan will mean pulling the hatch off, then pulling the lower board's screws and sliding it down into the space the hatch occupied, then the fans can come out.


Another thing I have to be careful about is the order of assembly of the front box. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371967;image)

I put the sides on the front panel, that was safe - but at this point I have to start my filling and sanding and priming and sanding and painting and sanding and painting, because there will be absolutely no way to do a decent job of painting the inside a 21" x 18" x 1.125" box otherwise.  The interior walls will need to be done before I can mount this front assembly onto the back wall and enclose it.

But, I have to have the spuds that go into the tops of the legs ready as well, and I want to blend and fill them into the exterior paint to make that look like one piece...  and I want to install the legs after the paint job, so there has to be enough clearance for them to slide into the top spuds counting paint...   :dizzy:

I also had to remember to locate and drill the leg attachment screw holes before mounting the side walls, it would have been harder to do after.  This thing is full of new and interesting Z-before-X-before-Y sequencing traps. 

Legs are going to be held on with six 3/8"-16 button head screws into PEM nuts, each.  Probably a lot of overkill.  Going to be tricky to get the nuts started halfway down a 34" long 2" square blind tube, but I think (hope) that I can do it. 


Meanwhile, on the backbox, this here is quite possibly the weirdest piece I've ever had to make.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371969;image)

That doesn't look like a part.  That looks like the sprue or scrap left over after you've cut your part.  Looking at it, I would never conclude that the person who made it had any idea what the heck they were doing.

It makes more sense in context, though.  This is the lower half of the fan intake board for the bottom of the backbox.

Here is a dry assembly for fitting of how the lower rear cabinet works.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371971;image)

I've got the PC-controlled power relay at the bottom right corner there, and a cord via passthrough for quite a lot of wires above it.  I'm still tuning the inletting, so pardon the right edge sitting high - it's still sitting on top of the power relay rather than the plywood floor.

The upper half of this fan board is again removable for servicing the fans.  It has to be somewhat strong, because it's the lower flange the back hatch rests on before screwing in 10x as the rigid spine to the whole back cabinet.

The legs will mount on either side in the L-shaped spaces between floor and wall, with three 3/8"-16 button head screws toward the centerline, and three offset going through the floor panel.  The three screws up through the floor will have to be countersunk for the heads, because the playfield monitor needs to skim by just on the other side of this "floor".  The legs go all the way up against where the cheeks flare out at the top, and the rectangle hole on the left wall will have the amplifier mounted through it, just above the height of the leg, and passing over the speaker.

(I did most of the packaging layout in CAD before cutting wood, so I know where most of the internals go, with some extra leftover "for stuff I forgot" spaces.)


Next up might be some metalwork on legs.  They do neat things with 1/8" stagger offsets so they look like L angle mounted onto the outside even though they're full square tube... if this all works according to plan.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on October 15, 2018, 01:28:23 pm
I'm enjoying watching this come together.  When you design in CAD or sketch up or similar you can explore complex solutions to design challenges before ever cutting any wood.  Heh, fabricating those parts you designed in 5 minutes is another matter!  I wouldn’t approach a project any other way though.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 16, 2018, 04:55:29 am
I'm enjoying watching this come together.  When you design in CAD or sketch up or similar you can explore complex solutions to design challenges before ever cutting any wood.  Heh, fabricating those parts you designed in 5 minutes is another matter!  I wouldn’t approach a project any other way though.

Thanks, Ond.  I'm having a great time watching RoToron, so I'm glad to return the favor. 

This evening was metalwork.  TOTALLY METAL.  work.   \m/   


People have asked me in this thread what my go-to tools are, if not a router.  My all time #1 answer is my horizontal/vertical bandsaw.  If I can possibly use it to make a part, I probably will.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372001;image)

Here, I'm about to shorten one of the 2x2 square 1/8" wall aluminum legs to 34" to be one of the rears.

It's a metal cutting bandsaw, which means small teeth and a slow feed rate.  It doesn't make a big fuss or commotion, it doesn't shriek like a wood saw - it just quietly cuts.  You can have a conversation at a regular volume while cutting things.  I use it on wood without changing the speed or the blade; you just have to take your time.  It doesn't require quite the eternal vigilance a wood cutting saw does, either - if you were to touch the running blade, you'd pull your hand back with a relatively minor injury.  It's downright friendly.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372003;image)

The cut quality is decent.  As the scrap end shows, this is mostly flat and square, though not perfectly square.

I have a fix for squaring it up, though.  This is an appropriately sized job for my little benchtop mill.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372005;image)

All I had to do was make sure the leg was bottomed out in the machining vise when I grabbed it.  I've dialled this vise and mill into being pretty true, so, just putting it in the vise sets the leg reasonably level with the bed and parallel with the ways.

Then, it's just making incremental passes until full contact on one end, flip it around, and make passes until you are at the exact desired length.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372007;image)

With this hasty setup, this tiny mill seemed happiest taking about .005" off per pass. 

Good thing I'm not in a hurry.

I don't want the legs to have directly visible fasteners on them when this is done, so I'm going to be using pem nuts to bolt them into the wooden structure.  The 3/8" pem nuts I got want a half inch drilled hole to install.  They press in, and displace metal around the serrated portion of the crown.  Here's an example of one in a 1/8" aluminum sheet that I was practicing with.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372009;image)

You're supposed to install them with a press in a very specific way, but, I'm going to be putting them into a deep blind space that I can't possibly get my arbor press into.  In a pinch, you can as an off-label method draw them tight using the screw threads.  It's utterly wrong, but it works great.  (Don't do this if you're in aerospace.)

Here's the result, and one of my back-cabinet side panels test mounted onto the first completed leg, to check all the hardware works right.  They'll all have washers in the end.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372011;image)

Six 3/8"-16 screws per leg should be enough, right?   :)

Here's the view down the top, to see how the hardware stacks inside.  It also shows how flat and nice the end milled finish turns out after just a touch of sanding.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372013;image)


So, that's my plan for the legs!  Now I just... gotta make three more of them.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on October 16, 2018, 05:42:28 am
Nice. I have always wanted a bench top mill. It would be the gateway into metalworking.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on October 16, 2018, 09:59:26 am
Mmm... Threaded inserts... :drool
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 17, 2018, 03:07:46 am
Now I just gotta make two more of them.  (And resolve a handful of correctable fitment issues.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 22, 2018, 11:07:48 am
Lots of progress on the back cabinet.

My backbox isn't hinged.  I wanted a neck there to visually separate it from the playfield and the main cabinet.  However, an LCD panel runs through that joint, so the best trick I could come up with is a reduction of thickness of the front plywood there.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372206;image)

Here's the front of the neck being skinned. 

The backbox sits above that neck.  Here's the floor, with the LCD monitor passthrough and ventilation holes.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372208;image)

The speakers will mount in the lower corners.  Yeah, the mounts taper to almost nothing in a few spots, but they won't be under much load at all.  There's just not much clearance in here.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372210;image)

As viewed from the back.  All this structure is now glued and screwed together.  In places, screwed a lot.  The legs are still removable for painting.  I'll be filling over all the small screwheads here, only the big leg bolts will show in the end.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372212;image)

Here's the floor being installed.  The front panel of the floor is a removable piece for installing or swapping the intake fans.  The power relay goes through the fixed back panel of the floor. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372214;image)

Here's a close up of the power area.  I found a 3x2 power strip that fits along a wall under the 3/4" hatch clearance, so that mounts on the wall just above the power relay. 

At this point I couldn't resist screwing the rear hatch on, because the backbox roof can attach to it, just to get a sense of the scale of the thing when it's done.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372218;image)

It is big.  Looks about right to me when standing at the lockdown bar, though.  I can dig it. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 29, 2018, 01:23:18 am
Builder's log, build date 102.

With the fabrication of the front pair of legs, the construction of all legs are now complete. 
I had to bolt them up to test the fit.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372392;image)

The spacing of the inner leg-attaching button screws is set so that, once this box is sealed up, the upper two can be reached through the open coin door, and the bottom one can be accessed through gaps in the partial floor (which is still to be built).  However, after playing with it a bit, I think these six inside the front cabinet would be easier removed via a ratchet and socket, so I'm going to flip these over to normal hex head bolts.  (The other 18 leg attachments will stay button head.)

Moving to the back cabinet...

 I've been confirming and fine tuning the layout of parts.  This is roughly the current idea for the back lower cabinet:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372394;image)

The DMD panel looks off center, but that's an illusion caused by the unused speaker area formerly below the display, but now beside it.  The display glass is centered in the neck, and that's also the defining reason for the neck's total width.

The amplifier power brick is above the amp, tucked off on the left.  The amp is up on a shelf, which means you can't see the driving-mode speaker directly behind it.  Below that is the Ultimark IPAC Ultimate-IO that will be the main computer interface brains of the thing, which I'm giving fairly prime real estate here to ease future diagnostics and servicing at the header pins.

On the right side, from top down, there's a chunk of DIN rail housing several relays and a breakout box.  Then, a 3x2 power strip, a 12v power supply (to run fans, linear actuators and solenoids) and the USB-controlled power relay, which is also the main power in.

The unused area in the center is a wind tunnel to get airflow from the bottom-mounted intakes, behind the DMD panel in the neck, and up into the upper backbox. 

The entire PC will live elsewhere (just in front of the rear legs) and there's also going to be a few other large project boxes elsewhere to house other guts - so this is by design only a portion of the internals. 

This weekend was, however, mostly about bodywork.  So much bodywork.

The bondo goes on.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372396;image)

The bondo comes off.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372398;image)

I am not good enough at this to nail it in one.  So, at this point I can see everything I've failed to fill sufficiently, and coat two goes on. 

While I'm a big fan of the strength of the cured bondo, my technique with it leaves much to be desired, and it's a much bigger hassle to work with.  By the third pass, I flipped over to using jointing compound instead. 

More filler goes on.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372400;image)

This picture of filler going on the bottom also nicely illustrates that shelf that the amp rides in, and how the speaker sits beneath it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372402;image)

This stage of power sanding had me looking like possessed King Theoden by the end of it, white beard and all. 

But, I'm now mostly done with the bodywork on the back cabinet.  I think.  At least, until I put a layer of primer on it and see all the sins that still remain, at which point it's probably back to more filler again, because I don't want to disappoint Ond more than I absolutely must.

Behold, three layers of fill:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372404;image)

From here, there's only a fistful more things before priming, I think - I have some fine adjustment to do to clean up the leg mounting holes, I have to fabricate the partial roof and floor panels for the front cabinet, and I think then I get to proceed to priming and painting the interior.

I gotta admit it's kind of funny that Malenko has built an entire vpin in the time I've been working on this... and I'm maybe 1/3 done.   :lol
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on October 29, 2018, 08:47:21 am
I gotta admit it's kind of funny that Malenko has built an entire vpin in the time I've been working on this... and I'm maybe 1/3 done.   :lol

Apples to Oranges man. I took the existing guts, setup/config/etc and put them into a prefab kit. I wasn't making my own legs with threaded inserts and everything else :)
And, it wasn't my first vpin. You're making something that's never been made before!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: DGP on October 30, 2018, 02:29:05 am
Simply amazing, makes me wish I had your skill-set and tools as my current vpin build is child's play in comparison.

Can't wait to see the end result.

 :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
 :cheers:



Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on October 31, 2018, 06:19:24 pm
You won't disappoint my friend  :).  Plywood is always a bit trickier to surface finish than MDF.  There's nothing wrong with filling over with jointing compound.  Your work is excellent.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on October 31, 2018, 09:17:01 pm
You're making me want to build one  :)  - good thing I don't have the room..
Nice work & joinery.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 06, 2018, 05:08:07 am
Quick update...

The front corners of the front cabinet are tricky, with how I want the legs to work.  Aligned the corner blocks, glued and screwed them on, and gave it quite a bit of fill.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372623;image)

I want to blend all this such that it looks like one piece when painted, so I made myself a sanding longboard out of a two foot bar of aluminum I had around.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372621;image)

Got all that fill sanded back down to something resembling flat.  The longboard helps... though the aluminum turned out to rub dark grey onto the wood, oops.

Installed the legs, and here's the current layout.  It looks as though I'm building the shortest pinball machine ever. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372625)

The upper backbox doesn't have it's sides yet, as I'm deciding whether or not to groove them so as to hold a bezel type overlay in front of the screens and speakers.

So now I'm finally at the point where I can prime and paint the inside of the front cabinet, I think - since painting it once finally assembled will be impossible.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372627;image)

From the back here, you can see the profile of those side blocks, and how the top of the leg tube interface works with them.

I set this all up to prime... and then decided to sleep on it, just in case I realize some other urgent step I really should do first, heh.

SOON.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 13, 2018, 02:48:08 am
Well, this has been a heck of a journey.

I went ahead and primed the interior of the front cabinet panels.  Priming is easy and fun, nothing much to say about it - I've primed a lot of things before and I'm comfortable doing it with a roller brush and a foam brush. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372837;image)

I knew I wanted the interior of the front box painted because you'll see it when you open the coin door.  I kind of regret not painting the interior parts of Mimic, so I figured I'd go ahead and paint up the inside of the back cabinet too, though it'll only show when the access hatch is off for service.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372835;image)

It'll help block light leaks on the buried DMD monitor.  There's no good way to get a paintbrush up into the side cheeks, though, so I'm just going to do the main atrium / wind tunnel down the center.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372839;image)

I dry sanded the light grey primer with a couple passes of 250 and 400 grit, then rolled on a coat of gloss black latex paint, and it looked bad.  That's okay, though the first coat on primer always looks bad, that's to be expected.  I knocked the high spots off with another pass of sandpaper, rolled on the second coat, and that's about what most of the bookshelves I've made get - full coverage, but it could perhaps be called utilitarian.

My base layer sanding didn't do as much as I thought.  But hey, I thought, I've watched Ond's video, I just need to do the process.  Sand more. 

So I sanded down to accidental burn through into primer, and rolled on more black paint, and sanded through it, and rolled on more, and the results were just wretched.

I mean, awful.

Awful, like, this is what I had after about 10 hours of work.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372841;image)

That is like five coats of paint.  I'd gone through maybe ten complete sheets of sandpaper by this time, full of pilled up impacted paint bits.  If anything, it looked worse than the brute force two-coats-and-done I've used in the past.

My spirits at this point were pretty low.

I found myself remembering:

You won't disappoint my friend  :).

... yeah.

I kept going.

By hour 18, with rigorous care dry sanding and the most careful sanding block discipline, I had something that reflected light like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372843;image)

(That's the white specular reflections of the shop lights in the high gloss valleys, and I'm maybe halfway down to meeting them with the flat matte finish left from the hours, and hours, of dry block sanding I've done.)

So at that rate, what, it should take 30 hours to hit the bottoms if I don't screw up and knock a hole to primer somewhere first?  Hrgh.

I started getting experimental.  Why not, this is a lot of doom and ruin anyway.  I thought about Ond's video, and watching him dip his sandpaper in water to clear the dust.  I grabbed the water bottle I use to dampen my soldering sponge, and hosed a dab of water right onto the middle of the panel with a shrug.  Plopped the sanding block into the pool and instantaneous magic happened.

Where I was fighting stiction and pill-rolling and a nightmare of slow progress interrupted by dusting the paper and the work surface every fourth stroke... a fine slurry of silky paint sludge began to flow.  The feel of the sanding block changed entirely - I could read the remaining contours in the surface from the way the pad moved, and everything started to WORK.  Wet sanding this stuff is like a 10x speed multiplier.  It is -amazing-.  It is -magic-. 

About 18 hours to get to that picture above.  Add water.  And then it's about 15 minutes to get to this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372845;image)

Well hello there. 

The rate of improvement of the surface is astounding.  I think some of the slurried dust of water and latex paint is reattaching in the bottoms of the valleys or something, because the surface improves faster under wet sanding than just knocking the tops of the peaks off seems to explain. 

Another fifteen minutes, and,

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372849;image)

I think I've learned how to do this, maybe!

I kept at it with the wet sanding, learning the feel of it.  Once I got it somewhere I liked, I broke out the Novus #3 and #2 polishes, and I got this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372847;image)

Not bad, for foam-rolled latex paint, hey?


Thanks, Ond.  I wouldn't have believed I could do it.  Now, I think I can.  Water is the epiphany.  Water is the answer.  I still have much technique at this to develop, but I feel I can see the way now.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on November 13, 2018, 09:38:40 am
looks fantastic, keep up the good work!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on November 13, 2018, 09:43:34 am
If you are sanding for hours and hours w/o progress - you are using too fine a grit.. 
Getting a polished finish is all about a finer grit taking out the scratches of the previous grit..

Wet sanding is great - but don't kill yourself for hours using 400G when you can cut the high spots down with 180/220 (wet) first...  then step through 320/400/600 to get the final results.
Keep up the good work  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on November 13, 2018, 09:56:45 am
Thanks for sharing those steps.  Always good to see what worked AND what didn’t.  Project is looking good.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on November 13, 2018, 12:59:48 pm
You've done some hard yards mate!  This is why your work is excellent, you persevere through challenges.  Mimic was awesome for the same reason. Wet sanding allows the grit to cut efficiently for sure.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 17, 2018, 06:21:18 am
Thanks, Malenko, Ond, Arroyo and bperkins01.  That you all think I'm on the right track is encouraging.

(bperkins01:  My problem was that if I used any coarser grit dry, I was blowing through the color coat into the primer in places long before getting through the orange peel everywhere else - the only way I could get the control to avoid having one deep pill-rolling corner of the paper breaking through, was killing myself for hours starting at 400g and cleaning the paper every four or five strokes.  Doing it dry is just the the wrong way to go.)


I've got the inside of the aft cabinet painted now, and I am verifying and tuning the fits with the thickness of paint.

Here's what the bottom will look like - three intake fans, the power relay, and a big cable passthrough. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372956;image)

Pardon the upper fan screws and the button head upper panel screws not being installed - the paint is still tacky so I don't want to go clamping things together yet, this was just a quick check. 

The screws through the fan guards also bite into the boards between the flanges of the fans, which is neat.  To replace a fan, you pull the guard screws, the button head screws, remove half the floor, and slide the fan out. 

The view from the inside of the cabinet looking out through the fans was also kind of cool.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=372954;image)

(Cable routing will of course eventually happen here, to keep the fan wires tight to what currently looks like the floor.)


I am looking forward to filling this thing up with the electronics and routing cables, but there's still a lot more cabinetry work to be done before that.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 03, 2018, 02:05:20 am
It's a good thing that this project doesn't have any deadlines beyond my inevitable mortality and so on.

Progress this weekend focused on the backbox.

My backbox is weird.  One, it's very shallow front to back, and two, I want a giant hatch that can be removed for access - the whole back wall of the back cabinet comes off for access and I don't want anything attached directly to it.  When that hatch is off, though, the backbox is pretty much an open frame.  So, to mount a monitor floating in the middle of that ring, I figure I need really solid monitor mount brackets.  Because it's very shallow, I only have about a quarter inch to work with, and I've got to fit an 80mm fan down the centerline...  and Shapeshifter currently contains nothing that will rust. 

So, stainless steel they shall be.  1/4" x 1".  First I cut the brackets to length on my bandsaw.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373285;image)

It'll cut stainless, it's just slow.  Don't be in a hurry.  My cuts look nice, but the stainless steel strap stock I got had fairly ugly sheared edges on the sides.

This is what a factory edge looked like.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373287;image)

(That's the factory sides, not my cuts, I hasten to say.)

I wasn't happy with that.  I've got a knife grinder, though - 2x72 vertical belt sander, it's handy for a lot of things.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373289;image)

These brackets are not wholly unlike a knife blank.  (grin)

After a bit of grinding cleanup, I got surfaces I'm a lot happier with.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373291;image)

Once I had the blanks looking good enough, it's time for layout and marking. 

On paper, the design for these brackets looks like I'm drunk.  They've got to center up in 3/4" plywood, so the lowest hole is 3/8" up... then you go another 11" up for the DMD monitor and the overhang on the bottom of the monitor I'm using... and then you go 100mm further up for the VESA spacing...  the VESA square is 100mm wide, too, but an 80mm fan has to nest between these, so the holes are 10mm in from the edge on both sides...  and so on, and so forth, it continues in an unholy marriage of inches and millimeters.

I tend to do my layout with dykem, and scribing lines into it with calipers. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373293;image)

Especially with stainless, if you want the drill bit to stay anywhere in the same zip code to your layout marks, you'd best center punch them.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373295;image)

Then, you just... drill... the stainless. 

This is left as an exercise for the reader, right?   :D

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373297;image)

Took me a couple cheap drill bits to get my technique dialled in, I admit.  It's not intuitive - you can't advance slowly into it, or it work hardens up past the hardness of a cheap drill bit, and you're done.  You have to jump on the feed rate hard - but you can't keep doing that for long, or the chip gets hot enough to weld onto the bit, and then it gets ugly fast.  So I found it to work best as extremely aggressive peck drilling - attack the vertical feed, then get right back off it a quarter second later, clear the chip, re-oil it, and repeat.

It was a fight, I admit.  Stainless truly is the devil's metal.  But once I got the feel for it, I did the last 7 holes on the same drill bit, so it really is just a technique thing I think.



So:  Two backglass monitor brackets!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373299;image)

Next up, giving them a home.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 03, 2018, 02:28:07 am
These brackets hang the monitor from the roof, but they also locate on the perforated floor.  The floor is the critical reference dimension, so I built it backward.

I also found a loose freestanding 100x100mm VESA mounting plate that I could bolt both brackets to, to give me some faith in alignment that after I built them into the backbox frame, a monitor would still attach correctly to them.   ;)

So, working up from the floor - the brackets attach to the floor.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373301;image)


The side panels of the backbox attach to the roof panel...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373303;image)
 

And then the resulting arch attaches into the floor and monitor brackets.  This locates where the bracket holes line up onto the back of the roof panel. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373305;image)

This shows the skeletal frame of the backbox while empty, when the hatch is not present to form the aft wall. 

I'm pretty much hanging the weight of the monitor off four screws through 3/4" plywood here, so I wanted all the engagement on them that I could get.  I didn't want to lose the strength that the tapered tip of a wood screw would have given up, so I went with over-length screws on purpose.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373307;image)

Since this is all going to be getting a lot of bodywork before paint anyway, I trimmed the excess screw length with a cutoff wheel and dressed them flat.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373309;image)

Little uglification going on around them, getting them flush - but I think I can fill that before the primer.  I feel a little better about them knowing I've got all 3/4" of threads in there that I could possibly get.



The exciting part:  take the 100mmx100mm VESA square out, and install the monitor.  Does it fit?

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373311;image)

Does it ever. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373313;image)

And a great sigh of relief was heard.  This shows a lot of the interior structure going on here, some of which makes sense now, and some of which will probably make more sense as the project goes on.

Still to be added, the speaker mounts below the backglass... and a ton of bodywork.


In closing, here's the front view so far - I'm using a 16:10 instead of a 16:9, due to a nonexistence of 29" class 4:3s... and I think I've maybe got a pleasing aspect ratio going on the backbox as a whole - at least, this doesn't look wrong to me, where some vpins do.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373315;image)


So, that was my weekend and this is my backbox.  I'm exhausted and physically sore, but, I'm happy with it.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on December 03, 2018, 08:15:20 am
Great work - I'm enjoying your work   :applaud:

I've never played a video pinball machine..  I have no idea what its like. 
Now I want to try one :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on December 03, 2018, 08:21:46 am
 :applaud:
lookin' good.

It is always satisfying when your pile of parts starts to look like something.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on December 03, 2018, 10:18:42 am
That is an engineering feat.  All I did was screw some 2x4 scrap together to be a pinball table ....pinball table :p

This is a great project to watch and I'm glad you're being so detailed with the build. Are you planning to add solenoids and the like inside the pinbody? It honestly makes all the difference in the world AND you should have a lot more space inside than I did.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373245;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 04, 2018, 03:16:28 am
This is a great project to watch and I'm glad you're being so detailed with the build.

Oh, thanks!  I wasn't sure if I was being too boringly pedantic and posting too often - I'll keep on at this level of documentation.

Are you planning to add solenoids and the like inside the pinbody? It honestly makes all the difference in the world AND you should have a lot more space inside than I did.

I hope to.  There are places in the cabinet I could shoehorn them in.  I haven't played with that part of the software yet whatsoever -  it will depend mainly on whether I get sufficient control over the toys in software.  Because I'm planning on using a lot of the light outputs on the Ultimate I/O to drive the actuators to transform the machine between vpin and driving cabinet, I absolutely need 100% certainty that no errant pinball toy feedback signals get mapped to ANY of the U I/O outputs, or in the words of Egon, it would be Bad.

I'd love some advice on that side of things.  (Possibly useful info, I am only running VPX.)  Is there a solenoid control board and software to run it that you'd suggest, that won't cross-talk to the Ultimate I/O at all?

(Also, I don't plan on making Shapeshifter tilt/nudge capable.  It's just going to weigh too much, and I don't really want anyone trying to toss it around.)


Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 04, 2018, 11:52:38 pm
Oops, I see you specified the board in your thread; sainsmart USB relays.  One stupid question retracted, one remaining!  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on December 05, 2018, 07:11:43 am
If I were you, I'd have separate controls for the pin, tahts both for inputs and outputs. Check out the pinscape board, it'll what I'll be using for ginger 3.0
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 06, 2018, 12:18:11 am
I've been doing some bodywork on the backbox, now that it's constructed.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373351;image)

Filled in the various screw holes, working on flattening the plywood grain out now - I've got a little primer on parts of it, so I can see better what's still not flat.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373349;image)

Have to admit, I am really looking forward to getting to try out the excessively red paint that's going to go on parts of this section after the surface is adequate.   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 17, 2018, 04:54:35 am
Been working on the backbox.

Did a lot of bodywork on it to cover up the screwholes, blend the corners.  Filler, sanding, primer, sanding, repeat.  You know the drill.

Painted everything that needed to be black, black, first.  I figure the slurry of wetsanding paint, red is going to clean off of black much better than black will clean off of red.  I avoided putting any black paint anywhere red will need to go later for the most part, so that I don't have to try to overlap red over black as I expect that'd be a pain.

Here's the backbox, primed and with black interior paint.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373612;image)

I wanted to visualize how everything is going to look fitted into it.  Figured it would also help explain the thing.  So:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373614;image)

Here's the fit of the main backglass monitor, the DMD monitor, and one of the speakers.  The remainder of the DMD monitor will be hidden inside the neck of the back cabinet I was working on previously.  (Hiding most of monitors is, apparently, my thing.)

If you look at it square on from a player's-eye view, you get something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373616;image)

I may make a thin black bezel piece that goes over all this, with speaker grills and rectangular holes for the screens.  The surfaces are close enough to flush to allow for that.

The main thing I was sweating in this region back in the design phase was wanting it to have the right looking proportions - not to tall, not too much blank space.  The realities of the hardware going into it drove some compromises, but this result looks OK to me.  You can see from this why there's so little meat left in my speaker mount.

The big news, though, is that I've finally hit a big milestone I've been looking forward to for months now.

I got to use the colored paint.

Shapeshifter attempts to hide its monstrous unholy mutations as a vpin, by drawing the eye to the pinball parts that have pinball lines.  To achieve that, I wanted the most striking color I could get for those pinball table looking parts. 

It's still the first few coats and far from perfect yet, but here's what I've got.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373620;image)

It is so very excessively gratuitously red.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373618;image)



I'm really excited to see how this red polishes up, once I've got a thick enough coat of it on to allow for doing that.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 20, 2018, 02:44:08 am
Day 153. 

There is nothing but the endless task of painting.  Priming.  Sanding.  Painting.   

I have always been painting.  I will always be painting.  I am become sisyphus with a paint roller. 

My mantra has become, "Oh.  Well.  I guess I can still fix that in the next step."

I'd post photos, but honestly, they'd look about the same as the last ones. 

If I get out of this groundhog day time loop, I'm pretty sure this will all eventually turn out pretty cool, but in the meanwhile wow this thing's fiddly.

Just had to go for a two tone paint scheme on complex shaped parts, while painting the interior too, didn't I.  At least, I think I vaguely remember some distant previous incarnation of myself deciding that...  that guy is a jerk.  :)


This is of course all good-natured grousing - I'm sticking with it, and it's coming along.

Slowly.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 26, 2018, 09:13:31 pm
I jumped ahead a bit in the process to get the red and black on the backbox because I needed to see PROGRESS.  But, that was getting ahead of myself, and it causes me inefficient use of disposable rollers and brushes to have things in different stages like that.  So I've got more slogging to do.

Blah blah blah lots of bodywork again.   :blah:


Unfortunately, fixing defects in a matte grey surface is hard to photograph.  I'm sure the defects will show glaringly when it comes down to the final polish of the gloss paint, by which time it will be too late to do much about them. But for now it's hard to accurately document this part of the project.

Sometimes I get a really obvious case, like this plywood manufacturing defect:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373862;image)

This is a spot on the inside top edge of the big rear access hatch, where the plywood making machine just smashed a bunch of crap together and left a mangled wreck. There's no screwhead there, that's just a roughly circular bit of wood.  (Surprisingly, this one wasn't too much of a fight to fix.)


Much more often, though, this is representative of what I end up with.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373864;image)

This is on a board that has already been filled, sanded, primed, sanded, filled, and sanded.  That mostly-horizontal line above the speaker hole - that's not a scratch, that's a ridge, buckled up in the top surface ply of the plywood.

I primed the board after this photo, sanded it down, and a bare wooden line shows through. Primed over it, sanded, and that wooden line showed up AGAIN. Primed, sanded, yep, there it is, bare wood above the contour.  Clearly, paving it and sanding the whole thing wasn't getting me anywhere.

So, I tried sanding just the line itself, using the edge and corners of folded-over sandpaper... for about an hour. Primed it, looked great. Sanded it.  Wooden line. Still a ridge.

So I said some strong words of power.

Alright, four coats of primer and sanding on this board and I've still got the defect?  FINE.  Needle file.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373866;image)

I defy this sucker to stick through the paint now!  After all, I know how to fix gouges, that's just filler.

Ha ha ha ha.  So I filled it, primed it, sanded it, and it was still a dip below contour.  So much for "I know how to fix gouges", I guess.  It only took me three more passes of palette knifing primer into the gap and sanding everything down to hit flush.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373868;image)

So this is how I am finding bodywork to go - an awful lot of work, for a very small return, to fix something that looks like it should have been easy to fix. If I don't fix it, it'll show through and look like I didn't care about the build and then bother me forever.  It yields to effort, but only very slowly, and it's very gratifying, but only in retrospect.

Stepping back, here's the whole panel.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373870;image)

This is a rather visible portion of the machine. This will be the wall to your left when you are in driving / simpit mode, pretty much smack dab at eye level.  The ridge, and the gouge, are at least gone. For now, maybe.  I won't be surprised if they reappear in the color coat.

(Also, notice that scar where the freehand dremel burr got away from me at the corner of the speaker (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=370538;image) is now gone.)



Here's the front of that piece, as primed and prepped.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373872;image)

An interesting detail here is the radius to blend into the lockdown bar at the top. I need it square where it fits into the leg, but the top needs a bit of radius to flow into the lockdown assembly - so the corner is kind of a tall conic section to patch between them.


The lower rear cabinet is also getting attention.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=373874;image)

I've done a lot of work on the cheeks that sit atop the rear legs below the neck, that surface was initially pure dog's breakfast. Now it's all the way up to kind of probably maybe okay.

I think all of these surfaces are now good enough to proceed.  I am very much looking forward to getting a color coat going on these, to catch them up with where the backbox is!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 08, 2019, 05:29:21 am
Short update.

When we last left the pedal frame on the driving sim side, it looked about like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374251;image)

So, I filled it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374253;image)

And I sanded it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374255;image)

And primed it, and painted it.

(The driving/flightsim/starfighter/mechwarrior parts of this cabinet are all going to be the same gunmetal grey that the accent panels of Mimic are, while the pinball parts above are extremely red, and the connective structure is gloss black.  I think this will work out visually, and help tie the two machines together thematically... but, we'll find out!)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374257;image)

This detour brought to you in part by my increasing need to populate some parts with stuff, to break up the endless cabinetry and bodywork I'm otherwise facing.  It feels like progress when I get to mount stuff.

So, pedals installed again, and wires routed with strain reliefs -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374261;image)


Thus producing the completed painted pedal subassembly - which I think I won't actually have to take apart again - knock on plywood.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374259;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on January 08, 2019, 05:37:04 am
Man that's a lot of work. Kudos for the dedication. It is definitely paying off. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on January 08, 2019, 08:33:37 am
Looking good Laythe, keep it up.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on January 08, 2019, 08:39:28 am
This is my favorite thread to follow. Color scheme sounds great and if you want art printed I'll get Ken to hook you up.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: barrymossel on January 08, 2019, 08:46:48 am
This OND-level dedication. Really nice!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 12, 2019, 08:48:55 pm
Heh, thanks Mike, Arroyo, barrymossel and Malenko.  Appreciated!  (And glad to know the thread's worth reading and updating.)

I did a little body work on, then primed, the rear hatch panel / back cabinet spine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374475;image)

To verify that things still fit together with primer and some of the paint, and to transfer the positions of the stripes between parts, I did another test assembly.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374473;image)

These test assemblies also serve as integration checks for me - this is the first time the whole backbox mounted to the back cabinet with the rear hatch installed, and that took quite a bit of sanding and adjusting to make work.  I also like keeping pictures like this around to look at while I've just got a bunch of subassemblies in front of me, to reassure myself this can yet become A Thing. 

But, next on my list is more paint.  There are three panels here - the front of the back cabinet, the front of the front cabinet, and the back of the front cabinet, that all get a tricksy two-tone horizontal stripe division out in the middle of the panel dividing red above black, and while I'm rolling black paint this time I'll also be doing the back hatch.

The back hatch is relatively easy, and since this face will be inside the cabinet and invisible in the end, I'm considering just painting it, I'm not doing the full on sand and polish to be sufficient - I've got plenty to sand and polish that will matter a lot more elsewhere.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374477;image)

(Well, okay, maybe I will sand it a bit, that looks awfully ragged...)

The main thing I've been working on, though, is the two tone paint.  I figure to do the black first, because the slurry of wet sanding red paint is more likely to come off the black than the black slurry is off the red, I think.  I made the terrible discovery on a prior part that masking tape will in fact lift my primer - so I don't dare use it for this line. 

So... I'm freehanding it.  Aw yeah.  Slapped a yardstick up, traced a pencil line, painting up to it, freehand with a disposable sponge brush, out in the middle of nowhere.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374479;image)

Good enough!

It's... decidedly tricky to polish up to an edge like this, and not over.  I'm not 100% sure that this is going to work when I've got live red and live black paint abutting each other and I'm trying to polish them both, but at absolute worst, if it all goes south I'll just stick pinstripe tape over the seam and pretend like I meant to do that.

I've got a fifth coat of black on the three tricky panels right now, and once it's good and cured, I'll come back and give it the sand and polish treatment because I think it's thick and flat enough now.  Black Mirror, here I come.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on January 13, 2019, 07:06:40 am
The work you've done on the pedals is very nice.  I particularly like the softened edges on the woodwork and your colour choices.  I know what you mean by needing a "detour" now and then. Painting and surface prep are a ruddy bore.  No one gets too excited when you're patching with filler or sanding back for the umpteenth time and yet all that hard work is what makes the real difference in your project.  I have a few projects on the go so I can get some diversion and then and just keep going with my prioritised one.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 17, 2019, 02:52:06 am
Thanks, Ond!

I finished sanding the first panel - got it to about here, at 400 grit wet.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374608;image)

This is the best panel I've done yet - I've got a defect where I burned through the color coat at the lower left corner, but it's in an area that will be covered by the control panel rail assembly, so I'm okay with that.

Gave it a polish.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374610;image)

It's getting there, I've still got a lot of swirl scratches to buff out, but if I hold my hand up next to it...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374612;image)

Polishing up to the line and not over seems possible at this stage, when it's primer above the edge - managed not to smear a lot of black onto the grey primer, and that gives me hope.

Next up, the other two panels get this level of sand and polish, and then as a long term goal I get to paint the red down to these lines.  The grand challenge will be to see if I can get a two tone panel where both sides are polished like this up to the seam.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 22, 2019, 04:02:59 am
Now that the black is decent, it's finally time for RED.

Application is in progress, and I'm chuffed at the results, though I have a long way to go adding coats before I can even begin to sand in earnest.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374739;image)

The dividing lines have now been freehanded 6 times - black up to the line 4x, and red down to the line 2x, with at least two more to go.

Here's the four pieces with fiddly red+black combinations all sitting in my shop curing:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374741;image)

I am really liking this red-over-black, seeing them together and on the panels.  It struck me as kind of hauntingly familiar, and then I figured it out - I think I'm painting this thing like a Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer (https://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/03/ferrari-512bb-lateral-view-1976-330x270.jpg).  No wonder it looks good. 

I wanted to see how the black lower - red upper - black bezel - yellow button(s) - black text combo looked, so I mocked up one of the buttons into the front panel to give it a look.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374743;image)

I've got a thousand miles of sanding and painting red and sanding it down still in front of me, but at the moment - I'm feeling good about it all. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on January 22, 2019, 08:06:25 am
I like the colors.

There was a Hard Drivin' for sale near me this week. It took a lot of discipline for me not to pick it up.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 23, 2019, 06:46:45 pm
Heh! 

Now that you mention it, the full size Hard Drivin' cabs were red over black, too...
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: yotsuya on January 23, 2019, 06:59:48 pm
Someone should come to ZapCon and wow us with his Hard Driving skills again!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: opt2not on January 23, 2019, 07:41:48 pm
Someone should come to ZapCon and wow us with his Hard Driving skills again!
That was so awesome to witness. I was stuck watching Laythe for quite a while, in awe...
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: yotsuya on January 23, 2019, 07:53:30 pm
Someone should come to ZapCon and wow us with his Hard Driving skills again!
That was so awesome to witness. I was stuck watching Laythe for quite a while, in awe...

Me too. It was like watching Randy Johnson pitch a perfect game or De Niro in “The Godfather, Part II”. Mastery in action.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 27, 2019, 09:19:45 pm
Hehehe, thanks, guys.

Hard Drivin' was one of my big teenage passions.  I can usually beat a quarter mill, I think I posted a 251k while you guys were watching. 
I think the Twin Galaxies score for it is just shy of a million.  It was a pleasure to get to demo that the machine really is entertaining, once you figure it out.
It kinda got a bad rap I think, and Xiaou2 championing it in his usual strident style here didn't do it many favors, either.

Shapeshifter will do a very good job at Hard Drivin' - I have the gas, brake and clutch pedals, the 4-position shifter, the 900' wheel, stereo sound, and a fast enough machine to emulate it at full speed.  I haven't gotten the FFB for the wheel working and don't know if I'll be able to, but easily half of the Hard/Race Drivin cabs I've played in the wild have busted FF too and I do still get motor centering, so that's only a mild downer for me.

I'm about two thirds through the whole paint process I think.  I've test-assembled the back cabinet together to check that it fits once painted (it didn't, had to fix that).

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374882;image)

The playfield table, in pinball mode, will be flush with the top of the lower fat red stripe.  In driving mode, the top of the main screen will be about halfway up the backbox, and the bottom edge will be just above the bottom of this cabinet.

I really like the way the black neck separating the pinball table from the backbox is turning out.  When you get the angle right, that it starts reflecting the red paint on the edge -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374884;image)

This neck under the backbox is not exactly an accurate pinball reproduction feature, but I think it's cool in lieu of the backbox being hinged.  It's my sci-fi futurist take on a pinball machine, anyway.


I've got the front cabinet ready to populate, and work is currently underway on that. 

Testing that the coin door fit after paint (it didn't, I had to do some sanding):

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374886;image)


I've got a lot more sanding and polishing paint to do, but hopefully I'll be able to finish up the front cabinet and start populating the back cabinet soon.

When both of those are done, then I get to build all the stuff that connects them - the axles, shelf, cockpit dashboard arm, computer doghouse, etc.  This is good progress and I'm chuffed, but I also honestly think I'm less than half done with this thing.


(Now you see why I kept my trap shut while building Mimic until it was done - my projects take something approaching geologic time.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on January 28, 2019, 12:13:21 pm
Looking good - don't worry about the time it takes.  You are moving at light speed compared to one of my projects.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on February 04, 2019, 02:08:32 am
Front cabinet is now populated and rewired.

I'm getting very close to being able to populate the rear cabinet, this much of the paint and bodywork is at least 90% done now.

Here's the two cabinets, as painted and on their legs, next to each other.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375014;image)

As seen from the front, this is kind of close to how it'll look as a pinball machine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375016;image)

These are of course hilariously too close to each other, but this does a good job of showing how the legs fit into the design and all the shapes involved.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375018;image)

Here they are set the correct distance apart, and you can see how the inward-facing driving mode speakers line up.  This is at least the beginnings of how it will look in driving mode.

There will of course be a lot of structure to connect them, but I figured I'd start at the ends and work in.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on February 13, 2019, 05:18:04 am
I'm beginning to populate the back cabinet and backbox.  This area will probably have to come apart at least once more for axle mounting and a few other tasks, but I want to build it and do some verification.

With the main rear hatch removed, the back box looks like this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375306;image)

Nothing's wired up yet, but you can see the relationship of the backglass panel, the DMD panel, and the speakers.  I specifically wanted all this stuff to remain mounted and fixed in space when the hatch is off.

I should be able to route all the wiring this way, then bolt the rear access hatch up over all of it at the end.  You can see the big cord via, to the left of the DMD panel, down into the neck - that's where most of the cable runs will go.

From the front:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375310;image)

I haven't yet built a fascia to cover all this - I'm thinking about a thin waterjet cut acrylic gloss black bezel type panel, with holes for the screens and speakers, to tie the back box contents all together visually.


I'm planning to do the wiring next, with a goal of getting back to a working mockup with the playfield temporarily on a table between these two end cabinets.

Making it live again at that next level of incremental approximation should be encouraging.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on February 15, 2019, 08:40:50 am
I’m very curious to see how you handle the motor and rotating function.  I would have expected to see holes for that in both sides before painting, so I’m looking forward to seeing your solution.  This build is entertaining, a lot of innovation here.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on February 15, 2019, 09:35:05 am
This build is entertaining, a lot of innovation here.

I'm more excited about this build than I am my own.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on February 15, 2019, 03:23:21 pm
My fav build too.  I like the approach to the complexity of the design, Laythe's way of making various components and the pics of his workshop with stuff everywhere!  I have to be braver and take a pic of my workshop at the end of a day’s hobbying because it's always totally trashed.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: opt2not on February 15, 2019, 03:37:34 pm
Coming along nicely, Laythe!  You think you'll be done before Zapcon?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on February 15, 2019, 10:37:40 pm
I’m very curious to see how you handle the motor and rotating function.  I would have expected to see holes for that in both sides before painting, so I’m looking forward to seeing your solution.  This build is entertaining, a lot of innovation here.

Thanks!  Glad you're enjoying it. 

The axle can't actually penetrate into the backbox - it would run directly into the DMD LCD screen right behind the wood.  It's going to run inside a compound 3 degree angled machined flange attached to the outside face - there's plenty of height room back there under the screen, because that's the tall end of the playfield panel's taper.   It will end up piercing into the front cabinet though, because that's the tight end of the taper where the TV is right against the axle.  The rotation will be done via a linear actuator on a bell crank, but there's lots of fabrication between me and there yet.


I'm more excited about this build than I am my own.
Thanks.  I'll try not to let ya down. 

I figure I owe you one - I like GB2.0 a lot, and none of this would have happened at all if you hadn't sent GB1.0 to Zapcon.  That was really the turning point on me deciding to commit.  I've played with a few other commercial vpins since then and they kind of sucked, so if I hadn't had time on yours I would probably just think that they all did.  I'm pretty sure the end result I'm chasing here is not going to be a better vpin than Gingerballs is - just bigger, weirder, and maybe better at running racing games.


My fav build too.  I like the approach to the complexity of the design, Laythe's way of making various components and the pics of his workshop with stuff everywhere!  I have to be braver and take a pic of my workshop at the end of a day’s hobbying because it's always totally trashed.

:lol Yes, that's it - my messy shop is a virtue! :lol  I'm just that brave.  Yeah.  I'm going with that!

In all seriousness, thanks. 

And yeah, you should - the carnage and chaos is part of the project, in my opinion.  Many shop rags died to bring us this finish.


Coming along nicely, Laythe!  You think you'll be done before Zapcon?

Thanks! 

Done before Zapcon?  No way.  None at all.  Nope.  Zero percent.

I'm thinking I'm about seven months into a twelve month project here - I'm not even 100% certain I'm going to be finished before the following Zapcon. 

This is gonna be a long ride. 

I won't quit unless I run into irreparable disaster - but this is just going to go on and on, until it has half as many pages as Chance's Flynn thread.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on February 19, 2019, 04:12:29 am
More progress.

I've started populating the back cabinet.  I'm not 100% sure that this isn't premature, but I -think- the rest of the work that Arroyo mentioned doesn't require me tearing this stuff back out, and I want to make sure it'll work.

The backbox exhaust fans are now properly installed with quick disconnect connectors and grills.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375450;image)

I turned out to have 23 of the 24 screws I'd need to mount all these fan covers on hand, so there's one missing screw in the bottom for now.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375456;image)

(The bundle of cables that have to come out of the bottom of the backbox is amusingly large... and that's maybe not quite all of them.)

I installed six standoffs and mounted the ultimarc U/IO encoder board in the lower left corner of the rear cabinet.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375452;image)

That lower left most standoff was pretty tricky to install, being right near the corner and blind behind the corner brace that the rear access hatch bolts into.  I had to get creative there and make myself a very long simple burr drill bit out of piano wire that I could fish through the mounting hole in the brace and flex into position... and then it took another hour or so to battle that screw into the standoff in a space too short for even my stubby screwdrivers.  It's in now, though!

Above that, is the amplifier, and above that I installed a power button - it will get attached to the computer motherboard where the case power switch currently connects. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375454;image)

I like the look of this behind the rear leg - the amp face showing gives you volume control and a headphone jack, and it and the power button kind of go visually with the aluminum legs I think.

All up, here's the filled cabinet so far:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375458;image)

Ignore the one VGA cable off to the left, that's a temporary extension cable to make up for the PC being too far away from the backbox - it isn't correctly routed, but the rest of the wiring more or less is.  I'm trying to keep all the airflow up the center that I can.

Above the amplifier, you can see a chunk of DIN rail that contains the 12v power supply for the fans, and the audio switching relay that handles flipping the speakers from pinball mode (both in the backbox) to driving mode (left speaker in the front cabinet, right speaker just behind the amp). 

The fans work, the relay works, the amp and speakers work;  I'm real close to being able to fire this thing up as a mockup in pinball mode and playing some games with the playfield on a table between the two end cabinets.


As Arroyo has correctly noticed, I'm not close to having the transformer half of the thing fabricated.  Yet.   :)

(I'd post a Yotsuya style SOON graphic here, but, it'd be a lie.  It's not exactly going to be SOON, and there's no good image macro for IN A WHILE.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on February 25, 2019, 01:17:31 am
So, paintwork on the front and rear cabinet are close to done. 

I drug them together and lashed up Mockup v2.0 to work on some system integration and give it a good test.

The distance between cabinets should be about 42".  I fouind I've got a 48" long folding table, and I built a setup on and around it, which means there's an extra 3" of dead space in the following photos that won't really exist when it's all done.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375643;image)

I built a temporary plywood frame to hold flipper buttons in roughly the right spot; it clips in under the lockdown bar assembly for now, but the real carrier for them will be part of the rotating playfield frame.

The entire front cabinet comes out on a 25-conductor cable to a DB25 plug, which attaches to the rear cabinet - this is designed to stay modular so that I can move it in pieces.

The rear cabinet is now mostly wired up, and I've got the painted access hatch properly fitting as a plug-in fit. 

It fits well enough the bolts are kind of optional, though having the big 3/4" thick plywood hatch bolted in forming a back spine should further reinforce the backbox.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375645;image)

It takes some lifting and levering to get the hatch out, especially after the bolts have all pulled it in tight.  I also don't want anyone to ever back this machine up tight against a wall so tight the exhaust fans can't work.  To serve both ends, I found some industrial looking rack server handles and installed those on the hatch.  Slippyblade may appreciate that it's a strap away from being an adequate kite shield now.

I am stunned at how good the airflow is, with it buttoned up - it makes a wind tunnel in there.  Tried leaving the monitors both on for increasing durations with the fans running, and after a 6 hour test they weren't particularly warm - tiny bit of warmth coming off the glass in front, cold cases in back.  Not loud, but it's moving a ton of air up the slot.  Overkill, I'm sure, but it's hard to find replacement 2709WFPs these days.

I've also acquired the linear bearings and rail that are going to support the sliding driving panel assembly.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375647;image)

These are 25mm hardened steel shaft rails, and ball bearing trucks for them.  They weigh about 5lb apiece, but the play and flex on them is minimal.  These are going to mount in this orientation along the bottom edges of the cabinets, and the still-to-be-built driving shelf on the blocks side then rises up about 6" from there and bridges across the center.  I'll need an actuator to move it, and locking pins to keep the drawer from moving along the rail or rotating on the plane of the rails when deployed - but these rails should do a very beefy job of keeping the wheel and sticks solid versus the other 4 degrees of freedom.

The main purpose of this lashup, though, was to further develop the software stack, tinker with table settinggs, and build and test the wiring of the modular assemblies so far.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375649;image)

HAHA, IT'S ALIVE.

Well, this half of it is alive.  Mostly. 

I've got a few bugs to fix here and there, I think I'm going to have to write a couple AHK scripts to slap VPX into working the way I want it to - the playfield doesn't always get the focus, and you have to alt-tab into it about half the time.  But my custom front-end is coming along well.  As of last night's work, you can now push the button above the amp to power it all up and end up in a game selection menu.  You can also do a graceful shutdown using the same button, or pick "power off" from the game menu, and that all now works.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on February 25, 2019, 09:25:40 am
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375649;image)

That.... looks....dope.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: meltman on February 25, 2019, 09:33:32 am
Wow looking superb!

Can't wait to get to the same state with my project.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on February 25, 2019, 09:36:16 am
25mm supported linear rail?

Nice.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on February 25, 2019, 11:15:29 am
AMAZING!  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on February 25, 2019, 01:23:09 pm
Holy crap.   :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on February 25, 2019, 11:21:25 pm
Lookin' good!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: opt2not on February 26, 2019, 12:31:06 am
The money shot! This is coming together nicely. Can’t wait for the transformer pics when that part is done.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: barrymossel on March 01, 2019, 09:03:41 am
I am so looking forward to the end result!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on March 02, 2019, 12:33:38 am
Looking mighty tasty my man!  I hope I haven't missed it, but what are you planning on using to turn the monitor through 90 degrees?  I'm a big fan of stepper motors and the code to drive them, but they are pricey.  I've seen simple linear actuator based mechanisms used but I question their strength (and speed) for heavy work like this. Steppers are great for the precision and sheer torque strength, especially with some gear ratios in between to leverage them.  Edit  I re-read this project from the begining and you do mention a linear actuator for rotation.  I'll be keen to see how this pans out.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 02, 2019, 02:33:17 am
I've seen simple linear actuator based mechanisms used but I question their strength (and speed) for heavy work like this...
...you do mention a linear actuator for rotation.  I'll be keen to see how this pans out.

I admit, I am also anxious to see how that particular part pans out.   ;D
(It's entirely possible it may not work, in which case I'll have to drive the axle differently.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on March 02, 2019, 09:24:49 am
Looks amazing - if you are anywhere in driving distance for me..  well.. you know..  :P
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 04, 2019, 01:03:56 am
Meltman, Mike A, Malenko, javeryh, Neph, opt2not and barrymossel - thank you.  I enjoy the hours in the shop working on this, but knowing that I'm not the only one who cares how it all turns out, helps.
bperkins01 - I'm pacific northwest, and I think you're new england based on things you've said on your boat projects.  Might meet you at Zapcon sometime though!

This weekend I mostly spent hacking on the software.  But one thing kept nagging at me. 

From the back, the cabinet looked - exactly as designed - like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375645;image)

In my head, that was gonna look really cool, with the bracket-shaped red edges of the front showing around the solid black fill of the rear hatch.

It didn't look that cool.

So I kept staring at it, and screwed around a bit in an image editor trying things out, and decided to paint three 3/4" wide red stripes on the hatch.

On it's own, it looks pretty stupid:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375915;image)

But, when you install it, they line up and complete the shape like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375917;image)

And now I'm happy with this part - now I think it looks cool.

(The stripes don't line up perfectly in this picture because the paint was still wet and so I didn't want to leave the panel vertical for long, so it's not pushed all the way in - it's just leaned in long enough for the photo.  There will be 10x silver washer-and-bolt combos like you can see at the upper corners in all the holes, which will crank it down nice and tight, and the stripes should then push in flush when it's actually together for reals.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on March 04, 2019, 07:42:30 am
That's my kind of OCD!
Well done  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on March 04, 2019, 10:15:37 am
So I kept staring at it, and screwed around a bit in an image editor trying things out, and decided to paint three 3/4" wide red stripes on the hatch.

This is some next level attention to detail.  I love it and you are right - it looks WAY better.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 10, 2019, 08:27:33 pm
So, back when I made the wooden piece that accepts a normal 25" Williams widebody lockdown bar, I figured I'd just slice in from the ends to cut out some of the clearance holes on my bandsaw.

Unfortunately, over time, these fingers released some pent-up stresses and warped a bit, and the bottom ceased to be flat across the gap.  Additionally, I found that the lockdown would look better if it was just a touch wider - if you flush it on the back edge of the front cabinet, you can see a step under the lockdown bar on the front, and if you flush it to where the lockdown bar looks nice in front, there's a step in the back.  Some adjustments were called for.

I drilled and pinned it on both sides.  I could have used a dowel, but I had some 1/4" stainless round stock handy, and nothing says "STAY" quite like a steel pin.

Drilled 1/4 holes in from the back wall, while tweaking the floor level with my other hand, then tapped the pins in with a pin punch.

From beneath, you can see the pin bridging across the saw kerf.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376212;image)

The back face that I drilled through shows in driving mode - but that's okay, because I also cut a few pieces of thin hobby plywood to face over it all with.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376210;image)

Pinning it straightened out all the warping nonsense quite thoroughly - dig the flatness of the bottom now.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376214;image)

Hobby plywood over the top of it all hides and makes captive the pins, and nudges up the width of the lockdown bar assembly to where it fits the depth of the front cabinet better. 

Had to use two pieces, because my pieces came in 24"s and the lockdown bar is a 25", but I've established to myself by this point that I can do the bodywork to hide the seam later on in the next round of filling, sanding, priming, painting, and complaining.

I smeared some wood glue and floated the two pieces where they belong:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376216;image)

Then I looked at it and said, "Man, I better put a clamp on that!"

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376218;image)

DONE.   NEXT.



I determined that 25mm linear rail was the biggest size that could fit under the rotated TV when this is in driving mode, so I went with that - but where it mounts will cover one of the leg mounting bolts on the front cabinet, and it'd be nicer if it didn't.

The hardened steel rail itself clears, it's the aluminum extrusion it mounts on that blocks it - and there's no major load bearing path or mounting screw in that region. 

So I roughed a notch out of the aluminum extrusion with my bandsaw.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376220;image)

Sanding wheel in a dremel tool, little cleanup with sandpaper and files, and:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376222;image)

That'll do.


Located it on the front cabinet, installed 6 brass thread inserts, and bolted the rail and the newly remodeled lockdown bar onto the front cabinet, which concludes this update:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376224;image)



Next week, doing the same rail mounting to the back cabinet!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 31, 2019, 12:03:54 am
Okay, I lied about the "next week" part, it turns out.

But I didn't lie about the rail.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376531;image)

The rear cabinet now has the matching rail to go along with the front cabinet.  These will carry the sliding control panel between them.

There are six thread inserts placed in the plywood to carry the rail.  These were trickier than in the front cabinet for three reasons.  One, the structure is a lot more complicated.  Two, when you take the rear hatch off, you can see the backs of the thread inserts and screws, so I cared more about them coming out somewhat clean.  Three, there's a lot of electronics and stuff in there, so I had to take all that out before drilling.

Overall, it went pretty well.  The drill scuffed the paint on the leftmost upper one -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376533;image)

I'll have to touch that up with a little more black.

The middle ones are kind of funny, because the lower screw and insert goes through the web that the intake fans mount in.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376534;image)

But, the fan will hide the lower hole.

On the right, they go behind the power relay input box.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376535;image)

The hardware doesn't protrude beyond flush, though, so the relay will slide back in over the top of these.


I tried setting the front and rear cabinet together so the rail trucks touch, and they appear to track real nice - these rails are flat to each other when the legs are flat to the floor.

The rails did prompt an interesting discovery, though.  My back cabinet isn't actually flat, it's got some dish to it.  As you can kind of see in this picture:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376532;image)

The ends of the rail are tight to the plywood, and there's a gap of maybe 1/8" in the center between the aluminum extrusion and the plywood face.  I'm going to make a spacer to fill this space, because I trust the linear rail to be straight a lot more than I trust my carpentry to.  This shouldn't hurt anything, but it was a surprise to discover.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 04, 2019, 01:40:18 am
I was originally going to machine out some compound angle 3-degree-by-3-degree bushing flanges to mount the playfield axle to the front and rear cabinet.  However, I then found some remarkably inexpensive cast iron spherical bearing carrier pillow blocks that will accommodate that angle - so, sure, I'll go with that.

Problem is, they're painted dark blue from the factory, and that's just not going to work for this.  So, I'm priming them so I can paint them.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376626;image)

But, if I've got to get the primer out anyway, I might as well also do the bodywork on the lockdown bar carrier.  When last we saw it, the sides looked like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376214;image)

I built up the matching shape to the bottom curve of metal in plastiwood filler, and ended up with a profile like this on both sides:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376624;image)

(The remainder of the slot that I cut because I was lazy while inletting should hide under the lockdown bar.)

On the back, I am pleased at how quickly I was able to blend the seam between having 24" wide craft plywood and having to use an extra piece on the right end to fill to a 25" wide lockdown bar.  Red arrow indicates where they join.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376625;image)

Hiding the seamline almost wasn't even a fight this time.   :)

All these will need another coat of primer, some sanding, and will then get painted to match the machine.  Lockdown bar holder will be red with a black top edge, I've still got to measure out where exactly the bearings land to know what colors they get. 

I do also know I'm going to have to empty the rear cabinet out further to mount the rear bearing block, because it sits right over the buried DMD LCD panel.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: harveybirdman on April 10, 2019, 04:43:18 pm
Dude.....

I know I don't post much anymore, but I just had to say....


This is freaking fantastic!

Great work Laythe!

 :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Troy on April 10, 2019, 07:07:27 pm
 :o :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 22, 2019, 12:56:11 am
Thanks, HBM and Troy! 

Sorry for the long delay, everyone - my day job ate my face.  Today was my first full day off work this month.   :dizzy:

So of course I used it to make some progress.


First was some paint touch up over the scars from mounting the linear rail in the back cabinet.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376870;image)

On the left side, where the drill had kissed the floor, here it is all sanded out and covered up. 

In the center of the rail, a bit of black in the holes make them less conspicuous.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376871;image)

Back on the outside front of the rear cabinet, I spent a while looking at and thinking about the gap I had in the center of the 25mm linear rail due to the cabinetry being a bit cupped.  I wondered what the relative stiffness was, between that roughly inch sized hardened steel rod and the 3/4" plywood structure.  I tried setting my camera up on a tripod, looking down at it, and recording video, then tightening all the screws down to pull the gap out.

Reviewed the video.  It didn't look like the rail flexed.  It looked like the plywood flexed.

Hmm.

I set up a ridiculous lashup to set the dial indicator I use on my lathe and mill to reference on the center of the rail, and then very carefully worked the screws back and forth, from slacked out such that the gap was as big as it gets, to totally tight with the gap pulled flush.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376872;image)

Conclusion:  Under full screw tension, at the center, the plywood structure pulls about 0.2" out, and the rail pulls about 0.006" in.

I think I can live with six thou of possible curve over a 24" long run.  I think that's as nothing.  So heck with building spacers to go under it - I'm just going to crank it down and let the steel bar be the truss that straightens out the wooden box here.  I'll revisit that if the control panel balks moving across it, but given the panel is going to be a wooden structure about 42" long between the rails, I think it's fine.



I got my hands on the materials I'm going to be constructing the playfield axle from. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376873;image)

1.5" OD, 1" ID, 0.25" wall thickness 6061 aluminum tubing will be the spine of the axle, with lathe turned endcaps made out of 1.5" solid round stock.

I think this'll be a strong enough axle to support the big panel and the flipper buttons (they end up pointing pretty much through it's centerline) and the TV mount assembly while being motorized.  Opinions welcome!
 
I plan to make the endcaps a three-section spigot.  In my head, they'll have a 1" diameter spud that fits inside the tube, then out to a short fat 1.5" diameter flange that matches the OD of the tube, and then back in to a 0.75" diameter spigot that goes into the bearings.  The bearings have two set screws to grab the spigot, and I'll drill through the tubing to countersink some small screws, tapped into the spud side.

(Come to think of it, that whole endcap description will probably make a lot more sense if you just look at them while I make them.  When I get to the part where I make them.)


I also got the first coat of red paint on the lockdown bar assembly.  Needs another couple coats, sanding, polishing, etc - but here's roughly how it'll look on the machine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376874;image)

Sorry for all the seamlines, but these three pieces disassemble for service.  Also, the top is just set on for the photo, I think I can finagle the fit a little better. 

A need for another small detail like the red stripes on the rear hatch arises here.  Looking down on the profile of the lockdown bar, you can see the red part matches the front-back depth of the front cabinet, which is slightly deeper than the lockdown bar is...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376875;image)

This means it sticks out the back a bit.  Looking down on it from the pinball player perspective, that red is far too conspicuous - that's going to show a lot in the necessary gap between the lockdown bar and the pinball playfield.  (Some gap has absolutely got to be there for the rotation of the playfield to clear the front cabinet.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376876;image)

I plan to fix this by painting the top edge - basically, the whole part you can see red in the above picture - black.  That shouldn't look bad from the side when you are in the cockpit, and should fix the problem when looking down at it as a pinball player.



Lastly, I also got the first coat of red on the axle bearing pillow blocks. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376877;image)

Needs more coats, but they are going to match nice. 

It looks like the actual position for both bearing blocks lands wholly within the red parts of the front and rear cabinets, so they don't have to get a fiddly black lower section at all, they just go solid red.

I'll need to take the monitors out of the back cabinet for drilling and mounting the bearing blocks, and I'm triple and quadruple checking my math for where they land on the surfaces to get a 3' horizontal yaw and a 3' vertical pitch and the correct rotational centerline... that part is going to be kind of scary, I gotta admit.  :)

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jeremymtc on April 22, 2019, 02:35:03 am
1/4" quarter-inch wall Al tube should do just fine for the playfield axle I'd think, though I am unclear if it'll be a single continuous axle running the length of the playfield or two shorter stub axles. If for stub axles, it'll be way more than strong enough. If one continuous piece, it'll probably have some pretty substantial runout in the middle but will probably work decently all the same given those beefy pillowblocks and some allowance for endplay. I'm not sure what sort of linkage you might have going near the center, and that may mitigate some deflection there if you're going for the single-axle approach.

*edit - just reviewed your graphic on page 1. Looks like it is a single continuous axle with a bellcrank/clevis in the middle. The way that I might have gone would be with a wooden box section for the whole central playfield with the bellcrank fixed to that, and just simple bearing or spherical bearing pivots and axles at the head and control areas with some latches or spring/slide bolts to secure it either mode. Take my rambling with a grain of salt though since I'm not the guy actually executing the concept! :)

Really cool project and great execution here Laythe!

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 24, 2019, 03:14:15 am
jeremymtc - I'm picturing both one continuous axle and having that axle running through some supplemental structure.  (The renderings on page 1 are somewhat out of date now.)  As currently imagined, the bellcrank is part of the TV monitor mount structure, which includes a big plate of 1/4" aluminum that picks up some big scope-ring style clamps onto the axle.  So load path wise, it's kind of halfway between just the naked axle and your box-to-stub-axles approach, which I gotta say I do like - thanks for kicking some ideas around!

I've made a bit of progress on the axle endcaps.  Well, one of the two of them. 

I started with that 10" chunk of solid 1.5" aluminum round stock and bandsawed it in half into two 5" pieces.

I set up the outside 3-jaw chuck and grabbed the 5" bar by one end.  This is about as long as I'm willing to cantilever a piece of work out on my tiny little benchtop lathe - but it's only aluminum, and I'm patient enough to only take light cuts, so it works for me.  I got the runout at the far end down to about +-0.002 and then started cutting down the bearing-side pin.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376920;image)

Starting diameter, 1.51" OD. 

Target diameter, 0.749" OD.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376921;image)

This takes a while, at 0.005" deep cuts that reduce the diameter by 0.010" per pass... 

But I'm patient.  Maybe 75 passes later, it looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376922;image)

(Shown at left is some of the metal that came off this part.)

I'm leaving a full diameter 1.5" flange, which is why the stock had to start so big.  You can see where I'm beginning to cut down the center - that'll become the axle end, and reduce down to a 1.0" OD aiming for a friction slip fit into the axle tube for about 3" of length.

The bearing pin is a very snug fit into the bearing in the pillow block:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376923;image)

From here I just need to finish reducing the axle end down, and then part off or saw off the full diameter end that is currently in the lathe chuck.


Oh, yeah - and then do all that over again, for the other cap for the other end of the axle.  Good thing I enjoy this! 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on April 24, 2019, 07:16:53 am
sweet metal working porn.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on April 24, 2019, 09:56:54 am
Nice.  I have a Jet 9x20 lathe.  I love working with aluminum but parting steel always scares me.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jeremymtc on April 25, 2019, 02:01:08 am
As currently imagined, the bellcrank is part of the TV monitor mount structure, which includes a big plate of 1/4" aluminum that picks up some big scope-ring style clamps onto the axle. 

Your description makes perfect sense and sounds like quite a good solution. That should really help to add some column stiffness to the axle, especially if you can get the clamps spaced out a ways. 

I'm really enjoying seeing your updates on this project. Keep up the great work!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on April 27, 2019, 08:02:49 am
I've lusted after metal working equipment for years..  If I had a place to put it..  Very nice  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 28, 2019, 10:00:28 pm
Mike A - Thanks!
Gilrock - Right on, that 9x20 is the step up from my little Seig 7x12.  Aluminum's totally friendly to work with.
bperkins01 - Space is tough, yeah.  I've got tiny little machine tools, and they're still a substantial infrastructure commitment.

And now, on with the show.


I finished the first cap - here's what they look like when complete:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376982;image)

Pictured:  The amount of shavings it takes, the end product, and the blank they start from.

One down, one to go. 

The second blank goes into the lathe, and then I spend a while tinkering with the grab in the three jaw chuck. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376983;image)

I fiddled around with it until I got it indicating 0.001 on the high end and -0.0005 on the low end.  Given my hasty not-square indicator placement, I'll call that within two thou anyway.  Good enough!

Then, play on the lathe for hours.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376984;image)

The flange is 0.300" thick, the bearing side pin is 1" long, the length of the axle side pin is adjustable by wherever you part it off at...

Spend most of the day in the shop making shavings...  end up with this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376985;image)

Two matching endcaps, and a ball of compacted shavings roughly the size of my head.    :D

Here's how it all assembles up:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376986;image)

Only the flange shows, between the axle and the bearing block. 

(Yeah, they would have been easier to make without that flange at all - but I think this is classier.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376987;image)

They're a tight work-it-together slip fit on both ends.  The chamfer kind of fairs the diameters together, makes it look like this stuff belongs together.

I haven't cut the tube to length yet, so it's still 48" instead of... the really weird number it ends up being... but here's the whole axle core put together:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=376988;image)

As it turns out, the ID and OD on the center tube aren't quite concentric, so there's a bit of runout when you spin it - but considering this thing is only ever going to make 1/4th of a turn back and forth, it's gonna be OK.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 13, 2019, 01:49:17 am
Now that I've got the axle complete except for cutting the tube to exact length, it's time to build the structure that rides on it.

The axle tips up 3' and angles left 3'.  The TV needs to mount on this tipped up another 3' and rotated 3' right.  That way, in pinball mode, it's straight but angled up 6', and in driving mode, all the 3s cancel and it's straight and level.  That means I have to build a very carefully crooked mounting structure, which turns out to be quite a bit more difficult.

Here's the major parts:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377215;image)

I let my dad waterjet the brackets; feels a bit like cheating, but man they sure turn out nice.  Having the tool available, I designed them in a manner well suited to the waterjet but fairly impossible to fabricate most any other way.

These brackets will clamp onto the axle, by squeezing the long slots together a few thou.  If it weren't for the waterjet, that wouldn't be a captive slot... it'd have been a two-piece clamp so I could get my bandsaw in there.  :)

The bracket on the left is the one that runs closer to the player when in pinball mode, on the low side.  I didn't like how little metal would have been left between the axle hole and the deck, so I put a dovetail there to gain the 1/4" thickness of the front plate around the hole.

This dovetail requires a matching cut in the plate.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377216;image)

This is midway through me filing the plate to fit.  The dovetail is complicated by the edge of the bracket being cut at the matching 3' angle - these join up to form an 87' angle, not a 90'. 

Each of the brackets gets 5 holes drilled through it - the ones on the ends will clamp the bracket to the plate, the ones in the middle close the clamps against the axle. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377217;image)

There's some fancy drilling to be done, with regards to those rectangular holes in the tall bracket.  I wanted more strength than I felt I could get from aluminum threads. Those rectangles are exactly the size of 5/16ths nuts.

So... just drill 2" deep, in from the top... and hit the center of those windows at the bottom.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377218;image)

Like this.   8)

Twice.

Result:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377219;image)

The clamping screws engage the nuts, the captive nuts can't turn because the rectangles are only the flat-to-flat length, not the corner-to-corner length, and the threads are all steel-on-steel.

(I did have to nudge the rectangles a little with a needle file to get it all to work, I admit.)


I have yet to drill the countersunk holes in the plate to catch the heads of the hardware, but with the parts set together to get a sense of how this subassembly will go:

From the back:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377220;image)

All the empty holes will have the ends of machine screws (heads countersunk in the plate side) coming out of them, with nuts on top from this view.


From the TV mounting side:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377221;image)

jeremymtc - now you can see what I mean, that it's somewhere halfway between stub axles off a box structure and a mount plate hanging in the middle of a freestanding axle.  With both clamps tight on the axle, the plate should be a good doubler over the axle, I think.

There will be 4 holes drilled near the center of the plate to take the VESA mount layout of the main playfield panel.  That pattern of holes, of course, will be rotated 3' clockwise off of square on the plate, to cancel for the unwanted half of the axle tilt in each game mode.

This compound angle business is complicated.   :dizzy:

The semicircular ears you can see sticking off the top of the plate with small holes in them will be drilled out to pick up a .250" spring steel rod 24" long, to form the bellcrank arm, the center of which will be grabbed by the linear actuator that rotates the table.  That should give it a little bit of shock absorption for the abrupt start and stop - if that proves to be too much spring, I figure I'll just bring more additional mounts in closer toward the centerline to shorten the effective spring length.


Still a bit more fab work to go to get the plate attached to the brackets.  I'm looking forward to testing the bearing carrier blocks mounted on the axle with the axle mounted to the TV, to check if my excitingly close clearance when the corner of the block swings past the TV on the low side turns out to be positive or negative.  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on May 13, 2019, 09:03:43 am
This is some amazing engineering. The nut cut out is genius.  When I start Ginger 3.0 I'm going to hire you for a custom lock down bar.   :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jeremymtc on May 17, 2019, 03:45:21 am
Laythe, that looks fantastic! You weren't joking when you mentioned that the center carriage was going to be beefy. That thing is going to be rigid as hell. I'll bet that you could just about cut out the center portion of the axle between the clamp flanges out and still be just fine - what you've basically built is an IMSA-style adjustable racing sway bar (http://cliff.hostkansas.com/pffimages3/P8120009a.JPG), just made from aluminum instead of spring steel and without any design tendency to twist.

 :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 17, 2019, 04:40:07 am
This is some amazing engineering. The nut cut out is genius.  When I start Ginger 3.0 I'm going to hire you for a custom lock down bar.   :notworthy:

Thanks!

I'd try it, in aluminum, if you like - but I say that while pointing out, I bought a factory Williams lock down bar and designed around that because I wasn't confident I could form one out of sheet stainless for my own build.

I think my best odds of success to make a nice looking lockdown bar would be to grind the corners down on one big solid piece.  I'd start with something like a 1.5"x3.5" or so of aluminum bar stock, length equal to the width of your cab.  I'd grind whatever angle taper you want across the bottom of it, and then grind the corners out to that nice generous radius that feels good under the hands.  Unless you absolutely need the volume inside, you could build your cabinetry with a L-shaped missing corner notch that that solid bar fit along and filled out.

(If you really need the volume inside, I'd still do it solid and then try to mill the inside of it out, I guess.  That'd be a long battle.  The solid bar's actually WAY easier.)

Some coachbuilder with an english wheel and a innate visceral grasp of sheet metal forming might be able to hammer out a lock down bar out of sheet metal and end up with it looking good.  Slippy might know an armorer with panel beating skills like that.  I'm fairly sure the commercial bars are stamped between male and female dies.  Those draws are *deep*.

TLDR version:  Yeah, I'd be game, especially if my proposed solid version meets your design needs.  PM me.


Laythe, that looks fantastic! You weren't joking when you mentioned that the center carriage was going to be beefy. That thing is going to be rigid as hell. I'll bet that you could just about cut out the center portion of the axle between the clamp flanges out and still be just fine - what you've basically built is an IMSA-style adjustable racing sway bar (http://cliff.hostkansas.com/pffimages3/P8120009a.JPG), just made from aluminum instead of spring steel and without any design tendency to twist.

 :applaud:

Ha, you're right!  Would never occurred to me, but there is a resemblance there.  That's funny.   :lol

It's true, the center of the axle is probably redundant, but it does clear everything in the design, there's just enough space for it to run through like this.  Belt-and-suspenders logic - the extra strength can't hurt.

Thanks for the consultation.  Glad this looks like it'll work to you as well.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on May 17, 2019, 11:10:50 am
This is so far above my skill set I'm just blown away.  Incredible.

 :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 20, 2019, 02:45:17 am
More work on what I've taken to calling the "TV tray", because it kind of looks like a TV tray (https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/76de3a01-8266-457d-9115-42ef42f9d372/svn/tan-home-basics-serving-trays-bt01014-1f_1000.jpg), and in my application it is the tray the TV bolts to.

The big plate got 3' right-leaning (from this view) drilled countersunk holes for the brackets, and a 3' clockwise rotated 300mm square of M6 holes for the television to mount to.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377311;image)

I probably made a mistake using this 5/16ths inch hardware in the brackets - you can see the edges of the heads of the hardware touch the edges of the plate.  The webs of remaining metal on the outside edges of all the countersinks are thinner than I'd like.  It's mechanically sound - even if the webs had blown out the plate would still be pinched between the screwheads - but I think the assembly might actually have been a little stronger if I'd only gone for 1/4" hardware instead.  I didn't blow out any webs, but there was some pucker factor toward the bottom of drilling out those countersinks deep enough.

(The screw heads, and the dovetail on the left, all had to be flush because the TV will sit on all of this.)


Next, I took a big file to the end brackets and chamfered all the corners that don't touch the plate, by hand.  I like the gleam of light an eased edge can catch.  Gave the brackets the kind of polish this whole assembly will eventually get, while I was at it.

I also built the op rod that the actuator will grab; .250 steel bearing shaft, which has a nice spring to it, with domed ends, and crossways holes for what I've always called cotter pins but which I just learned are probably correctly called hitch pins?

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377310;image)

The pins sit over stainless washers to protect the aluminum. 

This oprod will slide through a bushing in the captive eye on the end of the linear actuator, and being able to slide it out to get the actuator out will make assembly easier.

Looking at the TV tray assembly more from the side,
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377312;image)
you can see that the oprod runs exactly parallel to the main axle.  (You can also see what I mean about that eased corner catching the light pleasantly, under the axle, now that I've knocked the sharp corner off.) 

From the other side,
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377313;image)
you can see that the oprod very much is NOT parallel to the plate. 

This view also gives a sense of the size of this thing - it is moderately massive. 

The playfield TV will extend another 9" or so off each end of the plate, so that's how long the axle ends will also end up trimmed to.

I'm going to cut a few window holes in the plate where air vents existed on the back of the TV so I'm not covering over them, and then I'll knock the unneeded sharp corners off the plate like I did the end brackets.  I'll also polish it, just because.  This assembly will be visible in the final setup when it's in driving mode if you stand on the pinball side of it.  There's about $150 of aluminum here - might as well make it look nice.

I think the next steps from here are going to be making the brass bushing for the actuator, measuring out the exact (complex) length for the axle and trimming it, bolting the TV onto the tray, testing the axle bearing block to TV clearance to see if I have to grind one corner of one block down slightly, and then maybe testing the linear actuator rotating the TV.  I may need to build a counterweight to balance the final assembly on the shaft instead of relying on the actuator manhandling the unbalanced weight.  It's rated for 22lb, so it might be close enough without.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: yotsuya on May 20, 2019, 10:53:02 am
You one crazy mofo, my friend!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on May 20, 2019, 10:55:44 am
That thing will survive orbital bombardment. I love it.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 20, 2019, 11:00:51 am
Gotta admit I'm totally lost on how or where this installs into the cab...lol.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 20, 2019, 11:19:54 am
Gotta admit I'm totally lost on how or where this installs into the cab...lol.

Hehe.  This thing connects the front cabinet to the rear cabinet.  Mounts in bearings at both ends.  Holds the playfield monitor.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 27, 2019, 05:24:23 am
I previously said that I thought the next steps from here were going to be measuring out the exact (complex) length for the axle and trimming it, bolting the TV onto the tray, testing the axle bearing block to TV clearance to see if I had to grind one corner of one block down slightly, and then maybe testing the linear actuator rotating the TV to see if it needed a counterweight.

I measured the exact axle length and boy it messed with my head.  I know I've got a bizarre 42.33" distance cabinet to cabinet to make the room the angled monitor needs to sweep on it's compound offset angle, I know the bearing blocks are metric chinese parts with a spherical bearing that isn't flush to the front or the back of the block, so I've got to allow for the height to the rotational center of each bushing plus the distance to the axle collar ends when they are inclined 3' and skewed 3'...  so I build a really high fidelity CAD model of all that to take measurements off, because I know it's going to be some bizarre number...

... and it ends up being 39.5000"

This is like when you do your taxes and get a round number to the hundreds. 
I tell you what, I triple checked my math.

I've got the axle cut to that.  I bolted the TV to the TV tray, and test fit the bearing blocks.  Turns out the clearance was negative, one corner of one bearing block will need ground back about 1/10th of an inch.

This all gets me close to being able to attach the bearing block carriers to the front and rear cabinet, so I got to thinking about the hardware for doing that.  The blocks have enormous holes, like they're expecting some kind of crazy huge 12mm bolts.  I want to set these in thread inserts in the plywood, same as the linear rails below, and I can't afford a lot of bolt head size because of the tight (already negative, in fact) clearance on that one corner.  So I decided to make up some spacers.

The eight spacers I need are all in this piece of round stock...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377439;image)

They just don't know it yet.

First I reduced the whole diameter to the 0.600" I figured I can fit into my final clearance, which I want for the outer flanges.

Occasionally, the lathe goes into self cleaning mode - if the curler coming off the tool interacts with the pile of curlers in the chip tray in a certain way...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377440;image)

... the resulting birds nest spins with the part, scoops up all the loose shavings, and showers you with glitter and confetti.

Good times.

You can also see at the bottom of that picture a brass clamp I made a long time back.  This is an upgrade I made - it slides on the ways, and if you tighten it down, it forms a carriage stop.

Setting it carefully and locking it down lets me work confidently really really close to the chuck, like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377441;image)

which I wouldn't have the nerve to do if not for it keeping me from moving any further left.

I kept working my way down the bar, drilling a bit farther, cutting the shape I needed, and then parting off each spacer.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377446;image)

The result:  8x spacers that thumb-press into the bearing blocks, internally fit 1/4-20 button head machine screws, and look kind of nice.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377447;image)


I ground the problem corner back, re-radiused it, primed it and painted it, and here's the whole kit together:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377448;image)


Here's a closeup to show the new contour of the block, and why it dictated the head size of these spacers and the hardware.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377449;image)

This contour now clears the monitor by about 1/16" when it rotates, and the spacer and bolt don't extend at all beyond it, so this should work for the low side where things get tight.  (No mods are necessary on the other block, the high side has got a mile of room.)


I hope to mount these blocks soon, now that I've got my hardware for them all sorted out.

I've also decided I'm going to need a spring and/or counterweight to assist the linear actuator - the TV is startlingly heavy, and being even the few inches offset off the axle that it is, makes the force requirements to swing it uncomfortable as things stand.  I've got room in the design - it's just going to be more stuff to fabricate.  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on May 27, 2019, 07:57:29 am
Thanks for the update.. So fun to watch machine tools in action. 
Very well done.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 28, 2019, 02:20:07 am
Time to mount the front bearing block to the front cabinet.

There's a decent amount of guts in a small amount of space inside the front cabinet, so I did some disassembly here just to be on the safe side. 

This is the view with the rear wall removed, looking at the back of the coin door from inside:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377456;image)

(There's room for future solenoids in here if I can keep them under 1 1/8" tall.)

I spun the rear wall around, and did an obsessive amount of measurement and layout to locate the footprint for the bearing block.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377457;image)

The margin for error on this is small.  The position of the axle is designed for a lot of things to barely clear a lot of things, all at once. 

The back of these fasteners are going to be visible through the coin door, so I drilled the small centered hole shown all the way through, then used a 3/8s forstner halfway in from the front and halfway in from the back, meeting near the center, then opened the hole out with a 25/64ths drill to smooth the join and get the fit I want on the threaded inserts.  This kept the holes on both sides pretty clean.

Installed the thread inserts, and, for the first of several moments of truth:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377458;image)

There it is.  All the hardware fits, bridging my spacers into the thread inserts - that's a good start. 

A long time ago - back in February - Arroyo mentioned expecting that he'd be seeing holes for the axle before the paint went on, and that he was curious how this was going to go.  3+ months later, here you go - this is how this part goes!   :)

I looked up the shear strength of stainless 1/4-20 bolts, out of curiosity, and I'm seeing a conservative safe working load of 200lbs each, with an ultimate yield around 2000lbs - given I've got 4 of them per end, I feel I'm OK for the weight of the TV on these anchors.

I couldn't leave well enough alone at this point, so - satisfied that, theoretically this bracket should be FINE with half of the weight of the TV assembly on it - I plugged things together for a very heavy mockup.

Gotta admit I'm totally lost on how or where this installs into the cab...lol.

This should answer the question.  Here's a mockup of driving/simpit mode, as seen from the back:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377459;image)

So, that's what all that TV tray chassis is for.  (Pretend I'm the back cabinet and backbox; I haven't mounted that bearing block yet.)   :)


It all seems to work so far - the axle tilts up, but the TV tilts down on the mount.  The axle leans toward the camera, but the TV leans away from the camera on the mount.  They cancel.  The playfield monitor is square to the front cabinet and level. 

The actuator to motorize this can be seen in a few of these shots; it's on the floor under the TV in this last picture.  It'll be perpendicular to the axle - which is 3 degrees off of parallel with the legs, mind you - grabbing the op rod at the top of the TV mount, with the other end bolting into the structure of the back wall (still to be built). 

My next steps from here are probably locating the bracket onto the backbox, VERY CAREFULLY mocking up the TV between the front and back cabinets, and then tuning the axle length and the position of the axle in the clamps until my gaps on both ends are as close as I'm comfortable getting them without the TV corners rubbing.  Then, I'll know the ground truth correct distance between the cabinets... and then from there, I can build the shelf that connects them and the T-shaped back wall to that precise length, and eventually the driving/flightsim control panel to that length minus the linear rails.

Long way left to go.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on May 28, 2019, 05:24:18 am
Looks great!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on May 28, 2019, 08:53:17 am
Any thought I had of copying this one day went out the window once I saw that metal work with the lathe.  This is incredible work. 

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the axel and tilt.  In the picture it looks like your physically tilting the axel up at the back, but I would assume that it would be a problem on the bearing (unless you mounted them at an angle which it didn’t appear from the picture.  If not tilting the axel (which I thought you weren’t because it looked like your TV Mount was supplying the tilt), then wouldn’t the right side of your monitor be tilted in towards you when in sim mode?(which wouldn’t be a big deal).  Also can’t figure out why the TV tray is rotated slightly.  :dizzy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on May 28, 2019, 09:33:23 am
Any thought I had of copying this one day went out the window once I saw that metal work with the lathe.  This is incredible work. 

I don't even know what I'm looking at with this project but it is seriously awesome.   :laugh2:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on May 28, 2019, 09:38:09 am
This image explains the offset

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368830)

As a pinball machine - the screen is angled - as a driver - the screen is level.

The tilt corrects for the transition.

Does that help?  (pretty slick)


Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on May 28, 2019, 10:37:36 am
Yeah. It is great and all, but does it cook waffles?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 28, 2019, 11:16:11 am
Looks great!

Thanks Vigo!


Any thought I had of copying this one day went out the window once I saw that metal work with the lathe.  This is incredible work. 

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the axel and tilt.  In the picture it looks like your physically tilting the axel up at the back, but I would assume that it would be a problem on the bearing (unless you mounted them at an angle which it didn’t appear from the picture.  If not tilting the axel (which I thought you weren’t because it looked like your TV Mount was supplying the tilt), then wouldn’t the right side of your monitor be tilted in towards you when in sim mode?(which wouldn’t be a big deal).  Also can’t figure out why the TV tray is rotated lightly.  :dizzy:

bperkins01 is correct, he gets a gold star.   :cheers:

I am tilting the axle up at the back.  The bearings are spherical in the carriers - they'll spin like a ball joint inside the block and conform up to about 20' of angle if you ask them to, in any direction.

The TV mount provides some tilt, absolutely. 

The TV being tilted in in driving mode would bug the crap out of me, that'd be a dealbreaker for me.  :)

All of these things are related, and it took me a while to wrap my head around it too.  So, try to follow:

Put it in pinball mode.  Stand where a pinball player would.
From this perspective, the axle is tilted up 3' in back.  That's that lift you see me doing, lifting it up extra in the pic.  The axle is skewed LEFT 3' too. 
The TV tray is tilted up 3' in back because the mount is a wedge, like you noticed.  The TV is mounted skewed right 3' on the tray.

Result:  The tilts add, so the table is tilted up 6'.  The skews cancel, so the TV is straight along the length of the machine.

Now, transform it to driving mode by rotating the axle 90'. 
The axle spins along it's axis, but doesn't move the endpoints.  It's still tilted up 3' in back, and skewed left 3'.

The 3' wedge tilt of the tray is now cancelling the 3' left skew of the axle.
The 3' TV rotation skew on the mount is now cancelling the 3' up tilt of the back of the axle.
Result:  Everything canceled, so the TV is level and perpendicular in the machine. 

(Basically, half the pinball lift is provided by the axle being not straight, and half the pinball lift is provided by the mount.  All those 3's above are one half the 6' of playfield incline I wanted.)


Yeah. It is great and all, but does it cook waffles?
If it cooks anything, I screwed up. 

I'm not ruling that out.   :lol
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on May 28, 2019, 11:22:11 am
Cooking waffles is never a screw up.

That is some smart design work. I was wondering how you were going to angle the pinball playfield and then have a horizontal driving screen. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on May 28, 2019, 11:24:22 am
I'm thinking ejection seat for people who really need to be removed.. 
even just dumping them backward on their head will do    :angel:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on May 28, 2019, 12:14:30 pm
The bearings are spherical in the carriers - they'll spin like a ball joint inside the block and conform up to about 20' of angle if you ask them to, in any direction.

Ah the missing link.

Very good explanation, I remember you mentioning spherical bearings, but didn't really understand what that meant.  Didn't know that those existed but now I totally get how you are doing it.  Very creative, I imagine the research on this project must have been a bear.  Nice work :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: wp34 on May 28, 2019, 09:50:11 pm
I don't mean to pile on but wow!  What a cool and fascinating project. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 29, 2019, 03:21:49 am
That is some smart design work. I was wondering how you were going to angle the pinball playfield and then have a horizontal driving screen.

Thanks!  The conceptually simpler but mechanically more complex way would have been another actuator - something like a jackscrew that either kicks the back end of the monitor up 6' for pinball, or pulls it flat to the axle for driving.  Given the TV rotate is an actuator, and the control panel retract/extend is an actuator, and the chair retract/extend is another motor of some kind, I didn't really want to add a FOURTH one.  I'll just deal with the crazy angles.


I'm thinking ejection seat for people who really need to be removed.. 
even just dumping them backward on their head will do    :angel:

Hahaha!  Yeah, when we get to the motorized chair, we'll see... I've had nightmares about misprogramming the stow sequence, and somehow crashing somebody sitting in it up into the TV. 
(Talk about force feedback.  Most realistic video game crash physics ever - once.  Though I doubt the actuating motor will actually be strong enough to do that, even if I were to screw that up.)


Very creative, I imagine the research on this project must have been a bear.  Nice work

Thanks!  Yeah, the research and the CAD model have both been pretty hefty. 

The whole thing is too complex for me to keep in my mind at once.  Portions of the floor and chair track are not yet even final designed, I'm just leaving myself a lot of space to work it out as I get closer.  I knew that if I waited until it was 100% Design Complete before I started working, I'd never even start.  As a result, this thing has a fairly terrifying gradient in it - from parts like the front cabinet that are basically finished, through parts like the TV assembly that are designed but not finished, through parts like the shelf and back web and control panel that are designed but not yet even begun, through parts like the floor and the chair actuator that are not even completely designed.  It's good in that it leaves me many kinds of work to vary between to keep the project interesting - but it's downright scary to not be certain I haven't painted myself into some impossible corner that I just haven't realized yet.

It's an open wager, whether future-me is smart enough to solve everything that present-me is leaving him to figure out.  I guess we'll all find out.  Some problems are easier solved with the thing physically in front of you, and some can become impossible short of starting over.  I just gotta ask myself, do I feel lucky?  Well?  Do I?   (Wait, no, that's what yamatetsu had to ask himself (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,140758.0.html), my mistake.)


I don't mean to pile on but wow!  What a cool and fascinating project. :cheers:

Thanks! 

Pile on!  This thread is a party, and everybody's invited.

You can even post just to tell me I'm a crazy mofo - Yots is not wrong.   :lol   

I encourage all commentary.  If you're reading and thinking about whether or not to say something, pull up a chair.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 10:02:00 am
Ok I get how the axle will spin the TV now but does that mean you play pinball from the front and then when you flip the TV vertical you gotta move over to the side of the cab for a driving game?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: PL1 on May 29, 2019, 10:40:30 am
does that mean you play pinball from the front and then when you flip the TV vertical you gotta move over to the side of the cab for a driving game?
Yes.  In pinball mode, the seat, steering wheel, and pedals are stored underneath the playfield.

When you switch to driving mode, the seat, steering wheel and pedals slide out on tracks and the playfield monitor rotates.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=368830)


Scott
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 11:03:25 am
I'm sure that reply means more if I could see whatever photo you posted....lol.  All of Laythe photos show up just fine but whatever you posted is blocked from my location.  So if I have design suggestion do I come back to you or Laythe?  Just seems weird you answering for him.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 29, 2019, 11:41:52 am
Gilrock -

PL1 is correct. 

Walking around to the side is how I solved the portrait vs landscape thing - vpins are portrait, sim cockpits are landscape.

I'm the one for design suggestions.  bperkins01 and PL1 have both figured out how the thing works, and I'm glad for their help explaining it. 
The photo PL1 posted is an animated GIF render from page 1 that shows everything rotating and moving.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 12:09:51 pm
So is it too late to suggest 2 different cabinets? :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 29, 2019, 12:13:43 pm
This IS the second cabinet - it's for all the stuff I couldn't make Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) do!   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 29, 2019, 12:22:09 pm
You're doing great mechanical work and it will be a design masterpiece.  But I think it's missing what can make a vpin cab awesome.  Are you going to have any vpin "toys"?  Contactors, gear motor, shaker, leds?  Mine feels really close to playing a real pinball with the contactors providing physical knocks when flippers and bumpers are hit.  When I hit the alien ship in Attack From Mars the shaker vibrates the entire machine.  When I nudge the cabinet the ball reacts.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 29, 2019, 12:36:25 pm
The machine is going to weigh something in the neighborhood of four hundred pounds maybe, and I don't really want anybody manhandling it, so I'm not going to do physical nudge. 
I'm considering possibly setting up the lockdown bar to slide left-right on the top of the front cabinet on a stiff rubber centering grommet, and making that the nudge input - I think that might be a cool way to do nudge.  That's a down-the-road version-2 type upgrade possibility though.
The design limits me from being able to do an analog plunger, I don't have the depth for it - but that and inertial nudge are the only things that I can't do and might have done if this were a conventional vpin.

I've got contactors for the flippers in hand and planned into the design, and room in the front and back cabinets for more if I decide to add more; the back cabinet may get a knocker.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 30, 2019, 01:46:19 am
Got the second bearing carrier attached; now the back cabinet has one as well.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377480;image)

The thread inserts I'm using are slightly under 3/4" long, which is important.

Here on the inside, with all the monitors removed, you can see where the four mounting bolts ride...

(Also, Gilrock - in this next photo you can see the side cheeks under the backbox are largely empty, that's temporary wire routing stuffed in there.  These are one example of a place I might put some bumper solenoids later.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377481;image)

The four mounting bolts exit right on the display face of the unused portion of the DMD monitor, so it's critical that all of that hardware be below flush. 

They are below flush; the DMD monitor slides down over it without a problem.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377482;image)

If any future owner puts over-length replacement screws there, they're going to have a bad time.   :)


I still have to cut one more large via through the front face of this cabinet, down below the DMD monitor, just above the power plugs, but beneath where the as-yet-unbuilt shelf that connects front and rear cabinets will land.  That via will carry an aluminum plate with a bunch of connectors on it; the front cabinet DB25 will attach there, as well as a few other subsystems.  Once that is done, I can repopulate the back cabinet completely, and it will be done-ish except for details like the backbox front fascia.

The next big step, though, is going to be tuning up the TV axle subassembly - now that both bearing blocks are mounted, I can hoist the TV between them.  I'll nudge the clamp placement until the clearance gap on the front cabinet is right, and then I'll measure out how much length I still need to grind off the axle to make the rear gap correct, and creep up on that dimension a bit at a time with test fittings between.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Gilrock on May 30, 2019, 09:24:59 am
Well I wasn't even going to say anything because I don't want to be negative but you prompted us to give feedback. :)

I never saw you comment in my thread so if you missed it:  Hyperspace Pinball (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,159411.0.html)

I've also authored a table in Future Pinball and Visual Pinball so I really like the pinball stuff.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 30, 2019, 10:32:18 am
No worries!  I totally appreciate the feedback - sorry if I sounded otherwise.  Tone is difficult over text.   :) 

I hadn't seen your project thread - I'll check it out. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on June 02, 2019, 07:32:04 pm
I'm keeping my comments to only the best of the best projects.  Right now, this is it.  Wonderfully ambitious and very inspiring for its innovation and coolness.  I get what it means to be able to design and consider individual components and their functions and then integrate and add them to the whole.  Too complicated to keep all in your head, but broken down into individual functions things make more sense.  With CAD skills you can examine complex designs before any construction ever takes place.

Bah, it does nothing but rain where I am, stuff like this keeps me checking in to BYOAC and thinking of my own projects.


Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 03, 2019, 02:55:35 am
I'm keeping my comments to only the best of the best projects.  Right now, this is it. 

Wow, thank you.  That's better than a UCA.

Bah, it does nothing but rain where I am, stuff like this keeps me checking in to BYOAC and thinking of my own projects.

I'm glad this is a comfort to you.  If my thread indirectly contributes in some small way to more Ond cabinets existing, that's extremely worthwhile.  Malenko also mentioned enjoying this detailed format, so I'm going to keep at it.

In today's episode, I learn a valuable lesson about trust from Mr. Forstner Bit. 


I'm going to have a metal plate, about 3" x 4.5", on the front face of the back cabinet, with connectors on it.  This plate will host a DB 15 that goes to the retracting control panel, a DB 25 that goes to the front cabinet, and probably a second one of each in the other polarity to account for the to-be-built limit switches, actuator signal lines, flipper buttons and vpin toys.  (The connectors are for me being able to transport the thing from my shop to the room it'll live in, which I think is going to take about five trips, so I'm building it to be a bit modular.)

I probably should have cut this before painting and polishing, but, no problem.  I'll just use a forstner bit - they make beautiful consistent holes with finished sides in my experience. 

My via is going to be taller than it is wide, I plan to use two overlapping forstner holes with a bit of cleanup to connect the sides together afterward to make a round-ended capsule shape.

First, I predrilled the centers all the way through from the back with a small drill to make a pilot for the triangular point to follow and to transfer the location onto the front face so I could see it. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377534;image)

These pilot holes are on 1 1/2" centers, so the biggest forstner I've got at 2 1/8" for a 1 1/16" radius won't clip the other hole's pilot location.

I chucked up my big forstner, and here I am ready to go.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377535;image)

You can see the pilot holes on the front face, to the left of the bit.

I figured I'd cut into both pilots from both sides fairly evenly, taking turns in all four locations.  I cut from inside the box first, just skimming the paint off and starting the circle, high and low, and then did the outside high and low.  Back to the inside, and the high hole did something I've never had happen before - the pilot hogged out to the left and the whole circle shifted sideways.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377536;image)

A forstner of this size in a hand drill is not so stable and clean as every prior experience I've had with them.  I shoved it hard to the right while cutting and managed to reestablish the hole back where it belongs, but you can see the crescent of accidentally destroyed surface there. 

That was sobering. 

Okay, these things aren't as safe and precise as I expected.  I decided at this point on a new plan:  if they're not completely predictable, I'm going to continue doing most of the cut from the inside of the box, where any damage will be less apparent.  There's going to be a metal plate covering the outside of the hole, sure, but any damage extending further than the plate overhang, would show in the end. 

I've basically crawled half inside the back cabinet, working from behind the machine, and I'm carefully drilling the two holes from the inside, cutting toward the outside... when all of a sudden the bit grabs like I've never had a forstner grab before, and I hear a mighty crack.

I pull the bit out, and I find this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377537;image)

I don't even want to walk around to the front of the machine.  For a long moment, I suffered that same irrational magical thinking as happens sometimes when you injure yourself - if you don't look, it won't hurt, right? 

That's a thick, thick splinter.  That tore out a LOT of wood.  I just don't even want to look.

But no, that line of thinking doesn't actually work.  So I walked around to the front with a heavy heart to see how bad it was. 

Here's what I found, from the front.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377538;image)

Amazingly, that shallow cut I'd done from the front was enough to stop the crack from propagating across the edge.  How lucky is THAT.  The whole perimeter of wood I need is still sound.

I sat down and caught my breath for a bit, and decided I've learned a valuable lesson about trusting very large forstner bits in plywood.  I was disinclined at that point to even touch the hole again with the forstner - I got off lucky, I'm not pushing my luck.

The safest way to salvage this mess seemed to me to be my dremel, and a burr cutter.

So I spent a good hour excavating out to the edge that way.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377539;image)
 
I flipped over to a little drum sander on the dremel after getting both the cores out, and smoothed it back to the line, and removed the rest of the points between the holes.  I think this counts as a total save - the end result looks almost as good as I'd hoped in the first place:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377540;image)

Considering I'd planned almost half an inch of overhang of the plate on all sides beyond the edges of this hole to cover for imperfections, I'm feeling pretty good - this will do.  It could have gone so much worse, and for a minute there I thought it had. 


Zooming out a bit to put it in context with the rest of the rear cabinet, here's the big hole after cleanup, ready to get the edges painted black:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377541;image)

I can live with that.  It'll do, especially with a plate over it.

There will be two big structural features near here that connect the front and rear cabinets - a back wall web to the left along the left edge, and a roughly 1x8" shelf that goes below the bearing block, but above this cable via panel.

My next couple steps from here will probably be to tune the position of the TV tray on the axle to get the front gaps right, measure and trim the axle to exact length to get the rear gaps right, and then I'll know the true distance between cabinets to build those two structural features.  Once those are built, Shapeshifter will be able to free-stand and self support, and I'll be able to play with the playfield counterweight and screen rotation actuator in earnest.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 10, 2019, 11:13:37 am
For the first time, Shapeshifter bears it's own playfield display weight. 

I clamped boards along the legs to box up the bottom, so the end cabinets don't tip apart or tip over.  But the weight of the TV, on the axle, is going through the bearing blocks, and if I take the temporary clipped-on pinball flipper button holders off the sides, the TV can rotate 90' and the clearances are tight-but-not-touching on both ends.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377624;image)

Look ma, no folding table!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377625;image)

And now that everything's in place, I can wire it up again and "work on the software" a bit more...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377626;image)

(The vertical propstick is just there to stop the TV from rotating of it's own.)

I'm going to need to make a lot of counterweights, but getting it freestanding is pretty cool.  I'm chuffed.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on June 10, 2019, 11:23:19 am
It is starting to take shape now. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: wp34 on June 10, 2019, 12:04:31 pm

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377626;image)


That is seriously impressive.  Nice work Laythe. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on June 10, 2019, 12:33:29 pm
Very nice..   :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on June 10, 2019, 12:49:48 pm
Incredibly badass! Amazing work. I cannot wait to see this one done.

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on June 10, 2019, 04:22:30 pm
This is like watching one of those HBO shows where each episode feels like a cliff hanger. I wanna be able to hit the next button and get to the end.  It's got to have felt good to get those pieces together, looking awesome.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on June 10, 2019, 07:06:44 pm

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377626;image)


I never knew I needed a creepy looking bottle of methanol until just now.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 11, 2019, 03:31:31 am
Thanks everyone.

This is like watching one of those HBO shows where each episode feels like a cliff hanger. I wanna be able to hit the next button and get to the end.
I want that too!  Somebody give me spoilers - tell me how this turns out, because the suspense is killing me.


I never knew I needed a creepy looking bottle of methanol until just now.
My jar of creepy looking alcohol is worse than PBJ's - his only MIGHT make ya blind.   ;D

(In seriousness, it's handy stuff - helps clean things and then evaporates off without residue, which is great surface prep for epoxies.  Takes sharpie marks off metal absolutely effortlessly.  Removes adhesive gunk decently well.  Worth having.  The jar was even creepier before I labelled it - I hate having Mystery Shop Chemical lurking around.  This is my second try at a label, now laminated under tape, because did I mention it dissolves sharpie marks?)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on June 11, 2019, 10:26:00 am
Thanks for the Methanol tip. I like the way you think. I currently use a lot of acetone and isopropyl, and consider them a few of my secret weapons. Cheap and effective. I'm always happy to add some off-market chemicals to my toolbag, so I am going to have to give methanol a go and see what it can do. Where do you get yours? Just reading online, it sounds like yellow bottle HEET fuel additive is pretty much methanol. Might be my best bet to try it up front.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 11, 2019, 11:04:38 am
I was gifted this jar full from a drum of it at my uncle's shop, so I'm afraid I'm not much help on sourcing.  I've been using the same jar for many years and I'm about halfway through it.

HEET should work.  You might also be able to buy methanol from a go kart track or RC car type hobby shop.  It behaves pretty similarly to isopropyl but it doesn't seem to me to pull as much water out of the air and self-dilute.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on June 11, 2019, 12:08:18 pm
Awesome! Good to know. I will probably start with a bottle of HEET. It will probably last me a while.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: BGoulette on June 15, 2019, 09:02:11 pm
You're all probably already aware, but just a reminder that methanol is absorbed through the skin: ultimately, your body converts it into formaldehyde. (I used to use yellow HEET for alcohol stove fuel before switching to denatured alcohol [~95% ethanol with just enough methanol to blind you if you try to get hobo-drunk off of it]).

 :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 16, 2019, 01:47:33 am
Good reminder, BGoulette!  Appreciated!

Rubber gloves are a good idea, for sure. 

I've gotten some on my skin before; it evaporates fast like alcohol does, so it feels cold.  That evaporation tends to help limit your exposure somewhat, if it's a small quantity.  There's a pretty good paper on it here (https://www.nap.edu/read/11170/chapter/9) if you are curious to dive into the details. 

That you see test methods in there like this:

Quote
"Franzblau et al. (1995)...  ...dermal study:  One hand of each volunteer was placed in a beaker containing neat methanol for 0, 2, 4, 8, or 16 min. Blood and breath methanol samples were taken immediately after the exposures and at 12 additional time points during the first 8 h after exposure. Blood methanol concentrations peaked at about 45-60 min post-exposure and averaged 11.3 mg/L. Breath methanol concentrations peaked at about 15 min post-exposure and averaged 9.3 ppm. The authors stated that exposure to one hand (440 cm2, <3% of body surface area) for 16 min resulted in blood methanol concentrations similar to those observed following inhalation at 400 ppm for 8 h...  The authors reported that the exposed hand was often temporarily whitened in color and appeared very dry. That effect was most marked after the longer exposures..."

That says to me, absolutely don't stick your hand in the jar for 16 minutes! - but if they're willing to do that to human volunteer lab subjects, then touching a damp rag probably won't kill me.  (That said, people have gone blind from contact skin poisoning with it, I found a citation on a painter who'd dumped about a gallon of it on his clothes and went blind from that.)

Good to point out the risks.  I was remiss above in not doing so.  You probably should wear gloves; I don't always, but I probably should, too.

I also learned from researching this, that MEK is way *less* dangerous than I thought it was, so thanks for starting me reading down this particular rabbit hole!   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: blueznl on June 16, 2019, 04:40:58 pm
Impressive...  :dizzy:  Subscribed.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 26, 2019, 04:26:17 am
Thanks, blueznl. 

I've a small bit more progress to show.

Mockup v3.0 is now cobbled together enough to let me work on some of the software details and test out the ergonomics of what I've got planned.

The basic idea of this machine and the front-end I've written for it is that it normally sits there like a vpin cabinet.  You select pinball games from the backglass, using the flipper buttons.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377796;image)

The furthest game to the right, just after Xenon, is "Cockpit games".

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377797;image)

When you pick that, by mockup v4.0 the actuators will reconfigure the machine into a driving cab.  I am far enough along in the current mockup 3.0 that it's convertible, though the conversion currently involves removing a prop stick and rotating the playfield by hand...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377798;image)

Once rotated, you select games from the playfield screen using the wheel, the wheel's shifter paddles, the shifter dpad, the flightstick, or the flightstick hats.  Pick a game using a flightstick trigger, the gas pedal, or any of the wheel or shifter buttons.

Games look like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377799;image)

I kind of love the way the polished paint reflects the game screen off the sides.  You can also see how the cockpit mode speakers are set up for good stereo separation in this mode. 



The furthest right option among cockpit games is Pinball Games - that will in the future prompt you on the playfield screen to get out of the chair, which it will verify via an occupancy button under the upholstery springs.  Then it will prompt you on the backglass display to push Launch Ball, to confirm you've walked around the cabinet, at which point it will proceed to do all the actuator-based transformer robot things to get back to pinball mode.  Presuming everything works as currently designed and that I can pull this all off, of course.  There will be some limit switches verifying the monitor rotation, chair position and control panel position so the front end can query the current status of the machine, since you might turn it off in either mode; when it wakes up, it'll have to figure out what it is, so it knows how to proceed from there.


I'm chuffed by the playability and ergonomics of Mockup v3, at least if one is careful enough not to dislodge the precarious leaning tower of mockup - so I'm starting the layout of the real control panel parts in plywood now.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377800;image)

My plan is to build the control panel shelf, the towers that attach it to the linear bearing trucks, and enough of the deck to mount the gear shifter.  (The shifter doesn't belong out on the right inline with everything as shown in the above mockups, it'll be lower and further from the screen.)  Building all that will then let me test how solid the panel feels when constrained by the linear bearings, and that will inform the design from there - whether it needs additional locking pins, or a rail on the floor to stabilize things more, or if perhaps the tight tolerances of these beefy overkill rails are already enough to make it feel good.

I spent hours messing with x360ce and got it working - I now have a virtual software xbox controller that can inherit any axis combination from the flightstick, throttle, pedals and wheel, which I'm using to map up games like Redout that otherwise wouldn't support this crazy rig.

The arcade classics like Afterburner are as good as I thought they'd be.  I've been playing with some sims and PC games as well - Redout on a flightstick and pedals with a giant screen in your face is fun.  Everspace is also a big winner in this format.

Still a long way to go, but I've got a plan of attack for the next couple months worth of steps I think.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: MiteWiseacre on June 26, 2019, 11:18:16 am
Nice, I bet you can smell victory now.
I hope the oversized driver cooling fan makes it into the final build :P
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on June 26, 2019, 11:19:51 am
(https://i.imgflip.com/2ea7mu.jpg)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 27, 2019, 03:03:45 am
Nice, I bet you can smell victory now.
I hope the oversized driver cooling fan makes it into the final build :P

Thanks!   Hahaha, no, the fans won't be making it in, I just needed some shims of about that height and they were laying around.

Smelling victory... from here, I only need to build the modular removable back wall, the midshelf, the cable via access plate, the counterweight arms for the playfield, hang the weights, finish the actuator bushing, mount the playfield actuator, finish designing and then build the PC-encasing doghouse, buy the actuator for that, design the floor, build the floor, build the sliding chair rails and locking system and drive system for that, build the side skirts for the playfield, hang the flipper buttons, route all the wires, configure DOF, mount up the flipper solenoids, and wire up the audio switching relay, the actuator switching relays, paint a bunch more panels, install some T-molding in the arcade half of it, paint a few more things, do some extensive wire routing and then disassemble and reassemble the whole thing into it's final location.   :cry:  Practically the home stretch.  :dizzy:

It is coming along though.  I think this is maybe the halfway point or so.

Luckily I have no deadline beyond my inevitable mortality.  It's okay that this is going to take a long time.


I have however just roughed out the real cockpit control panel, and updated the mockup accordingly.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377809)

The shifter actually belongs a bit lower than this, further right, and further forward.  The coin door belongs under the shifter.  This is the approximately correct layout of the VR view buttons, the throttle, the wheel, the flightstick, the pedals, and the correct seat that will become part of this machine.  The whole control panel will eventually slide in on the linear rails and tuck under the playfield.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: JudgeRob on June 27, 2019, 08:41:44 pm
Wow, looking great! Nice job with the monitor rotation. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 04, 2019, 05:43:13 am
Thanks JudgeRob!

I'm now working on building the sliding cockpit control panel structure. 

To help people orient, that imagine all of this is under the flightstick, just to the right of it, in the previous picture.

Much of this is engineered to wrap around a Logitech G25 shifter.  So, I started with an H-shaped panel that just barely fits around the body of the shifter.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377868;image)

I want the shifter sunk as far forward into this structure as I can get it, because it'll hang out a little in pinball mode even like this, and because I want it tucked up under the panel a little for the sake of visual integration. 

That means the front panel also inlets the shifter body. 

I like to do things like this iteratively - I start with a cut I know is too shallow, but that lets me start the pieces going together so I can see how it needs adjusted.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377869;image)

This fits around the body of the shifter, but not far enough yet.  But by approaching it gradually, I can nudge it left and right as needed to be sure the edges of the front panel meet the edges of the top deck.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377870;image)

Just a little more to go, here.  It's fairly quick to nibble bits of it away on the bandsaw as needed.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377871;image)

Here, I've got a fit I like.  The shifter has to be able to front-load into this assembly in the end, so there's a small amount of necessary clearance, but I think it looks alright.


The upper structure gets a bit complex.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377872;image)

There's got to be room on the right side for the linear bearings and rail, it's got to flare out at the bottom to run almost against the rear/right legs of Shapeshifter to make interior room for the actuator and the PC side by side, the top has to be at the right height for the control panel shelf you saw earlier to sit on, and the top back edge has to taper down to clear the rotating playfield monitor. 

I'm also going to want the second coin door centered here on the arm.  This is the over-under coin door I modified way back on page 1, about 11 months ago.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377873;image)

There's not a whole lot left of the front panel after cutting away a coin door hole in it, but I think it should still be plenty strong by the time I'm done.

This is where I am right now:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377874;image)

Finally, that coin door gets a home!

The black button should actually be red or yellow, but I ran out of spares on hand.  It is going to be the "Exit Game" button for cockpit games.

There will be one 3/4" thickness of plywood on each side of this structure - or at least, it will look like there is, it gets complicated, you'll see.  So, it'll get a little wider.

The board on top here is just a placeholder to show about how much the real control panel will overhang the gear shifter.

It feels good to be fabricating plywood parts again.  I'm sure I'll be back to cussing when I'm doing all the surface prep and paint on them, but this part is great fun.   :laugh:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on July 04, 2019, 07:03:19 am
You are more in my territory now. Graph paper and wood.
This project is a ton of work. Kudos for plowing forward.
I wasn't too sure about this project when you started. I figured you could pull it off, but I had my doubts about the concept in general.

You have made me a believer. The only thing that can wreck this project for me is if it doesn't make the Transformers "transformation" sound effect every time it switches back and forth between modes. I need to see a video of that when it is done. Of course you could just mix that effect into the video and I would never know.... or would I?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 10, 2019, 06:41:42 am
Thanks, Mike A!  It's a weird project for sure, I'm glad to hear I've won somebody over to it.  I won't let you down on the sound effects - I have a couple planned, and that's absolutely one of them.


I'd like to share a detail I came up with that I'm sure has probably been done, but that I hadn't seen before.

My cockpit-side control panel is going to have a whirling playfield monitor swinging around behind it, so I need some clean cord routing to avoid disaster.
The flightstick has 2 wires, the steering wheel has 4, and the throttle has 1.  They're all going to be mounted on top of the control panel deck.  Some of them have rather large plugs.

So, my solution is to cut round-bottomed grooves in the back edge of the panel the width of the wires, at a depth equal to the T-mold barb plus the cable width.

Here's the notches for the wheel.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378011;image)

The idea is, the cords route through these, then the rear line of T-mold snaps in and holds them in place.  Here's the throttle illustrating the idea.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378012;image)

The vias don't have to be big enough to pass the bulky plugs.  I can peel the T-mold later to pull a device if I need to replace something.  Given I'll be using black T-mold on the back stripe, I think it'll look decently slick as a way to transfer the cords to the underside of the panel where I can route them out of sight.  They'll all use these vias to get to the underside, then run to the right and into the console.


Most of my recent work has been on the console that shrouds the PC.  This will be the right side of the control panel; it houses the shifter, the coin door, the game exit button, the right side linear bearing rail trucks, and houses the 14" throw linear actuator that retracts and extends the control panel assembly from under the pinball table.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378013;image)

This is still missing a bit of the structure, but it's coming along.  I'll be radiusing the top and bottom corners to match the sides after they're both attached.

I didn't want to modify the G25 shifter, in the interests of making replacing it someday if I have to at least a little more possible.  This view shows the crazy weird inletting necessary to sink an unmodified G25 shifter in like it was built in.  It loads in from the front and attaches via the factory three-point clamps.

The right side panel, I'm holding on by hand... because this is only half of it. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378014;image)

It's going to be a laminate of 3/4" plywood and 1/4" hobby plywood, to buy me another half inch of internal width so that I can cram both the PC case and the linear actuator inside completely.

(I did all these cutaways with a dremel tool.  At this point I'm feeling like I maybe am to a dremel tool what Yamatetsu is to frog tape and an exacto knife.   :))

Looking up the bottom of the open-bottomed console, it looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378015;image)

The actuator rides on the left edge (here looks like the bottom), the PC will ride on the right edge (here looks like the top).  The actuator ram and the hardpoint I built for attaching it clears the clamps on the shifter by a hairsbreadth, they kind of wrap around each other.  The PC will come as far forward as that half-inch deep notch you can see at the top.  There should be a whole eighth inch of clearance between the actuator and PC, and between the PC and the sliding cover...  if I did this right.

Sometimes tiny details bring me disproportionate joy. 

I was thinking the exit game button would be yellow to match the pinball exit game button, or maybe red.  I had a spare black button of the same type.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378016;image)

Fiddling around, I realized, switching the red plunger into the black body makes something that totally matches the shifter.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378017;image)

This whole console is going to be the same grey the pedals frame is, and the black rim should contrast nicely against it.

At the lower right corner of that picture, you can see the 1/4" plywood going on the right side.  There will be two 80mm intake fans there to help make up for the computer case being half boarded up.  I'll have quite a bit of bodywork to do on this whole console assembly to make it look nice, but I'm pretty happy with how it's coming together so far.

My current push is toward getting this thing ready to glue the control panel to it and slide the whole drawer in - the next time I get to play with the mockup, it'll be on all this and mounted on the bearing rails instead of balanced precariously on top of box fans.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 10, 2019, 07:09:07 am
You can see that the console and cockpit parts have T-molding grooves. 

In researching this project, I was surprised to learn:
  There are nearly no pinball machines with T-mold.
  There are nearly no arcade machines without T-mold.

This is true even when Williams was making them both out of the same factory floor at the same time.

I have no idea why this is!

But, I think it'll be a neat detail to build Shapeshifter both ways, as appropriate for the part of the machine it goes with - the arcade bits have it and the pinball bits don't.

It's probably going to be black, on grey panels.  That'll look good.  Since it's cheap, I also bought white to match Mimic, red to try pulling in the upper color, and chrome to go with all the exposed metal; I'll probably try them all.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on July 10, 2019, 02:12:04 pm
I love when I see "NEW" next to this thread. So amazing. Can't wait to see more.

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on July 10, 2019, 08:14:01 pm
In researching this project, I was surprised to learn:
  There are nearly no pinball machines with T-mold.
  There are nearly no arcade machines without T-mold.

This is true even when Williams was making them both out of the same factory floor at the same time.

I have no idea why this is!

Arcade machines have exposed edges, pinball machines' exposed edges are only on the head, which is where you'll find t-molding on the ones that have it (i.e. modern Sterns).
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 15, 2019, 03:03:23 am
Arcade machines have exposed edges, pinball machines' exposed edges are only on the head, which is where you'll find t-molding on the ones that have it (i.e. modern Sterns).

True, but you could build an arcade cabinet with fingered corners like pinball boxes have, I think - the exposed edges were a design choice that they made there.  Or, you could build a pinball box with exposed edges and corner blocking like an arcade cabinet has - but I guess fitting the legs would cause a problem.  I wonder if that might be what forced the fingered corner joinery, and then that drove the finished-edge head to visually match?

Good counterexample on modern Sterns, I didn't know about those - I was thinking of Pinball 2000 cabinets as the only ones I thought had t-mold.



Meanwhile, more progress to share.

In my last post I showed how the actuator that pushes out or stows the control panel fits near the gear shift.  The anchor point where the ram attaches to the plywood should be strong, as it's going to take some load.  Here's what I wound up with:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378077;image)

The ram of the actuator bolts in via the threaded hole, and then the other nine holes with countersinks are for wood screws.

This is a pretty thick piece of aluminum, equal to the distance between a flat of the ram out to the round actuator housing; that gets me all the thickness for threads that I can get, and minimizes the cantilever on the bolt going through the ram.  (Plus, I figure if I'm clamping the ram against this, then I'm also pre-tensioning the bolt, and getting some help from clamped together friction too.)

I worked out exactly where it ought to go - and changed my mind a few times, so you see some extra lines here - then transferred the screw hole positions with the points of the wood screws.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378078;image)

I didn't think to do this before gluing up parts of the box it goes in, so installing it requires drilling some holes pretty close to the inside corners of that structure.  I did my predrilling for the screws with this 90' head on my dremel, it does a good job getting into places like this.  I wrapped the bit in aluminum tape as a depth mark, because these screws should only go about 90% through the plywood, not all the way.

Here's the holes.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378079;image)

I roughed the back of the bracket up a ton with a scribe, wiped it down with methanol, swept off the plywood, mixed up a batch of devcon 2-ton epoxy, slathered the back of the bracket with it, slapped it down and immediately ran the 9 screws into it.  When I torqued them down, epoxy squeezed out just about everywhere.  A useful knifemaker trick - you can clean that up with methanol before it cures, and it does a pretty good job.

As installed:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378080;image)

I now trust this point of attachment - at least, it's the strongest thing I think I can make that still clears the gear shifter and doesn't use up any extra length front to back.

To visualize how this will articulate - the round body of the actuator remains stationary, it'll be attached to the back wall of the frame.  The hexagonal ram will extend 14" further out of the round body, and all the wooden structure here will move with it.  Pictured is fully retracted.


In a prior post I talked about the big forstner holes gone almost terribly wrong (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377539;image) that I managed to fix up alright (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377541;image).  I got the stainless steel faceplate made up and mounted over that:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378081;image)

This'll carry 2x DB15s and 2x DB25s for things that need to get into and out of the back cabinet.  I'm going to flip the genders on the matching pairs, so that you can't connect anything in the wrong place.

One DB25 is finished - it runs to the front cabinet, carrying: switch signal and lighting for coin1, coin2, start game, launch ball - additional switches for the 4x pinball inside-coindoor admin buttons, the exit game button, and the coindoor open switch, doubled wires for the driving mode left speaker that lives in the front cabinet,  common ground and common +5v, for about 20 conductors of the 25 used there.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378082;image)

The plugs kinda match the faceplate.   The next run will be a DB15 run to go to the moving control panel carrying: switch signal and lighting for start, 4x VR view buttons, and coin1, additional switch for exit game, common ground and common +5v - that'll completely fill that, 15 of 15, but that's all I need in the moving part of the control panel.

The other remaining DB25 and DB15 are going to be for things like limit switches to see when moving parts have arrived where they belong, locking pins to lock the control panel in place, the actuator to rotate the playfield monitor, pinball solenoids, and such like that.  Figured it was better to have headroom than run short.



Next I did some work with my dad on the audio switching setup.  I've now got the 12v relay in the backbox wired across one of the Ultimate I/O 1A drivers, and it flips the amplified audio out from the headbox speakers for pinball mode, to the identical but differently placed lower speakers for cockpit mode.  That way, stereo left-right remains correct regardless of which mode you're using the thing in.  My custom front-end turns that pin on when you go between pinball games and cockpit games. 

It was ridiculously gratifying to hear that thing CLICK and the sound switch speakers under my software control.  Works perfectly now.  That gives me some hope that driving the actuators might be similarly achievable.


One last bit of fabrication to close this update out with - I've been working on the area of the VR buttons, left side of the control panel, and I find I'm redesigning it a bit on the fly. 

In CAD, it seemed like the VR buttons should be visually centered under the throttle - that'd look intentional and nice.  But now that I play with mocking it up, I think that's a bit troubling with regards to legroom, as it might kind of encroach.  So I'm pushing the VR buttons as far left as I can, as far up as I can, and a little bit in under the front edge, where they should still be completely visible, but should be as out of the way as I can get them.

I want the flat control panel to attach as a roof over all this, so I decided to build this part upside down clamped to a glass plate - hopefully that'll guarantee it's fairly flat.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378083;image)

I glued and clamped all this up, then chased it around with a machinist square, nudging things straight.  I figure I can probably get it off the glass, even though the wood glue dripped on it in the corners - we'll find out.   ;D

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378084;image)

In efforts to get them as far out of the legroom as I can, I've reduced the VR button plate quite a bit from what it used to be (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=371540;image), and also beveled the bottom edge.  I plan to put a big radius on the plywood sides as well.



Soon, I hope to slide this VR assembly onto the left rail, the gearshifter/PC/actuator/console onto the right rail, bridge between them with the control panel, and make all of that stuff permanently one big piece with bearing trucks on both ends.  I really want to see how that all looks and fits and slides.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on July 15, 2019, 05:52:37 am
You can never really own too many different sizes and shapes of clamps.

We are working on opposite ends of the spectrum right now with our projects.

You are working with Lego Technic, and I am working with Duplo.

I enjoy watching your progress. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 15, 2019, 10:56:10 am
You're right about clamps.  Most of my mid-size clamps are still tied up holding the temporary scaffolding boards between the front and rear cabinets, so I've got "small" and "awkwardly large" remaining.

I've been enjoying your project thread and running commentary as well.   
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on July 15, 2019, 11:35:58 am
As always great to see your progress Laythe.  You continue to baffle me with your design, solutions, and execution.  I can't imagine how many hours you've already logged and how many specialized pieces you've created.  Truly raising the bar here, nice work.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 15, 2019, 11:49:32 am
Nice work sir.  Great progress.  To own machine tools..... 

White Vinegar also cleans up uncured epoxy very nicely if you run out of the other stuff.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 16, 2019, 03:26:20 am
Nice work sir.  Great progress.  To own machine tools..... 

White Vinegar also cleans up uncured epoxy very nicely if you run out of the other stuff.

I didn't know that!  Thanks for the tip.  I'll give that a try.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on July 16, 2019, 06:21:22 pm
I like how you use plywood for building your cab. It's a much nicer material to woodwork with than MDF in terms of dust and toxicity. It has its challenges though with splintering and warping and exposed grain.  I admire your patience in getting the material to conform to your design as well.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 19, 2019, 05:23:30 am
Small update:

I like me some reinforcing fillets.  In this case, they are a little complicated by the fact that the coin door attaches via these screw-down levers, two per side.  (Optionally one on top, as well.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378154;image)

So, I made some triangular strips with half-depth square cutaways to clear the clamps.  I also used my belt sander to make a long inside radius on a triangular strip to go into the corner behind the actuator.

Gluing and clamping the fillets around the coin door wasn't too bad...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378155;image)

But I had to get a little creative, and dig out whatever was heavy in my metal stockpile to gravity clamp the one that goes behind the actuator.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378156;image)

This done, it was time to attach the right wall.  This got some bodywork to begin hiding my lamination job of thin to thick plywood.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378157;image)

All of this was a mad rush to get the left and right sides of the control panel assembly ready, so that I could start measuring out and mocking up...

This.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378158;image)

This is pretty close to the final shape of the cockpit control panel, minus the box fans. 

Ignore the vertical prop stick wedged up under the VR view buttons - that's just to hold things up, it'll go away after the next step.
Also, ignore the total lack of cable routing, I've got a plan for how that's all going to go that'll get it pretty clean.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378159;image)

I am so stoked by this.  Absolutely chuffed.

I need to very carefully, very accurately measure out parallel on the slider rails, then measure the control panel centered into the cabinet and straight, and then I'm going to glue the top board of the panel to the top of the VR button assembly and to the top of the gear shifter assembly.  Then that whole thing slides out, hopefully true and square and smooth, and I can do alllllllllll the bodywork to it.

I feel like the box on the right (enclosing the PC and actuator) kind of feels like the transmission tunnel of a car.  The VR buttons on the left turn out not to interfere with my legroom, though I'm glad I trimmed them back like this; the corners will get a large radius to them.  It's got a nice cockpit feel, to me, and entry and exit access and legroom will be pretty good once I get that propstick out.

It's just great, for the moment, to get to feel the actual dimensions and ergonomics of the thing.  It's very different to sit in it and touch it instead of poking at a CAD model and hoping.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: MiteWiseacre on July 20, 2019, 01:42:16 am
Did you cover how you’re going to compensate for the angle of the screen?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Drnick on July 20, 2019, 02:15:29 am
Did you cover how you’re going to compensate for the angle of the screen?

Yes he did and the answer was both genius and complex.  Read page 5  :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 20, 2019, 05:17:01 am
Hehehe.  Thanks, Drnick!

Yes, what he said.   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: MiteWiseacre on July 21, 2019, 03:38:24 pm
Went back to page 5, my god man!  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 22, 2019, 01:38:30 am
Went back to page 5, my god man!  :applaud:

Hahaha, thanks.  This thing's an undertaking, for sure.

I've finalized the width of the control panel assembly by gluing it all together while located between the verticals, so it is what it is now. 

That means I can pull that whole thing off and start on the bodywork on it.

Bodywork begins again!

There was one spot near the bottom where I bit a big chunk off with the router while cutting the T-molding groove.   :angry:   So I built that back up out of bondo and sanded it down; I think it won't show and no one but us will know.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378201;image)

In the background of this shot you can see I also sanded down the foot of the console that hovers above the ground to a nice radius to match the sides. 

I also cut the same size radius into the top of the console, along the corner where the gear shifter mounts, on either side of the shifter.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378202;image)

I plan to run two strips of T-mold along the sides of the gear shifter in the narrow neck.  I knew that'd be a tricky install in the end, so I cut clearances the shape of the T-molding crown in front of the slots;  I can stab the T-mold through these holes as a tight but doable fit, then fold them back with cutaway spines to follow the angle of that panel.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378203;image)
From this view you can see I've sanded the side panel that carries the fans pretty hard - this slides closely along the aluminum leg of the back cabinet, and to have a clearance for primer and paint, this area may also have to get a thin paintjob.  This is a zone of concern.  At absolute worst, I'll install some .060" aluminum shims under the bearing trucks, slide the back cabinet another .060" away, and use that space for paint - but I'm not sure if it will come to that yet.  I can still get away with that because I haven't made the back web or the mid-shelf yet, and those will be the other things that really set the intracabinet distance in stone.

This ends up being an interesting chunk of wood, so I'll try to show a few angles of that.

Here's a view looking through the cockpit-side coin door, at the internal lug for the fans.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378204;image)

The tricky bit here is that the fans, and their wire guards, have to be below flush because of the aforementioned leg clearance, and I want them removable as well.  So, they slide up from the bottom in this view, along the thin plywood, until the H-shaped flange on their top corners wraps around this lug you see between the holes.  The holes are tight enough that they stay put without any screws, but I'll be putting the top two screws in through the wood as overkill.

The round holes you can see behind the gear shifter are going to be for wire routing, there will be service loops pinned in here to accommodate the control panel moving 14" forward and backward when Shapeshifter changes modes.

Looking up from the bottom of this open-bottomed structure reveals a bit more of the internal craziness going on.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378205;image)

The tab of plywood on the lower left that sticks in 2" is to form a shelf for the linear actuator to sit on when it isn't connected to the back wall, and is also the leftmost limit for the 6 3/4" wide PC case to not quite touch as all this slides around it.  To clear 6 3/4" of PC on the right, you can see the step down to the thin plywood.  Going thin there gives me a good 1/8" of free clearance on both sides of the PC as this shell slides around it.  At the upper right you can see the joint of the thin and thick plywood and how they overlap.

My reinforcing fillets around the front corners can be seen at the top, with notches for the coin door attachments.  The bit of aluminum at the upper left is that L-shaped anchor for the nose of the actuator to push this whole assembly by.

I think I can reach everything in here to prime and paint it.  That'll be fun.


On the other side, you can see I was indeed able to lift that VR view button frame off the glass and attach it.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378206;image)

I've got some bodywork to do here to fair all the lines together, and I'm going to radius the lower corners to make it a little friendlier on the knees if you do manage somehow to bump it.  I may build a thin lid for this that covers the switches, but given it's the underside of the panel in a place you have to lay on the floor and look up to see, that's not my top priority for the moment. 

My current priority and work-in-progress can be seen at the bottom of the VR box; I've glued in a second piece of plywood for reinforcement, but mainly as a spacer, because I'm going to make a long standing rib that goes under the control panel to make it form a T profile, running between the screws of the linear bearing truck, across the center, and connecting to the gear shifter tower.  That will stiffen up the center of the panel even more, and provide some real strength to help hold the distance of the front and rear cabinets precise given that this is kind of structurally the right wall of what would normally be a pinball table box.

To mount that, though, I want it back in the machine, because I'm more comfortable attaching things that might alter the dimensions a bit when I can verify the positions are all correct with regards to the TV swing and rotation.

On the software front, I'm currently having an annoying fight with the Logitech G25 profile software under Windows 7.  It doesn't appear to work.  It runs, you can give it settings for pedal axis combining and wheel rotation limits, globally or per game, and launch a game through the profiler directly, and it does absolutely nothing to change ANY of those settings.  I can change the rotation limit using the two-middle-buttons-plus-top-button direct hacks, and those work, but the profiler software never does anything, which I can verify looking at the windows game controllers test dialog. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: harveybirdman on July 23, 2019, 01:42:29 pm
Next level craftsmanship my man.  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 28, 2019, 12:48:57 am
Thanks, harveybirdman!

I've got some dead time while I'm waiting around for glue to dry. 

It occurred to me I hadn't shown the control panel stowed, yet.  Until I get the back wall built, and the counterweight bridge, the TV still needs a prop stick to support it, so ignore that board on the left, but otherwise:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378305;image)
Here's how it looks with the control panel retracted.  The rail comes out right next to the gear shifter on the right, and the center console comes back to just at or slightly behind the aluminum leg of the back cabinet.

The seatback and gear shifter will break the plane of the legs slightly, but from my testing it looks like they'll all be completely invisible from the pinball player position, so they shouldn't be a distraction at all.


The piece I'm waiting on glue joints over is a bulkhead to connect the left and right structures a bit more rigidly.  There was a little bit of flexibility in the center deck, you could twist it when it wasn't connected to anything else, and that means it isn't quite as overbuilt as I like to overbuild things.  So, more structure!

This is the new bulkhead:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378306;image)

The hollow ring on the left will be part of a shelf to slip the wireless keyboard onto, within reach of driver or pinball player but out of the way of both.  The notches at the top are wire passthroughs.


The underside of the control panel looked like this, previously:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378307;image)

There's a little scrap of 3/4" plywood under the steering wheel clamps that is just a placeholder, but from this view you can see how the only thing carrying load between the VR button box-up on the left rail, and the console-shifter box-up on the right rail, is the flat deck of the panel. 


I specifically wanted to install this thing while the panel was in the rails, so that lock the rail-truck to rail-truck distance in exactly as it should be rather than distorting it with this piece out on the bench.  That made snaking it in while covered in glue and subsequently clamping it a challenge, but here's how this area changes with the new bulkhead installed:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378308;image)

The bulkhead is about two inches off the back edge of the control panel, so it's forward ahead of where kneeroom might be any kind of issue.  Unseen on the right, it swings down to the right of the T-molding stripe but all the way down to the deck on the console, so it's attached along top, right and bottom, there.   It's glued to the panel along it's top edge, it's glued to the vertical truck-carrying left wall, and it's glued to the rear web of the VR button box. 

That should, I think, stiffen everything up quite a bit.  Now it's properly overbuilt. 

When this dries, I'll be pulling it back out of the machine, and beginning the bodywork in earnest on it.  I'm actually looking forward to it - I bet that feeling lasts two or three hours in to thirty hours of bodywork...


Also, I'm no longer sure this whole assembly should be the grey of Mimic like the pedal box is.  Looking at the red-over-black of the machine, red-over-black-over-grey is maybe not the right answer.

Any opinions? 

I'm starting to lean toward painting this whole thing black, and blacking out the pedal box as well. 

T-molding options will be white, red, chrome or black. 

When I get closer to painting time, I'll probably photoshop all the options up and see what people think.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on July 28, 2019, 01:21:41 am
+1 for all black.  If it’s meant to be in disguise until protracted, then keep it hidden.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on July 28, 2019, 01:49:38 am
Blacker than the blackest black... times infinity!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: JudgeRob on July 28, 2019, 02:07:19 am
Rad.  So rad.  You're doing great, the craft looks fantastic.  I vote for black.  It's hidden surprise element just seems like black to me. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on July 29, 2019, 10:42:21 am
Black with a red (tasteful) racing stripe.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 29, 2019, 10:56:46 am
I used the black T-Molding with the chrome center stripe on my CP..
I like the look..  Just a little bling. but not too much.

Maybe get a sample of that too..
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on July 29, 2019, 11:59:45 am
 :dizzy:

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: BGoulette on July 30, 2019, 11:34:43 am
"Black on black, got a wicked stride / Hounds of hell are by his side..."

So, uh, yeah. Black. :D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 31, 2019, 03:00:37 am
Thanks!  The forum seems to have unanimous consensus with Nigel Tufnel - "It's like, how much more black could this be, and the answer is none.  None more black."

I'll take it under advisement.  It seems like the right answer to me so far.


I've been doing some work on the cockpit coin door.  It looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378355;image)

But now, if you open the coin return door under the coin up button, you'll find a secret:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378356;image)

USB port for administrative convenience, since the computer is pretty well buried.  The doors on these coin doors don't open very far, so the port is angled such that a thumb drive will fit in.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378357;image)

To make that work inside, I built a fairly tricky aluminum bracket, and epoxied a dashboard mount USB cable into it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378358;image)

It picks up the lower mounting screws that I think the coin mechs originally did.  I ziptied the cable up above as a strain relief - seemed wise, given it's going to be moving relative to the PC when the cabinet changes modes.


I'm also wrapping up construction on the big control panel slider, by building a shelf for the wireless keyboard to be stored in. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378359;image)

The exterior cuts are simple enough to bandsaw, and a forstner bit gives me big holes to start a jigsaw/saber saw in.  I clamped it down to my workbench to do each end.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378360;image)

I wanted to share a trick I used for this.

Most people here, I think, would treat a jigsaw like an unreliable roughing tool that they couldn't trust near the final line - they'd leave a quarter inch or so, then make a template, clamp it on, and use a router to clean up the hole.

This makes sense to me - if you try to trace the hole precisely, while cutting along the lines, any side-loading of the jigsaw blade can cause it to flex and knock your cut out of square. 

But here's a trick that might be of use if you've never tried it:  The jigsaw blade is only really flexible side to side.  It's quite stiff in the fore-aft axis, it's not going to bend out of square in that direction.  If you've roughed out the center of the hole the way you normally would, try approaching your final line from 90' perpendicular and then carefully crosscutting with the teeth of the saw - you can use it like a power file to erase down to your line with confidence that the leading edge of the teeth will be cutting square to the surface.

This is my roughed out hole, using only a jigsaw, before sanding:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378361;image)

It's not perfect, but I consider that to be within easy reach of a sanding block to a nice line, and I never had to mess with templating - just freehand erasing wood with the sides of the teeth up to the marked pencil line. 


This piece gets glued into a few others and forms the back of this shelf under the VR buttons, matching that hoop you saw in the bulkhead earlier:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378362;image)

The keyboard seen below fits in here, out of sight and out of the way but accessible when needed.

The lead weights I'm clamping the glue joints with are going to be the TV playfield counterweights to balance it out on the axle.  You'll be seeing more of them much later.  You can also see that I've radiused the sharp corners of the VR button group, because that's somewhat possible to clip with your knee while getting in or out.



I've currently got a bunch of filler curing on the control panel.  Very soon, it shall be bodywork sanding time.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on July 31, 2019, 01:34:47 pm
That hidden USB port is a trip.

Nice tip on the jigsaw, I've just begun using mine and I have sub-consciously been using the front of the blade to trim closer to the marked line. But I hadn't thought of going full 90 degrees yet. Will have to give that a go.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 01, 2019, 01:27:45 am
Bodywork prep time.

The filler goes on.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378372;image)

The filler sands off.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378373;image)

Gradually the surface improves.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378374;image)

It's not ready for primer yet.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378371;image)

But it's getting there.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378375;image)

Another fill and sand pass, and I think it'll be Ready For Prime Time. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 04, 2019, 05:27:18 pm
PRIME TIME.

I've been making some inside radius fillets out of jointing compound to clean up the visual corners and hopefully ease the process of painting this thing.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378432;image)

Lot of sanding and filling. 

I've had a small dimensional problem in the region of the shifter thus far - the side plates stuck out about 1/8" past flush.  At first I thought enh, the T molding will cover it decently well, but the more I looked at it the less I liked it not being on one flush plane.

So I broke out a sheet of 80 grit on a sanding block, and wore myself out, and got them both down to flush.  It'll look better this way.

Once that was done, I started the first coat of priming it, because it's not like that stops me filling and sanding, and it'll be handy to get it all one color so I can see what's still wrong with the surfaces.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378433;image)

Here's the flush shifter-side ears.  It's better.

Over on the other side...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378434;image)

I'm liking the way my radiused corners and angled bottom facet look on the VR buttons when it's all one color and reads as a shape rather than an assembly.


Overall thus far:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378435;image)

Going to have to turn and prime quite a few more times.  This is a big complex behemoth of a part.




Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 04, 2019, 05:50:50 pm
 :drool

Looking good! Going to give that coin door the refinish treatment?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 04, 2019, 06:03:11 pm
:drool
Looking good! Going to give that coin door the refinish treatment?

Thanks!  Not a bad idea.  I've never done one before, but I certainly could.  It's mostly just dirty, but it is missing a bit of paint near the latch.

What's the done thing for them?  Black hammerite?

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 04, 2019, 06:43:29 pm
I've done Rustoleum Hammered finish on The Beast... but it chips off really easy. A while back I got into home powder coating and did a handful of coin doors. I found "Black River" (the front piece in this sample test) was a great finish for coin doors.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378438;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 04, 2019, 11:27:15 pm
That looks really sharp! 

I don't think that I want to take on home powder coating right now though - I don't have a good oven to allocate for it.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 05, 2019, 06:19:13 am
It's worth a call to a few local shops. Usually a handful of small parts can be sandblasted and powder coated for a reasonable price.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on August 05, 2019, 10:19:32 am
 Most of the shop booths I have seen are incredibly filthy, and like paint that garbage static clings to an otherwise clean part, just saying not all budget shops take pride in quality finishes.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on August 05, 2019, 10:42:31 am
That jigsaw tip is quite interesting, and can see that working quite well...A scroll saw would be my go to on that, or possibly even stick built (like a cabinet face). But again on a budget I could see that working...Nice build BTW, (wink).
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 05, 2019, 11:27:16 pm
I had an offroad shop powder coat the case of the Troubleshooter Supergun. Turned out tits.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on August 06, 2019, 09:19:05 am
Oh how I do love a story that ends well, it gives me hope... last thing I had done was the case for a booth fan, it got run with a big batch of bus seat parts (not mine) and everyting came out with chunks of dirt on it, good enough for what I was doing but still....Powder coated wood has made some incredible advances in the last few years, apparently they spray a conductive coating on the piece first, cant wait to try that out, seems to be really popular with store display shelving.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 07, 2019, 02:05:20 am
Jennifer -  Scroll saw or stick building would also have been good routes to that particular part, I agree.  Thanks, regarding the build - I had wondered what you would think of it.

Neph - thanks for the tips.  I've sent out parkerizing jobs before and been happy with the results I got back, I'm not totally against farming things out.

Regarding the coin door, I think I'm going to clean it up first and see how much touchup it actually needs.  If it's just the few dings near the latch plate on the frame, I'm thinking I might try mixing up some black epoxy pigment in epoxy and seeing if I can get a decent match to the existing finish like that - I'd think that would hold up pretty well if it works, and it doesn't preclude a sandblast and powder coat if it doesn't work.

I am now many hours of bodywork into the cockpit control panel assembly.  It's now filled, sanded, filled, sanded, primed, sanded, filled, sanded, and primed - and I can still see some defects in it, but they're much diminished from where I started.

I will persist, as Ond expects no less.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 07, 2019, 03:40:33 am
Bodywork update:  The ears alongside the gear shifter, with slots for T-molding, are now very flush with the angled face between them.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378452;image)

I get tired of doing bodywork, but I do like the result when the individual pieces the cabinetry is made of seem to melt together and just become one thing.

(I'll be stabbing T-molding endways down into those remaining holes in the deck, they fit the profile pretty well.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on August 07, 2019, 08:14:49 am
Damn man, I don’t know how you are doing it but keep doing it.  It’s all starting to come together, you must be pretty chuffed, I know I would be.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: MattTheDoctor on August 07, 2019, 04:37:07 pm
Wow, wow, wow!!

I had to register to say this - this project is blowing me away! I'm in the process of starting my first project (looking into a Haruman Bartop) and found this forum. After poking around for some inspiration I found the Mimic and then this and not only am I super inspired now, I'm also just in awe! I've powered through this thread and it's the most bonkers thing I've ever seen. Can't wait to see where it all goes! The vpin side of things is already cool enough, but the sheer ingenuity and work going into making this a transforming rig is astounding.

Also, I know this is a PC and classic arcade game build, but as a racing fan in general, the idea of playing Wipeout Omega Collection on this rig just makes me drool...
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on August 08, 2019, 05:39:35 pm
Keep up the great work!  You'll be sharing space with me on this board again soon enough.  ;D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on August 08, 2019, 06:05:12 pm
A 6" finish  :)

very nice!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 10, 2019, 12:55:27 am
Damn man, I don’t know how you are doing it but keep doing it.  It’s all starting to come together, you must be pretty chuffed, I know I would be.

Thanks!  Will do. 

Re: chuffed - I gotta admit, it varies.  Usually I'm thrilled with the thing and excited at how it's going... occasionally I feel like I'm at hour 3 of infinity remaining.  But I think it will eventually yield to persistence, and I enjoy most of the journey.   


Wow, wow, wow!!

I had to register to say this - this project is blowing me away! I'm in the process of starting my first project (looking into a Haruman Bartop) and found this forum. After poking around for some inspiration I found the Mimic and then this and not only am I super inspired now, I'm also just in awe! I've powered through this thread and it's the most bonkers thing I've ever seen. Can't wait to see where it all goes! The vpin side of things is already cool enough, but the sheer ingenuity and work going into making this a transforming rig is astounding.

Also, I know this is a PC and classic arcade game build, but as a racing fan in general, the idea of playing Wipeout Omega Collection on this rig just makes me drool...

Thanks! 

Welcome to the forum - glad to see new faces here.  Haruman's kits are great, they give you some scaffolding to get you started, but still leave plenty up to your execution and imagination.  Happy to be an inspiration.  Given that you just binge-read through about a year of work on this project, I gotta warn you I'm not going to be able to keep up with that rate of progress going forward...  :lol   I do try to get something done and posted every week or two, though.

Re: Wipeout - Using x360ce, I managed to get Redout running perfectly on the pedals and flightstick, and with a giant TV in your face it is AWESOME.  Next best thing? 


Keep up the great work!  You'll be sharing space with me on this board again soon enough.

Thank you.  This is the best news!  :cheers:  I've missed the progress on your projects; I'm sure you have, too.  Congrats on the move, and good luck settling in. 


A 6" finish  :)

very nice!

Thanks!  That's just the primer, so far... it is matte, and that hides many sins.

It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  But 6" is an aspiration, sure.   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 10, 2019, 09:02:56 pm
So, I've been thinking on the color of this whole control panel slider.

Everybody voted black, which makes sense as a hidden element.  I want to avoid it fighting with the HEY LOOK AT ME RED pinball machine above, in pinball mode. 

So, I've put about 3/4ths of one coat of black on it, and... hmm.

Here's what it looks like in very incomplete black paint:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378544;image)

It's not bad, and it is stealthy.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378545;image)

It's... very stealthy.

Everything really blends together, and not necessarily in a good way. 

It's not ugly, I'm sure it would work, but I don't know that I'm in love with it.

This roughly what "Black, black everywhere" would look like - with better paint and polish by the end, of course. 


I got to thinking.

* The back edge of this shelf retracts very far into shadows under the machine.  The front edge is the part that shows when retracted.

* There are some dead spaces, visually, on the ends of the control panel - they're necessary to span the distance, but the throttle and flightstick feel best when closer together.

* The pedal box / Mimic grey on the whole deck might be a little too light.

* Red-Grey is a weird combo to let touch. 


So I had this crazy idea.  If I made the back edge red, that is pretty safe because of how far it retracts - it goes waaaay under the playfield into the shadows, I think it'll be fine. 


If the mimic-battleship-grey part of the deck only extended as far past the throttle and flightstick as the distance between each device, it'd make all that look more intentional and provide a visual feature in that awkward dead space.

If I curved the edges around a bit... I bet I could suggest a hood, a black windshield gasket, and a dashboard deck. 

Here's some 5-minute bad photoshoppery to show my three tone concept:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378546;image)

The red would swing out far enough to touch the edges of the legs when deployed, and since this retracts a full 14" back under the machine, it'd be that far into the shadows when in pinball mode.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378547;image)

The black as a spacer between the red and grey helps make both of them pop I think.

(I'd of course spend more time fussing for a smooth fair curve if I actually do it, this was just to convey the concept.)


Whattya think?  Good?  Bad?  Got a better idea?  Am I crazier than usual?  Let me have it!   :)

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on August 10, 2019, 09:16:16 pm
I dig it, that looks solid.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Nephasth on August 10, 2019, 09:25:19 pm
(https://media1.tenor.com/images/9595d9470f4df0f8b64a15f20f1139a6/tenor.gif?itemid=10865498)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on August 11, 2019, 12:10:37 am
very sexy.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 11, 2019, 12:21:06 am
very sexy.

You called it, I think, with the red stripe.  Thanks!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Vigo on August 11, 2019, 11:56:50 am
Glad you liked the suggestion. It looks great! So great seeing your vision really start come together.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: meltman on August 11, 2019, 02:01:33 pm
Yep, red stripe really will make it pop.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 18, 2019, 04:25:16 am
It is agreed.  The plan shall be tritone. 

But, first I'm going to get a decent gloss black base coat on all of it.


From a distance, what I've currently got looks almost alright-

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378658;image)

But get around to where the gloss black catches the light, and you can see it's got a long way to go -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378659;image)

Orange peel and brush marks and pinholes, oh my.

Nothing that a lot of painting and sanding won't fix, though.


One bit that I am chuffed by - in the first black mockup, the view buttons looked like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378660;image)

Not awful, it would have worked... but check them out with the first bit of dark grey behind them, now:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378661;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: meltman on August 18, 2019, 08:19:11 am
The gray looks superb.

Have you considered 3m gloss automotive vinyl wrap?

Paint is 4/5ths pain.  ;D

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 21, 2019, 01:19:18 pm
The gray looks superb.

Have you considered 3m gloss automotive vinyl wrap?

Paint is 4/5ths pain.  ;D


Thanks!  Paint is 4/5ths pain, absolutely.

And, no.  No I have not.   :)  This is an exercise in latex paint and suffering.

I've done a bunch of sanding, to turn initial coverage like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378659;image)

into a not-yet-perfect but much more acceptable, this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378733;image)


For as little of that particular panel as shows around the shifter, that's probably good enough.


I've also gotten a nice flat surface that I can start painting on the grey over.  I am chuffed at how the right-side console has come together with the black coin door, button rim, and shifter body against dark grey.

(Neph - I mixed up some black epoxy and touched up the chips in the coin door frame - turned out pretty good, I don't think it'll need a full refinish.)


Here it is, with some T-molding options...


Red like the pinball machine portions -
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378734;image)

White like Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) -
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378735;image)

Chrome, like all the exposed metal and because it's automotive -
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378736;image)

Black like my soul -
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378737;image)


I think black is a pretty clear winner for T-mold.


Next big challenge to take on shall be the top deck.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on August 21, 2019, 02:41:50 pm
That is just sick!

I am not a big fan of chrome but it could work. I do like the black the most though as it blends very well with the gray and the coin door. Very cool.  8)

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on August 21, 2019, 03:33:04 pm
I would say black or chrome,... The white or red would be unforgiving and quite noticeable  if your slot was less than perfect.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on August 21, 2019, 04:37:59 pm
I like the black with the grey (but I did that on my cabinet... So I'm pre-biased)
Nice progress.  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on August 21, 2019, 05:29:34 pm
(https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_97a26d2a-b5af-45da-9846-62e37a648669?fmt=pjpeg&wid=1400&qlt=80)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: meltman on August 22, 2019, 11:47:12 am
Black molding. 

You really should maybe look at the vinyl - I did mine in paint and it was just not the durability I wanted but the vinyl over the top gave a perfect finish with very little work.
I will never paint a cab again after doing vinyl once. 3m Di Noc is an amazing product.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 27, 2019, 02:53:11 am
I haven't had a lot of time to work on this lately, but I've been grabbing a half hour here or there where I can.

I got the majority of three coats of grey paint on, sanded, and finished to a level I'm pretty happy with.  Here's the look with black T-mold on both sides:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378822;image)

The temporary wire hanging down is a run across my whole shop to plug in the various lights, just because I wanted to see it lit up:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378823;image)

Bperkins01 was saying something about a 6" paint job...  here's a bit of a closeup.  This also shows how the inletting around the shifter looks with the front face grey and the edges black:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378824;image)

I do still need to get the black T-mold trimmed and installed around the angled gear shifter panel up top, though.


The top deck needs a lot of work.  Fresh after painting, it is very much not a 6" finish.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378825;image)

I've had a lot of practice at this point sanding the stuff.  I've settled on a 320 grit on a sanding block as about right, for me, to carve down to the bottom of the orange peel.

At the halfway point, it looks like this:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378826;image)
The grey part is the matte sanded paint.  The black and white dots are all the bottoms of the pits - they're still high gloss, so they catch the light like tiny puddles of water would.

Try to work the whole panel evenly, rather than making any part complete.  Just work wherever the pits are still largest.

When I get down to something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378827;image)

then I know it's time to stop, because I'll blow through somewhere if I keep going.  The polish will take care of the residual dots. 


I'm not ready to polish it yet, though.  I've got an elaborate tritone scheme to do first. 

I made a paper template of half the curve I wanted, traced it, flipped it over, and traced it again.  That put a pencil line on the paint that I could carefully freehand red paint up to with a brush.

Here's the first coat of red in the rear arc:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378828;image)

It looks a little like photoshop, but I swear that's an unretouched picture.  My red paint is very, very red.  So red that I was suffering a little snowblind dazzle trying to focus on painting up to a fine line - in a well lit shop this red was giving me an afterimage.


I have an idea that I like regarding this arc.  I want to splice the black T-molding that runs along the front, and stop it right at that color change.  Then do the rest of the side, and the back, in red T-molding.  Something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378829;image)

The red T-molding is a close enough match to the paint that I think that works nicely.  It won't show a lot, as that line is also roughly where the panel is flush to the front and rear cabinets, but it will show a little I think.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on August 27, 2019, 04:52:27 pm
Lookin good Laythe.  That shifter area is tits, definitely the black t-molding is the way to go.  And plus one for the red molding lining up with the red paint, that's a great idea. :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on August 29, 2019, 10:19:29 pm
That’s looking badass. The 320 grit sanding pic helps explain a lot, of how you get it there. Love the red/black t-molding run. Looks sharp and exact.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on August 29, 2019, 10:25:04 pm
That's looking really good. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 01, 2019, 12:40:38 am
Thanks everybody.

I got the holes drilled for mounting the stick and throttle.  Also drilled holes IN the stick and throttle, as they've got very heavy metal cases. 

The Thrustmaster Cougar flightstick turns out to have a giant PCB in the front half right at the bottom, so I'm quite limited in where I can drill holes in it to bolt it down.

I can get to about the halfway line fore-aft, and the back edge.  I think that four 1/4-20 screws tight through the plywood should still keep it pinned down solidly, though.

The steering wheel clamps are plenty solid, so I'm just going to use those for attaching it.  There's a thin doubler underneath to thicken the panel out a little over the minimum the clamps will grab.

I'm on coat 4 of red paint on the back edge, building it up and sanding it down.  Here's coat 1 of the grey on the front of the control panel.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378899;image)

Taken by itself, it's too bright, but there's going to be three big black objects covering most of it so I think it'll settle down a bit in the end, when it's
mostly covered by a throttle, a steering wheel, and a flightstick. 

Many more coats to come.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Ond on September 01, 2019, 03:10:57 am
Despite the complexity of surfaces and controls, you are managing to maintain a really authentic arcade machine aesthetic.  Small touches of red here and there look great.  I had to learn that rule the hard way  :laugh:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 02, 2019, 07:21:00 pm
Aw thanks, Ond! 

Here's some pics of the tritone panel polished, populated (temporarily) and in situ.

The red stripe on the back hides pretty well when it's retracted in pinball mode - especially given there's still going to be a red skirt running along the sides of the playfield monitor housing the flipper buttons.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378923;image)

So, I think that works - it's not fighting with the red "look at me I'm a pinball machine" parts that try to trick the eye into seeing a pinball machine over the pile of weirdness this cabinet really is.



When extended, the red touches the legs, and it looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378924;image)

The grey gives a little visual separation between the throttle, wheel and flightstick. 


From above, the curves go like this:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378925;image)


And in the driver's position the whole thing looks about like so.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=378926;image)


I think that's a winner.  Which is a good thing, because that was a lot of painting and sanding and polishing and I wasn't totally sure if I was on the right track until I got it in the machine to see it.


Next up is finishing the conversion of the flightstick and throttle to pick up the mounting bolt holes, and then a bunch of wiring to make the proper routing and harnesses.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 18, 2019, 03:52:12 am
Update:

The proper wiring harness for the cockpit control panel is built and installed.

The HOTAS sticks are both drilled out, with nuts epoxied inside behind the holes, and bolted down to the deck - they are going nowhere.

I got all the T-molding installed - black on the front, red on the backs of the sides and back, holding the wires into the slots.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=379202;image)


So, what's next in the mid-near term...

Longer term:

Good thing I'm not working to a deadline. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on September 18, 2019, 12:45:02 pm
Coming together nicely Laythe.  Keep it up, we'll cheer you to the finish line.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on September 18, 2019, 05:51:46 pm
Nice work again..  Just so you know we are listening and watching.   :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on September 18, 2019, 09:37:44 pm
Pretty frickin cool. Will the seat also fit under the pinball top?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 19, 2019, 12:37:52 am
Thanks, guys.   :)  It helps. 

Gingecko:  Yep, the seat is going to slide in, on a base that wraps over and around the pedals, until it almost touches the steering wheel - which will get it almost entirely under the table - it'll stick out less than the gear shifter handle does.  My measure of "stowed" here is that a normal person in the pinball player position can't see it while playing pinball.  It's a low back seat so that it fits under the still-to-be-made side skirts that go along the playfield monitor.

I'd say it was overengineered, except it's actually a little underengineered... I just discovered a contention between the keyboard shelf I made and the ideal stowed position of the seat.  I need to modify the keyboard shelf to be a bit narrower and supported via an aluminum C channel instead of the wooden support it has now.  The way it is, would work, but would require the seat to be offset from directly centered on the screen and wheel and that would drive me insane.   That's what I get for improvising outside of the CAD model.  It's fixable.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Buick455 on September 19, 2019, 07:17:44 am
Your ability to take an idea from design to reality is awesome. Most of my grand plans never leave design software or the napkin I sketched them on and if they do I stall out, lol.. I cant seem to find the time to finish fixing up one cab and you are building a pin and race sim at the same time.

Question about the floor and the chair slide. Is that floor section that sticks out always going to be out? If yes, could you use telescopic steel tube and rollers under the seat? Then when folded up its in the Pinball footprint only. This will also add to your engineering fun :D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 19, 2019, 11:02:21 am
Thanks!

Regarding stalling out:  Yeah.  As Pink Floyd said - "Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines" - I can sympathize.  You guys don't get to see most of that pile, but I have one too.  I'm too far on this project to let it do that, unless I run into something just completely unsolveable.

Regarding the floor - that's still to be decided.  It might be a permanent deck that sticks out at all times sitting on the floor, that you can walk over, with rails under slots for the chair to run in.  That would be relatively easy and I'm sure it would work, but it would also be a trip hazard and less appealing than getting it all to stow.  My dad suggests an X linkage like a boxing glove toy to push or pull the chair instead of rails.  I am slightly tempted to cut a hole in the wall of my house behind the machine - there's a concrete slab and a crawlspace on the other side of the wall this is going to live near, and I could stick 4' of railroad sized rails there on the backside of the wall, cantilever the whole chair off of that, make it float over the carpet and you'd never see the mechanism because it's in the next "room" over...  that's a bad idea, but I am tempted anyway.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on September 19, 2019, 11:16:04 am
I am slightly tempted to cut a hole in the wall of my house behind the machine - there's a concrete slab and a crawlspace on the other side of the wall this is going to live near, and I could stick 4' of railroad sized rails there on the backside of the wall, cantilever the whole chair off of that, make it float over the carpet and you'd never see the mechanism because it's in the next "room" over...  that's a bad idea, but I am tempted anyway.

My brain just melted. I guess when you have crazy ideas and the skills to back them up, things like this become possible. Pretty awesome.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 23, 2019, 02:33:25 am
It is time for a side journey into a bit of software work.

Mimic (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074) has a fully illuminated control panel - if a control is active in a game, it's lit up while you are in the game, and that has proven very useful for keeping people from being totally lost. 

Aside from the VR buttons, Shapeshifter can't do that.  (And I wasn't about to try.) 

I have something like 57 buttons here on the cockpit panel, if you count the hats as 4s.  I might have lost count, but it's more than 50.  I want some way to store and communicate the control mapping of games in my custom front-end. 

So, I've decided the yellow VR button blinks during cockpit-mode game selection.  If you hit it, you get an information screen for the game you are looking at in the menu on the main display.

The information screen starts with a wireframe diagram like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=379269;image)




I write a text file per game that says something like this:
Afterburner
LightStick
LightThrottle
ExitButton=Exit Game
CoinButton=Insert Coin
StickTrigger=Fire Guns
StickThumbButton=Fire Missiles
StartButton=Start Game


and my frontend generates this, as the info page for Afterburner:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=379271;image)

Afterburner is a fairly simple case, not a lot going on.

(These diagrams are all 1920x1080 as they go fullscreen on the playfield/main display.  Legibility suffers a bit if you only look at the rescaled forum images.)

Sega Scud Race aka Super GT is a little more complex, looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=379272;image)

Arcade games tend to be pretty simple and straightforward. 

At the more complex end, PC sims are not at all afraid to use buttons.

BeamNG Drive supports a lot of controls, and serves as a good example of why I wanted instruction cards - and why I want those instruction cards procedurally generated off of simple text files since this could will likely change as I get things dialled in.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=379270;image)


The colors of the text boxes correspond to the physical colors of the controls.

I'll be adding the game title at top and some descriptive text regarding it and why it's featured in my collection in the remaining unused areas of the layout.


Work-in-progress - but I'm thinking it's got potential to help make the machine a little bit more usable.  Thoughts?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on September 23, 2019, 07:38:42 am
I think its great.  No idea how you are doing it. Making it easy to use is key.

I have trouble getting people to understand a simple Mame cabinet that has voice commands..  People still don't get if you don't add a coin (real or button) the game doesn't work.  Just like the real one.. 

If you are creating an .ini file that your visualization uses - it will certainly make it maintainable for you..
and oh yea.. WOW!   :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on September 23, 2019, 11:37:35 am
Is there a program that you are using to do this?  I assume from your description that you aren't loading images, but rather the script is dynamically highlighting the controls in the wire diagram?  This is interesting and I am scratching my head thinking what you would be using to do this.  Very curious to learn more about that.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 24, 2019, 11:09:41 am
Arroyo:

There is a program that I am using to do this... but it's one I wrote.  It's a part of my frontend now.

I started by drawing one master image that has all 50-odd button indicators present on it, and then I cut that image apart into one mostly transparent image per button or stick or control or indicator.

The frontend is loading the base wireframe and then some off the onionskin type images and stacking them, then it writes text onto the boxes.


So, it's not an image per game that it loads and displays - it's an image per button, and it assembles that layered collage according to a recipe specified in a simple text file per cockpit game.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on September 24, 2019, 11:19:12 am
Damn.  Knew I should have stuck with Computer Science. :lol  Incredible.  This, and the the whole automaton thing, and I'm gonna say you are required to do a video walkthrough when this thing is done.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on September 24, 2019, 11:25:04 am
All I know is it better make the transformer noise when it changes back and forth.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on September 24, 2019, 11:26:24 am
All I know is it better make the transformer noise when it changes back and forth.

With wireframe animation..While you are at it..  :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 13, 2019, 01:54:51 am
Sorry for the delay, my day job got frantic.  I've been working hard just not to fall any further behind there.

I got a little done on Shapeshifter over the three day weekend, though.  I've been tinkering with the instruction generating software, because it wasn't cool enough.

This machine is basically a shrine to the 80s anyway, so why not take it all the way.  I decided to go full 80s Blackbird shirt (https://blackbirdflightwear.com/collections/the-classics) style, here.  The instruction screen for Outrun now looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380058;image)

And a complex game like Everspace gets this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380059;image)

I've also set things up such that the backbox screen, while in cockpit mode, becomes a marquee when you pick a game.  A full-screen version of the game logo goes up on the unused backbox.  Sure, it's kind of partially oblique to the player - but it looks cool for anybody else in the room.  Looks better than just leaving it black.

I like messing with the software and playing with it, because while it's this far assembled and living and breathing, it feels like it's mostly done.  For more progress to happen, though, I gotta move backward in order to move forward. 

For now, it's protected from the sawdust I'm making.  Sad, and forlorn.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380060;image)

The next main parts to be made are the cross shelf and the back wall.  These will provide the frame much more rigidity, and let me remove the last pieces of temporary scaffolding I have clamped to the legs, and when they are finished I get to start playing with the control panel actuator to see if it can move.  When I finish the cross shelf, back wall and counterweight arm, then I get to play with the playfield actuator as well.

Back wall first.

The layout of the back wall includes a strange 3' tilted window for clearance for the actuator that rotates the playfield.  This has to be perpendicular to the axle, and as you may recall from prior posts, the axle is inclined 3'.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380061;image)

Also shown, the oldschool 4:3 screen Thinkpad T60p I do all my CAD work on.  It's still my primary computer, and it still runs XP.  I figure that on the day I can't keep an XP machine viable, I have to stop the clock to measure how long after "end of life" I'll be able to expect to keep 7 in service.  I'm annoyed that I even have to have that battle, but win10 is malware so 7 is the end of the road.  Clock is at 8 years and still counting.

I got the back wall roughed out.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380062;image)

(Yep.  It's official - I suck at making T-shirts.)

The angled slot will get a somewhat complex adjustable sliding mount built to fit inside it, because it's going to drive me nuts if the rotating pinball playfield isn't dead-on level when the thing is in pinball mode.  I figure if I can precisely adjust the tail of the actuator, I can tune that after it's complete.  It won't bother me if it isn't dead-on vertical in driving mode, a little tilt there if my math is off isn't going to look hideously wrong.

I've also done some work on the other end of that actuator.  The ram end will attach to the long 1/4" operating rod you've seen in the axle assembly, but the hole in the actuator is a really bizarre size, so I made a brass bushing to adapt it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380063;image)

The actuator, bushing and rod fit together like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380064;image)

The bushing is a tight tap-it-lightly-in-with-a-mallet squeeze into the ram, and the bearing shaft slips nicely through the center bore without much drag, so I think the rod should spin in the bushing and the bushing shouldn't walk out of the ram - there shouldn't be any side load on any of this.  If it does try to walk out over time, I intentionally left the head of the bushing very large so I can tap a small screw into the meat of the ram to hold it.

Next up is probably building the adjustable clamp-crosspin device that goes into the angled slot to hold the other end of this actuator... whenever time permits. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on November 13, 2019, 10:53:58 am
Glad to see you are back at it Laythe.  I was gonna bump this thread this week if you didn't, so thanks for saving me the trouble ;)  I wanna see this thing finished!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on November 13, 2019, 10:59:45 am
Arroyo only has until December 14th to live.

I don't think it will be done by then.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 13, 2019, 10:00:32 pm
No chance.

(Sorry, Arroyo.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on November 14, 2019, 10:26:02 am
I have been trying for an hour to get my OLD iPac 2 (PS/2 version) to talk to my Raspberry Pi and figure out how to wire my control panel and then I casually open this thread and now want to jump out a window.  Very nice progress Laythe - I love the instruction cards for each game.  Anything to cut down on questions from guests is a great idea.

This is the coolest project probably ever - so many skills on display here.  It's awesome.   :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on November 14, 2019, 11:26:39 am
Quote
This is the coolest project probably ever - so many skills on display here.  It's awesome.   :notworthy:

Come on now. What about that cab made out of scrap wood and roofing nails?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on November 15, 2019, 10:06:45 am
Looking nice. I'm guessing the apps you're running probably won't run in Linux, but that's one way to escape Windows.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on November 15, 2019, 11:05:07 am
Quote
This is the coolest project probably ever - so many skills on display here.  It's awesome.   :notworthy:

Come on now. What about that cab made out of scrap wood and roofing nails?

 :laugh2: 

That one was awesome too... but for slightly different reasons.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on November 30, 2019, 02:50:43 pm
As you all by this point know, the core of this design is the notion that the pinball table screen is mechanically actuated to rotate through 90' to be the windshield for cockpit type games.

I've got the axle and the TV mount built, and I'm now working down the long long road of having this actuation work. 

The playfield rotation is done by a high speed electric linear actuator pushing or pulling on a long 1/4" spring rod on the TV mount, which accounts for the upper moving ram end of the actuator.  The lower end of the actuator needs to be anchored into what is the left-hand wall of the pinball cabinet / the back wall of the cockpit.   This needs to be on an axle, since it rotates on an arc, which is parallel with the 3'-by-3' skewed TV axle.  Additionally, I know already that it will drive my OCD crazy if the pinball table isn't level, left-to-right, so I want this lower mounting axle to be micro-adjustable vertically to get that position perfect.

The goal is a sliding clamp that bears that mounting axle.

I found a chunk of aluminum in my metal stock that was 0.750" thick, which is a bit thicker than the 0.720" I measure off plywood.  It had a few threaded holes in it, which you can ignore - none of them are important to this.

I sawed a bit off it, twice as long as my finished clamp is to be high.  Here it is fresh off the bandsaw, clamped in the mill.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380361;image)

Then I used the mill to cut down until I got rid of all the saw marks, because these faces will be sliding against plywood and should therefore be smooth.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380362;image)

Next, I milled both sides of this block, to give it a little bit of a T shape, leaving flanges on both sides.  The flanges stay 0.750, aka "thicker than plywood" - and the sides come down to about .710, aka "thinner than plywood". 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380363;image)

Lastly, I cut this profiled bar in half, because I need two cores, one for each side of the slot.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380364;image)

Since they were machined together, I know they have the same profile as one another. 

Next, I started making the side plates.

I used one big chunk of 1/4" aluminum plate to start, and milled two channels into it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380365;image)

This produces a piece like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380366;image)

This big sheet contains all four of my side plates - I cut this plate into quarters on the bandsaw to liberate them from one another.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380367;image)

(Step right up!  Pick a sideplate, any sideplate!)

This completes the rough "build a clamp anchor" kit - 2 cores, 4 sideplates, and 4 1/4-20 clamping screws long enough to reach through the stack with nuts.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380368;image)

From this point, it's a lot of layout and drilling. 

I want two screws per clamp, high and low, but the axle should ride lower than the bottom screw.  I want the screws to provide the best leverage possible as clamps, so they go right along the outside edges of the cores.  The holes in the cores should be snug, but the holes in the plates should be a little oversized to let them tilt freely.

I drilled all my holes, screwed each clamp assembly tightly together over a plywood scrap as a spacer, and then grabbed it in the mill vice tilted at the 3' face angle I want...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380369;image)

Then milled the sideplates and the core together, to make sure they are flush and precisely crooked in the way most everything surrounding the playfield must be. 

For everyone puzzled thus far, this shot should explain how the clamps work - this is the final profile:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380370;image)

The [ shaped sideplates each bridge the T-flange on their side of the core across to the plywood on the far side, as the screw clamps the center together.  The idea is that I can loosen the clamps, slide the whole assembly up and down to -precisely- level the pinball playfield, and then tighten the four screws and grab the heck out of the plywood to nail the actuator's axle in place anywhere along the slot in the back wall that I need it to fall for the geometry to work.

The faces of the clamps are crooked, because the axle that joins them needs to match the 3' offset of the TV axle above so nothing binds.  Also, the actuator body itself needs to fit between these faces, and I didn't leave any more width here than I needed to.

Here's the clamps face to face, in the orientation they'll eventually live in:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380371;image)

I drilled and tapped the angled faces crooked, tapped one side hole, threaded one end of a stainless axle, and assembled it with the actuator so that you can see the goal of all this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380372;image)

This is the lowest position the actuator could be in, it almost hits the bottom of the plywood slot.  You can slide this clamp up from here and bolt it down anywhere along the slot.  The actuator body just fits between the clamps.  The axle is crooked 3', closer to us on the left, further from us on the right, but level in the slot.  The slot itself is crooked 3' in the plywood, counterclockwise from what would be "true" in this view.  Those two angles form the same compound 3' x 3' that the TV axle is on, so the actuator should run nicely perpendicular between parallel axles - this one on the back wall, and the other being that rod you've seen on the TV tray mount.

I slipped a spare piece of the 1/4" upper op rod through the actuator, to help illustrate.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=380373;image)

There's the actuator with all my custom hardware on both ends.

From here I still need to mount the back wall (removably) into the machine, and build the counterweight arm for the playfield TV, but after those two big projects are done, it'll be time to test motorized transformation and that will hopefully be fun.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on December 01, 2019, 02:28:45 am
And "Then" it will be fun? (Jennifer laughs)... That is some ugly physics, and you almost lost me, But after the dust settled , Omg for delicious  :applaud:.. I sold my Miller awhile back and really miss it and get a little jealous. (Wink).
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on December 01, 2019, 07:29:36 am
Thanks for all the pics - I know how much work it is to put a post together like that.
Once its all done - will you screw the clamps through the plywood?  I would think the plywood would compress over time and they may become loose.
and once again.. drool..  I would love to add machine tools to my shop.. but I'd need a bigger shop :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on December 01, 2019, 08:08:30 am
Glad to see more progress. Nice work. :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on December 01, 2019, 09:18:43 am
Your garage would be my playground.  Wife would have to rip me out of it for dinner. 

That’s some cool stuff Laythe. I  want a running count of how many custom metal parts you’ve made for this project!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on December 01, 2019, 11:34:10 am
Looking good Laythe!  All that metal work is really cool.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on December 01, 2019, 03:23:57 pm
Once its all done - will you screw the clamps through the plywood?  I would think the plywood would compress over time and they may become loose.

Hah, yes.  Good thinking, there's room in the flanges for that.  I think they have more tightening throw than plywood has available compression - but one screw per side would nail them in place once I've got them tuned in to exactly the right place.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: gingecko on December 02, 2019, 01:05:41 pm
I-m-p-r-e-s-s-i-v-e! Pretty fascinating to watch the work you're putting into this.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 09, 2020, 12:16:19 am
I found a little time to make a little progress.

This will be about the seat, and moving towards getting it mounted up rather than propped in place. 

Since Shapeshifter is a home use thing, I prefer the seat be padded and upholstered rather than the traditional driving cab hard plastic shell to withstand the general public.  I also wanted something low-backed, to let it nest lower beneath the pinball table mode. 4x4 offroad seats seemed to fit the bill, and I wound up buying an aftermarket seat for a Jeep. 

The interface for mounting it, on the underside, looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381667;image)

It's drilled and tapped for 8x M8 bolts, but one of them is half-covered by the upholstery - nice job guys.  :/  For my purposes seven bolts is probably enough.

At first, I was going to bolt this straight to a 3/4" sheet of plywood, but I noticed that the way the upholstery wraps around the seat, if I did that, the vinyl would actually be taking the load pinched in compression instead of the steel frame.  That seems suboptimal.

I dug around my shop and came up with a 3/4" block of UHMW polyethylene, and decided to make some spacer corner pads to fix that problem.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381668;image)

UHMWPE is interesting stuff, translucent like wax, almost as slippery as teflon, and tougher than nylon.  I figured it'd make a good load-bearing spacer.

I can cut it on my bandsaw...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381669;image)

But it does make a bit of a mess.  It tends to pack into the teeth of the saw.  It's easy to clean the blade, it brushes off, but I had to stop and clean about twice per piece.  I cleaned the rough cut pieces up on my belt sander.  It is possible to sand the stuff, though it sands away slower than high carbon steel does, and there's a balance of ideal pressure to keep it from going fuzzy on the corners. 

I wound up making four pads fitted to the shapes of the straps that are exposed by the shape of the upholstery.  Here they are sitting in place.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381670;image)

I made up some quick paper templates to transfer the hole locations.  UHMWPE drills great.  One of these holes is pretty close to the edge, but the stuff is so tough I'm not at all worried about that.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381671;image)

So, now I'm ready to start fabricating the seat box to mount up to this.  Here's 7x M8 bolts in it to prove all the holes line up so far.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381672;image)


I'm thinking I'm at the stage of the project where I'm going to quit further complicating it, and focus on just getting the remaining fabrication done and sorted.  Design-wise, I think I'm going to abandon the idea of powering the chair as a third actuator, because I can't come up with an elegant way to do it that doesn't involve some sort of tab on the floor or tripping hazard extended into the room or irritating thing intruding under your heels below the pedals when it's in driving mode.

My current thought on the chair box is to put it on wheels to be pushed by the control panel shelf.  If the wheels are lightly sprung, then when nobody is in the chair and it's only got the weight of the chair itself, it's on wheels and can slide on carpet, and when you sit on it, your weight overcomes the springs and it digs into the carpet on some traction devices - rubber strips, or possibly even some little toothed spikes.  When it transforms from pinball to cockpit, the control panel pushes the chair on the wheels out from under the TV while the control panel deploys, the TV swings around, and you pull the chair out to your desired leg-to-pedal comfort distance, sit down, good to go.  When it transforms back, it leaves the seat where it was, it's up to the human to push the chair back in.  That seems like a reasonable compromise to retaining the wiz-bang automated conversion, allowing adjustable seat-to-control distance, and having nothing awkwardly in the way on the floor in any mode.

Still to do:  Build the seat box that carries those wheels, build the connector between the pedal frame and the back wall, completion and integration of the back wall and mid shelf, constructing the counterweight arms.  Prime and paint the seat box, connector, back wall, midshelf.  Tear the whole machine down at least once more, to extend the axle slightly and add some spacer washers to the control panel slide to resolve a little binding there.  When I reassemble it from there, I think I'll be reassembling it in its final home, to avoid having to move it later.  At that point I can play about with actuators to confirm everything moves correctly and that automated transform works, or tinker on it reducing friction until it does.

Thousand miles to go, but it and I ain't dead.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on March 11, 2020, 06:09:46 pm
Glad to see you back at it Laythe.  I was worried you’d run out of steam on this thing.  Keep going, I wanna see this thing finished!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on March 11, 2020, 07:29:18 pm
Wow-

I just found this thread. Stoked to see you building this.
Ergonomics and controls are everything in the design phase and blending all of this like you have is outstanding.

And I thought my workshop was cool.  Yours makes me feel like my 10 year old set mine up.

The player's weight pinning the seat down is a great simple solution.
Which may still yet evolve, won't it?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on March 12, 2020, 07:49:34 am
I am glad to see you are still plugging away. This is a big project.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 23, 2020, 12:59:10 am
Thanks, Mike A, bobbyb13 and Arroyo!

The player's weight pinning the seat down is a great simple solution.
Which may still yet evolve, won't it?

Yep, very possible, a lot of evolution is still going on in these parts.  I've got some aggressive traction rubber mat that I may use on the bottom rails as feet... but I may not have to.

Previously, on Shapeshifter:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381672;image)

I had made these nice 3/4" thick UHMW spacers to give the vinyl under the car seat plenty of room not to get pinched.  I taped together the parts for the 3/4" plywood base to go under the chair, and discovered...  the chair is a little too high for good knee room clearance, and also interferes just slightly with the keyboard tray off to the left under the VR buttons.

Interferes by about... 3/4".  Everything would be better 3/4" lower.   :banghead:

I can't shorten the skirts on the sides, because they just allow the chair to slide over the driving pedal frame when it's all nested together in pinball mode.  The interior space is right near the hard limit - any shorter, and it won't clear over the top. 

I thought of just skipping the spacers after all, but man, that might mean the vinyl would eventually chafe through, pinched between the steel frame and the plywood deck and fretting against it every time the seat cushions move...

Back to the drawing board.  Time for the spacers to lose some height.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381895;image)

Into the mill they go.

UHMW cuts pretty well, the bulk of the cut material comes off like snow, but sometimes the bottom of the cut comes off in a clear film almost like saran wrap or something - I think that may be due to local melting.  Still, makes a nice finish and cuts fast...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381896;image)

... though it makes a kind of impressive mess. 

Easy to clean up, though, that snow is very light, almost like styrofoam.  The shop vac picks it up with a vengeance. 

Here's the four spacers, knocked down from .750" to about .200" -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381897;image)

Then, I remade the top deck of the chair base in 3/8" plywood instead of 3/4" plywood.  The resulting stack is much slimmer:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381898;image)

That buys me back a touch over the 3/4" I needed to drop the chair by, without encroaching onto the space the pedals need to fit in.  3/8" plywood is about as thin as I am comfortable going in this spot, but given the chair bolts are close to the outer web, I trust it. 

Time to build the rest of the base. 

I took a 2x2 and ran it through the bandsaw diagonally to make some triangular stock for corner braces.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381899;image)

Here's the kit - 3/4" plywood to make the side and back walls.  (No front wall, because it's got to plug in over the pedals when you push it in.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381900;image)

Wood glue clamped and reinforced by 6x 3" woodscrews per side wall, plus 3x more connecting the walls to each other, and 10x 1.5" screws yanking the triangular braces in on both sides, and we get the basic chair base structure:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381901;image)

I bolted the seat up to it to test it out.  Nice and stable, no side to side flex.  Boxed up, the 3/8" plywood is PLENTY strong enough.  If you get stupidly aggressive on the brake pedal to the tune of 2-3x the maximum control force, you CAN tilt yourself back a little on the carpet.  The chair doesn't slide even under that, it tips first.  That's reasonable enough; just don't do that. 

The height is better, too.  Knee room clearance is good. 

Here it is, in the room it will all eventually live in.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=381902;image)

This is going to need a -ton- of bodywork, of course.  Lots of sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, and polishing in my future.  I'm thinking this may end up the dark grey color you can see behind it on Mimic (http://http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,149109.msg1555074.html#msg1555074), which is the same as the driving console and dashboard center, and darker than the black seat vinyl.  That, or black. 

I'm trying to get all the fabrication done, so that my next batch of filling/sanding/priming/painting bodywork can be the last batch; I go through too many foam brushes and rollers doing it piecemeal.  That goal would mean I'd need the back wall (done), the cross shelf (done), the pedal backframe (almost done), and the pinball table side skirts (not yet started) to all be ready.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on March 23, 2020, 11:12:52 am
Really cool stuff.  Your dedication is admirable too - that's a lot of work for 3/4"!  Will anything go inside of the space below the chair?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on March 23, 2020, 11:22:16 am
Farts. Lots and lots of farts.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: PL1 on March 23, 2020, 01:55:14 pm
I'll look forward to drinking beer and drilling farts into it if you build one.

:lol


Scott
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 23, 2020, 05:15:01 pm
Really cool stuff.  Your dedication is admirable too - that's a lot of work for 3/4"!  Will anything go inside of the space below the chair?

Thanks! 

When it's all nested together in pinball table mode, the chair tucks in under the pinball table, and the pedals from the cockpit side (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=374259;image) go into that space below the chair.  So, yes:  Pedals.

Farts. Lots and lots of farts.

Also possibly this. 

The automotive vinyl is not very porous, it would require thunderous delivery... which I am neither prepared to rule out or issue as a challenge.   :lol
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on March 24, 2020, 05:10:01 am
Not sure where you live, but apparently you need to be careful who you invite over to help you break this creation in
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 29, 2020, 10:22:10 pm
As of the current design, the chair base I made in the posts above is going to run on wheels on carpet.  The wheels will be spring loaded, lifting the skirts of the seat base just above the top of the carpet so it rolls, but lightly sprung such that he weight of a person sitting in the chair drops the skirts to the ground and those then take most of the weight so it becomes stable.  (Kind of like those rolling stepstools you used to see in libraries.)

I'm going to use the rear axle as one of the springs.  It is 8mm diameter surface hardened stainless shaft.  I figure it deflecting about half an inch over a foot of run shouldn't make it take a permanent set, and feels like it's about the right stiffness as a spring to do what I want. 

I need a strong mount that attaches this axle to the center of the rear wall, offset by slightly more than the radius of the wheels, because the wheels are going to run inside the box and I want them not to quite hit the rear wall.  The wheels I liked best of about the right size turned out to be replacement wheels intended for those kick scooters - $9 with all bearings per pair of wheels, and they look nice. 

I rummaged around my shop and found a block of aluminum.  Laid out the shape of the mount I have in mind on it with a pencil, and grabbed it in the mill.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382002;image)

The milling machine makes a really rigid drill press.  The working space is tight, so I still use my drill press most of the time - but if you have a small part you want *precise*, this is a good way to do it.  I wanted this axle hole to be VERY perpendicular to the faces, so that an almost two foot axle would have the right gaps between the wheels and the back skirt wall way out on the ends.  With the big face of the block flat on the machining vise, and the mill trammed and square, this hole should be dead on.

I drilled it out, and did a test assembly on my work table.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382003;image)

Aaaand it's wrong.  One of the wheels rubs on the table.

 :angry:

The hole is square to the face, alright.  But the bottom edge of the block wasn't actually square, and that makes the block lean.  If I squared the bottom of the block, it'd be squared to the low side, and it'd be too short.  I could make a spacer to shim it out, but... I'm all of five minutes into this part, let's start over.

Back to the drawing board.  Dykem layout fluid, scribe some lines, rotate the part 90' and give myself more room to square up the block later....

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382004;image)

Tweaked the design a little to just miss that first hole, drilled the new axle hole, and life is good, this will work.

The clearance above the axle will be tight to fit under the brake pedal, so the bulk of the clamp is toward the bottom.  Two screws in the front (left edge) will bridge across the slit cut and squeeze the gap shut against the axle, which should make it lock up tight.  Flange on the right, for screwing it to the plywood of the back wall.

To my beloved little bandsaw it goes, to rough it out:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382005;image)

You might think 1.25" thick aluminum billet would be hard to saw.  Sure, with a hacksaw it would be.  But not with this.

I roughed it out with a little gap to the line, because I plan to mill it for fancy appearance.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382006;image)

Milled to contour, and with the front holes drilled, it does indeed look kind of fancy. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382007;image)

These holes in the front are 2" deep, and tapped 10/24 on the far side of the clamping slot.

I couldn't reach deep enough to tap the bottom of the hole, though, reaching through the front of the clamp to do it.  So, I was forced to shorten the cap screws a little bit; they still have a good inch and a half of aluminum threads, so they'll hold fine. 

Shortening screws on the knife grinder is just fun.   

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382008;image)

Best done in short bursts with a water dip between so you don't screw up the heat treatment, but still, it's a sparkler.  It sparks joy, okay? 


Here's the complete rear axle assembly sitting on a table. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382009;image)


When attached to the back wall of the plywood box through to-be-drilled holes in the flange, this will hold the axle and take in side load the weight of the human sitting in it, as the axle bows up, until the skirts hit the ground.  Takes maybe 30lb to do that, I think. 
 
The front wheels can't work this way, though, because they need to straddle the pedal frame.  They are next.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on March 29, 2020, 10:56:55 pm
Damn dude.  Hella jealous of the metal working skills.  Couldn’t dream that up let alone build it.  Nice work as always.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 30, 2020, 12:00:58 am
Heh, thanks Arroyo.  This hobby is good for stretching your capabilities.  I'm impressed as heck at what you've been doing with The Grid, your precision is sharp and tidy and I wouldn't have come up with those illuminated panels or been comfortable setting up the addressable LED strips.  :applaud:


On with the suspension. 

The rear axle will mount in the box like so:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382010;image)

By design, the axle extends into the plywood a little.  There are slots cut on both sides the size of the nose of the axle.  The washer on the end can't fit off the end of the axle, even when the axle flexes, and the wheels run against the washers, so that keeps them on in that direction.  I'll be making some keeper tubes that slide over the axle to push the wheels out into those washers, but those aren't done yet. 

In loose parts and scrap, I had some links from a scissor linkage.  They are mild steel, have threaded 8mm holes in them, and are about the right dimensions, though they are a bit long.

Decided to use them as a starting point.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382011;image)

First, drilled one hole in each of them out to be a very careful slip fit on the rear axle, using the mill again to make sure it's very precisely perpendicular.  This is critical because this hole-axle fit is the main thing keeping the arms pointed forward, if it were loose they could wobble out of alignment. 

Then, shortened up the arms on the bandsaw just behind that hole, matching the shape of the other end. 

The front wheels attach via shouldered 8mm bolts into the front threaded holes, as stub axles.  Assembling all of that produces a rolling cart of sorts.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382012;image)

javeryh had asked if anything goes in the box under the seat - the answer is, all of this.  These pedals are gas/brake/clutch in a car, or left rudder/blank/right rudder in a flight sim, and behind them is a project box that will contain the power supplies and relays for driving the big actuators.  The wheelbase of the chair rolls in around all of it, and the box of the chair base just fits over all of it.

Speaking of close fits, to nest everything together I really need the axle further in than the edge of the pedals, so it slips under.  This drove the weird shape of the axle mount above.  Have a look at the vertical clearance between the bottom of the brake pedal and the top of the mount, when it's pushed in as far as I'd like it to go:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382018;image)

Laying that whole wheelbase/cart thing into the seat box, it looks like this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382013;image)

I decided around here to flip the order - run the front suspension arms closer to the walls, and flip the wheels to the other side.  This design is still being evolved as I build it, as bobbyb13 noticed.  If I flip them that way, then the heads of the bolts are on the inside and I won't have to make matching slots in the plywood walls for the front stub axles.  This is good, because the back slots are a straight line, the front slots are a series of arcs around whatever height the back axle is flexed to... so the slot shape would have to be wide and complicated.

As of here, the front arms are floppy.  They need springs.  So, to the lathe to build spring hangers!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382014;image)

The chamfered spud on the front of these snaps into a short coil spring, if you wind the spring backward to make it expand.  Once it snaps in, it stays put very well.  I milled flats on opposite sides of them - one for the bolthead, one for the suspension arm - then drilled them to take an 8mm bolt, which threads into the next hole back in those scissor links. 

Shortened all the 8mm bolts down, and here's the setup on the floor:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382015;image)

The chair box will sit on the springs on the front, and on the axle mount in the back.  I think I've seen shifter karts with less complicated suspensions.   :lol

Flip it over, put it in the box...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382016;image)

Now I can see where the springs fall.  Those springs need shock towers to catch the other end of the spring.

Sliced up a 2x4, used a forstner bit to make a spring seat in the wood, cut them to fit, knocked some chamfers in them to be fancy, and set the height to where the spring would give me the roughly half inch of exposed wheel I want to see when it's not under load, and here it is - this is the idea of all the suspension, complete: 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382017;image)

It works, though it needs some adjustments here and there.  I'm going to make some C-shaped keepers to mount to the walls between the shock towers and the front wheels to limit the amount those arms can swing in, in case the holes between the arms and the axle tend to hog out over time.  I also need to relocate the rear axle hanger closer to the top edge - right now it all works perfectly on concrete, but with the nap of the carpet standing up, it rubs on the rear skirt under the weight of the box and seat more than I wanted. 

I think, other than adjustments, the suspension is basically done. 

I'm planning to put some rubber traction mat material along the edge to get a little more friction on the skirt bottom, just to be sure the chair doesn't slide on the carpet under aggressive pedal action. 

But next up, is...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382019;image)

more...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382020;image)

bodywork...
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on March 30, 2020, 07:49:46 am
Great update   :applaud: :applaud:  Thanks
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: zestyphresh on March 30, 2020, 08:09:37 am
That is some awesome engineering there.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 04, 2020, 03:16:20 am
Bodywork.

Took the chair base pedestal outside, and sat in my driveway sanding up a storm.  Went from this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382136;image)

down to this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382137;image)

As you can see from all the circles of fill, this box has quite a few screws in it.  (38, to be exact.)

Unfortunately, at this point sanding I ran out of daylight, so I had to bring it into the shop, and alternate between hand sanding and vacuuming up the mess.

The filler on the inside leaves me some nice interior fillets that I think will make the subsequent painting nicer and easier.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382138;image)

Looks kind of cool, too, like wireframe graphics.

However, I rarely manage the whole fill in one pass successfully.  I ended up with some not-unexpected subsidence around the sunken screw heads on the outside.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382139;image)

That's nothing that another pass of filler won't fix, though...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382140;image)


I'm bidding three passes of filler, that's about par for me on this thing so far.

The sequence of finishing this piece is going to be weird, though.  I want to minimize how many times I install and remove the four screws holding the rear axle bracket to the back wall - and for maximum strength I want to use overlength screws, cut them off, and dress them down flush on the outside like I did with the backbox monitor hanging straps.  But, the axle can't be installed into the bracket after the bracket is installed, because of how it runs captive in the slots in the side walls.  And I don't exactly want to try to prime and paint the inside around the wheels and suspension.  So... I think the sequence for finishing this part has to be:

Mark and predrill the new correct positions for the four bracket mounting screws.
Prime the whole pedestal.
Sand.
Paint the inside black, with as much sanding and repeating as seems appropriate for hidden interior surfaces.
Install the suspension, with overlength screws that penetrate the back wall completely.
Cut off the excess screws, grind them a little below flush with a cutoff wheel
Do all the filler/sanding bodywork necessary to fix that screw grinding damage to the outside back wall
Prime the outside back wall over that bodywork
Sand.
Paint the outside... with a lot of sanding and painting and sanding and polishing, because this is part of the main exterior, and should therefore be nice enough for Ond not to shake his head disapprovingly at me if he ever sees it.   :)
Attach the rubber traction strips to the bottom edge.
Bolt up the seat.
"Test the software" some more.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: LTC on April 04, 2020, 08:00:09 pm
Looking good. You are almost to the finish line.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 05, 2020, 03:19:28 am
That is some awesome engineering there.

Looking good. You are almost to the finish line.

Thanks, zestyphresh and LTC!

Regarding the finish line, I disagree.  There are still parts of this thing that haven't even been started yet.  I'm almost to the final few dozen laps, maybe.  (grin)  But that's okay.

I mean, all the steps up there were for finishing the seat base.  Then there's a bunch of work to be done on the playfield counterweight arms, the back wall, the pedal floor, the power distribution/relay box, the midshelf... the TV tray isn't quite finished, there's a complete teardown necessary for some work that can't be done with it assembled before I can build Mockup v4.0 out of it...  I'm spitballing that this has got something like 4-6 months left, I think.

LTC's gonna beat me to a finished vpin by a landslide.  A good looking one, too - I'm enjoying watching that thread and seeing it come together.   :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 12, 2020, 09:38:52 pm
The march of progress continues. 

I'll compress a lot of boring hours here.  Primed the seat base over two sanded coats of filler.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382290;image)

Wasn't flat enough, once it was all one color and I could see the contour better.  So I put a third coat of filler on top of the primer and sanded that.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382291;image)

I've only got a little of the grey paint left, so I decided to do all the bodywork in black paint as a base to conserve grey for the final top coat. 

Painted it all black.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382292;image)

Wasn't flat enough, once it was all shiny and I could see the contour better.  So I sanded through that.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382293;image)

Then, it was flat enough!

So I painted it, the same grey as the center of the shifter console, the closest arc of the control panel, the pedal frame, and the majority of Mimic, which it will eventually sit next to.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382294;image)

No need to waste grey paint on the top center, as the seat covers that beyond the outside most inch border.

Here it is, in situ in Shapeshifter:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382295;image)

And with the seat mounted and everything stowed as a pinball machine:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382296;image)

In retrospect, it would not have been bad for the seat pedestal to have been done black like the sides of the console, but I think this grey will be slightly less obtrusive when it's sitting on a mid-tone carpet and help make the pinball mode look a little more like it's floating in the middle as a pinball cabinet would, instead of all becoming a big black mass down to the floor.

The seat rolls out nice on the bearings and wheels, my weight on it nails it to the ground and it doesn't move while running the pedals, so that all works.  Here's the transformation, still done by hand on Mockup v3.0:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382297;image)

This also shows my new approach of using the backbox monitor as a marquee when it's a cockpit game.  Not perfect, but, better than leaving it black and fun for bystanders at least. 



Next up:  The floor in front of the pedals, which shall contain a steel box full of power supplies and relays... and work on the pinball toys.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: LTC on April 12, 2020, 09:54:47 pm
Looking good. Keep it up  :notworthy:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on April 13, 2020, 10:21:45 am
Looks awesome.  You should just auto rotate the backbox 45 degrees so that the marquee is more visible to the player.... I kid, I kid.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 14, 2020, 02:22:29 pm
Haha, thanks. 

The LCD panel doing the DMD that runs through the neck of the backboard could certainly be twisted 45'... once...   :D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 15, 2020, 04:44:19 am
More progress.

On the virtual pinball cabinet side, I knew I wanted flipper contactors at a minimum - getting to play with Malenko's Gingerballs in person at Zapcon (wow that sounds wrong) convinced me that detail is worth the effort.  I didn't want to wire them straight to the buttons, because sometimes the buttons aren't live - I want them to fire when the flippers do, not whenever the buttons are pushed.  That means more software setup.

So, I messed around for a while and I got DOF working.  Now I can control various toys in sync with the tables. 
 
There's a standard way that most people do a bar of 5 flashers on a vpin - 3 watt RGB LEDs in pinball flasher housings.  The result is very bright, and that's what a lot of people want.  As this build has repeatedly shown, I prefer to do things my own way.  I didn't want something that aggressive - I wanted something a little more subtle and gentle, to add to the overall pinball table effect without leaving afterimages.

I found some C-channel aluminum extrusion that comes with a snap-in diffuser, 20mm wide x 10mm tall, originally intended for fitting LED strip tape into.  I also found some RGB LED modules wired in a string that would actually fit inside, 17mm wide x 6mm tall.  Digging around, I came up with some small chunks of additional diffuser material that came out of small LCD backlights that's only about 3mm thick, which will fit over the top of the modules under the diffuser cap strip.

I clipped off five LED modules off the end of the string.  Here's the raw materials.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382374;image)

First up, these LED modules as wired aren't individually controllable, you get one color for the whole string.  So, snip the switching ground leads between each module and run my own RGB switching ground lines to each module...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382375;image)

Then, splice it up.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382376;image)

Here's an early shot of testing the wire lengths and making sure the new extra wires could be routed around the sides of the modules.  It's tight, but it works.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382377;image)

I also sliced that supplemental diffuser material into strips the width of the channel, and stacked a long piece of it centered over each module. 

Time to test out the wiring.  Through two layers of diffuser it was still on the very bright side in my opinion, and I wasn't crazy about the white color when it's off, so I cut a chunk of 50% black window tint film and put that over it, which got the brightness right where I wanted and makes it a nice almost black when turned off.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382378;image)

You can see what it looks like without the window tint over at the left edge.



That looks like a winner to me, so I clipped it all down to eactly the width of my backbox.  I have a backglass monitor and a DMD monitor pressed close together, but they still have about an inch of deadspace between the screens.  My plan is to mount this flasher bar in that gap.  I drilled a wire run hole down at the bottom edge of the back, then tacked all the modules down in their carefully measured centered equidistant positions and routed the wires.  Since I'm bisecting the two backbox monitors, I can mount this fairly thin (10mm) package on the face of the bezels, and sneak the wires out in the gap where the DMD panel is much narrower than the backglass panel. 

I haven't mounted it up yet, but I did fake up a working mockup on the machine - here's the final effect, or, as close to how it really looks as I could manage to photograph. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382379;image)

The flashers are still clearly three dots each, but they're kind of neat looking soft blended spheres.  Bright enough to be very present in your peripheral vision while you play, it adds to the activity of the backbox nicely but without punching you right in the freaking eyeballs.  It also nicely occupies the dead space gap between the screens.  (The window tint film is just draped over it here, so there's a bright corner at the left bottom and a gap at the right edge that'll be fixed when I really mount this up, sorry about that.)

When it's not lit up, it blends in pretty well as just a roughly T-molding sized raised black divider between the backglass and DMD areas.  It's unconventional, but, I dig it.

I'm going to play with adding an indirect flash of white LEDs for the strobes. I want to bounce it off the white wall behind the machine.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: yotsuya on April 15, 2020, 12:29:38 pm
More progress.

On the virtual pinball cabinet side, I knew I wanted flipper contactors at a minimum - getting to play with Malenko's Gingerballs in person at Zapcon (wow that sounds wrong) convinced me that detail is worth the effort.  I didn't want to wire them straight to the buttons, because sometimes the buttons aren't live - I want them to fire when the flippers do, not whenever the buttons are pushed.  That means more software setup.

So, I messed around for a while and I got DOF working.  Now I can control various toys in sync with the tables. 
 
There's a standard way that most people do a bar of 5 flashers on a vpin - 3 watt RGB LEDs in pinball flasher housings.  The result is very bright, and that's what a lot of people want.  As this build has repeatedly shown, I prefer to do things my own way.  I didn't want something that aggressive - I wanted something a little more subtle and gentle, to add to the overall pinball table effect without leaving afterimages.

I found some C-channel aluminum extrusion that comes with a snap-in diffuser, 20mm wide x 10mm tall, originally intended for fitting LED strip tape into.  I also found some RGB LED modules wired in a string that would actually fit inside, 17mm wide x 6mm tall.  Digging around, I came up with some small chunks of additional diffuser material that came out of small LCD backlights that's only about 3mm thick, which will fit over the top of the modules under the diffuser cap strip.

I clipped off five LED modules off the end of the string.  Here's the raw materials.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382374;image)

First up, these LED modules as wired aren't individually controllable, you get one color for the whole string.  So, snip the switching ground leads between each module and run my own RGB switching ground lines to each module...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382375;image)

Then, splice it up.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382376;image)

Here's an early shot of testing the wire lengths and making sure the new extra wires could be routed around the sides of the modules.  It's tight, but it works.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382377;image)

I also sliced that supplemental diffuser material into strips the width of the channel, and stacked a long piece of it centered over each module. 

Time to test out the wiring.  Through two layers of diffuser it was still on the very bright side in my opinion, and I wasn't crazy about the white color when it's off, so I cut a chunk of 50% black window tint film and put that over it, which got the brightness right where I wanted and makes it a nice almost black when turned off.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382378;image)

You can see what it looks like without the window tint over at the left edge.



That looks like a winner to me, so I clipped it all down to eactly the width of my backbox.  I have a backglass monitor and a DMD monitor pressed close together, but they still have about an inch of deadspace between the screens.  My plan is to mount this flasher bar in that gap.  I drilled a wire run hole down at the bottom edge of the back, then tacked all the modules down in their carefully measured centered equidistant positions and routed the wires.  Since I'm bisecting the two backbox monitors, I can mount this fairly thin (10mm) package on the face of the bezels, and sneak the wires out in the gap where the DMD panel is much narrower than the backglass panel. 

I haven't mounted it up yet, but I did fake up a working mockup on the machine - here's the final effect, or, as close to how it really looks as I could manage to photograph. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382379;image)

The flashers are still clearly three dots each, but they're kind of neat looking soft blended spheres.  Bright enough to be very present in your peripheral vision while you play, it adds to the activity of the backbox nicely but without punching you right in the freaking eyeballs.  It also nicely occupies the dead space gap between the screens.  (The window tint film is just draped over it here, so there's a bright corner at the left bottom and a gap at the right edge that'll be fixed when I really mount this up, sorry about that.)

When it's not lit up, it blends in pretty well as just a roughly T-molding sized raised black divider between the backglass and DMD areas.  It's unconventional, but, I dig it.

I'm going to play with adding an indirect flash of white LEDs for the strobes. I want to bounce it off the white wall behind the machine.
I love what you did there with the LEDs. That was pretty smart, making your own individually controlled versions!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on April 15, 2020, 12:32:16 pm
Quote
That was pretty smart

You could apply that quote liberally to this whole build. :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 19, 2020, 11:25:57 pm
Quote
That was pretty smart

You could apply that quote liberally to this whole build. :cheers:

Hehe, thanks!

The next thing I've started work on, in pinball toys, is the "strobe".  I like an indirect bounced effect more than a direct one.  I'm running 8 GGG Novamatrix Linx 1st-gen white LED modules here, for 400ma total to stay comfortably within the 500ma per-channel limit of the LED-Wiz that's driving the pinball toys. 

Six of the modules go on the back of the back wall of the backbox, to bounce off a white wall several feet behind the machine.  There's a doorway back there, so it's possible to be behind the machine while someone is playing.  Since people can be back there, I want the strobe to be somewhat diffused and not a painful point source should you happen to be looking at it while it's going off.

I've got a certain amount of room between the three fans at the top of the backbox (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=149895.0;attach=375917;image) to mount two "strobe" units.  The space between fans is about 4.6" wide x 3.2" high, give or take.  The 3x NovaMatrix Linx package I want to put inside each lens ends up 3.5" wide x 2.2" high or thereabouts.

So I went on the hunt for a cheap prefab rectangular diffusing lens that was between 3.5" and 4.6" wide, and between 2.2" and 3.2" high. 

You know what turns out to be perfect?

The dome light out of a Ford Crown Vic.  Yeah, I'm running cop car dome light covers.   :lol  $6 apiece.

They are 4.2" wide by 2.8" high, so I should hit a nice even 0.2" gap on every side of the available space.

Here's all the parts together.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382424;image)

My lights are going to attach to the lower fan board of my backbox, which is removable, so that they in turn are removable from the machine for easier servicing.  The top fan board is permanently affixed, so they'll bridge over that seam by half their height, but only be attached into the lower.  Shown, two pieces of aluminum to make backer plates for that reason, some lightweight additional diffuser material to pack a layer of behind the lens, the lenses, some representative LED modules, and a chunk of plexiglass in protective paper.

As it turns out, the dome light covers have four L-shaped tabs that snap in to the housing in the original car.  I need to pick those up, and I need a bit more height to fit the LEDs under it, so I'm going to make some plexiglass spacer flanges that the lens covers snap into. 

Here's the layout on the materials.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382425;image)

The plexiglass mostly has the paper covering still intact.  Dykem on aluminum before I scribe out my layout gives me nice contrasting lines.  The rectangle I need -almost- fits on these scrap punchouts, so I'm using them, it'll work out when the bevelled corners happen at the end. 

This plexiglass job is going to be a tricky one.  Not a whole lot left when I'm done, as you can see. 

I drilled a hole near one corner of each block of plexi and laced the blade on the scroll saw through the hole.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382426;image)

The scroll saw blade is quite thin and flexible, so you have to be careful not to sideload it too much or you can knock a curve into your edge. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382427;image)

It runs fast enough to melt the plexiglass a little - it's best to cut forward for about an inch and then back up, which peels the semimolten swarf back out of the cut.  Feels kind of like breaking the chips out of a tap with frequent reversal.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382428;image)

Still, with a bit of care and persistence, it's not too bad to carve the whole piece out, leaving just this thin rectangular ring.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382429;image)

Unhooking the scroll saw blade, you can unlace the part back off it.  Little filing to address the fitment, some dremel work to make reliefs for the L-shaped tabs to snap into, and peel the paper to reveal... a flange.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382430;image)

Then just make another one exactly like it.


Here's the resulting parts so far, with the dome light lens covers snapped into them. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382431;image)

I'm still going to bevel the sharp corners then sand and polish the outside edges down to something presentable.  Once finished, the LED modules will 3M tape on to the aluminum plates, with the wires routed through a hole in the plate; these plexiglass flanges will get the backs roughed up and epoxy onto the aluminum plates, and then whole business will get attached to the lower fan board and the fan board reinstalled into the backbox.  I think it'll look pretty clean, and look somewhat like I'd designed it in all along - which is not the case at all. 

Pinball toy status:

5-flasher LED bar, done and mounted.  Strobes, in progress.  Flipper contactors, acquired and vaguely planned for.  Knocker, candidate acquired, likely.  Bumper solenoids and slingshots, possible, supported but uncommitted at this time.  Shaker, extremely dubious, given everything that goes into this machine to change modes I'm not sure I want it all aggressively agitated.  Physical nudge, right out for that same reason.  If I ever do support nudge it'd be by moving a floating rubber grommet centered lockdown bar with the heels of your hand, I think.  But that's a distant "maybe in version two if I still need to tinker with it after finishing it" kind of thought.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on April 22, 2020, 02:17:35 pm
Brief update, finishing up those back mounted strobes.

The aluminum backing plates/reflectors screw into the lower fan board only, which is removable from the machine - even though they overhang halfway over the upper half. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382490;image)

The plexiglass flanges I made, got polished up and finished; they epoxy onto the aluminum backing plate.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382491;image)

The dome light lenses snap into the flanges, and are still removable from them if I ever need to get in here to service anything in the future.  I doubt I will ever need to - the way these things invariably work, I'd only ever need to be able to access these internals if I had made them inaccessible.

All of this then gets reinstalled, and here's the final result:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382492;image)

Crown Vic dome light lenses fit pretty well into the space I had between fans.  It maybe doesn't entirely look like a bodged-on afterthought, which it completely is.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on April 22, 2020, 02:27:55 pm
Fits perfect!  Nice job dude, keep it up. :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: wp34 on April 22, 2020, 02:40:17 pm
Crown Vic dome light lenses fit pretty well into the space I had between fans.  It maybe doesn't entirely look like a bodged-on afterthought, which it completely is.

Dang that is cool Laythe.   :cheers:

Plus you get bonus points for using a scroll saw.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 05, 2020, 06:38:57 am
Continuing my trend of madly improvising strobe light flashers after the fact into places I did not think to design for initially...

There are two gaps in the floor of the front cabinet, to allow a socket or wrench to access the lower leg bolts.  You can see these gaps, down at the very bottom of this picture (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=377456;image) from almost exactly a year ago.

These gaps turn out to be almost exactly the same length and width as the LED modules I'm using as strobes, completely by accident.

You thinking what I'm thinking?

Yep, down-firing strobes to add more indirect light splash. 


I made some mounting plates that hold one LED module each, and extend several inches beyond them toward the centerline, fished them into place inside the extremely narrow front cabinet, and ran a screw up through the floor into each one.  You can remove the screw and remove the LED if you need the originally intended access to the leg bolts, but now if you lay on your back under the front cabinet and look straight up, you'll see this by each front leg:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382705;image)

(You can also see from this view that there's no floor to the VR button panel... but that might be how it ends up - I mean, who's really going to be looking at the machine from this angle?  This is the same logic that keeps me from feeling any need to diffuse these strobe LEDs.)

The result in a medium lit room can be estimated by comparing these pictures:

Off -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382706;image)

On -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382707;image)

Like the rears, I think this came up pretty slick for being a total retrofit hack job. 

Pardon the big shadow thrown by the temporary clamp holding the scaffolding board that squares up Mockup 3.0 here - that'll be gone soon.


This floor splash of light shows up nicely in your peripheral view while you're playing.  I like it.  Strobes are now complete.


The project is now turning towards the power control box.  This is going to be a steel project box located behind the pedals that contains a whole lot of power supplies, solid state relays, DIN rail and wiring, and is one of the places I'm very glad to collaborate with my father on, to make use of his superior EE chops.  This will support the power demands of the two big linear actuators to transform the machine, and pinball toys like the flipper contactors, slingshot contactors, extra ball knocker, and so on.

Here's the box, sitting on the wooden floor that fits between the rails of the pedal frame.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382708;image)

Marked out on it is a required aperture to be made for an 80mm filtered intake fan.  The exhaust side will go out a duct on the back wall.

I cut the aperture with a hole saw, drilled some other mounting holes, and got the fan mounted in. 

This power control box will interact with the floor and the back wall somewhat like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382709;image)

These brackets will go to thread inserts to make one side removable, as the whole machine comes apart into reasonably sized modules for the sake of rebuilding in the house instead of the shop when it's done.

The air duct exit on the back of the steel box will need a place to vent, preferably beyond the back wall, instead of under the playfield monitor.

I traced out where it lands, drilled holes in the corners, and carefully saber sawed the rectangular hole out between them.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382710;image)

Here's the result, as roughed out by the saber saw...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382711;image)

I got a bit of splinter out on the back side that I'll have to fill later, but since this is plywood, it all takes a lot of fill anyway.  Additionally, that side is going to live like 2" away from a wall when this thing is finished, so nobody but house spiders and possibly the supernatural senses of Ond will be giving it a close look.   :)


I finished up the hole with some files.  Here's how the power box duct looks sticking through it, from the back:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382712;image)

I think this should make for a decent exhaust.

The mid-shelf, the back wall, and this floor will be the next batch to get bodywork and paint, and I think they're the last batch left to go black. 

After that, the side skirts for the table will have to get made, and they will be the last batch to go red, and then... aside from final touch-up, I'd maybe be done with painting?...  What a thought that is. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on May 05, 2020, 04:55:18 pm
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382712;image)

This reminds me of the fancy kimono's that are hung on the wall when visiting the in-laws in Japan  :duck hunt

Looking good Bud, keep chipping away at it!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 05, 2020, 07:33:40 pm


This reminds me of the fancy kimono's that are hung on the wall when visiting the in-laws in Japan  :duckhunt


Hahaha, I can totally see it.

Tell the laundry to cut back on the starch - this thing's stiff as a board.   ;D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: rtkiii on May 06, 2020, 02:13:51 pm
wow...this is amazing!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 11, 2020, 01:15:32 am
wow...this is amazing!

Thanks!  It's a big undertaking, but I'm currently optimistic that it will all work in the end. 

This weekend was about the power control box.  It's been pictured in a few prior updates; it lives on the floor behind the driving pedals, underneath the pushed in chair (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382012;image), in front of the back wall. 

When I first proposed this project, rablack97 voiced a concern that there'd be insufficient volume to accommodate the parts and wiring necessary for a good vpin because of the design.  This box is one of the places those guts live.

First, I had to cut and drill a lot of holes in the steel box.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382768;image)

(Then I had to remove a whole lot of conductive steel shavings and swarf, because that's not something I want floating around in here.)

My dad gets the credit for the creative use of space that follows...

A 12v power supply mounts flat on the lid.  A 24v power supply mounts -edgewise- on the lid.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382769;image)

The 12v will be running the 9 amp (max) table rotating actuator,  the 9 amp (max) control panel sliding actuator, and the intake fan. 

The 24v will be running the flipper contactors, the slingshot contactors, and the bumpers. 


Next I took a PC power cable, cut the insulation off half of it, and threaded it through a heavy duty strain relief panel entry. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382770;image)

This will be the 120v AC in to this box for the various power supplies, and for the big 120v contactor I'll be using as a knocker. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382771;image)

Immediately above and to the left is a fuseholder and fuse; power goes to it first, then everywhere else in the box.  Above and to the left of the fuseholder is the connector we'll be using to run up to the rotating playfield, for sending 24v DC to the flipper and slingshot contactors. 

Many outputs from the LED-Wiz in the back cabinet are wired to a DB25 connector in the front wall of the back cabinet; this box has the matching cable that attaches to that connector.  Then, inside this box, the LED-Wiz driver outputs will be flipping solid state relays.  So, this box gets a whole heap of solid state relays crammed into it.

To help mount those, I fabricated a neat little bracket out of sheet aluminum. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382772;image)

Cut out a rectangle of .060 aluminum, folded it to 90' on my little 12" finger brake, drilled it, and pushed in some pem nut thread inserts.

This thing mounts 6 solid state relays back to back, and acts as a heat spreader for them - here's a test fit of the four on the ends.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382773;image)

That's not enough relays, though, so some get mounted to the walls, too.  Here's the DIN rail, with terminal blocks and three more relays, and four solid state relays mounted to the back and left walls.  On the left wall, an 80mm intake fan, which will blow out through the rectangular duct I showed in my last update out through the back wall.  In the center of the box is the two holes for the aluminum bracket shown above.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382774;image)

When the solid state relay bracket goes into those holes, it all looks like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382775;image)

The tall 24v power supply swings in over the aluminum bracket full of six solid state relays, with about a half inch of clearance, which is half the wind tunnel going from the intake fan out the back of the box.  The flat 12v power supply swings in over the top of the DIN rail, with about 3/4ths of an inch of clearance, forming the other half of that air channel. 

This is most all the mounting that needs to go on to make the power control box mechanically complete.  It is likely to get disassembled again for wiring, of course, because getting into these spaces to wire it would be needlessly tricky. 

As oriented from the pinball player's perspective,  the front wall of the box has the 120v power, fuse, and a connector out to the playfield.  The back wall of the box has the DB25 signal cable to the backbox, and connectors for 1) the control panel stowing actuator, 2) the playfield rotation actuator, 3) the replay knocker, and 4) the various limit switches that will confirm to the PC whether the TV is horizontal or vertical, and whether the control panel is stowed or retracted. 

Next up is probably wiring, and some bodywork on the floor/back wall/midshelf - that's the last batch of parts to be painted black by my count.  I've cut the back wall and midshelf back to what I think - fingers crossed - the actual correct final distance from the front cabinet to the back cabinet should be.  Man I hope I got that dimension right, because it'll be a pain to adjust if I missed.

A great disassembly is coming on the horizon, probably 2-3 more updates from now, which will be a demoralizing thing to power through... but the next version of the assembly is the final assembly in the house, I think.  All work after that happens in situ.  Additionally, that reassembly is the one where it becomes motorized, so that's something to look forward to.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on May 11, 2020, 06:32:56 am
That's some fine work  :applaud:   Very neat.  A please to watch for sure.  Thanks for the post!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on May 12, 2020, 12:25:49 pm
Very cleverly put together Laythe.  Looks very professional. Looking forward to seeing that back piece get mounted and see this thing come together.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on May 12, 2020, 12:34:01 pm
din rails. :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: markc74 on May 12, 2020, 04:14:13 pm
Just wanted to pop in and say how amazing this is turning out. The level of skill and thought going into the individual components is insane.  :applaud:

I'm at the early stages of my vpin build (parts ordered - prototype playable) so it's awesome watching how you're building this.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: rablack97 on May 12, 2020, 09:24:45 pm
Hello Laythe,

I saw you doing some wire splicing, look into these, i started using these and its a huge time saver and a helluva stronger connection when splicing wires.

https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Qibaok-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B083DXC9TP?ref_=s9_apbd_orecs_hd_bw_bKkxsx&pf_rd_r=65N4EGKQS81NSK34Y3C0&pf_rd_p=37eb6949-eebd-5115-b141-3518d8964c41&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=306720011 (https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Qibaok-Waterproof-Electrical-Automotive/dp/B083DXC9TP?ref_=s9_apbd_orecs_hd_bw_bKkxsx&pf_rd_r=65N4EGKQS81NSK34Y3C0&pf_rd_p=37eb6949-eebd-5115-b141-3518d8964c41&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=306720011)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61n%2Bz-KiYVL._SL1200_.jpg)

they have different gauges, try them out man, plus its all done with heat gun so you can splice practically anywhere without have to take everything over to your solder station.  AIO solder and heatshrink, when it cools the plastic shell hardens super strong connection.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 12, 2020, 11:34:00 pm
Hello Laythe,

I saw you doing some wire splicing, look into these...

Oh, nice!  Thanks for the tip, those look slick.  I'll give them a try!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: rablack97 on May 13, 2020, 12:03:24 am
Hello Laythe,

I saw you doing some wire splicing, look into these...

Oh, nice!  Thanks for the tip, those look slick.  I'll give them a try!

Heres a link to individual gauges, this is what i use on my splices today.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J3V7SB3/ (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J3V7SB3/)

Awesome project sir...........
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 18, 2020, 02:31:58 am
Awesome project sir...........

Thanks, man!  It'll still have a few compromises off a full dedicated vpin, no physical nudge for instance, but I am hoping it will still end up worthwhile.  I find it fun to play already, and I don't have any tactile feedback going yet.  But it will.  As Yots says...   SOON. 


Meanwhile, this is a small update on finishing up the look of the backbox.

Previously, you've been able to see some weird stuff around the DMD panel.  If I boost up the gamma on one of the recent shots:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382898;image)

On the left side of the DMD panel, you can see what was the under-monitor speaker grille of the monitor before I rotated it. 

On the right of the DMD panel, you can see a hole all the way through - if the back hatch is installed, it's painted black inside, but that's still been a gaping hole all this time. 

I cut a couple rectangles out of thin plexiglass to just snugly fit under the LED flasher bar, and over the floor, in height.  In width, they go from the outside edge of the backbox to the edge of the bezel of the DMD monitor.  Slapped them up against the speakers and used a sharpie to trace the speaker circles onto them - gotta say, it's sometimes real convenient to be working on clear parts, for cheating at fitment like that.

Used an old RC car body trick and painted the backside of them black, so the whole thickness of plexiglas acts like a clear coat. 

Turned out like so:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382899;image)

With everything off, you can see the window tint material on the LED flasher bar is a slightly blue grey compared to everything else, but in person it's more of a slightly mismatched black. 

This gives the backbox a more finished look.

When it's running, from the player's perspective, they turn out to reflect the pinball table playfield monitor in a kind of cool way:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382900;image)

(You can also see the bluish off-black of the LED flasher bar is less noticeable when anything is on the screens.)

Here's how they look while the LED flashers are running.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382901;image)

The new speaker blanker panels are just a little more reflective than the polished black latex paint on the neck below them.

I think this just about does it for things that will change with the backbox - that section of the machine is, as far as I'm currently aware, now basically complete.


Unfortunately, now it's time for the machine to go back under wraps for a while to protect it from the dust I'm about to make.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382902;image)

Reason being... I've got a heavy coat of filler on the mid shelf, floor and back wall.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382903;image)

and it's going to need a whole lot of sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding and painting to get something decent from a surface that's starting out like this

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382904;image)


Bodywork.  Then, more bodywork.  But these are, I think, the last three black-painted parts.  All grey painted parts are complete.  Two red-painted parts (table side skirts) have not even been fully engineered yet.  Paint is 80% pain, and I am 80% finished with the pain.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on May 20, 2020, 02:17:59 pm
Skim fill #1 done.


Sanded:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382956;image)

Primer coat 1:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382957;image)

This is, from left to right, the midspan shelf that connects front and rear pinball cabinet together near the axle, which is part of what sets the distance between them and provides some of the strength -  the floor that goes behind the driving pedals, under the power control box - and the back/left wall. 

The primer reveals that these aren't ready for black paint yet - there will be a sanding, a skim coat of fill on top of this, then another coat of primer first. 

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: wallmachine on May 22, 2020, 01:25:08 am
The primer reveals that these aren't ready for black paint yet - there will be a sanding, a skim coat of fill on top of this, then another coat of primer first.

I've tried so many hardware store paints primers/fillers etc and still had to do sanding/painting/spray painting etc pain in the arse.

Found this paint (https://www.bunnings.com.au/british-paints-4l-4-seasons-black-low-sheen-exterior-paint_p1420543) and so far I have not needed to prime/sand, just 3 coats minimum of spray paint and smooth as a babies bottom.

See example here (https://forums.launchbox-app.com/topic/42014-vewlix-cabinet/?do=findComment&comment=349411)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 06, 2020, 06:22:56 pm
As predicted, another sand/skim/sand was needed...

(This is a close up of the floor that goes behind and between the pedals frame, and under the power control box.)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383227;image)

Primer and sand over all of that, and a first coat of black...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383228;image)

I sanded all that and put another coat of black on it. 

Most of these are basically interior surfaces - the back wall is going to be about 3" from a real wall, the other side of it is the end of the driver's footwell, and so on.

I've decided it's okay if those are all B-grade surfaces.  The only one of these that will really show much at all is the top face of the midshelf.
If it's transformed into a sim-pit, and you walk around to the pinball side, you'll be able to see the top of the midshelf behind the flipped up playfield TV. 

Given that, that surface gets a third coat and a mildly obsessive polish, until it reflects light like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383229;image)

The rest, though... they don't.  Sorry, Ond, I tried. 


That floor panel butts up against the back wall with big brackets like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383230;image)

(This whole thing is laying on it's back in this photo, rotate it all 90' CW in your head.) 

The power box air vent duct in the rear will nose into the cutout in the back wall between the brackets.
The pedal frame will nest down around it, to the depth of those steps you can see in the floor near the brackets.

I'll be putting four thread inserts into the back wall for the brackets to screw into, so that those two pieces remain separable.

I'm altering my plans a bit for the main brackets that attach this rear wall to the front and rear cabinets.

Initially, I was planning this:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383231;image)

using more small brackets of the type the midshelf uses, in order to clear features in the front and back cabinet. 

The more I look at that, though, the less I like it.  I think instead I'm going to buy another pair of the larger brackets, and modify one of them to clip the excess nose off slightly.

If I do that, I'll be able to JUST clear the metal plate in the back cabinet that all the connectors go through, and I think I can still keep both screwholes.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 06, 2020, 06:24:18 pm
I've tried so many hardware store paints primers/fillers etc and still had to do sanding/painting/spray painting etc pain in the arse.

Found this paint (https://www.bunnings.com.au/british-paints-4l-4-seasons-black-low-sheen-exterior-paint_p1420543) and so far I have not needed to prime/sand, just 3 coats minimum of spray paint and smooth as a babies bottom.

See example here (https://forums.launchbox-app.com/topic/42014-vewlix-cabinet/?do=findComment&comment=349411)

Thanks!  I'm pretty well committed to finishing this project the same way I started it, to keep everything matching, but I appreciate the tip.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on June 17, 2020, 01:10:41 pm
Looks like you're getting pretty good at that painting technique buddy.  Keep moving this thing along, I'm very eager to see the final product!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 20, 2020, 05:45:11 pm
Thanks, Arroyo - both regarding the paintwork, and for the prod of encouragement - it helps. 

The paintjob on the back wall still wasn't good, enough even for a back wall.  Another two sand-and-paint iterations, and now I've got something I'm happy with. 

The lower brackets to the floor are attached via thread inserts so this can be disassembled and reassembled.  The upper brackets now match, those smaller ones previously were not feeling sufficient to me.  The odd vertical positioning is carefully set to miss everything it needs to miss on the front and back cabinet... I hope.   

The short leg of the upper right bracket has been shortened and redrilled, so that it won't quite hit the metal plate carrying the 2x DB25 / 2x DB15 passthrough connectors in the rear cabinet. 

Here's the back wall, sitting in the orientation it goes into the machine in, next to the machine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383399;image)

There's going to be a full teardown before this can get installed, but I think that will be the final full teardown.  There will be 8 thread inserts, 4 per cabinet, with machine screws through these brackets into those inserts.  The playfield-rotating actuator will mount to the sliding clamp in the middle of this panel.

This will be one of the three bridges that connect the front and rear cabinets.

The second bridge is the midshelf.  For improved sound from the little tripath amplifier and small speakers I'm using, and for a little 80s retro cred, I'm hanging a full size graphic equalizer underneath the midshelf, via six woodscrews up through new holes drilled in the metal case, into the underside of the shelf.

Here is the graphic equalizer as mounted up under the shelf:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383398;image)


The third bridge will be the axle for the TV itself.  It's going to get some holes drilled in it, some inserts made, some screws installed, and flats and divots placed for set screws in the bearing carriers, so that it can also be a tension and compression resisting member and another strut bridging the front and rear cabinets and helping to keep them parallel and square.

I don't think it's going to need the H-shaped floor webbing bars between front and rear cabinet that I initially designed it with, and omitting that will help the chair roll smoothly, as it won't have to jump the metal bars. 


Some of the recent progress doesn't lend itself well to pictures.  Quite a bit of progress on that power control box - I finally got to power up the control panel sliding actuator under software control via the PC, and with me holding the tail of it in place approximately where it belongs, I actually drove the whole control panel in and out a few times under it's own power.  Big moment of glee there.  Seeing it go VRRRT out to deploy and VRRRT back to retract... hee hee yeah, that's gonna be cool and I think that's gonna work. 

After the great disassemble / reassemble, when the back wall gets installed, I'll then be able to find the exact correct location in all three dimensions for the control panel actuator tail mount, and then I can design and build the metal thing on the back wall that puts an anchor at that point in space. 

Still have to build the counterweight arm for the TV, that's moving up towards "next". 

On the software side, I got Sky Rogue running on the thing, with the flightstick and throttle and rudder pedals - that's been a lot of fun.  It's kind of a deeper updated Afterburner. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 22, 2020, 05:56:44 pm
Minor update; I've ordered a bunch of hardware and fasteners for the counterweights.

I want to make them adjustable so I can fine tune the center of gravity to land exactly on the axle in two axis.  So I'm thinking there's going to be some compact 80/20 rail involved, for the sake of having a slide-adjustable anchor in one axis, then I'll make my own slide-adjustable arms off that base. 

Parts should arrive by the fourth of july, and since pandemic quarantine has wrecked my usual plans for that, I should be able to fabricate instead.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on June 23, 2020, 09:25:28 am
You are making great progress on such a complex build.  Putting the rest of us to shame!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on June 24, 2020, 03:56:10 am
This build rocks.
Building and still getting to engineer as you go is where it's at.

Glad to see the actuator appears to be working as designed!

And of course it would be impossible to overstate the radness of the equalizer-

Bobby
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 25, 2020, 04:42:18 am
Thanks, javeryh and bobbyb13!

Tonight's update is about metalworking. 

I spent a while designing, and redesigning, and redesigning, the playfield TV counterweight arm.  Arms.

Ideally, they should be adjustable to zero the center of gravity out on the axle centerline, and I'd like it if they didn't hit anything like the midshelf, the TV actuator, the wheel or the flightstick when the TV rotates...

I think I've finally got a design that'll work, so:  Layout!

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383475;image)

The whole assembly will slide on some 80/20 rail, 2012 series, 0.5" x 2".  The two rectangles will be the flanges that pick up the T nuts, the arms will go between them.  The cartoon 7 shape is the rear counterweight arm, which will attach to the flange, and carry a plate holding 4 4lb lead weights.  (The front arm I have yet to lay out, it will carry one more 4lb weight.)

Fabrication!

The rear arm is cut out of half inch thick aluminum, and 0.7" on the other axis.  My bandsaw will cut it nicely.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383476;image)

The bandsaw leaves a pretty rough finish, so I use the mill to clean it up and make the part look nice.

Some faces are easy to mill.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383477;image)

This leaves a nice finish. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383478;image)

Unfortunately, because of the shape of this part, some parts are more difficult to mill...  this is all the room I had on this face...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383479;image)

Some faces I had to get really creative to set up.  This is one of the more... (cough) "creative" lashups I've used, but as you can see from the top face, it worked. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383480;image)

If it's stupid, and it works...     ... okay, that was still a pretty stupid lashup, I admit it.


There will be a plate carrying 4x 4lb lead weights that will slide on two 1/4-20 screws along the angled segment of this arm.  The screws will go through slots in the arm... so I'd best make some slots in the arm.

Here's the layout:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383481;image)

One slot would have been easier, but it'll be a bit stronger with a web between two slots, one slot per screw.

I'm cutting the slots with a 1/4" endmill.  Because I have to stick the end mill way out to make the reach work with the shape of this part, and because a 1/4" endmill is pretty skinny, I can only comfortably cut about .005" per pass.  This arm is 0.700" thick in this axis...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383482;image)

so that's about 140 passes, or about 70 passes back and forth... or 140 passes back and forth to do both slots.

I'll be doing this for a while.   :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on June 25, 2020, 07:23:37 am
I love these updates. So very cool.  :notworthy:

You still need a live cam like the movie, Truman Show. I would buy the Laythe pillow and watch for hours from my couch.  :laugh2:

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on June 28, 2020, 10:41:56 pm
Thanks, JKMAN.   No can do on the live cam and throw pillow - but to make it up to you, here's another update.   :)

I finished milling the slots in the arm, over the course of about six hours.  These are 1/4" wide, leaving 1/8" of metal on either side of the slot.  0.7" deep; they go all the way through.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383532;image)

One 1/4-20 screw each will go through these, and the length will give me +-1" of adjustment to move the weight carrying plate closer in or farther out.  Loosen the screws to slide it, clamp them down (over washers) into lock nuts to set it in place. 

On the other end, the base of the arm will clamp in T-nuts in 80/20 rail, which is the other axis of adjustment.  The base plates are 4" by 2", mounting with short screws on 1" centers.  Here's the holes...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383533;image)

... and here's the result of radiusing around the holes and cleaning the part up a bit.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383534;image)

These will show, if you look behind the TV, like by standing in the pinball position while it's in simpit mode.  So I figure it's worth the effort to make it look nice, that whole area of the machine is kind of fantasia for billet aluminum anyway, it should blend right in. 

Here's the parts kit:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383535;image) 

From left to right:  Base plate for the rear arm, base plate for the to-be-fabricated front arm, weight mounting plate, rear arm. 

The arm-to-baseplate screws need to be countersunk, to clear the sliding action of the base on the 80/20 rail.  I countersunk those holes in the baseplate, drilled and tapped the arm to match, and screwed it together.  The weight bracket screws are still overlong, I've got shorter ones coming.  Here's the result with the weights temporarily zip-tied in place through the holes in the plate...

In driving mode, when the monitor is upright, this arm will cantilever back horizontally.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383536;image)

In pinball mode, when the monitor is flat, this arm will hang down vertically. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383537;image)

The angle and shape of the arm is to dodge the op-rod in the TV tray that the actuator pushes and pulls against.  The angle of the weights is to orient the thinnest axis of the package to (hopefully) knife in between the back wall and the midshelf, if all my calculations are roughly correct.  (If not, well, modify it until it works.)

I hope this is strong enough for the cantilevered loads plus inertial forces on stop and start.  The dimensions were kind of limited by the effort to make it adjustable - any more thickness along the axis that matter would cost me adjustment range.  I -think- it'll work. 

Next steps are probably getting the correct hardware in and installed for all this, priming and painting the lead weights black to encapsulate the lead on general principles, correctly mounting the weights, and then fabricating the rest of the front arm.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on June 29, 2020, 12:47:20 am

Here's the parts kit:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383535;image) 

I thought for sure that it was Clutch, Brake, & Gas pedals

The metal fabrication I am envious of.  To be able to think up cool ways of doing things that right now seem impossible must be really liberating. 

Well done as always, those parts are super clean.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on June 29, 2020, 03:52:48 am
I wondered where you were headed milling that arm so carefully.
Really nice design.

Clever use of (always so oddly shaped) dive weights gets bonus points!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 04, 2020, 08:04:23 pm
My fourth of july plans were of course cancelled - so instead, there shall be consolation progress posting.

I got the 2012 profile 80/20 rail extrusion that will be the rail these counterweight arms slide on. 

It will mount to the back of the TV tray, behind the television, via countersunk hardware from the TV side, installed before the TV goes on over the top.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383622;image)

Here, I'm drilling the rail for the six 1/4-20 countersunk screws that will hold it to the plate.

There is a wrinkle, however.  Recall here the compound 3 degree by 3 degree angle tomfoolery that lets the pinball table be inclined 6 degrees, while the simpit view is dead square and straight. 

This means I really want this rail attached at a 6 degree angle to the plate.  The screws are going into the backside of half-round T nuts inside the extrusion, pulling them down into the bottom of the channel, so that can conform to a degree to pick up the angle.  But, I need some precision shims.

I found a 6" round scrap punchout of 1/4" aluminum sheet, and laid out three 2" squares in it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383623;image)

Sawed those out on the bandsaw, then milled all four of the edges down to make them nice, square, and parallel. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383624;image)

I want all three of these to match well, and to have a 6' taper in them from the thick side down.  To do this, I took my set of angle blocks, and laid up the following in my vise:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383625;image)

The big rectangular blocks are the jaws of the vise.  Inside them, you'll see three smaller pieces.  On one side, it's my 4' angle block and my 2' angle block, and on the other side it's my 5' angle block and my 1' angle block, so those both add to 6'.  I'm using a set of parallels on their sides to shim the height up a little - this is bad form, parallels aren't nearly as accurate sideways, so don't do this.  By shimming the height up, I have a visual reference to even with the jaw tops. I can slide the angle blocks along the faces of the vise against each other until the top corners are dead even with the jaw tops. 

When I drop the shims on top of this, this sets the 6' correctly, and if I have the heights set just right, it should be level side to side other than the deliberate tilt.  The vise jaws are clamping parallel flats on opposite sides of the shim, which were already machined, so that grabs nice and solid.

Here's one of the three shims in the vise, on top of that stack.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383628;image)

There's a diagnostic check you can do here, to see if you got the heights right.  The first pass of the mill makes something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383629;image)

If I wasn't level, front to back, the milled area would taper - wider at the near side, if the near lashup was higher, or wider at the far end if the far lashup was higher.  You can loosen the vise up and nudge the stacks around, drop the mill a little deeper, cut another pass, and keep tuning the line until you get something pretty straight like this.

I continue milling these until I -just- touch the left edge, which means I've removed no meaningful height from the 0.250" thick end, and that means I'm consistent in thickness.  Then layout and drill the two screw holes without moving the part in the vise, so I know the holes are very perpendicular to the angled milled face. 

Here's the resulting three precision shims:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383630;image)


These will go on the backside of the rail, between it and the TV tray.  The countersunk heads will be in the tray, then through the shims, then into the backs of the T-nuts in the rail.  The counterweight arms go on the frontside of the rail. 

The resulting assembly:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383631;image)


This shows I should have quite a bit of adjustment to slide the arms along the rail, and both weight packages can be moved nearer or farther out.  Between those four adjustments I hope to be able to zero the center of gravity out onto the centerline of the axle, so the actuator doesn't have to fight gravity lifting the weight of the whole rotating assembly, just inertia to stop or start it.  We'll see how close these adjustments let me get. 

I can't actually mount this thing to the machine yet - there has to be a full teardown to get access to the TV tray for layout and drilling and so on. 

The next great disassemble/reassemble cycle will bring in this, the back wall, the mid shelf, and the floor.  Also possibly the front skirt bracket needed to carry the side skirts.

I'm running out of things I can do before this great teardown, but I'm doing everything I can beforehand.  I want to keep the teardown stage as short as possible, because "it's in a bunch of boxes in the garage" is how projects die.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: LTC on July 04, 2020, 08:33:01 pm
because "it's in a bunch of boxes in the garage" is how projects die.

That would be a real shame. You're doing some incredible work here.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on July 04, 2020, 09:36:06 pm
At a boy, keep it up!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 05, 2020, 07:13:37 am
You have 10 pages of people who will badger you so it can't die...  just sayin... 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on July 10, 2020, 05:35:04 am
You have 10 pages of people who will badger you so it can't die...  just sayin...

This.

Too good to not complete as soon as humanly possible
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 13, 2020, 02:14:57 am
Thanks.  I really appreciate the support.  It helps to know you've all got my back.

I approached this part of the project with a bit of trepidation. 

The great disassembly has come.

The first thing I did was crawl around under the machine with paint pens, and I color coded every connection that could possibly ever be confused.  There's six USB cables on the back of the PC, for instance, and if I plug them in in a different order during the rebuild, they might re-enumerate and screw up who knows what in the configurations of the games and emulators I've already set up.  I did all the video connections, the audio in versus audio out on the graphic equalizer, pretty much everything.

Here's the back of the PC with ports identified.  The cables that go in to each of these have identical paint rings.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383794;image)

Then, I undid many, many connections.

The control panel then slides off the fronts of the rails.  It's tied by a cable to the pedals, so those move together.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383783;image)

Here they are, laying on the floor in the room where the great rebuilding shall occur.

After that, there's a scary several person job where I undo a bunch of temporary scaffolding, hold the playfield monitor by the axle, and have my assistants tilt the front and back cabinet away from it, unplugging the axle from the bearing blocks.  This breaks the machine down into three main pieces.

Here's the back cabinet leaned up against the wall.  You can see the amusingly thick cable bundle that comes out the bottom of it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383793;image)

This freed everything up into loose modules.  PC, back cabinet, front cabinet, control panel, back wall, and rotating playfield.


What I thought was going to happen at this point was that everything I'd been working on for all this time would go from looking basically done, to basically a pile of parts, and I figured that was going to be a depressing setback.  I thought it would feel like losing ground, and kill the sense of momentum, and be depressing, and that I'd really have to push to keep going.

That didn't happen.

There's a ton of tasks I've been unable to do while the machine is assembled that have been piling up.  I've been blocked on more and more things that require this disassembly before I can do them. 

If you've played many computer RPGs...
You know that effect where you move to the next big area, and suddenly you've got like twenty new quests to pick from and everything is abruptly opened up? 
It feels like that.  There are a -ton- of things I can do from here that were blocked until now. 

It's not depressing at all.  I am suddenly stoked.  So stoked that I did a bunch of work, and now you're going to get a long post about it.

The TV tray is now free of the machine; it has so far been a giant solid rectangle of metal.  The back of the playfield monitor has some air circulation vent holes in it, and I don't want to block them, so I spent a while estimating positions and doing layout.  This looks weird because, remember, the monitor mounts at a 3' angle to the face of the plate, so it's intentionally crooked as part of the cancelling 6' playfield trick with the crooked axle. 

Here's the beginnings of the layout, on the solid rectangular 1/4" thick aluminum plate.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383784;image)

I drilled holes in the corners of the vent-holes-to-be, then jigsawed between them with a metal cutting jigsaw blade.  This works pretty well, but if you go too fast it melts aluminum into the teeth and hangs up, so you gotta go easy on the variable speed trigger.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383785;image)

Here's the roughed out hole.

It's ugly, but I just wanted to remove most of the excess material, because I'll be milling it from here.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383786;image)

It took some creativity to clamp a piece of metal bigger than my mill in my mill, but I was able to clean up the holes nicely.  Here's a shot from the first passes with a big endmill.  I used a smaller endmill to get closer into the corners afterward.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383787;image)

The angled lines along the bottom edge of the plate, I cut with my bandsaw. 

Here's the revised mounting plate screwed to the monitor so you can see the alignments.  The vent windows are tilted 3' off the plate, which makes them square to the monitor.  The new cuts along the bottom follow the raised center section of the monitor, then swing up to make it easier to connect or disconnect the video cables, then swings back down on a 45' to catch the bottom screw in the side axle bracket. 

I'm now no longer blocking any of the vent holes in the monitor.  It looks like I am, on the upper right, but if you look closer you'll see there's two depths of mismatched vent holes - the outer case has more grill than the component beneath it does, and I miss almost all the actual holes there in the second layer.

While I had this plate out, I drilled and countersunk the six holes for the counterweight slide rail.  After a bit of file-based hole nudging between the plate, the shims, and the rail, I was able to get the alignment to work and the countersink machine screws to engage the T-nuts inside the rail.

Here's the thick side of the three precision tapered 6' shims that angle the counterweight rail against the plate, installed. 

 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383789;image)

You can see the counterweight rail is aligned to the TV, not the plate, and is nicely aligned to the vent hole on the left, not the 3' offset angle of the top edge of the plate. 

The 3'-by-3'-cancelling-6' playfield incline trick is cool, but it makes working in this area a special kind of pain.  Everything is intentionally crooked. 

Now that the rail is installed, I can put it all together.


(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383790;image)

This is most of the rotating playfield monitor assembly. 

From this side:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383791;image)

you can see one of the reasons for the weird shape of the 4-weight carrying upper arm - it has to go under, then reach around, the 1/4" shaft that the actuator that rotates the table pushes and pulls on.  It can adjust from this close in to the axle, out to flush with the end of the rail.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383792;image)

The lower/front/1-weight-carrying arm is differently shaped, because the constraints of its design are that it has to knife thinly in between the flightstick and the steering wheel when the control panel retracts up under the pinball table.  It can also slide along the rail, from in here to out flush with the outside of the rail, and the weight can move up and down on it by changing holes.

This isn't quite the entire rotating playfield assembly - there will be a big aluminum-cased linear actuator back here too. 

The yet-to-be-built red 7/16" thick plywood side skirts that carry the flipper buttons and run along the sides of the pinball machine, up against the sides of the rotating playfield monitor, will be mounting to the ends of the counterweight adjustment rail - it is precisely centered to and aligned with the playfield monitor, though it looks off center and crooked as compared to the plate.


Long post, thanks for bearing with me.  There's so many things that might be next that I'm not even going to predict which one I'm taking on in the next post.  I am, however, now feeling really confident that this is not going to die a quiet death of broken momentum.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 13, 2020, 07:12:50 am
As a guy who fortunate enough to have more than his fair share of tools..  I drool over yours.   :notworthy:

Nice update - there is nothing better than getting through a knothole. 

I spent 7 years building a 23' boat - I'd guess a few hundred hours of that was some form of sanding and for a while I could not get myself to the shop to do more..
If I just couldn't do it...  I would tell myself - go out to the shop for 10 minutes and just pick up and put away.. Which I did..  it often got me sanding for at least 10-20 minutes, cleaned the shop and kept me going. 

I need to make me a "Pick up and put away.." sign. 
Love the project!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: jennifer on July 13, 2020, 07:50:31 am
I tend to have too many projects, while some are in boxes at some point they are not being ignored as parts are still added, and work constantly, forgetting to eat and sleep sometimes...As for this project, The choice of aluminum confuses me...perhaps an attempt to make parts light, as to limit weight on the overall concept of morphing two heavy machines into one? Or the ease of workability, and machining?... But while aluminum is a good conductor it is not historically compatible with copper as far as grounding (saftey) goes without sulfating at the the connection (thermal grease slows it down)...Love the build...Carry on.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on July 14, 2020, 12:45:48 am
I'm always stoked on the amount (and precision!) of your milling in this project.
Where do you find all this metal stock (like that aluminum sheet?!)

Good to hear that your disassembly got you more motivated rather than less.
That Laozi guy was right about just getting started on something.

NoAlox has proven to be a great compound for mixed metal grounding (and non grounded conductors too for that matter I suppose) when necessary.
The marine environment in my neighborhood causes me to regularly go through tubes of it fixing people's electrical woes here.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2020, 02:26:38 am
I spent 7 years building a 23' boat - I'd guess a few hundred hours of that was some form of sanding and for a while I could not get myself to the shop to do more..
If I just couldn't do it...  I would tell myself - go out to the shop for 10 minutes and just pick up and put away.. Which I did..  it often got me sanding for at least 10-20 minutes, cleaned the shop and kept me going. 

Words of wisdom.  Thanks for sharing them.

I'm glad you made it through to the end of that gauntlet.  I've had a five year project once, but not quite a seven.  (Yet?)  I was well and truly sick of it by the end, but I slogged through.

I tend to have too many projects, while some are in boxes at some point they are not being ignored as parts are still added, and work constantly, forgetting to eat and sleep sometimes...As for this project, The choice of aluminum confuses me...perhaps an attempt to make parts light, as to limit weight on the overall concept of morphing two heavy machines into one? Or the ease of workability, and machining?... But while aluminum is a good conductor it is not historically compatible with copper as far as grounding (saftey) goes without sulfating at the the connection (thermal grease slows it down)...Love the build...Carry on.

Glad to hear your projects have not gone dormant.  Good on ya!

I went to aluminum construction for the rotating assembly mainly for volumetric rigidity.  I don't have much space to fit all this stuff packed tightly together, and I figured I could make a thinner rigid aluminum structure than I could design something out of plywood like the rest of the cabinetry.  Lighter weight is a side benefit, the lack of rust is also a side benefit, and the machineability sure doesn't hurt. 

Grounding, honestly, never occurred to me.  Maybe it should have.  I'm currently trusting the LCD panel's exterior case to be the protection, and the actuator's exterior case.  Most of the other components will be mounted to plywood.  A smarter person than me probably would have designed a grounding provision for this plate, particularly if this was going to be installed commercially for the general public to access.  (It'd have to be a bit different in a few places to be safe for the general public, really.) 

Thanks for raising a good point I hadn't even thought of!


Where do you find all this metal stock (like that aluminum sheet?!)

Mostly, I buy it.  Places like Speedy Metals will ship you quite the selection.  I scrounge some of it; most of the smaller pieces I make come out of various scraps. 


Next update.  Progress ensues.

Now that the scaffolding is gone, the rear cabinet and the front cabinet need 10 thread inserts, each, to pick up the structure that connects them. 

The first four thread inserts on the back cabinet pick up the rear wall. 

Here's the test fit:
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383897;image)

You can see where I've shortened the top bracket, to clear the connector plate that carries all the DB15s and DB25s that connect modules together.
It clears.
Just.

I made a template, carefully located it with a ton of measurements, and transferred the locations for the six thread inserts that pick up the midshelf.  Here's silver sharpie marks on the black paint.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383898;image)

The rear cabinet is a bit tricky; I ended up carefully drilling blind into it WHILE it was fully populated with all the electronics, because I'm stupid / brave like that.  And because I'm too lazy to tear out all the internals under this area - there's a LOT of difficult wrestle-into-place tight fitting and wire routing.  I didn't hurt anything under the wood. 

The front cabinet is easier, because it fairly easily comes apart.  Here's the locations for all ten thread inserts on it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383899;image)

More early fitment testing, here's the midshelf attached to the front cabinet, to confirm it works.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383900;image)

At this point, parts start getting hauled into the house.  This is, I think, the last teardown, and this means this is also the final main assembly.  Maybe.

So, here's the back wall and the front cabinet attached together next to Mimic, where it is all to live.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383901;image)

It comes apart into modules, and that's a lifesaver, because the back cabinet by itself is a gutbuster to lift and carry now.  It made it in by a series of three foot long lift-and-shuffle moves, hugging it and being real careful not to bang any corners or doorknobs or whatnot.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383902;image)

The next part is hard.

The front cabinet gets the midshelf attached - but only on that end - and the axle plugged into the bearing blocks.  Then the rear cabinet gets slid over and docked into all three parts simultaneously - the back wall attaches, the midshelf attaches, and the axle sockets into the bearing block.  These all have to be aligned at the same time, and screwed together.

Here's the result.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383903;image)

I also mounted the screen rotating actuator in the back wall at this time.


Next up:  TV mounting, counterweight tuning.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2020, 03:53:27 am
With the front and back cabinets attached together by the back wall and the midshelf, and the TV tray freely rotating in the middle, and all the new vent holes cut in the TV tray, it was time to stick a propstick under it to hold it in place and mount the playfield display.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383904;image)

With the display attached and free to turn, I could move the counterweights around to reduce the residual weight as much as possible.  With the front single weight as far in as I can get it, and the 4x weight pack on the back arm just almost brushing the edge of the space it needs to run in, I got the imbalanced weight remaining down to about 2.25 pounds as measured with a push scale.  The actuator is rated for 22lb, so this should be fine.  It's a far cry from the full weight of the TV that I had showing up here before the counterweights.

After I got the balance set as good as it can be, I attached the actuator.  Here's the fully extended actuator, and the upper counterweight when the display is in simpit mode.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383905;image)

Under the cabinet, the pedal frame now mounts to the floor of the back wall - here's how these fit together.  The power control box goes into the remaining space, which I sadly did not get a picture of in my frenzy of progress.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383909;image)



Now, we switch focus to the control panel.

The control panel has had some evidence of rubbing along the righthand side, against the legs of the back cabinet. 

You can see marks in the paint from it, here.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383906;image)

To fix this, way back when I made the back wall and the midshelf, I deliberately made them slightly longer than I calculated the gap to be, and I'll be adding some washers underneath the linear rail bearing trucks on the right side of the control panel.  Effectively, this moves the front and rear cabinet about a washer's width apart, and then takes that space back up, adding that clearance along the right edge wall of the sliding control panel.

Getting the bearing trucks off is a bit of a trick, they're kind of buried, between bulkheads, and have cables running near them.  I ended up using a flexible extension on a screwdriver, like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383907;image)

The lower bolts are close to the corner, so I ground down flats on the lower washers.  Here's the washers installed.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383908;image)

This also reveals I painted the control panel with the trucks installed, heh.  I put a black line of sharpie around the edge to keep any bare wood light leaks down. 

I reinstalled the control panel, and confirmed the rub is gone.  The actuator has been sitting inside the control panel this whole time, but it has nothing to attach to yet.  I needed to know the spatial relationship of the back wall and the tail of this actuator, to know where the hardpoint for the back end had to be, to know how to design it.

Here's the resulting design - I cut this yoke out of a scrap piece of rectangular aluminum tubing that happened to be the right interior width (0.75") to snugly fit around the actuator tail.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383910;image)

3/8" shoulder bolt in the middle, lockwashers on the ends, two 1/4-20 capscrews on the back to attach it to a plate.

Oh, yeah, I better make the plate, too.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383911;image)

The plate attaches to the backside of the back wall, and the yoke attaches to the plate, like so.  This is the view with the camera wedged in up against the back wall, looking at the backside of the machine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383912;image)

I thought I'd make spacers to go between the yoke and the plate to carefully set the retract and extend positions of the panel, but it turned out I'd need a NEGATIVE .25" spacer in there. 

I'm not good enough to make one of those.   :)

So, I had to put a doubler plate behind the plate, to space everything back.

With all that accomplished, the playfield and control panel are both attached to their actuators.  Time to, gulp, put the PC back in it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383913;image)

I reconnected all the color-coded connections I'd marked up prior to the Great Disassembly, doublechecked them all, crossed my fingers, triplechecked them all, winced, and turned it on.



IT LIVES.

Cockpit mode...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383914;image)

and pinball mode...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=383915;image)


The actuators work, but they don't work WELL yet.  I've got a lot of bugs to sort out.  The spring rod drive on the playfield rotating actuator has no damping, so it bounces horribly if you let it.  I'm going to try adjusting the actuator to pull a little preload bend of the rod against a rubber stop on each end, to damp and locate the endpoints and hopefully kill the bounce. 
The software I've written does not leave them running long enough for the full stroke, so there's a hesitation in the middle when I retrigger the same move command to finish the stroke.  The combination of these effects means there's a hideous bounce in the center of TV rotation, because the abrupt stop and abrupt start both energize the vibration - neither that stop nor start will be there when I patch up the software.

Additionally, my software is very not finished - I'm manually pushing keys to run each actuator in each direction, right now.  There will be some physical microswitches to inform the computer which end the moving assemblies are on, some timers, and some intelligent logic about how long to run each actuator before you expect to see which microswitch register, and error conditions to pause and cry for help if the expected results don't happen, and some automatic sequencing to do the whole transform for you when you pick 'pinball games' or 'cockpit games' out of the menu.

(Also, per MikeA, it needs to play some audio clips while the motors run.)

I knew Slippyblade would want a video, if he's still reading this thread, so I shot one. 

Remember.  These are the very first halting steps, here.  The elephant does NOT DANCE WELL yet. 

But.

 It dances.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtJAJcJNDdA)



There's a lot of work still left to do from here.  You may notice I have no pinball flipper buttons yet.  The red-and-aluminum side skirts for the display that carry the flipper buttons and make it look more like a pinball machine still need to get made, and I have a bunch of tinkering and tuning and fixing to do as mentioned above.  But as of now, you can at least see proof of concept of the dream.  It'll get better from here, and I'm now pretty sure this will all work.

NOW I'm on the home straight.  Estimated time to project completion, maybe three months?  We'll see.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on July 21, 2020, 07:16:43 am
You are a mad man and this is insane.  It is so cool to see this in action - like a real life Transformer.

It’s really neat how the software also changes depending on the orientation of the monitor.  Are you using Hyperspin or something else?

It looks playable - that’s dangerous!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on July 21, 2020, 07:23:30 am
This looks so amazing! What an amazing display of engineering! The video is super cool. That flips much quicker than I expected. Thanks for posting such detailed updates. It is very cool to see so much of the work you are putting into it. I usually can't be bothered to take a lot of pictures but I also don't do ANYTHING this involved. :)  :cheers:

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on July 21, 2020, 08:58:04 am
So sick.  You are outdoing yourself, and that’s no small feat.  I’m most impressed with what as far as I can tell is a dead on realization of your vision.  Going back to look at your SketchUp animation it looks identical.  So impressive.

As for the rotating hiccup I had the same thing on mine, and eventually sorted it out, as I know you will too.  Nice update.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2020, 11:33:37 am
You are a mad man and this is insane.  It is so cool to see this in action - like a real life Transformer.

It’s really neat how the software also changes depending on the orientation of the monitor.  Are you using Hyperspin or something else?

It looks playable - that’s dangerous!

Haha, thanks!

It's not Hyperspin - I write my own front-ends from scratch for every machine I build.  The idea has been floated that this thing needs to play the Transformers mechanical noise through the speakers while the motors run...  that's on the to-do list. 

It's been playable since the start - I work on the software in parallel with the hardware.


This looks so amazing! What an amazing display of engineering! The video is super cool. That flips much quicker than I expected. Thanks for posting such detailed updates. It is very cool to see so much of the work you are putting into it. I usually can't be bothered to take a lot of pictures but I also don't do ANYTHING this involved. :)  :cheers:

Thanks!  These are high speed actuators, because I didn't want to have to twiddle my thumbs waiting around for the transform.  The speed is one of the reasons for the big playfield spring rod to cushion the ride for the playfield monitor. 


So sick.  You are outdoing yourself, and that’s no small feat.  I’m most impressed with what as far as I can tell is a dead on realization of your vision.  Going back to look at your SketchUp animation it looks identical.  So impressive.

As for the rotating hiccup I had the same thing on mine, and eventually sorted it out, as I know you will too.  Nice update.

Thanks!  The initial CAD and renders were in 3DS Max, and it's changed a little, but I've stuck pretty close to the plan.  Thanks for the vote of confidence on the rotation issues, and for sticking around throughout this two-years-and-running build.
 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on July 21, 2020, 11:38:03 am
Quote
The idea has been floated that this thing needs to play the Transformers mechanical noise through the speakers while the motors run...  that's on the to-do list.

I thought you had forgotten. :applaud:

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on July 21, 2020, 12:09:46 pm
I write my own front-ends from scratch for every machine I build. 

How do you figure this stuff out???  You are working on an entirely different level than the rest of us.  And here I am pausing a YouTube video every 5 seconds walking through a hyperspin setup with no confidence that it will behave the way I want when I'm done.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 21, 2020, 06:04:24 pm
Quote
The idea has been floated that this thing needs to play the Transformers mechanical noise through the speakers while the motors run...  that's on the to-do list.
I thought you had forgotten. :applaud:

I have not.    :D   The question is... what's the most iconic rendition of that sound?  I request a youtube or similar video link to a reasonably isolated example of it.  Some clip where The Noise was made, without a lot of dialogue or other sound effects over the top of it.  Find me the gold standard Transformers Noise, and I promise to include it.

How do you figure this stuff out???  You are working on an entirely different level than the rest of us.

I don't think I'm working on an entirely different level - your cabaret is looking nice.

That five year project I mentioned above was writing a computer game, solo.  We all come in to these projects with the different hats that we've worn other places; I'm a game programmer, so that specific part is a little easier for me.  One of the fun things about a big project like an arcade cabinet is getting to engage a bunch of other hobbies at the same time.  You can tell I'm a (rank amateur) hobbyist machinist, for example.  I look at the work of somebody like Pixelhugger, and I know I'm looking at a serious woodworker.  One of my favorite things about the projects forum is seeing what skills people bring, and what their different skillsets get them in terms of how they approach the project.

(That said, I'm not sure that bringing the skillset of a farmer is necessarily helpful.  That barn wood and roofing nails construction... man.)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on July 21, 2020, 06:06:24 pm
I will get that sound for you.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 24, 2020, 02:41:33 am
I've got some soft bumpers, fitment adjustments, and improved programming going now.  Trimmed a bit of dead time out of the transform sequence.

Here's my first round of motion improvements.  I think I can improve it a bit more, but it's up to "Pretty OK" now, I think.

Damping v1.0, pinball game to cockpit game (https://youtu.be/8vYfk86_a6A) - check out the chair motion via the wheels!

Damping v1.0, cockpit game to pinball game (https://youtu.be/A2tvaYLYy_A)

Still got lots to do, both in hardware and software.  But, I'm having fun again. 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: nexusmtz on July 24, 2020, 03:43:19 am
Congrats on bringing another concept to reality. The motion looks great!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 24, 2020, 07:04:27 am
Well done  :applaud:

I remember way back you were trying to automate the chair and it turned out to be a pain (and I can see why)

Seeing it in action - a Roomba style push back and roll into storage robot base would do the job..
Since I'm using your time of course..  So you didn't need rails - you need a robot..
Well done  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 26, 2020, 06:51:23 pm
Congrats on bringing another concept to reality. The motion looks great!

Thanks!  I'm chuffed.   :)

I remember way back you were trying to automate the chair and it turned out to be a pain (and I can see why)

Seeing it in action - a Roomba style push back and roll into storage robot base would do the job..
Since I'm using your time of course..  So you didn't need rails - you need a robot..
Well done  :)

Thanks!   :)

I'm fairly content with the chair being pushed out by the control panel, you pull it out from there to wherever you want to sit on it, and push it back in when you are done - but driving the chair directly is definitely an idea still in play; my dad isn't giving up on the idea of a fully powered chair yet. 

A roomba-like robot won't work, because here is the approximate relationship of the chair wheels and the foot pedals when everything is nested:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=382012;image)

The chair box has an open front, and it swallows the whole pedal frame and half the power control box when everything nests together in pinball mode.  The chair base box is full, that's why the chair base box is the size it is. 

So, absolutely no room for a roomba.   But there's still been some mulling over the idea.  To drive the chair directly, my dad's current idea is a long coil spring surrounding each side of the rear axle, with one end attached to the center mount, and the other end attached to the wheel hub.

That makes the chair into something like a kid's spring-powered car toy, the ones you pull it back that launch themselves forward - only in reverse; you'd set this up so that you push it forward to wind the spring, and it pulls itself backward.

Then, you put a winch type drum in the space between the T-shaped back wall and the house wall, threading two thin wire cables on each side of the T bar, just off the carpet to eyes mounted low on the front of the chair.  The spring pressure through the driving wheels holds the cables tight.  Winding the drum in retracts the chair against the spring pressure and winds the axle springs.  Winding the drum out lets the axle springs drive the chair by the rear wheels, which are the ones with most of the weight. 

This requires that the springs be able to power the whole 4-foot travel of the chair, and that the rubber tires don't slip on the carpet under that kind of spring pressure with only the weight of the empty chair upon them, and it means you have to nudge the chair in or out using the VR buttons, and that you have to step over one just-above-floor cable when getting in and out.

There is physically room and clearance for the springs and the drum, and there are reserved control lines and relays in the system to operate that.  It seems risky to me, I'm not certain it will work, so that's being pushed forward to a maybe-version-2 thing, if we get the machine finished and we still want to mess with it. 

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on July 26, 2020, 09:26:13 pm
I was messing with you a bit - You've done a great job getting it all to fit and keeping going.
Glad you are posting progress :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on July 26, 2020, 10:29:44 pm
I was messing with you a bit - You've done a great job getting it all to fit and keeping going.
Glad you are posting progress :)

Hahaha, all good!  I just thought it was funny that I've seriously thought of that.  Electric motor to the rear wheels, drag a cable back and forth from the moving chair, the robot doesn't have to move farther than a power cable can reach...

Keeping going is one of the problems with something like this.  I see a lot of attrition in rotate projects.  I'm hoping to see Jimbovision finished some day, for instance.

I think the roadmap from here is going to be, function testing the contactors for flipper/slingshot/bumper feedback, then building the side skirts.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on July 26, 2020, 10:52:06 pm
Off the charts Bud!  You are working on another level.  Very fun to follow.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: zestyphresh on July 27, 2020, 07:04:46 pm
I didn't even realise the pedals and monitor were motorised until I saw the video, absolutely bonkers!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 07, 2020, 11:39:24 pm
I didn't even realise the pedals and monitor were motorised until I saw the video, absolutely bonkers!

Heh, thanks!

Technically, the pedals stay put, they are mounted to the back wall.
The control panel moves (which also moves the seat out), and the monitor rotates.

I've made some progress toward the side skirts. 

First, I tapped the holes in the ends of the counterweight adjustment rail. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384085;image)

I was very careful when I mounted this rail, such that it is well centered and straight underneath the monitor... which of course makes it crooked on most of the rotating assembly it attaches to, due to all the 3' angles.  But, the important thing here is that each end of the rail is about 0.060" short of being flush with the sides of the playfield display.

This means that when I make 0.060" thick aluminum plates that pick up these two screws on each side and mount them,

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384086;image)

the outside faces of the aluminum are precisely flush with the outside edges of the playfield display.  These will form half of my mounting brackets for the cosmetic side skirts.  The skirts will carry the pinball flipper buttons and some of the force feedback elements. 

There will be 4 mounting screws per bracket, going out from the inside, through holes in these brackets into thread inserts into the 7/16" plywood skirts.  You can see centerpunch marks in the bracket where these screws will land.

Here's the initial layout for the side skirts.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384087;image)

You can see all the nudging around and remeasuring I did for the flipper button location prior to drilling it out.  These skirts are 4 3/4" high, about 41" long, and form a 6' parallelogram, with the incline of the table going to vertical ends to clear the front and back cabinet during rotation.  I've found the machinist angle blocks you can see by the pencil to be extremely handy for doing this kind of layout, that's a 4' and 2' stacked to make a reference 6' wedge.

I drilled the bracket holes, cut the skirts out, then carefully held the skirts exactly where I want them to land and transferred the four mount holes.  Took the brackets off, and transferred the center holes as well, because I don't have the ability to countersink these bracket screws completely, so there's going to be relief cuts in the skirts to clear the screwheads you saw holding the brackets on above.

Shapeshifter shouldn't have hardware showing on the outside of the skirts.  I am adamant about this.  The mounting screws are going to have the heads inside under the playfield, and be blind, into thread inserts that are also blind.  So, I drilled blind holes with the depth stop on my drill press.  Here's the side skirt, held up to a bright light behind it.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384089;image)

Thin, but it'll hold primer and paint.   :D

I ended up having to go to 6-32 hardware to get the thread inserts to be short enough not to blow through 7/16 plywood.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384090;image)

They are pretty small, but there will be 8 of them holding each skirt, and any impact loading from whacking the flipper buttons is going into the brackets, not out or side-loading.  I am confident these will be fine.

I sunk the thread inserts VERY CAREFULLY from the back side, got them just slightly below flush, and didn't have any protrusion on the user facing side.  Success!

Here's the mockup of what the skirts look like, installed.  The 1" aluminum angle set on top is just sitting there to give an idea of what this is going to look like, it still needs to be trimmed to angle and length.  Imagine that this bare plywood was the same bright red as the front and rear cabinets; that's going to be my last big painting job. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384091;image)

Currently, the skirts are only held on by the four screws in the rear brackets - I still have some fabrication to do to make the front brackets and anchors.

Next up, though, is force feedback.  I specifically want the flipper buttons to feel lively when the flippers move, and I have an unorthodox approach in mind for this.

Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on August 08, 2020, 08:44:05 am

Next up, though, is force feedback.  I specifically want the flipper buttons to feel lively when the flippers move, and I have an unorthodox approach in mind for this.

Just when I think it couldn't get any better... I can't believe you are going to give the buttons a little feedback just to get a better feel. That is amazing. So many things I would/could never think of, let alone, execute.   :dizzy: :cheers:

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 08, 2020, 09:17:32 pm
Like many vpins, I'm using various electrical contactors to provide some haptic touch feedback when the various events on the table occur. 

The contactors I'm going to use for the flippers have a groove in the base for standard DIN rail base.  This groove expects edges that are 35mm apart, and the hooks will grab something at most 0.050" thick. 

I have a ton of .060" aluminum, but it won't quite fit in that base.  I dug around some more and found the side panels of an old Lian-Li brushed aluminum PC case I'd scavenged because, hey, that's good aluminum.  It measured 0.045" thick, which is just about perfect.


I cut some bracket flats on my bandsaw.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384101;image)

My plan is to mount these contactors directly to the flipper buttons, clamped under the button nuts.  So, I drilled a hole for a screw and nut to serve as a stop on the end, and a big 1 1/8" hole for the button to pass through.  Cleaned up the edges and rounded the corners while I was at it - that's easier while it's flat.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384102;image)

Then I used my finger brake to fold up a bracket.

This is the basic idea, mocked up in a scrap of plywood of the same thickness as the sideskirts.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384103;image)

I figured this would carry the impact from the contactor opening and closing into the area surrounding the button as much as possible.  There's still room to connect the terminals to the microswitch and to wire the terminals for the contactor. 

Then I tested this setup to see how well it would work, and I discovered... these contactors are different than every single other one I've ever played with.

Most contactors operate towards and away from the DIN rail.  I assumed this one did too.  IT DOESN'T.  This is a -side- firing contactor, the coil moves the contacts parallel to the DIN rail mount, not perpendicular.  To quote Q-Bert, "!$#%$@!"

So I took it all apart and put one more bend on the DIN tab, making it a Z-bend, to reorient the contactor to the correct axis.  That made a big difference.

Here's the result, under the skirt, looking up at the playfield monitor. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384104;image)

There's about 1/32" of clearance between the monitor and the bracket+contactor assembly below it, but they don't touch.  When the contactor fires, the contacts move toward the button, impact together, and that shock bounces down the bracket and makes a very tacticle "thunk" on the flipper button, you can feel it through the plunger.  It's not a huge thing, but it makes the machine feel far more alive under your hands.  Because it's tied to the software via DOF, and not the microswitch directly, they do nothing if you hit the button while the flipper can't move, such as before coining up and starting, or after game over.  Additionally, if something like Addams Family snaps the flippers for you, the contactors fire too. 

The extra purple and yellow wires you can see here in this shot will route about a third of the way further up along the skirt, and attach to the slingshot contactor up there.  I'm holding off on mounting those slingshot contactors until I get the front skirt axle bracket built, so that I can set all of the remaining 6-32 thread inserts in one batch.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on August 26, 2020, 03:14:55 pm
Got the front bracket built.

Here's the blank straight off the waterjet. 


(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384367;image)

The slot on this clamp looks short, but that's because I plan to cut it apart entirely.  The other two brackets somewhat like this that form the TV vesa mount tray, are semipermanently attached to the axle - they slide on from the ends, so getting them on or off requires breaking the front and rear cabinets apart.  This fellow, however, gets installed while the machine is together, so it is going to become a two part clamp.

I didn't have the waterjet part it yet, because I want the clamp screw holes in both pieces to be lined up, and that's easier done while it's one piece.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384368;image)

Here's the minor diameter holes drilled all the way through.  After doing this, I used the bandsaw to cut the clamping block free of the main bar, tapped the holes in the clamping block, and drilled out the holes in the bar to the clearance diameter for 1/4-20 hardware.

Bolted up around a scrap offcut of the axle, to verify the fit and clamping action:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384369;image)

This bar exists to support the front of the side skirts, up near the flipper buttons.  I've gotten to the point in this project where I no longer precisely trust the CAD plans, and I want the skirts to fit closely against the sides of the playfield display even though they are not directly attached to it at all.  At this point, the cabinet itself is the one definitive set of plans, so I intentionally cut this bracket about an inch long on both ends. 

I mounted it up to the machine, sticking out past the playfield display on both sides, then used a square to trace lines off the sides of the display housing perpendicular to the bezel.  Traced those lines onto the bar, then took the bar back off the machine. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384370;image)

Also pictured is the .060 aluminum I'll be making the... bracket brackets?...  no, let's call them anchor plates, of.  The anchor plates allow the plywood skirts to have hidden hardware. 

I cut the bar down to .060 shorter than the traced lines, drilled and tapped the ends of the bars for two screws, and made up some simple bar bracket anchor plates.  Here they are, near the flipper button region.  The outside face of this plate is in a plane flush with the side of the monitor above.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384371;image)

These match the anchor plates I already made on the ends of the counterweight rail, so now I've got two well-separated mounts for the skirts.  The plates are a little different between the left and right side, because this monitor has a speaker box only on the "bottom" - now right - that I have to dodge. 

(Also, I have some paint touch up work to do on the red, where I've chipped it with my temporary kludge pinball flipper button mockup mounts many months ago.)


Now that all four anchor plates are present, it's time to set all the rest of the 24 count of 6-32 small thread inserts into the insides of the skirts.  Positioning matters here, minimal room for error - you can't exactly drift or nudge a thread insert, or at least, not without a whole lot of work.  So, I mounted the skirts again by only the rear anchor plates, then traced through to transfer the perimeters and hole locations while holding the skirts parallel with the display where I want them to land.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384372;image)

Here we are with brass inserts for all the 6-32 screws, and the slingshot contactors attached.  The forstner-cut relief carvings here are to clear the button heads that attach the anchor plates down; since the anchor plates are only sixty thou thick, I couldn't easily do countersunk hardware there. 

Last up, verify these new anchor plates can in fact be screwed down...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384373;image)

I, uh, may have had to egg out a few of these holes in the aluminum plates to make that work.  (cough)  Nothing to see here, move along. 

(All these sharpie layout scribbles will of course be hidden under the two to three layers of primer, and three to six layers of paint, eventually.)


This gets me to another playable point on the machine; now I can play fake pinball with flipper, slingshot and bumper force feedback working, and these parts being correctly mounted and with improved wiring routing means the machine is again transformable for a while.

I have a slight interference rub with the bottom front corner of the left skirt against the front cabinet in the pinball rotation, and with the bottom front corner of the right skirt at the very end of cockpit rotation.  Also, amusingly, the clearances have turned out to be so tight that the aft bearing truck on the left side of the control panel's linear rail actually clicks the right flipper button once in passing as it goes by - it's tight enough clearance to push and release the button on the way past, but it doesn't quite bind.  Phew. 

I've got some more work to do before the last big hardware push, which will be fixing the skirt rubs, smoothing the edges, inletting the fake side rails into the plywood side skirts, then putting a good smooth polished red paintjob on the plywood, touch up paint in a few other places, and... man, it's getting close to just being Done.  Two years in, that's a weird feeling, for it to be approaching Done.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: stinkyrob on August 26, 2020, 04:20:50 pm
I've been following this for a long time, and am still in awe.  Your skills and attention to detail rock my socks.  I look forward to more updates!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on August 26, 2020, 04:37:32 pm
Looking good as usual Laythe, keep it comin.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 21, 2020, 02:15:40 am
I've made some more progress.

Spent a while working on one of the virtual pinball toys.  There is traditionally a loud knocker that fires when you win a free game.  This is often a solenoid whacking the inside of the plywood cabinet directly, using the whole cabinet as a giant sounding box - but I don't exactly have a solid box cabinet like a traditional pinball machine does, so I improvised a bit.

I found a relatively powerful 120vac solenoid, and mounted it to a small wooden subframe.  Cut a chunk of thick-wall stainless steel rectangular tube, bored a hole in one side of it for the solenoid striker to reach through the tube and strike the far side wall of.  Drilled it, tapped it, and screwed it tight to the face of the solenoid.  Mounted a very light spring to a cross pin on the moving plunger in tension to reset it.

Here's the result.
(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384722;image)

When the coil is charged from a very brief (10 millisecond) shot of 120v across a relay, the |-|> shape at the right of the solenoid tries to become ||>, but just slightly before the plates touch, the plunger inside strikes the far end of the stainless tubing with a good loud crack.  Then the spring pulls it back into this resting configuration.

This lives on the midshelf up near the rear cabinet.  Of course, when I went to test it, I then couldn't win a free game to save my life.   ::)

(Eventually managed to.  It works great.)

Current working pinball toy count:

Next work is on a minor ergonomic problem that has plagued the design.  When it's in pinball mode, if you put your thumbs up past the lockdown bar on the tops of what would be the side rails of a real pinball machine, you can flex the table back and forth a bit.  You're actually flexing the spring rod that cushions the television against the abrupt start and stop of the actuator that rotates it - that is all, by design, not a rigid structure on purpose. 

I wasn't sure how bad it would be in practice, given most of your palms weight is on the lockdown bar, not the side rails, and the centerline of the flipper buttons goes right about exactly through the axle.

It was flexible enough to be annoying, it didn't feel right. 

So, I've made a fix for that.

First up, a block of steel.  Mild steel this time, not stainless.  I hate having anything on Shapeshifter that can rust, so this is a steel block under about four layers of rustoleum flat black.  Four countersunk screw holes in the corners for mounting.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384723;image)

This gets screwed down to the top of the midshelf, right behind the front cabinet.  This is the view looking down just behind the lockdown bar, from the pinball player position, with the playfield monitor up in vertical driving mode.  Four screws clamp this block down.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384724;image)

This block will be one side of a strong magnetic latch.  I can only do this on the left side, where the playfield rotates away from it, because the right side has to swing through anything below it.  This is going to catch the giant aluminum bracket you see on the right, which also mounts the fronts of the skirts.  I've drawn a dot on this bracket where the magnet should mount to hit the middle of this steel block.

I'm doing all work from here on without disassembling the machine, so setting the magnet end requires drilling aluminum in situ.

I took some now-no-longer-needed engineering drawings from making other parts of the machine, and masking taped them up to form a dam to keep aluminum shavings out of the rest of the electronics.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384725;image)

Used a hand drill with a number 36 bit in it, to laboriously peck drill a 1.25" deep hole into the bracket.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384726;image)

This took me a long time.  If you're playing the home game and building along, you should measure this out and do it in a drill press before you mount the whole thing together.  Me, I did it over the course of about 45 minutes wishing I could be using my drill press. 

Once it's drilled to depth, then I tapped it 6-32. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384727;image)

Pro tip:  Don't break off a tap in the assembled machine.

Wisely, I didn't break off a tap in the assembled machine.

This gets a 95-pound-rated cup magnet on a countersunk 6-32 screw with a lock washer and a nut to pin the magnet hard against the countersink, then a reversed nylock nut to act as a jam nut up against the aluminum threaded bracket, then about an inch of 6-32 threads to be nice and strong in the bracket.

Here's the magnet assembly just started into the threads:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384728;image)

This acts like a leg leveller foot on an arcade machine, only the end of it is a strong magnet.  (It screws in until the nut touches the bracket.)


This is tunable in a lot of ways.  You can space whatever amount of nonferrous material between the steel and the magnet to adjust the strength of the latch, you can screw the magnet in and out of the bracket to tune the exact stop angle to make the pinball table land EXACTLY flat to the backbox... and you can make the spacer material hard or resilient to compromise shock absorption versus residual flexibility of the pinball table.

The winning compromise ended up being one layer of a black silicone placemat, which I trimmed to fit overlength and screwed down over the steel block. 
 

End result:  You can't tip the pinball table left at all, because to do that you'd be shoving the magnet through the steel block.  That side is very strong.  You can't tip the pinball table right until you push hard enough to pop the magnet up off the steel block - which is a lot of force, not something you do at all by accident. 

When the actuator shoves the monitor into driving mode, it's strong enough to pop it right off the block, it's got about 20lb of force behind it.  The twisting load to pop it loose is all between the actuator rod to the TV tray brackets, to the thick axle tube, to the front skirt bracket - none of that goes through the monitor. 

I'm happy with how it works, and now pinball mode feels decently solid even if you get a little excited playing.  Not quite as rock solid as a full box would be, but, there's some compromises to the crazy thing I'm doing here and it's no longer distressingly flexible.  It's pretty good now, I consider the problem solved.

Still to do: 
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 04, 2020, 04:05:57 pm
I got that magnet latch tuned just right, the pinball table now rests dead level.  Here's where it really lives, so you can see how deep the threads go.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384926;image)

There's a lot of threads into the aluminum, so I trust that. 

Here's the machine parked on the latch, in pinball mode...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384925;image)

Sadly, the last time it is to be together and playable for a while, because Progress Must Be Made.

You can see the side skirts that bear the pinball flipper buttons are bare plywood.  They are going to be the next thing on the list.

Upon seeing the machine together, and that the side skirts run pretty much flush with the sides of the front and rear cabinet, I've decided that the aluminum angle fake side rails I'm going to make should be flush, not lapped over - this should both look better, and improve their clearance when the table rotates, because those corners get mighty close to the control panel rails and the tail of the control panel as they go by. 

First up, disassembly. 

The side skirts come off. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384927;image)

The slingshot contactors mount to the side skirts between the front and rear mounts, so they come off too.

To do the inletting for the aluminum angle to sink it flush, I know most of you all would use a router.  As shown by this project so far though, I'm not much of a router guy - this says tablesaw to me.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384928;image)

Before disassembly, I traced a line onto the skirts at where the aluminum, set against the playfield monitor bezel, ends on the side skirts.

I made a sequence of shallow passes, adjusting the fence about 3/4ths of a kerf at a time, to approach that line...

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384929;image)

The bottom of the cut is of course ribbed because of the saw's tooth profile, but it's going to get filled with construction adhesive when I glue the fake side rails into it, so that's no bad thing.

I got to the line on both pieces - here are the skirts ready for the first pass of filler.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384930;image)

Skim filled, sanded, skim filled, sanded, and they shape up like this -

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384931;image)

Then the first coat of primer goes on them.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384932;image)

That brings us up to the present; I'll certainly be doing at least one more coat of primer, possibly two, depending on how much building up and sanding down it takes for me to be happy with the surface.

This is, I think, the last body work that has to happen on the whole of Shapeshifter.  It's less of a chore when it's the home stretch.  I'll want to get a really thick coat of red on these, because the area around the pinball flipper buttons will be the first place it wears through from use, that's the heaviest contact area.

I'm trying to see that as an okay outcome - I think actual pinball machines tend to show the same kind of wear, so it will just be a touch of authenticity.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on October 04, 2020, 04:43:41 pm
I just can't get over the level of detail in this project.  I am truly in awe every time you update this thread.   :cheers:

I've never even messed around with virtual pinball before - where would be a good place to start?  Is there one program like MAME that you can play all the tables on?
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 04, 2020, 04:53:09 pm
I just can't get over the level of detail in this project.  I am truly in awe every time you update this thread.   :cheers:

I've never even messed around with virtual pinball before - where would be a good place to start?  Is there one program like MAME that you can play all the tables on?

Hehe, thanks!

A good place to start, in my opinion, is VPX.  There's a stack of software to get running - the backglass is one program, the vpinmame instance running the rom (if it's an emulated table) is another program, vpx is the physics simulator for the table itself... but a VPX install generally gets you all the pieces you need.  I'd use something like https://vpinball.com/VPBdownloads/vpx-installer-10-6-0/  as a starting point.

You can get it running and play it with a keyboard and see if you like it enough to want to get involved.  I got to play Malenko's "Gingerballs" at zapcon, and that got me hooked. 

You can tinker with it a lot.  It's much less "run the emulator and go" than Mame is - which is both good and bad.  Good, in that you can physically go in and tinker on the table if there's something you think isn't right about it - I didn't like how the top of the Countdown table I got didn't act like I remember them acting, so I hacked on my version of it in the editor and made it work right - that's cool!.   Bad, in that, you might well have to go in and tinker on stuff.  :)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on October 05, 2020, 02:14:08 pm
Thanks.  Looks like I'll be headed down the rabbit hole.  These things have always intrigued me even though I never really played pinball as a kid.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 05, 2020, 06:13:24 pm
Have fun in the vpin rabbit hole!  There's a learning curve, but it's interesting.  Several forums will be very useful to you - vpforums.org, vpuniverse.com, etc.

I am in the same situation as far as personal history goes.  As a kid I was a take-it-or-leave-it player of real pinball machines, I messed around a little, but they didn't grab me like arcade video games did.  I think vpin cabinets might be more convincing for casuals like you and I as a result of that... if I'd had a burning passion for it back then, I can imagine where only a very high fidelity reproduction might scratch that nostalgia.  As I am, I think fake pinball is really cool.  I'm discovering a lot about the real machines while down in this particular rabbit hole.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 06, 2020, 04:09:45 pm
The side skirts begin to become red.

Here's an early coat going in.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384983;image)

The aluminum rails will be gluing to the grooved section, so I'm leaving them bare wood - at least, as much as I can, they caught a little stray primer and paint, oops.


I have a ton of orange peel, of course - this needs a lot of sanding, a couple more coats of paint, a lot of sanding, then a polish, to match the rest.  But, I couldn't resist dropping a flipper button into it and holding the fake side rail in place.  It'll look something like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=384984;image)


Looks a bit pinball-like.

Current status:  Chuffed.


Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: LTC on October 06, 2020, 08:07:08 pm
Looking good. Love seeing the progress.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 20, 2020, 01:13:56 am
We're getting into the home stretch now.  I got the red paint on the side skirts to a point where I'm content with it. 

Then, I marked up that aluminum angle that I'm making fake side rails out of, and got the exact dimensions transferred from the side skirt onto it.  Trimmed it roughly to length with the bandsaw, then milled the exact 6' matching face that makes up for my inclined playfield.

I set up a stack of angle blocks on the vise to equal 6', then just pushed the aluminum angle against that when I grabbed it in the machining vise, like so:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=385144;image)

The side skirts are basically a parallelogram, mostly, less some clipped corners to make room for rotation.  The 6' angles align nicely, here's the resulting fit:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=385145;image)

I put a little carbide burr in my dremel and just went to town roughing up the inside surfaces of the angle.  (For those of you who get the Joy Division reference in my resulting pattern, bravo!)

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=385146;image)

This, I figure, should give the construction adhesive something to hang on to. 

I filled it with glue, and clamped it together.

While the glue was setting, I applied some clear mylar pinball flipper button protectors under the buttons.  They show a little, when the light is just right, but I figure they'll slow down me wearing through the paint in this area over the years to come.  Here's as much as I can make them show in reflected light.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=385147;image)

Finally, when the glue dried, it was time to reassemble everything. 

It now looks done.  It isn't done, but it looks done. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=159740.0;attach=385148;image)

Now you can see my starting design idea.  I wanted the BRIGHT BRIGHT RED to trick the eye into visually completing the shape of a pinball cabinet over all the weird stuff that lives tucked in underneath that.  I think it works - you wouldn't ever mistake it for a real pinball table, but it clearly indicates what I was going for with all of this.  The illusion would work better if the skirts could be taller, but this is the absolute upper limit that still clears the internals when it rotates. 

It may not be authentic, but I think it's cool - and that's the next best thing. 


Still to do:  Build limit switch brackets and wire them, so that the machine can tell what configuration it's in, and so that I can script the full transform sequence safely.  I'm going to program it with both timeouts and expected results - it'll try to push the table out for, say, 4 seconds, and if it does NOT see the limit switch trip indicating that the control panel is fully extended, then it'll halt and throw an error on the DMD, instead of blindly spinning the table into a physical crash.

I'm going to wire these up in a neat way.  I'm using keystrokes on the Ultimate I/O board, and obviously holding keys for the limit switches ALL THE TIME would raise all kinds of trouble while booting the machine with "stuck keys" and in all other games and so on.  How to work around that?  Well, the UI/O detects switch inputs based on the input pin going to ground.  All your switches normally have a common ground, and when the switch is on, that's grounding the corresponding input.  The UI/O lighting controller works on a common +5v rail and switches grounds to light the LEDs.  This means if you wire the limit switches to a lighting controller pin and the input signal pin, instead of common ground and the input signal pin, then the switches are effectively enabled by turning that light on.    Light off = lighting pin floating = closing switch contacts leaves the input signal pins floating.   Light on = lighting pin grounded = closing switch contacts grounds the input signal pins.  So that one lighting controller pin becomes "Switches Active Enable", I can do that in my front end software whenever I need to know what their status is, and I can leave it off during boot, while playing games, or any other time that those keys being depressed continuously would cause problems.  Cute, eh?

Additional funny detail:  It turns out that if the throttle is all the way forward, it leans forward toward the screen enough that it could crash the rotating playfield as it swings by.  But, I can read the throttle's position in my software!  So I'm just going to write another check there, such that when you select the other game mode, if the throttle is too far forward, it prompts you with a big flashing "THROTTLE DOWN TO INITIATE TRANSFORMATION" message, and then delays until you comply into the safe area of throttle travel.

I'll have fun with the graphics for that.  I also thought of another randomly selected transform noise it should make - the Robotech/Macross VF-1 Valkyrie transform noise should be in the pool as well.  (grin)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bobbyb13 on October 20, 2020, 05:05:27 am
You are absolutely right on your thought with the screaming RED.
It pulls your eye into thinking pinball before you consider what else is going on.

I would argue that since what you have created is a hybrid that didn't previously exist it is authentic in its own right.

Sheer awesomeness of this build continues-

And yes! ...it speaks of Unknown Pleasures
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: ditchdoc68 on October 20, 2020, 08:16:21 am
I just started following this project a couple of weeks ago and all i can say is "WOW!"   :applaud:  :notworthy:
I'm working on my first ever arcade project (from a prebuilt cab  :-\) and it's threads like this that give me inspiration to build my own from scratch someday. Keep up the amazing work!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: J_K_M_A_N on October 20, 2020, 01:37:32 pm
It now looks done.  It isn't done, but it looks done. 

 :laugh2:

Looks awesome as hell! I love all the cool little ideas you have to cover possible problems. Very creative.

J_K_M_A_N
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: bperkins01 on October 20, 2020, 01:47:54 pm
Great work on this - if you are REALLY concerned about physical switches..  take a look at hall effect sensors.
trigger of magnetism and may be more reliable.  If you are using Arduino for some of the movement - you can use it as a positioning sensor.
Not sure if it's a fit - but figured I'd mention it since you are using 'seconds' as a timeout and obviously concerned.
 :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Arroyo on October 23, 2020, 04:20:22 pm
Very professional craftsmanship sir.  Looks like you might beat meet to the finish line, well done!  ;D
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Richie_jones on October 24, 2020, 10:02:35 am
Awesome work..
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on January 02, 2021, 07:22:54 am
Limit switch brackets:  Built. 
4 limit switches:  Installed.

(Well, I guess it's wrong to call them "limit" switches... they're really just positional feedback switches, the actual limit switches are integral within the linear actuators themselves.)

Wiring:  Routed and secured through the labyrinth of whirling guillotines for stray wires that the inside of this machine amounts to.

Software hacking: 
In progress.

When this round of software is done, the whole transformation process will be faster... and fully automatic.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on January 02, 2021, 11:44:09 am
Limit switch brackets:  Built. 
4 limit switches:  Installed.

(Well, I guess it's wrong to call them "limit" switches... they're really just positional feedback switches, the actual limit switches are integral within the linear actuators themselves.)

Wiring:  Routed and secured through the labyrinth of whirling guillotines for stray wires that the inside of this machine amounts to.

Software hacking: 
In progress.

When this round of software is done, the whole transformation process will be faster... and fully automatic.

I am picturing you with frizzled hair and goggles over your head in a white coat with black gloves.  Mad scientist indeed.  Can't wait to see it!
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on March 10, 2021, 10:55:38 am
20+ years on this site, and this is my favorite project.

You give gingerballs too much credit.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on March 12, 2021, 12:47:46 pm
ShapeShifter update?
 :hissy:

Haha, arright.  It's been "Mostly Done" for a while, and I do have fully automatic transform working.  Next big update is going to be some videos of that... so I wanted to polish up the DMD and main screen animations before I shoot those final "It's Done!" videos, and that process takes a while and doesn't make for very interesting updates along the way. 

Current status, everything functionally works, but the eye candy isn't all there, there's just some developer debug screens showing numeric values all over the place so I can watch what's happening.  What needs to be there is cool rotating perspective grids and stuff. 

I'll update in earnest soon.  Couple weeks I think. 


20+ years on this site, and this is my favorite project.

Wow.  Thanks. 

You give gingerballs too much credit.

Regarding gingerballs (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,158122.0.html) - I disagree.  I'm not exaggerating to say that if you hadn't sent that thing to Zapcon, this thing would not exist.  The sad semi-commercial vpins that were on display there would not have given me the itch to build one, nor any faith that a good result is possible.  Playing a good one was a tangible proof of concept moment that said to me, yep - this is great, go chase it, it'll work out worthwhile in the end. 

So, thanks for doing that.   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: LTC on March 12, 2021, 10:57:58 pm
Haha, arright.  It's been "Mostly Done" for a while, and I do have fully automatic transform working.  Next big update is going to be some videos of that... so I wanted to polish up the DMD and main screen animations before I shoot those final "It's Done!" videos, and that process takes a while and doesn't make for very interesting updates along the way. 

Current status, everything functionally works, but the eye candy isn't all there, there's just some developer debug screens showing numeric values all over the place so I can watch what's happening.  What needs to be there is cool rotating perspective grids and stuff. 

I'll update in earnest soon.  Couple weeks I think. 

Most of us don't mind seeing debug screens  :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 29, 2022, 12:49:06 am
Since several people have recently asked about this project, I've gotten my butt back in gear for a "final polish" kind of pass.

I've fixed the residual debug screens that were showing, and have the DMD animations working the way I want.

Currently adding sound effects to the transform sequence.  I'll post a large update soon.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Zebidee on September 29, 2022, 12:40:22 pm
I've been reading through this build thread from the beginning - it is a great way to procrastinate working on my own cab.

It has been a pleasure to read, but I could never replicate what you do. Is like a fantasy novel. Got to page 6 then fast-forwarded to the end to see where you got to. Still only mostly finished lol, why am I not surprised?  :laugh2:

Still, it has only been four years. My current cab build is at year 5 and much simpler than this, though I have been distracted by things like building a swimming pool and designing/building GreenAntz.

Like Ond says, it is good to have multiple projects on the go, so you can do something different as motivation and opportunity presents.

Well done   :cheers:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 30, 2022, 02:04:31 am
Well done   :cheers:

Thanks, Zebidee!  I do think it's within spitting distance of done; I'm just doing the last couple things to make it official, now.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on September 30, 2022, 02:04:59 am
Have you ever tried low-res pixel art?
Do you like doing DMD artwork?
... Okay, did you ever play with a Lite-Brite?

Would you be interested in contributing to Shapeshifter, and leaving a little bit of your own touch on it for all posterity?

Then have I got an offer for you!

One of the things I thought would be cool to do with this machine is to make the front-end show a 'Shapeshifter' logo on the DMD while you pick games, above the scrolling instructions... so it does that.  But it's a Shapeshifter, right - so, every time you start it or come back into the front end after finishing a game, that logo changes.  It randomizes it, out of a big pool of possibilities.

I've got a bunch of possibilities already in that pool - but it occurred to me this would be a fun thing to open up to the BYOAC crowd in honor of the machine being done.

If you make me a Shapeshifter logo, and if I like it, I'll add it to the pool of possibilities on the machine and henceforth it will occasionally randomly show up while I or others are playing on Shapeshifter and remind me of you.  I'll PM you a photo of your art running on the machine.  If I think one or more are really cool, then photos of those on the machine will get posted to the main thread, too.

The rules are, you get a 121x17 area for the logo, and you're only allowed on and off - no shading whatsoever.  (Not even 4 levels.  Sorry.)

You PM me a black-and-white-only 121x17 .PNG file, like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=391984;image)

They're pretty easy to make, you can even use windows paint. 

That image will render onto the emulated DMD screen at one-light-per-white-pixel, like this:

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=391985;image)

I don't know if this will get any takers, but I've found drawing and tinkering on them to be pretty fun - maybe I'm not the only one who will think so.  Figured I'd offer, anyway!


Meanwhile, progress continues - I have the Transformers sound and others working now, and a perspective-transitioning grid animation on the playfield screen, both synced to it turning. 

All of this demands a video to get the effect across, and I haven't shot that yet.  But if I may quote Yotsuya:

SOON
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Zebidee on September 30, 2022, 04:22:45 am
I have some ideas, but won't promise anything as I expect I won't find the time.

First (and only) time I've ever seen a Lite-Brite was on Stranger Things S4. But somehow I knew exactly what you were talking about! A must-have for interdimensional communications.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 15, 2022, 03:58:27 pm
Vertexguy made me a logo!  Here it is on the actual machine.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392127;image)

Here's some (not all) of the logos the machine may currently use, with vertexguy's contribution included.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392181;image)


Meanwhile, I've finished up the software, I think.  Here's the final set of visual and sound effects that accompany a transformation, including the DMD animation, and a perspective grid on the playfield screen that rotates counter to the physical motion of the display.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCD2sW-esnM



The sound effects are randomized; it might make the servo noises of the wounded T800 at the end of Terminator, or a few others, but this - per MikeA's suggestion - is the best one.


So, there it is.  It's done, it's polished, it's finished, and here's an animated GIF of it being a couple different pinball tables while Mimic is being a couple different arcade cabinets.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392173;image)
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: zeorangr on October 15, 2022, 04:31:23 pm
Very awesome man.  I love the 'grid' animation on the playfield when it transforms too, that looks sick.

 :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: DrAlves on October 15, 2022, 08:41:02 pm
FANtastic!!!  :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Zebidee on October 15, 2022, 10:15:25 pm
Wow Laythe. This is amazing.

Sometimes people say I worry about details too much, but now I can just show them this! It all adds up to excellence. They will be in too much awe to complain any more.

You have done us all a great service.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: javeryh on October 18, 2022, 07:28:17 pm
Simply incredible.  You should be extremely proud of this and showing it off every chance you get.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Mike A on October 19, 2022, 05:38:42 am
I am glad to see this got finished. Ambitious projects like this get abandoned all of the time.
Very nice work on a project that required skilled custom fabrication in every facet.
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Malenko on October 19, 2022, 01:14:51 pm
I did a bunch but I cant find them, so I whipped one up just so I could be part of this lol
Title: Re: Mimic's Sister - Shapeshifter
Post by: Laythe on October 23, 2022, 02:55:17 pm
I did a bunch but I cant find them, so I whipped one up just so I could be part of this lol

Thanks!  Love it.  I appreciate it hugely, man.  :cheers:
If you should randomly happen to find the others someday, this is not a limited time offer.

Here's how that looks when it's on the hardware. 

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392228;image)


Thanks to Vertexguy and Malenko, the shuffled deck of logos is now up to 36.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392230;image)

It's also been bugging me how hard this thing is to photograph worth a crap.  The screens are so much brighter than the cabinetry that I can only get one or the other close to decently exposed. 

I took a bunch of pictures at different exposures and manually faked them together into a pseudo-HDR image just to try to convey something closer to how the machine actually looks to the human eye when you are playing it - it's approximately like this.

(http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=164992.0;attach=392229)