Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Project Announcements => Topic started by: deano71 on May 10, 2015, 06:23:32 am
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My 1st attempt at building a cabinet. It has to be wife friendly so will not have side art, be slimline and built at a low cost and fit within the decor of our outdoor cocktail bar. I am attempting to build for £250.
I lurked the forums for a couple of weeks for inspiration and ideas. I have never built anything like this before and have zero woodwork skills.
I will cost project at the end to see if i managed sub £250.
1st job was to draw the side panels and cut.
(http://)
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I have propped up the sides put some boxes up and put the mon itor im going to use to give me a guage. I even had a quick game of "Air Space Invaders" to see if the height sat right for me.
I have decided not to paint the unit but will use gloss vinyl rolls on the cabinet.
I have prepped MDF with primer 1st. 1st sheet went on very easily and was really impressed with the finish.
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Good Start so far ;D
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Looks good. We are in the same situation lol. So far I am up to about $180. Where are you getting your buttons? Are you using an IPAC2?
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Hi I went for LED buttons from gameroom soloutions in America. Its a USB controller board.
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Oh ok. I bought the 2 player Happ buttons and joysticks from Amazon. It was like $50 shipped. "Gameroom guys" was the name of the seller. Then I bought the IPAC2 and 2 extra happ buttons from Ultimarc, $58.
Are you using Hyperspin frontend?
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Yes I finally got my head round hyperspin and will be using that. I was having massive issues trying to launch games and did not realise the importance of XML files matching roms.
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Built the base and added the side battons (excuse the odd offcut batton on base as im on a tight bidget and did not want to buy another length) and the other internal vinyl. Good to see it upright and free standing.
For the cabinet width im just keeping the Uk standard pre 600mm cut as it saves on cuts and keeps the cabinet square. Im limited on tools so need to keep as many proper straight edges.
Im going to keep all screws internal so saves on sanding and filling.
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Upright
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Looking really good.
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Sorry trying to get pics to work better
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Been busy as I really want to get it done before the end of the month.
I have decided based on a couple of builds to go for front and rear access so I fitted a door to the front. Was remarkably easy to do and fit. I did have a bit of offcut wood cladding I used to offset the internal hinge so the door sits properly.
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Next up was the marque. I used a off cut strip of MDF for spacing the panels so they all sat equally back from the edge. If you are building for the 1st time I cant emphasis the importance of having clamps.
Sorry but have not worked out how you rotate the images.
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Lined monitor and angle by stacking on boxes. Used 18mm mdf offcut to screw monitor.
Fitted a strip light and and printed a crude marque to get a feel of what it will look like.
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Got the bezel made for the monitor fits in nice as i dreaded this bit.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150507_141831_zpsa7l0nqj1.jpg)][URL=http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150507_141831_zpsa7l0nqj1.jpg.html](http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150507_141831_zpsa7l0nqj1.jpg) (http://[URL=http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150507_141831_zpsa7l0nqj1.jpg.html)[/url]
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Next job was to tackle the speakers. I wanted a 3.5 input so I can play music through it aswell as a external volume control button. I went for Logitech Z3333 as they fitted the bill. I was going to use car speakers, but when I plugged them into the base unit, they did not sound as good as the dedicated speaker. I decided on a couple of speaker covers, and mount the PC Speakers inside.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150509_113304_zps2x3dzq2d.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150509_113304_zps2x3dzq2d.jpg.html)
(http://<a href="http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150509_113304_zps2x3dzq2d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150509_113304_zps2x3dzq2d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20150509_113304_zps2x3dzq2d.jpg"/></a>)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150509_140916_zpsghyguppr.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150509_140916_zpsghyguppr.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150509_140923_zpsstm1xhop.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150509_140923_zpsstm1xhop.jpg.html)
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Final job tonight was to fit the vinyl on the outside panels and the Bezel and mount on to cabinet.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150510_132210_zpsmkr5noxg.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150510_132210_zpsmkr5noxg.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150510_141803_zpst3c7rviu.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150510_141803_zpst3c7rviu.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150510_151637_zpsfvddan10.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150510_151637_zpsfvddan10.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150510_171602_zpsm76wjxvn.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150510_171602_zpsm76wjxvn.jpg.html)
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Looking good! How much did the vinyl cost you?
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Hi, 5 Meters x 610mm cost £6.94. I needed 15meters in total. Much cheaper and quicker than paint and gives it an excellent finish. You also have a large range of colours but the wife wanted white.
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I fitted speakers and was lucky they just fitted.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150510_171602_zpsm76wjxvn.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150510_171602_zpsm76wjxvn.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150512_174124_zpspokbmhwd.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150512_174124_zpspokbmhwd.jpg.html)
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As I was on a budget and I dont own a router I was looking for a alternative to T Moulding. Also in the UK we use metric and the T Moulding is in imperial. As I was using 18mm thick board I sourced some chrome car trim for £8 for a 15 meter roll. This was more than enough for my cabinet and it is adhered by strong 3m tape. I was delighted with the results and it was dead easy to apply.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150512_175906_zpspozculdc.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150512_175906_zpspozculdc.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150512_175910_zps5mjwobiz.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150512_175910_zps5mjwobiz.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150512_182605_zps5rjowpyn.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150512_182605_zps5rjowpyn.jpg.html)
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Final job today is to cut the plexi glass. This was easy to cut with a jigsaw using a plastic blade, but it did melt one side of the edge due to heat. For the control panel Im going to scribe and cut. Seeing the plexi in made a real difference to the cab and gave it a authentic look.
My screen was filthy as it was an old one im using. A good tip for cleaning is white vinegar and water 50/50 mix. Wiped on lightly with a lint free cloth brought the screen up looking like new.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150513_184826_zpsv8li7tbc.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150513_184826_zpsv8li7tbc.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150513_184821_zpsob1vnlqd.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150513_184821_zpsob1vnlqd.jpg.html)
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This is where I am up to now. Im happy with what I have achieved so far as I have never built anything in my life and Im restricted on the tools I have. Its taken about 10 part days with about 30 hours work in total to get to this point from the 1st cut.
This forum has been invaluable for ideas and workarounds so thankyou to everyone who has posted here.
I am at a point now where I fit the control panel and get the computer set up.
I am looking for a high quality Track & Field Marque image I can print if anyone can help as I cant find anything on the net?. I want a T&F type theme as I spent hours in arcades playing this game and it was like most of you a dream to have a machine at home that had unlimited credits.
I am also undecided as to leave the control panel white or put graphics on. As you can see in the pic I used a image from a bezel I found of the internet to see how that looks on the panel. Anybody know of any panel artwork that I might be able to use that would go with this theme? The original T&F panel is not going to match the marque. I am useless when it comes to Photoshop so I am not going to even attempt it!
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/iPad%20Pics/20150513_193755_zpspqoraeh0.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/iPad%20Pics/20150513_193755_zpspqoraeh0.jpg.html)
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Arcade art has an ai version of the marquee HERE (http://arcadeartlibrary.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=860&sessionid=45c33d6453c694ac711e7df47d102e1b)
Cab is looking nice. :applaud:
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Arcade art has an ai version of the marquee HERE (http://arcadeartlibrary.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=860&sessionid=45c33d6453c694ac711e7df47d102e1b)
Cab is looking nice. :applaud:
Thanks and thanks for the image location.
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SUPER clean, and you may be onto something with the car trim ;)
Also, I might have missed it, but why Track and Field?
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I suppose its the game i played most in the arcades as a kid. The wife also wants it to be discreet as possible as its going in our cocktail bar and she is the boss hence the plain white finish.
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I think the plain white is nice, just was curious about Track and Field....lol. :cheers:
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Well after a lot of headaches with Joy to key software I am finally up and running :D I still have some emulators to set up and Im sure I will be tweaking the next few weeks.
As I said it was a budget build and costs are as follows-
Wood £46
Control Panel £56
Plexei £14 (Wish I used glass as plexi seems to scratch too easy)
Speakers £30
PC £30
Video Card £15
Monitor Free as I allready owned one that was sat in the garage.
Chrome Trim £8
Vinyl £25
Screws and Brackets £10.
In total I have spent £194 so inside my budget £56.
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150526_221731_zpsgalfhhqk.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150526_221731_zpsgalfhhqk.jpg.html)
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g48/dbharding/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150526_221807_zpsbtsfc8oe.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/user/dbharding/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-05/20150526_221807_zpsbtsfc8oe.jpg.html)
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Nice work, way to keep it under budget. It would have been around $300 in the states and that is a good price for a fully working stand up two player arcade.
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Very nice Deano, particularly impressive considering the cost of the build. I really like the simplicity of this - less is definitely more sometimes.
It reminds me of the decor in a coffee shop in Amsterdam I visited 25 years ago ... all that's needed is a white cat with a pink collar rto go with it.
Are you planning your next project now? ;)
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Hi thanks for kind comments. I would like to do a pinball table but space and the wife are an issue. I have some wood left over so may attempt a Pi bartop. Gonna enjoy the machine for now and tweak it a bit more on the software side.
I have to say its thanks to everyone here for the inspiration to get me of my backside and have a go.