CNC made wall mount jukebox made out of 1/2" plexi.

[mccoy178]

A buddy of mine is taking the same custom production class that I took a couple years ago when I made "The Varsity Club".  He was in Iraq all of last year and in his emails he kept talking about wanting to build a jukebox.  So, when he got back, he continued on about it.  Since I bought that Shopbot CNC, I offered to cut it out for him.  Last week, he came over with his dimensions, and we designed it, cut it out, and had it together in under two hours.  Now that we have the design in the computer, it could be done in under an hour.  I used my regular router table to create the rabbits and the round overs after it was assembled.  Very exciting stuff!  I will be at his mercy to get more pics, but I'll post them as I get them.  Overall, the case is 23.5" x 18" x 3".

[mccoy178]

Also, he is using a 17" touchscreen, two 500 gig hd's, and a slimmed down version of xp as a backend.  The total project cost him around $700.

[Strokemouth]

I'm dying to see the finished product! Very slick! 

[Neilyboy]

This is awesome!! I can not wait to see this progress as well. Take lots of pics man! That CNC is the $#*%.

Neil

[Barry Barcrest]

How much to ship one of those to me dude

Looks really good.

[billpa]

yea man...if you ever decided to make that design into an unassembled kit, I would be interested as well.

[Zeosstud]

There is no question if you could make 10 of those but route the screen size to match the 15" ELO monitors that are being discussed in the jukebox thread you would sell them all in a heartbeat.  Something to consider.  I personally ordered one of those monitors the other day and will be mounting it in the wall in my basement but I can think of 3 people right now that I personally know who would jump on something that looked that good even at a reasonable price.

Zeosstud

[amadama]

Wow! That's awesome! Great job.
Alex

[ace3093]

I cant wait to see the finished product.

[gonzo90017]

Yea how much? 

[HaRuMaN]

Which shopbot model do you have??

[mccoy178]

Which shopbot model do you have??

It is a PRT Alpha120.

There is no question if you could make 10 of those but route the screen size to match the 15" ELO monitors that are being discussed in the jukebox thread you would sell them all in a heartbeat.  Something to consider.  I personally ordered one of those monitors the other day and will be mounting it in the wall in my basement but I can think of 3 people right now that I personally know who would jump on something that looked that good even at a reasonable price.

Zeosstud

There is about $100 wrapped up into the plexi on this, and I have not researched wether it can be had cheaper from my sources in Columbus.  I could probably cut it out of a 4x8 sheet and make a bunch at once.  So, to be honest, I wouldn't know what to charge.  I will say that I do have one of those touchscreens at the high school, so it is a feasible plan.  The only adjustment I could think of would be to make it a touch thicker, (4"), and taller, as my buddy bought some crazy small components to fit in there.  Also, the acrylic glue is expensive.  I suppose some small hobby bottles could help offset the cost considering not much is needed to glue this badboy up.

[newtrix]

So here's an idea,  Cut them out of wood and ship em unassembled....  Plexi is cool but MDF is cheap and wood glue is cheap too.

[Zeosstud]

Bye the way, cutting out that for your buddy that has spent the last year in Iraq makes your efforts that much better.  As someone who spent 9.5 years in the Military including 2 tours overseas, Panama and Germany, there are things you wish for and think about alot that you either cant do or its just a pain when your not in the US (Eating Taco Bell comes to mind).  Anyway, tell you buddy welcome home and thanks for me.

Zeosstud

[mccoy178]

Bye the way, cutting out that for your buddy that has spent the last year in Iraq makes your efforts that much better.  As someone who spent 9.5 years in the Military including 2 tours overseas, Panama and Germany, there are things you wish for and think about alot that you either cant do or its just a pain when your not in the US (Eating Taco Bell comes to mind).  Anyway, tell you buddy welcome home and thanks for me.

Zeosstud

Will do!

So here's an idea,  Cut them out of wood and ship em unassembled....  Plexi is cool but MDF is cheap and wood glue is cheap too.

Hmmm.  It's a possibility.

[mccoy178]

Here are a couple pics my buddy emailed me.  He loves Freebox!!!

[leapinlew]

That's a nice looking skin! 

[mountain]

Looks great Ben! Is he wiring to an external amp?

[Franco B]

Nice   

Has it been painted or....?

Seems kind of a shame to paint it after machining it out of plexi. Would look pretty cool with its guts on show. Maybe with some internal lighting too. 

Looking forward to your next CNC project already 

[DaOld Man]

Great work!
 

Also tell your buddy we appreciate what he did for us in Iraq..
 


I have to agree with Franco, even though it looks good, seems a shame to paint such a beast as that..

[dmworking247]

Fantastic, looks pro.

I'd like to see an opaque plastic version, ie gloss white like an ipod or something... I have to agree with the last two posts that its a waste to paint it... I'd expected it showing off the guts or some fancy LEDs, you may as well make it out of MDF and save a lot of money!

I definately agree you should continue tweaking the design and finding lower cost sources and consider selling these flat-pack.

[CheffoJeffo]

 

 

Awesome stuff Ben!

[Barry Barcrest]

I don't understand why it's been painted. The thing that interested me was the fact it was clear plexi, showing the guts and lighting it up would have looked awsome. If it's just going to be painted you might as well use MDF.

Also if you do want to sell them, i don't mind you posting about them on my board.

[BobA]

Great looking cabinet parts.   I was disappointed when the project itself was painted.   Would have looked great at least some windows left unpainted and the insides lit up.   Still a great wall mount design.

[TOK]

If that was painted from the inside with R/C car paint, it would have a gemlike glow. Pics are a little dark, but it appears if the outside was painted?

[melarky]

yeah, if it was painted on the inside, it might look pretty cool (nice and glossy black).

Also, on the plexi glue, I remember reading somewhere that you can make your own acrylic glue by mashing up some pieces of plexi and acetone.  I think it may have been that mini bartop that someone made out of plexi where I read that, not sure.  I have thought about trying it though (I don't know if they really ground it up in a blender or something, but if I remember right, they at least broke the plexi into small pieces, mixed a bit of acetone into it and it all melted together eventually and made a great plexi glue/cement).

[melarky]

I just did a quick google search and found this:

http://guides.pcapex.com/modding/diy_acrylic_cement.php

Looks easy enough, and quite a bit cheaper than buying commercial plexi glue.

[Kaytrim]

Nice little JB mccoy.  I'll second havening them cut out of MDF.  1/2" thick stuff would be fine though 3/4" will allow the use of standard T-molding if so desired.  To figure out your price take the cost of materials + time on the CNC then multiply by 1.5 to 2 and add shipping.  That should give you a nice round number.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[newtrix]

I would also recommend they be scaled for the 15 inch ELO's that are hot on eBay right now and that they be deep enough to allow an ATX power supply.

[BORIStheBLADE]

  Nice work.

[Deefish]

I just got one of those 15" ELO screens from Ebay. It rocks!

I would buy one of those wall mounted Jukebox boxes made out of MDF! Sign me up if you plan on doing it. I dont care about price, I just want the CNC box.

I also second the idea of making it slightly bigger for average size PC parts.

Cheers,
Deefish

[melarky]

Looks like of like a big ipod.

[Santoro]

Way cool.  Looks good!

[Jesperpark]

Great job on the plexiglass routering.  i own a plexi fab shop in Canada and we use weld-on #3 for bonding Acrylic/plexi.  if you have a Laird plastics or Sabic polymers or similar business, they will carry the weld on for sale. 

[mccoy178]

I am considering making these as kits.  Could someone suggest some ideal dimensions?

[spacies]

Thats great news!

What wrong with the size in your pics? Looks good to me!

[mccoy178]

I thought it was good, but it is too small for a normal sized motherboard/power source, etc...

[shardian]

It would be neat if it was big enough to put in a standard PC power supply, MB, and deep enough to include one of those Happ coin mechs like the link below as an option.
http://www.happcontrols.com/coindoors/40002300p_exploded.htm

[javeryh]

Maybe also standardize the touchscreen size to those ELO monitors everyone seems to love...

[leapinlew]

I thought it was good, but it is too small for a normal sized motherboard/power source, etc...

Hell with the standard sized mobo's! Make'em do it right - with a small mobo. I wouldn't want to see it much bigger.

[Barry Barcrest]

I think you need to offer a 17" and a 15" screen version. I would be up for one of these McCoy, hook up with me on MSN for a chat.

[squirrellydw]

I would be interested in at least 1, maybe 2 or 3 since I have a few friends that are getting ready to build a jukebox.  Couple questions?

1. How did you mount the screen?
2. Could you make it so it just holds the monitor and NOT the computer?  Just the top half.
3. How do you get to the inside incase you need to fix/replace something?
4. The screen you used, is it like this one?  If so I have this same one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180264222548&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

[leapinlew]

I think you need to offer a 17" and a 15" screen version. I would be up for one of these McCoy, hook up with me on MSN for a chat.

Totally agree... I would make a limited run with a 15" and 17" openings and call it done. If you even attempt to customize, it'll be a big pain in the ass. People will have to expect to do a little BYO.

[MinerAl]

Very nice job!

With the clear plexi, you could do some neat effects with painting the inside.  Mirror finish, tinting, even marquee style art.

Sweet work.

[mccoy178]

I would be interested in at least 1, maybe 2 or 3 since I have a few friends that are getting ready to build a jukebox.  Couple questions?

1. How did you mount the screen?
2. Could you make it so it just holds the monitor and NOT the computer?  Just the top half.
3. How do you get to the inside incase you need to fix/replace something?
4. The screen you used, is it like this one?  If so I have this same one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180264222548&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

1.  He used a tap and die set.  We made the case at the shop then he finished it on his own time.
2.  That would be quite easy.  It's customizing it to the monitor that is the bear. 
3.  The mdf back screwed on by the same tap and die method.  I personally would add small blocks of plexi to the sides where the holes could be drilled to avoid cracking the sides.
4.  It did look exactly like that one.  He purchased it, but we did decase it and it had that front on it.  I have the 15" version from the popular thread in the jukebox forum that I could customize it for as well.

If I do this, it will be for the standard 15" and 17" monitors mentioned above with an extra 1/8" bevel all the way around the inside to compensate for the touchscreen wires.  Anyone who has had one of these monitors understands what I am talking about.

Very nice job!

With the clear plexi, you could do some neat effects with painting the inside.  Mirror finish, tinting, even marquee style art.

Sweet work.

Thanks!

I think you need to offer a 17" and a 15" screen version. I would be up for one of these McCoy, hook up with me on MSN for a chat.

Totally agree... I would make a limited run with a 15" and 17" openings and call it done. If you even attempt to customize, it'll be a big pain in the ass. People will have to expect to do a little BYO.

I agree completely.  The one thing I could do is add button holes for various things in random spots.  It wouldn't be hard for me to mock one of these up in sketchup and leave it up to the buyer to add where they would like additional holes.  It doesn't take long to tweak the original, it's just that multiple changes can be a pain.  If it is being made out of mdf, then byo isn't that bad, but with plexi, people seam timid.

I think you need to offer a 17" and a 15" screen version. I would be up for one of these McCoy, hook up with me on MSN for a chat.

I'll hook it up.

I thought it was good, but it is too small for a normal sized motherboard/power source, etc...

Hell with the standard sized mobo's! Make'em do it right - with a small mobo. I wouldn't want to see it much bigger.

I agree.  My buddy did link me to the parts he used, but they were stupid expensive.

[leapinlew]

I thought it was good, but it is too small for a normal sized motherboard/power source, etc...

Hell with the standard sized mobo's! Make'em do it right - with a small mobo. I wouldn't want to see it much bigger.

I agree.  My buddy did link me to the parts he used, but they were stupid expensive.

My plan would be to use a laptop. Freebox doesn't need a ton of horsepower.

[squirrellydw]

I would be up for one with just the top half if you are willing to do it.  I am pretty sure the monitor you used and mine are the same size.  I would want plexi, I kinda like it painted black.

[myntik1]

McCoy hook it up. I was trying to find someone with a cnc machine in my area to cut a couple of cabinets for jukes but this works out better.  I need at least 2, one for a stag party prize and the other for a charity donation (sans music).

[Barry Barcrest]

I was thinking about this some more the past few days....

Ideally you need to be offering complete or almost complete systems.... Reason i am saying this is beacause of the different mounting holes and sizes of the screens. Motherboards are ok because the mounting holes are pretty standard and you could copy a standard chasis mounting plate to get all the screw holes lined up for mb installation but it's the different screens that would be the big problem. Even PC Power supplies have a standard mounting system so you could have the holes marked out for that too.

This is why i say you should offer them with the screen installed already, i know that puts the cost up if people already have a screen but for most people it will be a lot easier if the screen is already installed as these do not have standard mounting holes.

Any thoughts on this...

BTW I would want it in clear perspex so i could just install a PC an some lighting and it would be good to go.

[leapinlew]

I was thinking about this some more the past few days....

Ideally you need to be offering complete or almost complete systems.... Reason i am saying this is beacause of the different mounting holes and sizes of the screens. Motherboards are ok because the mounting holes are pretty standard and you could copy a standard chasis mounting plate to get all the screw holes lined up for mb installation but it's the different screens that would be the big problem. Even PC Power supplies have a standard mounting system so you could have the holes marked out for that too.

This is why i say you should offer them with the screen installed already, i know that puts the cost up if people already have a screen but for most people it will be a lot easier if the screen is already installed as these do not have standard mounting holes.

Any thoughts on this...

BTW I would want it in clear perspex so i could just install a PC an some lighting and it would be good to go.

Good points Barry. Screen installed already is a winner of an idea. Don't worry about the motherboard hookups. It's not hard to install some stand offs and be done.

[mccoy178]

Bah, I'm not looking for all that.  Barry, I'll hit you up Sunday or Monday about what you are looking for, but I'm not looking to invest into this that heavily.

[squirrellydw]

so any chance on making just the top half out of plexi and how much it might cost?  And what are you thinking price wise for the full version in plexi?  For the full version I would like to use full size components.

[mccoy178]

Let me price out the cost of the plexi.  I'll have an answer by Monday.

[mccoy178]

Well, the pricing is rather crazy for the plexi:

2' x 4' x 1/2" sheet of Acrylic
Shipping is $17.13
4' x 8' x 1/2" sheet of Acrylic
Shipping would have to be done by motor freight, making the difference in savings insignificant.

[BASS!]

There has got to be a plastics company that can fab some sheets for less then that near you. The price of those is crazy, and not to mention that your gonna pay a buttload just to ship those to ya.

[Pik4chu]

Well, the pricing is rather crazy for the plexi:

2' x 4' x 1/2" sheet of Acrylic
Shipping is $17.13
4' x 8' x 1/2" sheet of Acrylic
Shipping would have to be done by motor freight, making the difference in savings insignificant.

this is a little bit cheaper http://www.mcmaster.com/itm/find.ASP?tab=find&context=psrchDtlLink&fasttrack=False&searchstring=8560K247  Not a lot but its still less.  Perhaps consier seperate pieces, usually the larger the single piece is more expensive when you get to that kind of scale...

also for the larger this is acutally a good deal cheaper http://www.mcmaster.com/itm/find.ASP?tab=find&context=psrchDtlLink&fasttrack=False&searchstring=8560K249 no clue on shipping for that one though.

[mountain]

Ben, I think 1/2" is a little overkill for this application. 1/4" should be plenty rigid enough for this size of a project, and cheaper. With the smooth cut that the CNC will provide, once the side pieces are bonded to the face, it will be transparent. This would allow a stiffening piece in the middle if needed and may add to the overall look anyway.

[Barry Barcrest]

Bah, I'm not looking for all that.  Barry, I'll hit you up Sunday or Monday about what you are looking for, but I'm not looking to invest into this that heavily.

Well you could make them to order so you wouldn't be out of pocket. Just a thought, i am only saying this because i can see mounting the screen will be an issue for most if they do not get the exact same screen you make the front panel for... 

[mccoy178]

I agree, but I guess I'm thinking it will be for the same touchscreens talked about in the jukebox section.  That guy has a million of them.  I'm comptemplating making about a half dozen and seeing where they are at interest wise.  It appears that there is certainly some interest in this.  I will make an mdf one over the next day or two and see what interest that brings.

[billpa]

I'd be interested in a kit...mdf or plexi doesnt really matter to me. Although I would agree with mountain on the thickness of the plexi. 1/4" should be fine for this application and would cut the price roughly in half. I used to build small aquariums out of acrylic and 1/4" worked fine for them. The seams were under a lot more pressure than what I would assume a juke, like the one you built, would have.

[myntik1]

I'm sure the shipping is going to be the killer.  Is there a lighter material than mdf that we could use.

Also, just because were still in the wish list phase:

could a couple of slots be cut in the side for vents and to add a usb port and rca jacks.

[newtrix]

I'm interested to see your prototype.  I may be interested as well.  I'd minimize extra holes for this and that, esp if were talking about MDF.  I'd want to decide speaker size and placement RCA ports etc. and cut them myself.  Of course seeing your work I'm interested in seeing what you come up with.

[mccoy178]

I just had a thought that I could countersink areas on the sides by a 1/4" or even 3/8" to create "pockets" that would be easy to cut when adding ones own holes.  It shouldn't affect performance of what the sides do.  I am of course talking about the mdf.  I am going over to Columbus tomorrow, so I may try to pick up some plexi scraps at the plastic store for experimenting.

[squirrellydw]

any update on this?

[mccoy178]

I'm a little behind on a couple of things.  I have purchased material for cutting, I just need to find the time.

[edge]

mccoy,
If you do end up doing this, I would be interested in 3 kits.

Hope all is progressing well.

[shardian]

Long overdue for a bump!

Any interest McCoy?

[Epyx]

Very cool, btw what does one of these CNC Shopbots cost?

EDIT: LOL NM...just found the "Buddy" smallest one and it's price tag...suffice it to say no way in hell I could swing that lol.

[Shortbus]

Very Cool Man, and your boy coming home From Iraq, glad he's safe, all I thought about over there was beer & sex,oh, and vaporizing hodgie... but this was prior to my mame addiction.....Not sure your marital status, but how does one get the 'wifey-poo' to agree to the purchase of a shopbot ? I want one, just can't sell it man, just can't sell it. Your a lucky dog...

Tell your friend Thanks, and Welcome Home !!!