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Author Topic: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab  (Read 6243 times)

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strykerX_X

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Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« on: February 20, 2012, 02:51:24 pm »
I have finally finished my single player bartop mame cabinet I built in high school shop class. The screen cover is one continuous piece of plexiglass that I heated up and bent ( I broke 2 before I got one to work). Over all am am extremely happy with how it turned out(beiNg this is the only arcade machine I have ever built), its really fun to be able to play those old classics. Please let me know your thoughts about it, or if you have any questions about it. The little red straw sticking out of the machine is where i have a small hole to push the compute on or off( the red straw can be pulled out so you barely see the hole. The pictures i have posted are before the machine was completely finished, but they show it pretty good.
















CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER PROJECTS:
http://cancrusherguide.webs.com/
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« Last Edit: February 20, 2012, 03:12:00 pm by strykerX_X »

Le Chuck

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2012, 02:56:43 pm »
 :applaud:  Great job man.  I hope you got your A.  Bent CP plexi looks slick, glad you go it figured out.  Take some pics so we can check out the detail.   :applaud:

strykerX_X

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2012, 03:13:20 pm »
Thanks, yeah I really like the look of the bent plexiglass. I have posted some pictures that where taken before i got the marquee on  ( excuse the quality they where taken with my phone).

DaveMMR

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2012, 03:43:23 pm »
I'm "eh" on the button layout but everything else is simple and attractive.  The whole project looks like it could have been bought from the store, and I'm a sucker for black and green. I like it a lot.  :applaud:

strykerX_X

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2012, 03:56:44 pm »
I'm "eh" on the button layout but everything else is simple and attractive.  The whole project looks like it could have been bought from the store, and I'm a sucker for black and green. I like it a lot.  :applaud:

That was my goal for the whole project, to make it look like a production arcade machine. You cant go wrong with black and green. The button layout I really just winged and went with what felt good for me, what is the best button layout you think? I am planning another arcade project for the near future, and might want to try a different button layout.

Louis Tully

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2012, 03:58:59 pm »
.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 05:24:57 am by Louis Tully »

yotsuya

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2012, 04:12:14 pm »
Great job! How did you bend the plexi?
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

javeryh

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2012, 05:21:13 pm »
So it's one continuous piece of plexi that covers the screen and wraps around the CP?  Don' think I've ever seen that before - very nice!   :cheers:

strykerX_X

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2012, 05:26:26 pm »
To bend the plexiglass, I just used a heat gun to slowly heat it up just enough.Then I used a stick off wood to push in the bend.
This was very tricky being my first time.

Hi-TEK

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2012, 06:32:55 pm »
Nice job on the bartop and like the others like the combination monitor cover and integrated CP. Just curious why you just didn't add a regular power button on the rear instead of relying on a pin hole and a red straw.
"Don't just stand there! Shoot something!" - Duke Nukem
The Invader Bartop - http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=116345.0

strykerX_X

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2012, 08:05:34 pm »
I do have a power switch on the back, you might be able to see it in the pictures ( its right below the power cord). The power switch on the back shuts off the entire cabinet. The pin hole directly pushes the pc power button. Its basically just a back up, and makes it hard for the pc to accidentally be turned off. Thanks for the great compliments.

Le Chuck

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2012, 09:26:54 pm »
I still don't get the separate switch.  Are you rocking a smart strip?

Also, noticed some fine warping on the bottom of your bezel area right above where you make the bend to the CPO.  Looks like it warps slightly out but it could be the photos.  If it is bowed a bit and you're so inclined I found that warming the plexi back up to just below it's bending temp then weighing it down between two clean pieces of MDF with clamps or a bucket of sand <fat kid, something heavy> will do a lot to take those incipent little waves out of the plexi post bending.  Just make sure it's not at it's melt point or you can mess up your finish which would require flame polishing which could rewarp what you just straightened which could... you get the idea.  That said it likely doesn't affect game play one bit so there is not any real reason to fix it if it's there at all. 

Just make sure you evenly heat the area, the reason it warps in the first place is because your center area was likely hotter than your edges do they didn't solidify at the same time.  In the future if you brace before you bend and let cool between bends you can avoid that trouble.

strykerX_X

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2012, 10:16:45 pm »
12 buttons??

 ???

I wanted each button to control a function, instead of having button combos.
The 6 green ones are for playing games. The right black is pause, the left is exit.
The white ones are start,coin, save,load, menu or volume depending on what game system your emulating.

leapinlew

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2012, 01:15:21 am »
Looks good. The only issue I see is that I like to have a decent palm rest when playing for any amount of time.


Good job.

Unstupid

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Re: Finished!!! bartop Mame Cab
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2012, 02:05:01 am »
Looks good... digging the bent plexi!  Looks like you have/had plenty of space to move the white and black buttons north a couple of inches... I wouldn't have put then near the other buttons or joystick to avoid accidental button pushes.  BTW where are your speakers?  I can hear them but I don't see them....