Custom Drilled Control Panels

[gtarcade]

Anybody want one?

[AmericanDemon]

Sure.  

[Goz]

oooh oh me too.

[Squirrley]

I think a lot of people would want these.  It might help if you provided a little more info.  Are you producing these?  How much are they?  ETC?

[mairsil]

I would definitely be interested in getting a replacement for my control panel. I have a Pit Fighter that was converted into a Street Fighter Alpha 3, but apparently the person who added the extra buttons to the CP decided that they didn't need to be drilled symmetrically. I would only need the top panel and plexiglas/acrylic, but they would need to be drilled to fit the rest of the control panel and have a groove for the the T-molding. It seems to be such a simple thing for someone to make, but I don't have the tools and I haven't found someone that would be willing to make one (for a reasonable price).

I guess my questions are:
- How much?
- Materials (5/16, 3/4, MDF, sheet metal, our choice etc.)?
- Are you talking about just the base CP, or are you doing a protective top (i.e. plexiglas)?
- Is the size and shape of the control panel fixed, or can it be changed (for example, my CP top is rectangular with 30

[paigeoliver]

As of a week ago this seller was in the "I have never done any arcade project, but I have a kewl idea involving  a playstation and a TV set phase".

Basically, I'd have to see some pictures of your finished work before I even THOUGHT about ordering.

[gtarcade]

Ok, Mairsil, I'll do the panel and Plexiglass.  I'll make the panel, put up pictures, then you decide if you want it or not.  That way everyone can see an example.
How thick does the Panel & Plexiglass have to be?
Do you want Ply or MDF?

Oh, I have a router, but does anyone know where to get a slot cutting bit?

[HaRuMaN]

*cough*

[mairsil]

Ok, Mairsil, I'll do the panel and Plexiglass.  I'll make the panel, put up pictures, then you decide if you want it or not.  That way everyone can see an example.
How thick does the Panel & Plexiglass have to be?
Do you want Ply or MDF?

That sounds perfectly reasonable, but I am curious as to what you think the cost is going to be. I wouldn't want you to go through the effort of making the parts and have the cost be higher than expected. I am thinking that the CP should be 3/4" MDF and 1/8" thick plexiglas in order to match what I currently have.

Both the MDF and plexiglas should be fabricated from the plans that I am going to link to. The first one is the overall schematic of the CP completely dimensioned. I separated out the dimensions for the player controls in order to clarify the drawing. Here is the list of all the holes (in diameter):

- two 1.1875 holes (one for each joystick).
- eight 0.25 holes (four for each joystick).
- twelve 1.125 holes (six for each player + two start buttons).
- four 0.28125 holes (for mounting to existing CP).

All of the dimensions are rounded to the nearest 1/32 of an inch except for the joystick mounting holes (1.30" and 2.60"). The scale of the drawing is 1/4. The actual chamfer on the bottom of the panel is 14

[Vicious]

Ok, Mairsil, I'll do the panel and Plexiglass.  I'll make the panel, put up pictures, then you decide if you want it or not.  That way everyone can see an example.
How thick does the Panel & Plexiglass have to be?
Do you want Ply or MDF?

Oh, I have a router, but does anyone know where to get a slot cutting bit?

How exactly are these custom panels?  From the the subject title, most assumed that these were something you were having custom machined.

[gtarcade]

What would you call them?

[zaphod]

What would you call them?

That's likely the best heading you could have come up with.  Get one complete so everyone can see an example of your work.  

One small suggestion, though, for the future: it could be inferred (?) that you have never built a custom control panel before if you have to ask where to buy a slotter.  You might want to leave that part out.

[Vicious]

What would you call them?

The subject would be more descriptive with a title like "Who Wants Me To Drill Holes For A Price?"

[Vicious]

I've gone ahead and scratched my suggestion for a better subject title.  Looking at your title a couple more times got me thinking about it.  You are saying "Custom Drilled Control Panels", not "Drilled Custom Control Panels".  So you did, in fact, word it correct and I misinterpreted it.