Laptop based Bartop Build

[Imko]

Started work on my personal Bartop, a full size cab  is in the making but thought i practiche my skills so starting "small". I work with Autodesk Inventor so all my planning is drawn in Inventor first.

Blog part 1:
http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/06/bartop-mame-arcade-part-1.html

Blog part 2:
http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/07/bartop-mame-arcade-part-2.html

Here is where i am at..

[lilshawn]

If i can offer up 1 tip,

get your laptop all working and running how it should...get your buttons and whatnot make sure everything works.... lay everything out and make sure of the size of everything before you make your first wood cut...

nothing worse than cutting everything out and finding out you need another 1/4 inch here or need to move a piece 1/2 inch up cause it's not going to clear. or a button position is interfering with a part of the computer.

mock it up in cardboard and tape if you need to. it's fun to see it "finished" but it also will show you where you need things to be.

[vwalbridge]

Always good to model it up first to see how it looks and fits. I never bothered to learn auto-cad or google sketchup and that has nearly bit me in the back-side when I started putting everything together. I'm always jelly of people that have 3D mock-up abilities.

I have a few questions/suggestions:

1. That looks like a relatively small bartop. Are you sure that 2 players can comfortably play on it?
2. Speaking of it looking small, (There is nothing wrong with that by the way) What hardware are you planning on putting inside? It never ceases to amaze me how tight things can get at this size.
3. Unless you are absolutely dead set on it, leave the pinball out. Just stick with the arcade classics. Nothing wrong with tackling a pinball build later.
4. Looks like you have 2 artwork styles going. Arcade characters and geometric. I'd pick one style and keep it throughout. You will probably find most members here are "not fans of arcade charters plastered all over their cab"

Anyway, this is just my 2 cents. Please don't let any of my questions or comments deter you. Many builds evolve over time as you build them. 

[Imko]

lilshawn: my laptop setup (Hyperspin) is at 95% complete, the last 5% is mainly the button setup. I plan on doing this after i build the control panel. Cardboard is a good idea but i model everything in Inventor so the buttons all clear (i did had to change the model time after time so i understand where you're coming from

vwalbridge:

1 the total width is 474 mm the layout is as "Sanwa Layout 2" using those exact dimensions. The distance between the most right button of P1 and the joystick of P2 is 45 mm i agree that's not much. Ill probable mock it all up to see if its comfortable "enough"
2 i am putting a Lenovo B50-30 laptop in this, its build around that laptop
3 i do like the pinball and who'd love to build a separate pinball cab but its more a space issue, i also plan on adding a wii sensor balk and 2 "light guns"
4 this is version 1 of the artwork, i do think ill keep the "arcade charters plastered all over the cab"  i understand its not how most cab's are made..... but mine might be 

[vwalbridge]

i am putting a Lenovo B50-30 laptop in this, its build around that laptop

Does this laptop have discrete graphics or integrated Intel HD graphics?

[Imko]

Does this laptop have discrete graphics or integrated Intel HD graphics?

Intergrated HD Graphics (Intel (R) HD Graphics to be precice why you ask??

I just printed the layout 1:1 to try for size, i think this is the smallest you shoud go for a 2P Cab but it's big enough   

[vwalbridge]

Does this laptop have discrete graphics or integrated Intel HD graphics?

Intergrated HD Graphics (Intel (R) HD Graphics to be precice why you ask??

I just printed the layout 1:1 to try for size, i think this is the smallest you shoud go for a 2P Cab but it's big enough   

I'm not a pinball expert by any means but it was my impression you needed pretty good discrete graphics card to run pinball games well. Have you tested it yet?

Does anyone know the lowest card you can use for pinball?

[lilshawn]

like anything else, more is better, but any card/chipset capable of DX9 with 521mb ram is basically the MINIMUM if you don't mind the crummy FPS.

itx boards are cheap as dirt these days. you could probably build a brand new computer for mame AND VP  for ~300 including a decent video card (650ti with 2gb ram or the like)

[vwalbridge]

like anything else, more is better, but any card/chipset capable of DX9 with 521mb ram is basically the MINIMUM if you don't mind the crummy FPS.

itx boards are cheap as dirt these days. you could probably build a brand new computer for mame AND VP  for ~300 including a decent video card (650ti with 2gb ram or the like)

Yea lilshawn, that's what I thought. The one thing I do know is that Pinball is all about the FPS, lighting, shadows, etc. The more the better. And I can guarantee an interated Intel HD is going to have problems. Heck, I couldn't even get N64 to run without FPS issues on a Intel HD card.

[Imko]

like anything else, more is better, but any card/chipset capable of DX9 with 521mb ram is basically the MINIMUM if you don't mind the crummy FPS.

itx boards are cheap as dirt these days. you could probably build a brand new computer for mame AND VP  for ~300 including a decent video card (650ti with 2gb ram or the like)

Yea lilshawn, that's what I thought. The one thing I do know is that Pinball is all about the FPS, lighting, shadows, etc. The more the better. And I can guarantee an interated Intel HD is going to have problems. Heck, I couldn't even get N64 to run without FPS issues on a Intel HD card.

hummm good point, if pinball play's like **** the plunger is out as well as the side buttons. Thx 

[Imko]

http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/07/bartop-mame-arcade-part-3.html verry small update, added the latest panels and made some renders

[leapinlew]

If i can offer up 1 tip,

get your laptop all working and running how it should...get your buttons and whatnot make sure everything works.... lay everything out and make sure of the size of everything before you make your first wood cut...

nothing worse than cutting everything out and finding out you need another 1/4 inch here or need to move a piece 1/2 inch up cause it's not going to clear. or a button position is interfering with a part of the computer.

mock it up in cardboard and tape if you need to. it's fun to see it "finished" but it also will show you where you need things to be.

I did this very exact thing and cut my mini-galaga to fit my laptop.

I neglected 1 thing. I didn't plug up everything! lol. the power plug added stuck out in a way I couldn't fix. I ended up buying a micro-atx board to mount in the cabinet.

[Imko]

Made some small progress http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/07/bartop-mame-arcade-part-4a.html

got the most difficult pieces done, so a litle muckup to get a feel for the result

[vwalbridge]

What joystick are you using for this cutout shape?

[HaRuMaN]

That's going to restrict you to 4-way... good luck playing fighters with that

[jdbailey1206]

That's going to restrict you to 4-way... good luck playing fighters with that

Word.  Do holes and put restrictors on the joysticks.

[Imko]

That's going to restrict you to 4-way... good luck playing fighters with that

It might look like it, but no no restriction at all. Have a look at these pictures its just that shape so the 4 screws that connect the top mount plate to the joystick can be placed.




Dont jump to conclusions that fast 

[vwalbridge]

Call me crazy but I still don't get it?

Did you router out the top and the bottom of your control panel?

I still don't understand how you are going to get the joystick to mount flush to the top plate.

[Imko]

Call me crazy but I still don't get it?

Did you router out the top and the bottom of your control panel?

I still don't understand how you are going to get the joystick to mount flush to the top plate.

I routed the top and bottom, the top plate (grey) sits flush with the top of thecontrol panel. The bottom is routed out so i don't lose to much hight of the stick. I now lose about 6mm of stick hight (i know that's a shame but ill live with it)

Hope this helps.

[camperman73]

I thought the plate just sat underneath?
Am i missing something?

[yamatetsu]

Imko will unscrew the plate from the joystick and place it into the groove he routed out on top of the CP. The joystick he will place into the groove he routed out on the underside of the CP. Then he screws it all back together, basically creating a sandwich of joystick plate / CP / rest of joystick. Voila, joystick mounted without the need of extra screws.

The + shape he cut out for the joystick shaft and the screws is a bit of over-engineering, it would have been sufficient to route out the recess for the joystick plate on the CP, place the plate in it, mark the holes for the joystick shaft and the screws and then drill those. That solution probably is more stable as well as the screws will be held in place by the wood and by pressure, instead of just pressure like in Imko's version. But it's a neat idea nonetheless.

[camperman73]

Arrr.. i see. I like it 

Definitely doing this on mine!

[Imko]

Imko will unscrew the plate from the joystick and place it into the groove he routed out on top of the CP. The joystick he will place into the groove he routed out on the underside of the CP. Then he screws it all back together, basically creating a sandwich of joystick plate / CP / rest of joystick. Voila, joystick mounted without the need of extra screws.

The + shape he cut out for the joystick shaft and the screws is a bit of over-engineering, it would have been sufficient to route out the recess for the joystick plate on the CP, place the plate in it, mark the holes for the joystick shaft and the screws and then drill those. That solution probably is more stable as well as the screws will be held in place by the wood and by pressure, instead of just pressure like in Imko's version. But it's a neat idea nonetheless.

Yes that is exactly what i plan on doing. And yes just hole's for the 4 screws is better. The next time i do this i add those to my template and drill all the holes before i route out the pocket. Got all my artwork orderd so the next big update is coming 

[Imko]

finaly found some time to work on it a bit more.. here is where i am at.



Artwork done, controll's fitted. Ill add some more pictures how i mounted the joysticks as you might find it interesting.


MDF woodfiller to fill in the gaps


Sanded flush


view from the bottum, fits perfectly


Top view

As for the artwork i know it's not the usual here but i like it 
http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/08/bartop-mame-arcade-part-4b.html for some bigger pictures (click on them..)

[Vidiot]

This is really looking great. I believe the most important part of a cab is the controls. It's nice to see you've spent a lot of focus on this area with this bartop. I mean a cab is useless if you don't like playing on it. I like the bigger CP while keeping the overall size of the bartop small and it has a really cool shape too. I always like to see original designs and not just a copy of something else. Yours looks original to me. Nice work. 

[Imko]

I always like to see original designs and not just a copy of something else. Yours looks original to me. Nice work. 

Thax and Yes i did draw this one from scratch, so to my knowledge it is a original design. 

[Imko]

It's been way to long.. my side project kept me occupied you guy's might find that one interested as well  I prommise bartop update soon.. want to see it finished myself

http://imkovb.blogspot.nl/2015/09/wac-arcade-cab-build-part-1.html 

[TheDude]

I always like to see original designs and not just a copy of something else. Yours looks original to me. Nice work. 

Thax and Yes i did draw this one from scratch, so to my knowledge it is a original design. 

Design is nice and I'll probably ask you to publish your photos at bartopmania ! Good job !