Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: solfood on March 18, 2004, 09:12:42 pm
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I'm ready to start drilling the holes and install the hardware. What's the best way to layout a control panel? I wish I remembered something from mechanical drawing in high school. I had it first bell and surfed a lot in the morning and missed it frequently. So where do I start?
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Well first off... what kind of games are you going to be playing?
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I guess I should have explained myself a little better...
I have 3 CPs. 2 Smaller ones on either end of the cocktail for vertical games and 1 Large CP on the long side for horizontal games. The two small panels willl both have 1 eight way joystick and 4 buttons and the big panel will have two eightways with 6 buttons apiece, 1 and 2 player buttons and two coin buttons. Now how do I go about laying this on the control panel. I have a straightedge, compass etc. How much space should I leave between buttons for instance?
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Join my club! (See the feedback req on cocktail plans for my thread)
(http://www.arcadecontrols.com/files/Uploads/controls.gif)
I've laid this out in CAD (Intellicad, it's free and uses autocad files) for my cabinet, same CP idea as you but with a trackball as well.
You can get stick and button dimensions from your supplier, in my case www.ultimarc.com, or try http://www.happcontrols.com if you're using their gear. I have 38mm from button centre to centre, which leaves 2mm between the button trim rings. ~83mm between stick centre and button centre.
Everyone else seems to use visio and there's templates around, but if you have CAD I can send you my files.
As far as the layout before cut goes, a 100% printout stuck onto the panel would help you out, failing that you'll have to get down and dirty with a ruler and marker.