Making the whole thing lighter

[DrFrag]

Years ago I owned a generic upright arcade cabinet.  I remember it being incredibly heavy.  Now I'm interested in building one for myself, I'm thinking there must be a way to make it lighter.  After all, it's for domestic use and wouldn't require the weight and solid contruction required for commercial abuse.

So I was thinking of building a wooden frame and attaching fairly thin MDF/ply.  The only problem with this is the edges would be thin where the t-moulding goes, and so it wouldn't look authentic.

The only work around I can think of is make the sides out of two sandwiched layers of wood.  The outer layer being thin and cosmetic, and the inner layer being thick wood around the edges but hollowed out where it faces the inside of the cab.  The two layers combined, at the edges, would be the right thickness for the t-moulding.

Has anyone tried this, or have any other ideas on reducing the cabinet weight while retaining an authentic look?

[Loki]

This is pretty what much I have in mind, only the it will be the other way around. The thick one on the inside an the thin one on the outside.... but it's just for cosmetic reasons in my case. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62087.msg640151#msg640151 (some posts from the bottom)
A heavy part is of course the monitor if you will use a big one... maybe if you find a way to easily take out or put in the monitor you could remove it when you want to move the cab.  maybe make a box around it?

[NiteWalker]

If you use 3/4" plywood instead of 3/4" MDF weight will decrease some. But in an arcade cabinet you want some weight to keep it steady during play. If mobility is an issue, just put some casters on it.

[acevedor2]

If you use 3/4" plywood instead of 3/4" MDF weight will decrease some. But in an arcade cabinet you want some weight to keep it steady during play. If mobility is an issue, just put some casters on it.

I competely agree.  Actually it will make it a LOT lighter.  Using plywood instead of MDF is a sure fire way to cut your weight nearly in half.

Cheers

[NiteWalker]

Also, you won't need internal bracing if you use plywood (maybe just under the monitor shelf). Just dadoes and rabbets. It'll hold real good.

[leapinlew]

If you can figure out how to build it without the monitor - you'd be able to reduce the weight considerably... 

You could build a bartop cabinet.

[Wade]

Nintendo cabinets were 5/8" ply.  So build a 5/8" ply cabinet with very little internal bracing, and use a 19" monitor, and you would end up with a much lighter cabinet than most.  The cabinets people sometimes build with massive 2x4 frames on the inside are seriously overbuilt.

Wade

[DrFrag]

Thanks everyone! 

I've been building a toy chest from 12mm MDF (1/2"?) and it's so heavy, not to mention the dust, so I'll be using ply for an arcade cabinet.

The monitor will be a 20" LCD, so that'll only be about 5kg.

I might go with a light frame anyway, that'll make it easier to engineer hinged panels for access to the PC and perhaps storage if I go with interchangeable control panels.

Wheels are essential, IMO.  My old cabinet had rollers along the rear base which was great, but the hard part is taking it up stairs and putting it in a trailer to take to LANs. 

[ScottS]

Take a look at the Woody and Arcade Mania projects made by Knievel Kustoms. Very nice work! They're sort of scaled down versions of a full-size cabinet that use an LCD monitor rather than a heavy CRT. If you don't have to support a huge CRT, you could easily get by with 1/2" or 5/8" plywood. Heavy 2x4 bracing is only necessary if you don't know what you're doing; I've made bookcases that hold 500+ pounds of books using only 3/4" plywood...

[NiteWalker]

I've made bookcases that hold 500+ pounds of books using only 3/4" plywood...

Exactly why plywood is one of my favorite materials to work with.

[moriartyds]

Depending on what you're willing to give up:

- using a LCD will make a ton of difference. 
- Skip the coin door.
- Use plywood
- consider decasing your computer (depending on how heavy your case is ... of course you may need an upgraded fan)
 - don't use a subwoofer, just get decent but light main speakers
 - don't use the 2x4 braces (use dados/rabbits as mentioned above, or consider using pocket screws (on the inside) for non weightbearing joints.

[ChadTower]

Look at it this way... I have an empty pac cab in my shed.  Sunday I picked it up and carried it out of the shed without grunting.  Plywood makes it a LOT lighter.

[blueznl]

Most of the weight is in the sides. How about making the sides removable?

[leapinlew]

Most of the weight is in the sides. How about making the sides removable?

to do that - you'd have to build a frame to support everything else. At least, I can't figure out a way to make the sides removable without building a frame for the whole thing.

[NiteWalker]

Which would negate the weight savings from the removable panels...

Plywood FTW.

[fjl]

Would be cool to make a cabinet out of aluminum. Should weight almost nothing.

[NiteWalker]

That would be nice, but then grounding would be an issue (maybe; I'm not an expert in that field ).

[Tahnok]

Anyone ever use ultralight MDF? It's supposed to be quite a bit lighter than normal MDF, but with the same positive qualities (smooth surface, easy to mill, etc). I've not found a local supplier, but it sure sounds like it would be a nice material to work with.

[bfauska]

We sometimes use Ultralight for scenery.  I haven't had any hands on experience working with it, but I know that the finished product looks great and is much lighter.  If the material was a PITA to work with I know that I would hear about it from the shop any time we specked or ordered it for use.  I don't remember the actual weight savings, but I seem to remember it being fairly significant.  The one time I really interacted with it was just seeing a piece and picking it up only to find it surprisingly light.  Kind of like when you pick up a container you expect to be full of something and heavy and then accidental almost throw it up in the air. 

I think that it costs more because of it's less common usage, but I am not sure.  We get ours from our standard lumber yard (not a big national store.)  If your in the Pacific Northwest I would try Compton Lumber or Dunn Lumber.

Later,
Brian

[Tahnok]

[...]

I think that it costs more because of it's less common usage, but I am not sure.  We get ours from our standard lumber yard (not a big national store.)  If your in the Pacific Northwest I would try Compton Lumber or Dunn Lumber.

Later,
Brian

Southern California, LA area. I'm sure I could track some down if I really wanted to (it's LA). I've never really had more than a passing interest in it though.

Maybe something to think about for a portable unit...

[Wade]

An aluminum cabinet would weigh a lot more than a wooden one if the design were the same.  AL is light compared to iron and a lot of other metals, but not compared to wood.

Is ultralight MDF the stuff that is just plywood with the outer plys being MDF?  I haven't seen that around here but I imagine it'd be pretty great stuff for cabinet building.

Wade

[ScottS]

An aluminum cabinet would weigh a lot more than a wooden one if the design were the same.  AL is light compared to iron and a lot of other metals, but not compared to wood.

Actually, aluminum is pretty light compared to most woods. The primary reason is that while wood is solid, the square or rectangular aluminum tubing you'd use for a frame is hollow. With a .065" or .125" wall thickness, the frame for an arcade cabinet could be pretty light indeed, yet still very rigid. Skin it with a light-weight (0.5lbs sq. ft) aluminum sheet and the whole thing would probably be lighter than any corresponding wood cabinet.

The real trick would be figuring out how to put the whole thing together. You could rivet the skins to the frame pretty easily but ideally you'd want the frame welded. And welding aluminum is a real pain in the butt!

Is ultralight MDF the stuff that is just plywood with the outer plys being MDF?  I haven't seen that around here but I imagine it'd be pretty great stuff for cabinet building.

You're thinking of MDO (Medium Density Overlay).

[Wade]

An aluminum cabinet would weigh a lot more than a wooden one if the design were the same.  AL is light compared to iron and a lot of other metals, but not compared to wood.

Actually, aluminum is pretty light compared to most woods. The primary reason is that while wood is solid, the square or rectangular aluminum tubing you'd use for a frame is hollow. With a .065" or .125" wall thickness, the frame for an arcade cabinet could be pretty light indeed, yet still very rigid. Skin it with a light-weight (0.5lbs sq. ft) aluminum sheet and the whole thing would probably be lighter than any corresponding wood cabinet.
....

Is ultralight MDF the stuff that is just plywood with the outer plys being MDF?  I haven't seen that around here but I imagine it'd be pretty great stuff for cabinet building.

You're thinking of MDO (Medium Density Overlay).

That's why I specified "if the design were the same".  A cabinet built in a manner even loosely resembling an original arcade cabinet would weigh a LOT.  For solid AL versus wood per volume, wood is far lighter.  Someone could do a complex frame from angle or square stock, but that's a whole other ball of wax, and would be a huge undertaking (even for a metal worker).

I think that MDO stuff would be really nice, I may try it if I scratch build any more cabinets.

Does anyone know anything more about the ultralight MDF?  How is it made, what makes it lighter?  Never heard of it before.

Thanks,
Wade

[DrewKaree]

That would be nice, but then grounding would be an issue (maybe; I'm not an expert in that field ).

Start with taking away its telephone privileges and see how it goes from there

[ScottS]

That's why I specified "if the design were the same".  A cabinet built in a manner even loosely resembling an original arcade cabinet would weigh a LOT.  For solid AL versus wood per volume, wood is far lighter.  Someone could do a complex frame from angle or square stock, but that's a whole other ball of wax, and would be a huge undertaking (even for a metal worker).

Well, sure, if you take a sheet of 3/4" aluminum plate and turn it into a cabinet it will be damn heavy. But who would do that? I assumed your goal was more reasonable: that you would use an internal design appropriate to the material to make a cabinet that looked the same on the outside.

As far as the complexity of the project, I'd say it's actually pretty low. Cutting the tubing for the frame should be pretty easy with any power miter saw. Cutting the skins is perhaps the most time-consuming part. Your metal yard might do this for you for a small fee. If not, a power shear or nibbler would make short work of it. Heck, if your skins are thin enough you could do it pretty quickly with a set of snips! Not sure what the best way to attach the skins to the frame is. Rivets and screws would both work and they're both fast and easy methods. Not expecially attractive, though. Welding the frame together would be somewhat tedious, but all of the welds would be hidden so they wouldn't need to look perfect.

In any event, I think you could build the frame in a weekend and skin it in another. The big problem is you need the appropriate tools (and skill) for working with aluminum. The most difficult thing to come by would probably be the AC/DC TIG welder. My ThermalArc ProWave 185 was around $1500... used!

Does anyone know anything more about the ultralight MDF?  How is it made, what makes it lighter?  Never heard of it before.

Conrete info seems difficult to come by on the web. Some of the references I've seen suggest that Ultralight MDF uses different wood fibers (e.g. Trupan) and other info suggests that lightweight resin is added to the normal urea formaldehyde binder.

[ark_ader]

I built a cab with softwood and encased it in particle board.  It looked ok and the strength factor was considerate - the only problem was its stability.

I'm on a sub-bartop project at the moment, but I am considering revising my plan for a cabaret Dragon's Lair Machine later in the year (when it gets warmer) with a wood frame and particle board but with a reinforced base and bracketed to a wall for stability.

Nothing is worse having a session and having the cab wobble.  But a good idea is to have two displays - one a TV mounted in the well of the machine and a 17" TFT vertical on the back of the cab for lightgun use, etc and it would still be lighter than MDF.

[MaximRecoil]

Nintendo cabinets were 5/8" ply.  So build a 5/8" ply cabinet with very little internal bracing, and use a 19" monitor, and you would end up with a much lighter cabinet than most.  The cabinets people sometimes build with massive 2x4 frames on the inside are seriously overbuilt.

Wade

Nintendo cabinets were 9/16" plywood. They are light and surprisingly sturdy. Punch-Out cabinets support the weight of two monitors with no problems and a PO cabinet does not budge during gameplay.

[DrewKaree]

Nintendo cabinets were 5/8" ply. 

Nintendo cabinets were 9/16" plywood.

9/16", 10/16", whatever it takes

[grundle]

That would be nice, but then grounding would be an issue (maybe; I'm not an expert in that field ).

Quite the opposite.  Grounding would be much easier.  You wouldn't need all the green jumper wires going to/from everything.  Everyone here is grounding all this computer equipment in the wooden box, right?  Floating grounds are bad...

[blueznl]

Most of the weight is in the sides. How about making the sides removable?

to do that - you'd have to build a frame to support everything else. At least, I can't figure out a way to make the sides removable without building a frame for the whole thing.

Welllllll.... perhaps not. It's a lot of extra work, but hey, this hobby is... well, a hobby 

Anyway, build a cube of thin plywood (3 mm?) with some pieces of woods glued in along all ribs. Now cut in every side a large opening and you will have a very stable base that weighs almost nothing and gives you good access once the sides are gone.

(Sometimes it's hard to express oneself in another language, sorry.)


Below is an illustration. Imagine building a whole cab using this concept, then as the final step add the side panels. It should be quite strong and very light, at least with the side panels removed  .

They key is not the weight but transporting the cab, isn't it? So who cares if it takes two heavier side panels if they are easily removable (and 'transportable').

you could consider building several 'stackable' cubes, one for the base, one for the screen, etc. to keep things in even smaller blocks. Just an idea.