The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: Dustin Mustangs on March 22, 2007, 12:49:08 pm
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I lucked out big time as far as this hobby goes and have a large (100,000 sft) cabinetry manufacturing facility that I am allowed to 'play' at on the weekends. I was wondering if anyone else is in the same shoes or has a similar situation that gets them access to some cool or unique equipment used for woodworking. If so, post up some pics, tell a little about it and any cool projects you've made with it.
I'll start with the nickel tour of my 'mame factory'. Sorry for the crappy photos, we didn't have time to wait for the lights to warm up when we took them so they are all a bit dark...
:cheers:
Giben Panel Saw: This is the one I know how to program and have been using for my project. It has an automated pusher bar that pushes and pulls the material into position and another that trues it up to a side fence. The vertical fence drops (it's down in the picture), the blades whip through (a scoring blade followed by a cutting blade), rinse and repeat. It has a 16' bed and can cut 3/4" material 4 deep. It also has a series of air tables in front that makes the material more or less weightless as you jockey it into position for the grippers on the pusher bar. This one was made in Italy.
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_809-800.jpg)
Schelling Panel Saw: I don't know how to work this one (yet), or much about it, but I do know it's way more advanced than the Giben. Among other things, this one adds automated material loading. You put material by the bunk load on the back of it with a forklift and then catch the pieces as they come off the front. Pretty darn slick, too slick for me to figure out anyways, lol. This one was made in the UK.
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_813-800.jpg)
Morbidelli Point-to-point: This machine and I have become pretty good friends. Obviously, this is where the majority of the programing and machining work happens for my mame cabinet. It has 3 axis and 4 zones. As it's setup now you can bore in all three axis and route in the main one. The main router has a 12.7mm (radius) upshear/downshear diamond cutter bit. One of the secondary routers is setup with a t-mold slotter. The work table uses vacuum cups to hold the part down which are adjustable side to side and front to back so you can get them out of harms way when need be. The table and the part are stationary and the machining head (the big black thing) moves around them. This one was also made in Italy.
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_810-800.jpg)
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_811-800.jpg)
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_812-800.jpg)
Ima Edgebander: This is used to put on pvc or wood edgbanding (0.75-4mm). Not really useful for a mame cabinet because it isn't needed for t-molding. I will be using it for a few parts here and there on mine but not much. This is actually one of the more expensive machines even though it's job isn't much to write home about. You basically stick the part in the slot (left side, first picture) and it moves to the right as it goes through a number of different processes and then comes out on the other end with one finished edge. You need to repeat this for each edge you want finished and it will only work on straight edges. This one was also from the UK I believe.
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_816-800.jpg)
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_817-800.jpg)
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/florida2007_819-800.jpg)
I've made a few simple things in this factory, but this mame project is my first real taste of what these machines can do and how to make them do it. I have a prototype of my mame design done and assembled and am just finishing up the programing and design changes for the real one. Here is a pic of it but just remember this is a prototype (made of scrap material) and an incomplete one at that! Other than the very basic shape of it, pretty much everything will look different on the real one (it will be black for starters). Not even to mention there is obviously alot missing in the picture (edge treatments, a door, glass, the marquee, cpo, joys, trackball, ect...). I'll get some more pics and hopefully some video when I make the real one for a project thread so stay tuned for that.
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/cab_737-1067.jpg)
(http://www.msu.edu/~remondi2/other/plan-1067.jpg)
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I need a tissue now.
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Not sure why, but I intended the last one to be a little larger. I'll attach it here in case you want a closer look at my design (be nice!).
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Well crap, I don't know if that worked. For some reason my work computer refuses to open the attachments in this forum so I can't check it. Oh well...
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It worked.
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For the rest of my days I'll feel like I'm working in a hole in the ground now. Thanks a lot. :banghead:
:cheers:
Awesome shop and awesome cab.
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For the rest of my days I'll feel like I'm working in a hole in the ground now. Thanks a lot. :banghead:
:cheers:
Awesome shop and awesome cab.
Yeah, that place looks pretty hi-tech.
Also, for a "prototype" cabinet, it sure looks useable. I don't know what your plans were for that prototype, but I would finish it off and sell it or something as it looks pretty good from the pictures.
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Oh, it's fully functional, just a bit ugly if you ask me. Mostly holes in the wrong place (doh!) and of course the fact that it's white and has no edge treatments drives me bonkers. In about a month it's going to get the dumpster treatment unless someone wants to come save it (Holland , MI).
Speaking of selling, depending on how well received my final product is I am considering offering duplicates of it for sale. Given the machines I am working with, once I get the programing hammered out, I could make copies of it in my sleep (or pay the actual factory to do it for me). Not real sure on any of the specifics or if it will even happen, but it would likely be a bare-bones unassembled kit. Kinda like I supply the materials, do as much of the machining as you'd want and that would be it. That'd still keep it mostly diy and also make it pretty cheap. Considerably cheaper than the kits the big guys are peddling anyways. We'll see...
Thanks for the compliments by the way. It is a pretty cool shop to get a tour of if you're into that type of thing. I'd still like to see some of the stuff you guys have up your sleeves, even if it isn't of the same caliber. NiteWalker, you must have a few pieces to marvel at, no? Or do you jig everything??
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Wow! Not much more that can be said...
How, exactly, do you have access to this shop again? Do you actually work at the cabinet shop, or just have connections?
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NiteWalker, you must have a few pieces to marvel at, no? Or do you jig everything??
My best machine is my table saw (http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g217/NiteWalkerGR/Workshop/Table%20Saw/) and my router collection which I didn't take pics of yet.
What do you mean jig everything? ???
:cheers:
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How, exactly, do you have access to this shop again? Do you actually work at the cabinet shop, or just have connections?
This shop has been owned by a family member of mine for about 15 years now. I did have a chance to 'serve' a few summers out in the shop while I was going through college. I got to try just about everthing and learned a ton along the way. Now all my work done over there is for pleasure. ;D
What do you mean jig everything? ???
:cheers:
For machining... when not using cnc equipment (door borings for example), this shop uses jigs made out of wood (to guide routers) and metal (to guide drills) when making a quantity of duplicate (or similar) parts. I assumed your Custom Controls was a buisness that would entail some duplicate work itself. Wrong assumption?
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You are correct. If a template or jg can be made to make a particular task easier one is definitely made. I have templates and jigs for everything from cutting the joystick recesses to cutting the joystick side panels. Jigs make everything easier. ;)
:cheers:
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For the rest of my days I'll feel like I'm working in a hole in the ground now. Thanks a lot. :banghead:
:cheers:
Awesome shop and awesome cab.
I saw all those machines the other day. Amazon was running a buy one, get 2 free deal ;D (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/436083716_ba182d770b_o.gif)
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Those definitely won't fit in your basement.
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What?? I've got all of this stuff in my basement!! Yeah, I find I get better accuracy with my hand saw and manual drill.
I noticed you said you were in Holland. My family owns some houses in Saugatuck. We could put "prototype" in there!! Hell of a prototype if you asked me. Final word, your spoiled. :woot
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Those definitely won't fit in your basement.
I bet shipping is free though!
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I hope your kidding Drew! Just moving one of those 10' across the factory is expensive, let alone overseas. :dizzy:
I noticed you said you were in Holland. My family owns some houses in Saugatuck. We could put "prototype" in there!!
You should definitely pm me if you are in the area and in need of a cabinet. You can just have whitey if you come get her, but I'm also just about to order material for the black updated version. I'd have no problem if a few people wanted to get in on that either as long as they let me know in time.
:cheers:
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I hope your kidding Drew! Just moving one of those 10' across the factory is expensive, let alone overseas. :dizzy:
I noticed you said you were in Holland. My family owns some houses in Saugatuck. We could put "prototype" in there!!
You should definitely pm me if you are in the area and in need of a cabinet. You can just have whitey if you come get her, but I'm also just about to order material for the black updated version. I'd have no problem if a few people wanted to get in on that either as long as they let me know in time.
:cheers:
Unfortunately I live in Lincoln, NE just a few minutes away from you. Hell there are enough tourist there in the summer I bet you could sell whiteycade in no time!!
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What an excellent setup. My brain just started wandering through the possibilities with a shop like that........................................... :cheers:
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Nobody else has anything for show and tell, eh? Man, I am a lucky sob. ;D
The material arrived yesterday for the real one so I am planning on making some major dust tomorrow afternoon. I'll get some video of the two I use in action and I'll post up with it next week sometime...
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One of our arcade customers owns a company with all that equipment in it for creating stuff. Told me they could cut me some patterns fairly cheap (for me) if I have the plans.
Anyone know if Jakobud's plans will plug right into the CNC, or do they need to be adapted? Anyone got the adapted plans if they need to be?
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Taking a set of dimensioned drawings and turning them into programing for one of these machines (at least the ones I have access to) is pretty time consuming. You also have to have the right dimensions dimensioned. Seems trivial, but a set of plans someone drew for use in a garage might not be complete enough for use on a machine like this and you can't just fudge or guess on the numbers that are missing. Most of this comes into play with radii from my experince. If I'm even a tenth of a mill off on the center point or end point of of a radius it will know and not let me run the program. I'm not familiar with the plans you're refering to but I am going to guess that all the info they'd need would not be there (because it would be overkill for what most people would use them for). Unless you have access to the cad file (assuming that's how it was designed) I think you'd be out of luck.
Feel free to PM me if you have some more questions about this or even if you'd like to have something drawn up and dimensioned. Oh, and all my programing is saved as *.pgm, I doubt it would work on their machines but who knows...
:cheers:
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Nobody else has anything for show and tell, eh? Man, I am a lucky sob. ;D
Joymonkey does CNC work for a living but probably hasn't seen the thread.
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Oh, I cab PAY them to convert the plans, then cut it out for me. Since that is the time-consuming work, that is the expensive work. A completely cut-out full-size cab for under $100 (with the cost of the MDF) is in my price-range, but I can't afford several hundred dollars to pay someone to convert the file. That's why I was hoping someone already had done it and like to share.
Next time I'm over there (probably two weeks) I'll ask him what format they need and I'll post again to see if anyone has something that will work. Unless someone wants to cut some panels and drop them in the mail....
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Thanks for case of tool envy. :notworthy:
Kidding sort of wish I had the means and space for those kind of toys.
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How much time would i have to pickup whitey if you still have it? I'm in toledo and would have to set traveling plans around the wifes schedule.
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Whitey is still here and safe for the time being. I just cut the material for the new one last weekend so I am going to guess it will be done within a month or so. Hard to say exactly becuase my pritiorities have changed a bit now that the weather is warming up. Anyways, I'd be pumped if someone came and saved her from certain death.
>:D
If you can't tell from the pictures, the control panel is cut for a haup trackball, two seven button layouts with mag stick plus joys, two pinball buttons on either side with a plunger on the front (actually two, doh!), 3 admin buttons on the upper left, and two holes that I use for mouse buttons hidden just to the left of the trackball on the front face of the cp. Also, the speaker panel is cut for Creative Labs SBS 2.1 350 PC Speakers. And just so nobody is confused, all I am giving away here is the actual wooden cabinet and the hinges for the door and cp (because they're somewhat unique and hard to source).
:cheers:
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i haven't looked into plungers for video pinball. What are you using?
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Just a white button. I didn't really put too much effort into the pinball controls but I did want it to have them. BTW, your tv needs to be equal to or less than 23" tall, 19.75" deep, and 26" wide for it to fit. You should be able to find a 27 incher that will work.
FYI for the others, rovingmind is first in line for whitey.
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Oh, I cab PAY them to convert the plans, then cut it out for me
Most CNC places won't accept user defined G-Code. Theres too much risk of breaking a head or something with a wrong setting.
Ones I deal with prefer to get dimensioned drawings they can convert.