NASA themed 4 player build. Custom balltops, laser etched control panel

[scoodidabop]

Balltops www.cuddleburrito.com:



Cuddleburrito is a really nice guy and does some pretty unique stuff.  Hit him up!

Here's the sideart.  I think I'll cut out the shuttle windows and recess the wood on that part with some lighted plexi of the side of the cabinet if it won't interfere with the monitor bracket. If not this looks ok without that;




As for the marquee I kept it pretty simple:



But what if I want to jazz up this marquee? Ahem.  Dolla, dolla bill y'all.  I found a nearly perfect sized LCD (the 32") I was thinking about using for a dynamic marquee but it's like $600 with shipping. Kinda steep for a fun yet basic feature.  Who am I kidding it's more than kinda fun.  It would be spectacular!  Who here has Chinese negotiating skills and can get me a deep discount on this thing?  I'll pay you in Doritos.  Cool Ranch.  Or Spicy Cheetos.  It's a good deal.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Different-Customize-bar-LCD-Stretched-LCD-screen-digital-advertising-moudle-/291192461563?hash=item43cc6c58fb


The control panel graphic is done and printed but after seeing how this guy did some fairly simple laser etching on plexi I'm seriously considering scrapping that whole approach and doing a version of this for my control panel.  How cool would that look with the LED arcade buttons?

http://imgur.com/a/DyQZL

Sorry no build pics of the cabinet yet.  I have the basic frame done but I'll make some real progress in a month or so.  Stay tuned!  Thanks guys!

[pbj]

Those ball tops are pretty cool.

You can find me at the Bayview Duck in San Leon fairly often.  Boondoggles is alright, too.

[rablack97]

Dang sparing no expense......$200.00 in balltop eh?

[yotsuya]

I kinda like the sparse,  NASA-heyday approach and don't think you need to super-bling it out, myself. 

[yotsuya]

I mean, good luck with your build, bro!!!

[n3wt0n]

I mean, good luck with your build, bro!!!

I like the NASA artwork. It all seems to fit together nicely.

[scoodidabop]

Dang sparing no expense......$200.00 in balltop eh?

Almost.  He hooked me up since I got TMNT set for another build. It's steep if you're doing a 4 player unit though, yeah.

I mean, good luck with your build, bro!!!

Thanks!

I like the NASA artwork. It all seems to fit together nicely.

Thanks! Art definitely isn't my strong suit but this came out ok I think. 

I kinda like the sparse,  NASA-heyday approach and don't think you need to super-bling it out, myself. 

That's the thing about doing individual plexi panels - it would be a closer match to what NASA actually uses vs. just buttons on some vinyl decal in the more traditional arcade style.  I dunno.  We'll see if I can come up with something that looks decent.  Sparse is cool though, I agree.

[Pauly]

Digging this! Huge NASA fan here. I think it all looks great and I like the idea of the side indents. Was there a reason behind not having an official logo? I think that would be the cherry on top. Your current design could use the "worm" logo (my fav) or the "meatball" logo as we know today.



NEVERMIND: Just read side art is done. Ignore this dumb post from me.  It looks fantastic either way!

[scoodidabop]

I played around with both of those actually.  In the end I used the NASA logo from the movie Interstellar.  Before you get upset with me for using that particular logo I'll give you some context; The film (rightfully) caught a lot of flack but I took my two kids to it and it blew their tiny child minds.  They were 10 and 12 at the time and we had some really great discussions about space and the universe in the lobby after the movie and on the car ride home.  So I kinda watched the movie through their eyes in a way and the imagery and sense of exploration was seemingly profound for them.  Using that logo is kind of a tribute to them and that experience.  Here's the graphic I did for the control panel - it's decent (I don't have your art skills Pauly!) but if I can pull off that plexiglass panel idea I think that would be really slick:

[DeLuSioNal29]

A custom Earth trackball would be awesome.  I recall someone wanted that once for a Galactus themed cabinet.  My memory is failing me.

Nice concept though!  My brother in law worked for NASA (he was contracted to recover the booster rockets after launches from the now retired space shuttle).  I'll need to show this to him.

DeLuSioNaL29

[rablack97]

can your guy do this with battops?

[EvilNuff]

...But what if I want to jazz up this marquee? Ahem.  Dolla, dolla bill y'all.  I found a nearly perfect sized LCD (the 32") I was thinking about using for a dynamic marquee but it's like $600 with shipping. Kinda steep for a fun yet basic feature.  Who am I kidding it's more than kinda fun.  It would be spectacular!  Who here has Chinese negotiating skills and can get me a deep discount on this thing?  I'll pay you in Doritos.  Cool Ranch.  Or Spicy Cheetos.  It's a good deal.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Different-Customize-bar-LCD-Stretched-LCD-screen-digital-advertising-moudle-/291192461563?hash=item43cc6c58fb
...

I have been looking for something to use for a dynamic marquee as well and also have had no luck!  I have found several manufacturers with displays that would work but they all appear to be made to order and just have inquiry links for price.  I wonder if there would be interest in, or ability to get a better price on a group buy from people on the forum? 

[scoodidabop]

A custom Earth trackball would be awesome.  I recall someone wanted that once for a Galactus themed cabinet.  My memory is failing me.

Nice concept though!  My brother in law worked for NASA (he was contracted to recover the booster rockets after launches from the now retired space shuttle).  I'll need to show this to him.

DeLuSioNaL29

That's awesome! I bet recovering those boosters was a huge undertaking. 

As for an Earth trackball I don't think he has a mold for that size.  In addition the method he used on the joystick balltops wouldn't work because they're essentially just the planet image on a sheet of paper sandwiched between two halves of clear balltop - so when spinning the trackball you would rarely see the Earth image.

Now that you mention it I should do something custom for the trackball though.  Maybe clear?
 

[scoodidabop]

...But what if I want to jazz up this marquee? Ahem.  Dolla, dolla bill y'all.  I found a nearly perfect sized LCD (the 32") I was thinking about using for a dynamic marquee but it's like $600 with shipping. Kinda steep for a fun yet basic feature.  Who am I kidding it's more than kinda fun.  It would be spectacular!  Who here has Chinese negotiating skills and can get me a deep discount on this thing?  I'll pay you in Doritos.  Cool Ranch.  Or Spicy Cheetos.  It's a good deal.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Different-Customize-bar-LCD-Stretched-LCD-screen-digital-advertising-moudle-/291192461563?hash=item43cc6c58fb
...

I have been looking for something to use for a dynamic marquee as well and also have had no luck!  I have found several manufacturers with displays that would work but they all appear to be made to order and just have inquiry links for price.  I wonder if there would be interest in, or ability to get a better price on a group buy from people on the forum?

I'd be down for this if it's a viable option.  The minimums required to obtain a discount are usually fairly steep from these guys but I'll ask vitrolight where that threshold lies.

[Pauly]

Using that logo is kind of a tribute to them and that experience.

Cannot argue with that one bit! You know what would be cool for the plexi side panels?

[cw]

not seeing a thrust control for lunar lander


do like the theme...

[Scotty_C]

Really liking this!!  That plexi panel would be so awesome! Do it

[matsadona]

+1 one for the Lunar lander thrust handle 

Regarding the trackball, I would search for anyone skilled with an airbrush and have it painted as the moon with craters and such.

[ZexisStryfe]

I have been looking for something to use for a dynamic marquee as well and also have had no luck!  I have found several manufacturers with displays that would work but they all appear to be made to order and just have inquiry links for price.  I wonder if there would be interest in, or ability to get a better price on a group buy from people on the forum?

I would totally be down for this as well. I have been searching for a 32"x9" or 32"x8" monitor for a marquee for a while now with no luck...

[scoodidabop]

Thinking about this plexi thing. Initial layout of possible panels. My local laser guy said he can cut up to 1/4" thick (I need to run a quality test piece with him) but I'm wondering how well that will hold up.  Mashing on arcade buttons gets pretty intense and with some of these pieces being fairly large I would need to leave some wood intact below the plexi for the buttons and stick to mount to. 

I have been looking for something to use for a dynamic marquee as well and also have had no luck!  I have found several manufacturers with displays that would work but they all appear to be made to order and just have inquiry links for price.  I wonder if there would be interest in, or ability to get a better price on a group buy from people on the forum?

I would totally be down for this as well. I have been searching for a 32"x9" or 32"x8" monitor for a marquee for a while now with no luck...

Well I heard back from vitrolight on ebay.  They said qty 10-20 would afford a $20 discount per unit.  Not great.  They hinted at going off ebay for a little more discount but that wouldn't exceed 10% - so a total of $60 off.  Better than nothing but not what I was hoping for. 

@ZexisStryfe their 32" measures appx 29ish by 7ish.  Perfect for my cab but a little smaller than what you're looking for.  The aspect ratio is right, which is why I like these.  Most of the other stretched LCDs I've seen (LG, Dell) are taller than these, like 30"x12", which is a bit too tall for this application.

[ZexisStryfe]

@ZexisStryfe their 32" measures appx 29ish by 7ish.  Perfect for my cab but a little smaller than what you're looking for.  The aspect ratio is right, which is why I like these.  Most of the other stretched LCDs I've seen (LG, Dell) are taller than these, like 30"x12", which is a bit too tall for this application.

See if the screen was 29x7 I would definitely consider it, however the screen is only 27.5" x5.1". That would mean there would be way too much black border for my taste (2 inches+ all around the screen).

[scoodidabop]

See if the screen was 29x7 I would definitely consider it, however the screen is only 27.5" x5.1". That would mean there would be way too much black border for my taste (2 inches+ all around the screen).

Oh, right - good call. On my 30" wide marquee I can live with a 27.5" wide image but that's too much of a waste on a 32" space.  Damn. 

It's a shame these are so expensive at the moment. They're clearly aimed at commercial clients since they're little consumer demand/use for them.  Who needs a kidney?! I have one - cheap! Just $600

[reptileink]

Looks really cool so far!

Back to the "Earth" track ball. Do you guys think something like hydro dipping would hold up?? http://www.uniquehydrographics.com/services.html

Send them the ball, and have them dip it?

Sorry, I don't know much about how a trackball is put together....lol.

Keep it up!

[ChanceKJ]

  love this! Best one I've seen yet!

[scoodidabop]

Looks really cool so far!

Back to the "Earth" track ball. Do you guys think something like hydro dipping would hold up?? http://www.uniquehydrographics.com/services.html

Send them the ball, and have them dip it?

Sorry, I don't know much about how a trackball is put together....lol.

Keep it up!

Hydro dip would work but that eliminates any dimensional depth to the ball.  This might be cool:

http://www.neonhusky.com/JShop/product.php/411/0

I was hoping to find some kind of "bubble" style ball since those have tons of depth and look great lit up but this might look nice.  Ordered one.

love this! Best one I've seen yet!

Thanks buddy! 

[scoodidabop]

Starry night trackball arrived:



The ball is UV reactive so I'll test it with some UV LEDs.

[vwalbridge]

(How the flip do you embed a facebook vid?

Remove the letter 's' from 'https...' and it will embedded the video. (This works for YouTube videos anyway)

[ChanceKJ]

That trackball though....









#MyGodItsFullOfStars.

[Xerobull]

I'm loving this build- between the UV reactive ball and the etched plexi...man, this is some innovative stuff. What trackball do you have & is it working well?

[scoodidabop]

Thanks! I'm using an Ultimarc trackball as usual.  Same one used in my latest build - and of course by everyone and their mama:




The UV ball is maybe 1mm too small so we'll have to see how it performs in a real world scenario when it's mounted to the control board. Hopefully making some progress soon on the etching.

[scoodidabop]

So right now I'm considering the following layers for the control panel

Top layer - 1/8" clear plexi for protection
Middle layer - 1/8" white plexi, laser etched with details/writing
Base layer - 1/2 plexi (whoa mama!) clear for LED light transmission through to middle layer

Seems like that might work.  The next thing I'm considering is maybe a black vinyl instead of laser etching.  Advantage of vinyl would be a one piece construction where the laser cut pieces would be individual small panels.  The one piece idea might lead to lots of light bleed between the different sections of the control panel but that would only be an issue if I did multicolor.  White might be cool for all the laser cut lines though.  I don't know.  In this unit the separate panels allow for different colors and no color bleed between them.  Looks kinda cool.  I also like the SpaceX aesthetic so maybe all white:



I'm awful at graphic design so my apologies.  Hopefully this will improve.  It's a decent starting point but I'm welcomed to any ideas - or if you wanna do the whole thing for me that would be nice! 

[scoodidabop]

First of all laser etching is expensive as balls.  Damn.  The test piece came out good despite the fact that I accidentally left on compression when saving the file so there's some artifacts around the lines.  Not perfectly clean but still, a successful test.  Damn it's expensive. Might still go the vinyl route just to save some serious dough.



Anyway I was so excited about this progress that I worked up a bunch more of the control panel.  Liking it so far. Needs tweaks but it's getting late and I need bed. 



EDIT:

Thinking about using these square buttons for coin/start/esc along the top row to get more of the SpaceX feel. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-16MM-White-Square-Momentary-PUSH-BUTTON-LED-ILLUMINATED-24V-AC-DC-5-PINS-/181714839615?hash=item2a4f0c683f

Adafruit has these little RGB leds I can use with those buttons but they need a resistor added to them... might be too labor intensive for this.  Does the PacLED64 put out a full 5v?

http://www.adafruit.com/products/302

Alright.  I gotta go.  I'm tired. Y'all trippin.

[scoodidabop]

This 1/2" clear plexi is heavy as balls.  Jeez.  As much as I hate to use MDF I might need it on the rear panels just to compensate for the weight on the front.  It cut pretty easy freehanding a 1 1/8" forstner bit but I actually got a cleaner, straighter cut using a hole saw. 





EDIT:

Damn I just realized I'll need to router a channel into the top of the 1/2" plexi to house additional LEDs to illuminate the front of the control panel that cantilevers out over the control box.  I considered this routered LED channel method and using a 1/2" wood substrate under the white plexi but with such close proximity to the plexi the LEDs won't diffuse so well.  Having the LEDs shine up through the 1/2" plexi from 3" away in the bottom of the control box should help scatter the light throughout the whole piece.  Except the front of course.  Hence the revelation.

EDIT AGAIN: SORRY:

Considering RGB LEDs with this remote, instead of plain white: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-12V-Output-44-Key-IR-Remote-Controller-For-3528-5050-RGB-LED-SMD-Strip-Light-/351163107183?var=&hash=item51c2f3c76f
If white gets boring I can change it on the fly.  Plus I wanted the ability to dim the white just in case.  Considered connecting to the PacLED64 but I want some separation from the LEDBlinky software to prevent the control panel lines from doing things like audio reaction and such.  There is a plan to add different system names to the graphic (see pic - SEGA, Nintendo, Arcade, etc...) and have those light up via LEDBlinky when each of those systems are selected.

[Slippyblade]

Regarding the laser etching...  see if there is a Makerspace in your area.  Most of em have a laser cutter and most will either do the etching for you or show you how to do it.  Most I've run into don't even charge if you provide the material.

[jlfreund]

Hey fellow builders!

I've done a couple Flynn clones for friends and thought I should do one to keep for myself.  The sideart is done and has arrived, same with the marquee and control panel but now I'm considering some alternatives here and there.  It's NASA themed (I live in Space City too) and I just received these really slick custom balltops from www.cuddleburrito.com:

Super excited about the custom balltops.  Going to get one for my project (in progress).

Jason

[rablack97]

Regarding the laser etching...  see if there is a Makerspace in your area.  Most of em have a laser cutter and most will either do the etching for you or show you how to do it.  Most I've run into don't even charge if you provide the material.

Yep was about to say the same thing, there is a membership fee, and they dont give you much training on the tools.  It will be trial and error, just bring your own materials, and the space may charge you a usage fee like .10- .20 per minute for your run time.  The money just goes back into replacing the laser tubes.

Very nice build sir....

[rablack97]

This 8 button subject has gone viral lately.

The hobby is evolving, back to the old school.  The days of keyboard drawers and lit balltops is slowly fading away

[scoodidabop]

Regarding the laser etching...  see if there is a Makerspace in your area.  Most of em have a laser cutter and most will either do the etching for you or show you how to do it.  Most I've run into don't even charge if you provide the material.

Yep was about to say the same thing, there is a membership fee, and they dont give you much training on the tools.  It will be trial and error, just bring your own materials, and the space may charge you a usage fee like .10- .20 per minute for your run time.  The money just goes back into replacing the laser tubes.

Very nice build sir....

Thanks. I reached out to my local makerspace.  We'll see what happens

[Malenko]

Just because there's something worse out there doesn't mean what you have isn't terrible too.

[opt2not]

Looking forward to seeing more!