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Control Panel building
JONTHEBOMB:
Hello, I'm just looking for some suggestions on what a control panel should or could be made out of. I have looked at many examples and I see a certain kind of wood used or particle board. Also, would you suggest building the control panel separate form the cabinet or into the cabinet?
Thanks for your help.
markrvp:
Because of it's size, a CP is typically made out of MDF or Plywood. MDF holds paint better IMHO. Poplar would be my wood of choice (because of how it holds paint), but you would have to glue up panels, so very few people do this.
The width of your control panel will be determined by the space needed to accomodate the controls you choose. The width of your cabinet will be determined at least partially by the size of your monitor. If the width of the CP is wider than your cabinet, then you will probably build it separate from the cabinet and then attach it. If your CP will fit within the width of the cabinet, then my opinion is it looks nicer built into the cabinet.
These are my opinions.
Q*Bert_OP:
If you have access to metalwork go with metal control panels.
Veinman:
Often the control panel is separate because of the difficulty/impossibility in moving a cabinet with it attached.
JONTHEBOMB:
A bit more information about the cabinet I'm working on is...
I'm building it out of wood (not sure what kind yet).
It will have a 19inch monitor.
The controls are below.
They include 2 joysticks, a spinner, a trackball, and a lot of buttons.
Switching topics how would you suggest I connect a control panel built separately to a cabinet so that it says in place and doesn't move around during gameplay.
Thanks
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