Author Topic: LiquidMame - Out of the shop and into the house (Read 36876 times)

fiscap · « **on:** April 15, 2006, 06:49:47 pm »

After almost two years of planning, research and designing - but mostly procrastination, I've finally started work on building my first MAME cabinet. This is a work log of my progress on the cabinet and this first post in the topic will be modified on a regular basis to show my latest update. Please read through the remaider of the topic for additional details on my progress.

I've put a lot of thought into building the ultimate gaming cabinet and have always been impressed by the work of members in this forum. Along with my own ideas, I've incorporated some of my favorite design aspects from many of the skilled members here. The list of those to thank is long, but some of the more obvious include - Tivogre, 1UP, Frostillicus, Knievel, and Pixelhugger.

My goal is to build a cabinet with a three-sided rotating control panel. Two of the sides will have stationary controls, while the third side will be used for modularity - allowing me to easily connect and remove a four-player control panel, Star Wars flight yoke, Super Hang-On handlebar, steering wheel and shifter as well as any future specialized controls.

I live on the second floor of a multi-family house, so another design consideration was mobility. My cabinet uses casters, but I also have the ability to break the cabinet down into modular sub-components (sides, top frame, bottom frame, controls, etc.). With this design, I'm able to tear-down, move and reassemble the cabinet on my own - with a little help on the 27" Wells-Gardner monitor

I got quite a bit accomplished over the weekend - the biggest task having moved the cabinet inside since it's getting cold up here in New England.

It's not functional yet, but I did manage to get the monitor and marquee fired-up. The four-player control panel still needs to be wired and is just resting on the cabinet (with support from a chair). It's really starting to come together now and I'm getting excited to play the first game...

fiscap · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2006, 06:54:30 pm »

I made my first cuts this afternoon. I have a cabinet all planned, but I decided to start with the control panel first. I figured the control panel will be small enough of a project to get used to my new tools, plus I'll be able to use it with my big screen TV and HTPC while I?m working on my cabinet

The layout and design is almost identical to the SlikStik Quad control panel, but I like it. The Mame graphic is just a placeholder until I design some real graphics for the final product.

While I was in the middle of doing layouts on the new CP blank, I hear plop, plop - rain?? Wait a second - rain isn't black!!! I was working on my project under a few tree branches - f'in birds! Needless to say, he didn't stick around long after a piece of scrap MDF fired across his brow - sorry any ASPCA affiliates.

Here are a few pictures of my progress this afternoon.

nullb0y · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2006, 11:15:46 pm »

that bird pooped on ur cp you should name it acordingly

lettuce · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2006, 09:49:23 am »

Yeah i want to have an almost identical layout to the SlikStik quad CP aswell, just with a few minor adjustments, namely not so many buttons for player 3 and 4, as i cant think of any 4 player games that use more than 4 buttons per player. Where did u get the dimesions from for the Slikstik quad???

fiscap · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2006, 10:25:20 am »

Actually, I based the dimesions on the size of my cabinet design. The top is 48"x20" which is damn near exact to the SlikStik dimensions I found later.

http://www.slikstik.com/quadfeatures.htm

fiscap · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2006, 10:30:14 am »

Quote from: lettuce on April 16, 2006, 09:49:23 am

Yeah i want to have an almost identical layout to the SlikStik quad CP aswell, just with a few minor adjustments, namely not so many buttons for player 3 and 4, as i cant think of any 4 player games that use more than 4 buttons per player. Where did u get the dimesions from for the Slikstik quad???

I was contemplating the use of only 4 buttons for player 3 & 4 as well. Many of the posts that I've read on the forum also state that 4 buttons are all you need for 3 & 4 as you indicated. I guess I opted for the 6 buttons to keep the layout consistent and for looks.

Anyone know of any games that require more than 4 buttons on player 3 & 4?

nullb0y · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2006, 11:33:47 am »

on mine ive only cut 4 for p 3 ad 4 but if i ever do it sop it works on consoles too i might need more....

lettuce · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2006, 02:49:04 pm »

Well, heres my layout, im almost 90% certain on it apart from the picture, maybe add another joystick somewhere, I used the prog CP sketcher. Very much the same layout as yours fiscap!

escher · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2006, 04:41:58 pm »

Quote from: lettuce on April 16, 2006, 02:49:04 pm

Well, heres my layout, im almost 90% certain on it apart from the picture, maybe add another joystick somewhere, I used the prog CP sketcher. Very much the same layout as yours fiscap!

Be careful with the spinner in that location. It's asking for a broken finger if you're playing Golden Tee.

lettuce · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2006, 05:02:09 pm »

Ah ok good call, any suggestions, also cant figure out if the P1 & P2 buttons are spaced too far apart, and maybe bought closer together

escher · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2006, 06:23:53 pm »

Quote from: lettuce on April 16, 2006, 05:02:09 pm

Ah ok good call, any suggestions, also cant figure out if the P1 & P2 buttons are spaced too far apart, and maybe bought closer together

I would. Most CP's have them spaced like your 3p/4p buttons. There's a Capcom example layout that Saint has hosted off the main site, but I forget exactly where.

fiscap · « **Reply #11 on:** April 17, 2006, 08:48:01 pm »

Wells-Gardner monitor boxes make excellent test platforms for control panels.

fiscap · « **Reply #12 on:** April 17, 2006, 11:42:15 pm »

Here are some more photos of my mockup -

lettuce · « **Reply #13 on:** April 18, 2006, 05:43:09 am »

Looking good, what program is that your using, CAD??? Also how are you going to incorrirate the starwars yoke, into the CP??

nullb0y · « **Reply #14 on:** April 18, 2006, 01:09:34 pm »

I AM NOT the only one who uses cardboard mockups! lmao

fiscap · « **Reply #15 on:** April 19, 2006, 12:42:59 pm »

Quote from: lettuce on April 18, 2006, 05:43:09 am

Looking good, what program is that your using, CAD??? Also how are you going to in corrirate the starwars yoke, into the CP??

Thanks Lettuce. I'm using SolidWorks to do all of the design work.

My cabinet is going to have a three-sided rotating control panel - inspired by 1UP and Frostillicus. One of the faces of the control panel will have a modular slot to allow the use of my Star Wars and Hang-On controllers as well as a steering wheel and my 4-player control panel.

fiscap · « **Reply #16 on:** April 19, 2006, 12:44:54 pm »

Quote from: nullb0y on April 18, 2006, 01:09:34 pm

I AM NOT the only one who uses cardboard mockups! lmao

Yeah nullb0y - the cardboard really helps in getting the look and feel of the cabinet. I knew my cabinet was going to be on the bigger side because of the rotating control panel, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't too big.

markrvp · « **Reply #17 on:** April 19, 2006, 01:27:46 pm »

My only concern is that the steering controls will feel low compared to the additional height of the 4-P CP controls. I'm sure your mockups will let you know if they feel okay.

Also, PLEEEEEEEEASE tell me you are going to use a bigger monitor than what is in the mockup...

nullb0y · « **Reply #18 on:** April 19, 2006, 10:23:05 pm »

Quote from: fiscap on April 19, 2006, 12:44:54 pm

Quote from: nullb0y on April 18, 2006, 01:09:34 pm
I AM NOT the only one who uses cardboard mockups! lmao

Yeah nullb0y - the cardboard really helps in getting the look and feel of the cabinet. I knew my cabinet was going to be on the bigger side because of the rotating control panel, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't too big.

i know my show case is going to be on the larger side..... THATS WHY IM BUILDING IT BIGGER

fiscap · « **Reply #19 on:** April 19, 2006, 10:40:14 pm »

Quote from: markrvp on April 19, 2006, 01:27:46 pm

My only concern is that the steering controls will feel low compared to the additional height of the 4-P CP controls. I'm sure your mockups will let you know if they feel okay.

The rotating control panel height is between 35" and 39" - this height felt most comfortable for me. If anything the 4-player control panel is going to be on the high side, but the rotating panel will be the primary control system.

Quote from: markrvp on April 19, 2006, 01:27:46 pm

Also, PLEEEEEEEEASE tell me you are going to use a bigger monitor than what is in the mockup...

Yes - I have a Wells-Gardner D9200 for the cabinet.

fiscap · « **Reply #20 on:** April 25, 2006, 11:50:16 pm »

I've decided to hold up on the construction of the control panel until the CPO is finished - I want to make sure it all lines up before I start cutting holes. I have a friend who is really good with graphics doing the artwork.

In the meantime, I've decided to start working on the bottom cabinet framing.

fiscap · « **Reply #21 on:** April 26, 2006, 12:00:39 am »

I'm using a lot of dado cuts and lap joints in my assembly, and didn't want to have to keep switching between the stacked dado and circular saw blade in my table saw. I probably could have used my circular saw for chopping the 2x4's but I decided to pick up a new toy last weekend instead to make quick work of the job.

fiscap · « **Reply #22 on:** April 26, 2006, 12:06:32 am »

Here is the bottom section of the frame that will support the entire weight of the cabinet. It's glued, clamped and screwed together - letting it dry overnight.

AMDman13 · « **Reply #23 on:** April 29, 2006, 02:21:45 am »

Great work! Keep us posted.. I can't wait to see your next step..!

fiscap · « **Reply #24 on:** May 06, 2006, 06:11:27 pm »

I finally finished the bottom frame of the cabinet the other night. Thanks go out to tivogre for his design inspiration.

fiscap · « **Reply #25 on:** May 06, 2006, 06:14:17 pm »

I'm still waiting on graphics help for the control panel, so the next piece I've decided to work on is the upper cabinet frame. This part of the frame will house the Wells-Gardner D9200 monitor.

Bones · « **Reply #26 on:** May 06, 2006, 06:46:03 pm »

It is looking good. Keep the pics coming.

goosok · « **Reply #27 on:** May 08, 2006, 05:42:25 pm »

Looks Nice! Good luck with your project!

fiscap · « **Reply #28 on:** May 10, 2006, 04:37:40 pm »

Quote from: Bones on May 06, 2006, 06:46:03 pm

It is looking good. Keep the pics coming.

Quote from: goosok on May 08, 2006, 05:42:25 pm

Looks Nice! Good luck with your project!

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys - I appreciate it.

fiscap · « **Reply #29 on:** May 10, 2006, 04:57:04 pm »

It's slowly coming together and starting to resemble something. The guy that lives downstairs from me has become intrigued. He stopped by the other day and asked what I was building. He's the first person that I've told who wasn't shocked or puzzled, although he was curious about the extremely rugged frame. Apparently, he works in a bar or somewhere that they have a few games and they’re serviced a bit. He said that he has never seen an arcade game with a 2x4 frame, or one so large. When I showed him the plans and explained that it was going to have a rotating control panel, plus it will be able to play pretty much any game he could think of – he was awe struck. Hopefully it will turn out somewhat as planned.

He also recommended a place called Happ Controls for any parts that I may need. I just started laughing and explained that I’ve probably got about $1k invested in parts from Happ’s alone – but of course Ponyboy has saved me a ton in that area.

I’ve got the lower portion of the upper frame complete. I need to work on the upper portion now - holds the top together plus the marquee.

fiscap · « **Reply #30 on:** May 29, 2006, 09:29:30 pm »

It's been a couple of weeks since I've updated, but I've been trying to work on the cabinet whenever I have a free moment. With the summer months approaching, those free moments are going to be fewer and fewer.

I've basically finished the frame at this point. The upper portion of the top frame was a little more difficult than I had originally anticipated - there were a few odd cuts that made it challenging.

Here is the SolidWorks design:

fiscap · « **Reply #31 on:** May 29, 2006, 09:35:01 pm »

Here are some more shots from my progress this afternoon:

theCoder · « **Reply #32 on:** May 31, 2006, 01:33:10 am »

I love your cad drawings. What is the learning curve like for SolidWorks? Do you have anything to compare it to (such as Autocad?)

psychopanda · « **Reply #33 on:** May 31, 2006, 11:09:59 am »

Looking good, can't wait to see the rotating mechanism.

On another note, I'm glad I didn't use a cardboard mock-up...I would have stopped there!

fiscap · « **Reply #34 on:** May 31, 2006, 03:20:20 pm »

Quote from: theCoder on May 31, 2006, 01:33:10 am

I love your cad drawings. What is the learning curve like for SolidWorks? Do you have anything to compare it to (such as Autocad?)

In my opinion, SolidWorks is by far the best 3D modeling software going right now. Throughout school I used AutoCAD, ProE and ultimately SolidWorks. If you have used either AutoCAD or ProE, SolidWorks will be a piece of cake as it is extremely intuitive.

The only downside to SolidWorks is that if you don't qualify for the academic version, it is very expensive.

KillerArcades · « **Reply #35 on:** June 01, 2006, 11:13:07 am »

so, one of the things that I'm confused about is how/why you're having a rotating setup when you're also planning a 48x20 4P CP that will have to be removed anyways and not be able to rotate with the rest of the "3-spoked wheel" (for lack of a better term)....?

And then once you explain that, (I'm maybe just missing something obvious, I do that sometimes alot), what is the trick for routing the wiring for each of the CP's on a rotating system? The only thing I can think of is that you have to be somehow running everything into and through your center axle, but I can't quite think of how to do it without a thicker side panel on one end to give the wires a place to come into the main cabinet area, etc.....?

someone please enlighten me...

fiscap · « **Reply #36 on:** June 02, 2006, 02:23:44 pm »

Quote from: SKondris on June 01, 2006, 11:13:07 am

so, one of the things that I'm confused about is how/why you're having a rotating setup when you're also planning a 48x20 4P CP that will have to be removed anyways and not be able to rotate with the rest of the "3-spoked wheel" (for lack of a better term)....?

And then once you explain that, (I'm maybe just missing something obvious, I do that sometimes alot), what is the trick for routing the wiring for each of the CP's on a rotating system? The only thing I can think of is that you have to be somehow running everything into and through your center axle, but I can't quite think of how to do it without a thicker side panel on one end to give the wires a place to come into the main cabinet area, etc.....?

someone please enlighten me...

Apologies - I guess I haven't been too clear on a lot of things. I originally designed this cabinet with a rotating control panel as inspired by 1UP and Frostillicus. One of the three sides of the rotating panel will have a modular slot to allow for switching in and out various controllers (Star Wars yoke, Hang-On handlebars, steering wheel, etc).

After spending a considerable amount of time tweaking the design to the point where I was happy, it occurred to me that I might want to incorporate a design to allow four players to play. My first thought was to build two separate modules (one for player 3 and one for player 4) that hook on the left and right sides of my cabinet. I decided that this design would be difficult cabling if I were to make it modular - plus there would be a devising line of t-molding down the left and right sides and I felt this wouldn't be very clean. A friend of mine also suggested that I permanently mount the 'wings' on the sides and leave it at that. Again, I felt that it would give the cabinet a gaudy look.

I then decided that I could just pick up a 4-player I-PAC interface and build a completely separate and modular 4-player control panel. With a separate panel, I can plug it into the modular side of my rotating panel with a single USB connector when I want to play with more than two players and remove it altogether for a cleaner look to the cabinet. I can also use the separate 4-player control panel with my home theater system and perhaps add a modular pedestal in the future as well.

As far as routing the cables, I plan to have channels routed down each side of the cabinet walls and use some aluminum C-channel to cover it. I will have one side running power (12v, 5v and GND) in case I need it, and the other side will have a single USB cable run through it. All of my connections will terminate inside the rotating panel where the other 2-player I-PAC will reside and I will have a hub within the panel to tie all peripheral USB connections together.

Hopefully this clears up some confusion.

KillerArcades · « **Reply #37 on:** June 05, 2006, 09:29:39 am »

Quote from: fiscap

I then decided that I could just pick up a 4-player I-PAC interface and build a completely separate and modular 4-player control panel. With a separate panel, I can plug it into the modular side of my rotating panel with a single USB connector when I want to play with more than two players and remove it altogether for a cleaner look to the cabinet.

Gotcha, ok so you're 4P setup will be completely removable then? ok, I'm with ya.

Quote from: fiscap

As far as routing the cables, I plan to have channels routed down each side of the cabinet walls and use some aluminum C-channel to cover it.

Ok, I think I'm following you, but not being a carpenter, I'm having some trouble visualizing it. I can't seem to imagine this working without either an extra think side panel that you can route the channels, or else some really thin spots in your side panel due to the routing.... but IANAC (I Am Not A Carpenter).... so I'm probably just not quite catching something simple.

Anyways, just be sure to take some pictures of this step of the process so as to enlighten less savvy builders such as myself, ok?

Ed ONeill · « **Reply #38 on:** June 07, 2006, 07:52:20 am »

fiscap check your PM

fiscap · « **Reply #39 on:** June 19, 2006, 11:02:53 pm »

It's been three weeks since I've been able to do any work on the cabinet - June has been a busy month with two weddings and a block-party festival. I took advantage of a free day yesterday to clean out and organize the garage - it was getting to be a real mess. The clean environment prompted me to get back out there tonight and start creating a new mess

The laminate I ordered from cabinetparts.com should be here tomorrow and I wanted to have some parts cut. I worked on the top sides this evening - not a whole lot of progress, but at least I'm back at it.

fiscap · « **Reply #40 on:** June 25, 2006, 10:16:38 pm »

Some daytime shots with the panels clamped in place:

fiscap · « **Reply #41 on:** June 25, 2006, 10:36:43 pm »

I made some significant progress today. I've started to assembly the modular pieces of the cabinet and so far things are moving along smoothly. I'm using 3/8" nuts and bolts to hold most of the assembly together - upper frame assemblies, top and bottom frames, as well as the upper and lower sides. This will give me the flexibility to break the cabinet down and move it with ease.

fiscap · « **Reply #42 on:** June 25, 2006, 10:40:49 pm »

More photos:

fiscap · « **Reply #43 on:** June 25, 2006, 10:49:43 pm »

Since I'm using 3/4" MDF to build the shell of the cabinet and MDF isn't that great at holding screws, I'm using nuts and bolts wherever possible for additional strength. In some cases I'm using t-nuts as well - as such the case for holding the coin door hinges in place.

fiscap · « **Reply #44 on:** June 25, 2006, 10:54:14 pm »

It was nice to finally have a whole day to work on the project and I got a lot done. I'll start work on the rotating control panel from here.

This is where my progress stands as of this afternoon:

fiscap · « **Reply #45 on:** June 30, 2006, 02:52:38 pm »

I've started the construction of the 3-sided rotating control panel. This is basically 1UP's design with a few modifications for strength and support. Despite using 1UP's panel as a model, I still needed to come up with dimensions that would not only accommodate all of my controls, but also fit within the confines of the cabinet without making it grotesquely huge - it was not an easy feat by any means. The layout on wood of the control panel side took 2-3 hours in itself. The easiest way (other than obtaining a full-size drawing from Kinko's to trace) was to inscribe the side panel within an equilateral triangle - you can kind of make it out from the first image.

fiscap · « **Reply #46 on:** June 30, 2006, 03:02:09 pm »

The control panel attaches to the sides of the cabinet with two 4" Lazy Suzan bearings. These bearings allow for 360-degrees rotation, however I will be limiting the panel to only 240-degrees of rotation so the wires will not become twisted and severed.

fiscap · « **Reply #47 on:** June 30, 2006, 03:15:41 pm »

One issue I needed to address is the lack of support on the cabinet sides where the rotating control panel is housed. There is a few square feet of MDF that is pretty much just flapping in the wind. I needed to devise a way to hold the two sides together square with the rest of the cabinet, as well as a system that would allow me to vary the tension between the two sides for the flip-down door and its roller-ball catches (the spring-loaded catches push the panels further apart).

I came up with a way to install a turnbuckle system through the virtual axis of the rotating panel. It appears as though this solution will address these two issues nicely.

KillerArcades · « **Reply #48 on:** July 03, 2006, 01:04:35 pm »

Looking good!

fiscap · « **Reply #49 on:** July 05, 2006, 09:07:23 pm »

Quote from: SKondris on July 03, 2006, 01:04:35 pm

Looking good!

Thanks for the feedback - much appreciated!

fiscap · « **Reply #50 on:** July 10, 2006, 06:11:04 pm »

I've made short strides during the last couple of weeks, but making progress as I'm still working on the rotating control panel. I've got all of the sides cut and the partial assemblies together - now I just need to assembly it. I also fabricated a sturdy pivot door with ball catches on either side to provide additional support to the rotating panel. The door was assembled with a section of 2x10 and two 2x4's laminated together with Gorilla Glue. I couldn't use metal fasteners as I needed to trim the angles after assembly - it seems to be very solid.

fiscap · « **Reply #51 on:** July 10, 2006, 06:13:14 pm »

A few more:

fiscap · « **Reply #52 on:** July 10, 2006, 06:25:53 pm »

While I've slowed down a little on the construction these past two weeks, I did take some time out this past weekend to try my hand at a little artwork. I've done a lot of research on the forums for ideas that I like and one that really jumped out is Pixelhugger's unbelievable artwork on Project Arcadeus. After I finished drooling over the post, I thought it would be cool to see what something similar would look like in 4-player setup.

Here's where I'm at so far:

fiscap · « **Reply #53 on:** July 27, 2006, 12:55:23 am »

Hey gang - no real earth-shattering updates this week. I spent this past weekend working a little on the rotating panel and building the shell of the 4-player panel.

I'm happy with the way the 4-player control panel is coming along so far. I've made it as shallow as possible with the ability to still house all of the controls. The reason for it being so shallow is because once it rests on the top of the rotating panel, it will be elevated and I wanted to make sure that the controls weren't too high and awkward to use. I even made a recession into the bottom of the panel so that it will sit further down on top of the cabinet.

At this point, I need to finish up the artwork so that I can cut the controls into the top and make sure everything lines up properly. I'm also going to attempt to use the postforming laminate I purchased to wrap around the exterior of the shell - hopefully it wraps smoothly around the curves and sticks properly.

fiscap · « **Reply #54 on:** July 27, 2006, 01:19:54 am »

I had a mock-up of the rotating panel strike-plates done a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't use the correct approach in fabricating them. I tried to measure and line-up the cuts with the holes I had already drilled into the sides of the rotating panel, but I quickly realized that being just slightly off in my measurements meant being majorly off in the results.

I decided to take a different approach and completely redo the strike plates using printed templates. This method produced much better results. I came to this conclusion only after I realized my printer has a very quirky 1.0390625:1 aspect ratio problem - an 8"x8" square prints out at 8 5/16"x 8" on my printer. All I need to do to correct this is to divide my horizontal resolution on my printouts by 1.0390625 and everything comes out perfect

I also rotated the position of the ball catches in the sides 60-degrees because they were interfering with the braces I attached on the inside of the control panel faces - as illustrated by the three now unused holes in the control panel sides.

fiscap · « **Reply #55 on:** July 27, 2006, 01:25:05 am »

Here are a couple of clips of the rotating panel in operation. The first clip is just one side and the second clip is both sides tied together. The ball catches work great with the strike plates and appear to have enough tension to hold up to very heavy gaming.

(dial-up users beware - clips are about 15MB)

I even decided to test the tension with a little weight - seems to be holding up ok with about 50 lbs of concrete sitting on the panel

fiscap · « **Reply #56 on:** September 12, 2006, 12:54:54 pm »

Wow - I can't believe my work blog has slipped all the way to page 4 of project announcements. I've really been slacking lately, but on the flip side I've also enjoyed a fantastic summer.

I haven't made any major progress on the cabinet build, but I have put a little effort into my artwork for the cabinet.

The plan I've had all along (but haven't disclosed until now) is to build the first liquid-cooled MAME cabinet. I know what most of you must be thinking - a liquid-cooled MAME cabinet?!? Yes, I agree it is a bit overkill for a MAME cabinet, but I have two other liquid-cooled systems at home now and I really like the look of them. I thought, how cool would it be to introduce the same thing into an arcade cabinet. I don't plan on introducing a performance boost with the liquid-cooling, but I am hoping it will add a nice look.

With the idea of liquid-cooling also came the idea of adding an aquatic theme. The name is LiquidMame and here is my marquee so far:

fiscap · « **Reply #57 on:** October 30, 2006, 03:57:16 pm »

It's been a while since my last update, but I have been making some progress.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm making use of a design originally used by Tivogre for attaching the side panels to a rigid frame. The difference in my design is that I'm using separate pieces for upper and lower portions similar to a UA II cabinet.

On the upper section of the cabinet, I wanted a nice laminate finish on both sides of the panel since some of the inside portion is visible. The process involved laminating the inside portion of the panel, drilling out and pushing the hex bolt through the finished side, epoxing and filling the bolt holes and then laminating the exterior side of the panel.

Here are some shots of the work...

fiscap · « **Reply #58 on:** October 30, 2006, 04:00:37 pm »

more ...

fiscap · « **Reply #59 on:** October 30, 2006, 04:09:11 pm »

finished panels ...

fiscap · « **Reply #60 on:** October 30, 2006, 04:14:29 pm »

Here are some shots of the upper and lower panels attached to the cabinet frame ...

theCoder · « **Reply #61 on:** October 31, 2006, 12:56:51 am »

Get back to work you slacker! Looks good. What are the holes in the bottom for?

fiscap · « **Reply #62 on:** November 02, 2006, 05:27:01 pm »

Yeah, I know I've been slacking a bit - hehe. The holes on the bottom of the cabinet are actually windows. I'm hoping to have a look similar to what my two other home systems look like.

http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?t=52103

Timoe · « **Reply #63 on:** November 02, 2006, 06:54:50 pm »

Thats a sweet design. I love epoxy and bondo though I have never used either. Your PC is gonna look great. Can you give any explanation as to how you made your guts looks so good?

Part numbers, product recomendations, etc?

somunny · « **Reply #64 on:** November 02, 2006, 08:40:09 pm »

I love it when people go all out. Spare no expense.

Looks great.

fiscap · « **Reply #65 on:** November 06, 2006, 04:28:53 pm »

Thanks guys. It's been a lot of work, but it's great seeing the hard work finally paying off.

Timoe - as far as parts, I highly recommend the folks over at FrozenCPU. They have a great selection and their customer service is superb. The glow from inside the case is just a few UV cold cathode tubes. I also used some UV dye in the cooling system. All of the wiring is loomed with UV reactive sleeving as well.

fiscap · « **Reply #66 on:** November 06, 2006, 06:06:06 pm »

I had posted some shots of my progress on the four-player control panel in the Artwork forum, but didn't update my progress here.

Here are some shots of the control panel:

fiscap · « **Reply #67 on:** November 06, 2006, 06:10:32 pm »

This past weekend was spent wiring up my big four-player control panel. I had hoped to have it mounted to the cabinet for some playing time this weekend, but the wiring took a lot longer than I had anticipated.

Here are some shots of the control panel pre and post wiring:

fiscap · « **Reply #68 on:** November 06, 2006, 06:48:39 pm »

more...

theCoder · « **Reply #69 on:** November 06, 2006, 11:24:13 pm »

Great job on the wiring.

tivogre · « **Reply #70 on:** November 07, 2006, 12:06:43 am »

Quote from: fiscap on October 30, 2006, 04:14:29 pm

Here are some shots of the upper and lower panels attached to the cabinet frame ...

Dude!

It is so cool that someone is actually referencing (and using) ideas from my project / site!!!

Looks awesome!


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