nintenjo Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi.. About a year ago i decided to build myself an arcade cabinet. I have been a bit fan of emulators and retro gaming for a while now and had built a couple of small scale PC's for MAME emulation etc, but decided to enter the big leagues and go for a fully cabinet build. I started by planning out exactly what i was going to do: Sit-down cab style Standard Stick and Button controls Coin slots Large Widescreen LCD display (for modern PC game support). Only arcade emulators (including console games would never have that true arcade feel). Using a number of free sources online i decided to make a Vewlix clone as it seemed to tick all the right boxes, and looked like the most straight forward in terms of cab layout and design. I planned out the cab using 3D software so i could work out how all the MDF / Plywood panels would fix together and what gauge wood i would need for strength and construction.. I also purchased some parts i would need for the construction.. 32" Sharp LCD (old model but cheap at £40). Sanwa Sticks * 2 Gold Leaf Arcade Buttons * 12 white + 4 Red 180w Mini amp I already had a spare PC (AM3 Phenom x4, 4GB Ram, Nvidia 650GTX) More to follow soon.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Once i had made a 3D model i was able to give my dad (who had a decent tool shed including bandsaw & pillar drill) all the exact measurements for the MDF and Plywood panels (Plywood is a lot stronger for thinner sections compared to MDF, but also considerably more expensive.. The entire cabinet is made from 18mm MDF 6mm MDF and 6mm Plywood. At this stage we got all the panels cut to size and used a 45 bevel and hand router to add all the chamfers on the corners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 At this point i realised that in order to transport the cab (from my parents house to mine) i would need to make the 'control' shelf and 'computer' base unit detachable. I decided to use hex bolts bolted through the out sides to hold them in place. These were the prettiest bolts i could find that didn't spoil the aesthetics of the case too much. We decided it would be far simpler to get the wooden frame painted by a local company in a black and white colour scheme. (The mess of painting at this scale using rattle cans or hiring a compressors would not have justified the relatively low expenses of £120 to get it done by someone else).. With the control unit to be the first item to return from the painters i was able to fit the Sanwa sticks to a 6mm plywood sheet which was sat into a 12mm recess (allowing 6mm for an acrylic top layer to finish off the surface flush with the sides) I also took the opportunity to mark out and cut the 28mm holes needed for the buttons.. (i went for an 8 button config as some games benefit from them, but looking back 6 would be plenty). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazzardActual Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 looks like a good start. I envy people that make veiwlix cabs, seems like waaaaay too much wood work for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalzoic Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Looking really good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 Another update.. (i'm writing this all retrospectively as I've actually finish the cabinet now..). Finally got the rest of the panels back from the paint studio and have fitting the screen. (This was a lot easier once i had removed all of the TV's LCD plastic casing and stripped out the unnecessary accessories like speakers and IR remote controls.) We kept the control buttons from the TV and have fitted them on the reverse of the unit so we can adjust AV input etc if needed and power off the screen independently from the main power source. We cut some large 20mm holes at the rear of the unit to allow for 20mm fans and grills to the fitted for proper ventilation being the PC box and TV units which will generate a lot of heat. You can see at this stage we also fitted to top stereo speakers (bought from a local car auto-part suppliers and a small 180w AMP that runs from a 12v source, its nothing fancy in terms of audio but services the unit well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisvond Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, did you use any t-moulding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Looking forward to seeing how this turns out, did you use any t-moulding? No T-Mouldings all the edges have been beveled using a router to get that smooth finish when painted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggood82 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Hi , I am tossing up if i should have it painted by a shop or actually do it myself . if you dont mind saying what was the $ to get it painted by someone else ? by the way it looks awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Hi , I am tossing up if i should have it painted by a shop or actually do it myself . if you dont mind saying what was the $ to get it painted by someone else ? by the way it looks awesome Hi.. I used a small local paint shop near me (in the UK) But they charged a total of £150 ($250USD ish) for all the White and Black elements, although i had to do a lot of the prep sanding and sealing, but that was fairly easy and clean. I had to consider the amount of paint i would need, plus all the prep time and mess it would create. (plus the fact i would no doubt need to repaint and sand back any drips) it makes a lot more sense to get someone else to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Another update.. So after getting the rest of the panels back from the paint shop i was able to fit the Coin slots to the front of the lower box unit (it also has a lock to lock it) i wanted to keep the authenticity of an arcade with proper coin mechs. (for that satisfying 'ker-chink'). The coin mechs i fitted are only cheap models from AWUK (http://www.arcadeworlduk.com/products/Comparable-Coin-Mech.html i tested them both but one of the units seems a lot more strict than the other so perhaps i should tweak the settings.. To the front of the lower door i fitted a clear perspex kick plate as i imagine a lot of feet will be booting the unit. Before wiring up the buttons and panels i did a test wiring and checked the PC fitted in place. Surprisingly the PC only just fit in place and meant i only had a limited amount of space coin bins (which are actually a couple of tuper-ware tubs i got from the local Chinese supermaket). I will replace these at a later date with proper coin bins fitted on the out door. As you can see i have fitted the amp to left and a 3 socket extension to power the screen, PC and amp. Here is how the unit was looking at this stage.. The control panel just has a black sheet of plywood in place at the moment ready for the acrylics i will be fitting later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhatter3339 Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 After building a handful of arcades one thing im glad I did was take the computer case and scrap it!!! I simply attached it to the side of the arcades!! No more risk of the computer sliding around during delivery or when moving the arcade! I think it makes a cleaner look and better airflow as well. I also took the power button off of the front of the cases and rewired them to a pushbutton and placed it on the back of the arcades. Just wanted to share the tips!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisvond Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Does the Coin mech actually work with hyper-spin and add credits or is it just for show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtslade Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 If you wired coin 1 and coin 2 to keyboard 5 & 6 then set start game to 5 or 6 it would work Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pofo14 Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Looking very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Does the Coin mech actually work with hyper-spin and add credits or is it just for show? Hi.. Yes I've wired up the input on the iPac PCB so that coins are recognised correctly. Very simple to do. Just needs a 12v feed off the computer (I used a spare molex) to run the electrical caparison device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 After building a handful of arcades one thing im glad I did was take the computer case and scrap it!!! I simply attached it to the side of the arcades!! No more risk of the computer sliding around during delivery or when moving the arcade! I think it makes a cleaner look and better airflow as well. I also took the power button off of the front of the cases and rewired them to a pushbutton and placed it on the back of the arcades. Just wanted to share the tips!!! Yes in retro spec that would be a much better idea. I may ditch the case if my box has enough surface area to fit the motherboard.. What sort of screws did you use to hold the motherboard PCB onto the wood? Or did you use some plastic feet to raise it up more for ventilation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie1 Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Yes in retro spec that would be a much better idea. I may ditch the case if my box has enough surface area to fit the motherboard.. What sort of screws did you use to hold the motherboard PCB onto the wood? Or did you use some plastic feet to raise it up more for ventilation? I bought "PCB Mounting Feet" from eBay, They are really cheap and give a professional look and as you say allow for air flow, Most packs come with the screws to mount the PCB you just have to get the right length screw to screw them to your cab, i had to use tiny screws because i used 12mm MDF for my cab (Not the best idea) Loving the cab btw, I want to build one simular one day, Perhaps with the option of folding the controls away so it can "Blend in" in the living room and keep the misses happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalzoic Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I had one mounted in my cab caseless like that, but when I upgraded the PC I put it back into a case. It's just so much easier to take out and work on that way if needed. I just put it into a Cooler Master case that is squat like a brick instead of standing upright. That way I can move the cabinet around and it can't tip over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Update: Now the bulk of the work was done on the main frame of the cabinet i could spend a little more creative time designing the final look. Using illustrator i designed the top illuminated panel, and the main button board. I had to shop around to find somewhere that was happy to produce these bespoke signs, but ended up using a small local sign maker. The button board would be printed on the reverse of 6mm Acrylic while the Vewlix illuminated board was printed using semi-transparent red and white to allow the light to pass through. I sent both off for printing and had to wait around 3 weeks for turn around time. (although i suspect this could be done quicker). The final cost for the two acrylic signs was about $300, which was more than i had planned. This gave me an opportunity to get the button wiring setup and tested in a test-rig on my home TV to ensure Hyperspin was performing correctly and iron out as many kinks as possible. I fear this is where i spent far to much time.. i was new to the whole Hyperspin setup process and i made a few mistakes along the way.. I also went through alot of button configs before i decided on what i felt would wok best. Lots of emulators (Demul & Supermodel for example) caused me so many headaches i decided to hide them from HS for now for me to fix later, setting up MAME was a big enough task. (I still have lots of bugs to iron out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 So another update: After about 3 weeks i finally got the acrylic panels back from the sign printer.. And i was super pleased with the results. Not only was it a fantastic finish, but the measurements on my illustrator file were spot on and it dropped into the recess i had made with millimeter perfection. A word of warning.. During my construction i left the acrylic in our back conservatory and we had some pretty hot days this summer, on one of the days the acrylic swelled massively causing it to bow quite badly. Thankfully once it returned to a normal temperature it was ok, but could have split the frame holding it if not careful. (i wasn't too worried about longer term temperatures as i will be kept in an air conditioned office.) Here are the acrylics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggood82 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Hi.. I used a small local paint shop near me (in the UK) But they charged a total of £150 ($250USD ish) for all the White and Black elements, although i had to do a lot of the prep sanding and sealing, but that was fairly easy and clean. I had to consider the amount of paint i would need, plus all the prep time and mess it would create. (plus the fact i would no doubt need to repaint and sand back any drips) it makes a lot more sense to get someone else to do it. Thanks for the reply , After painting mine i should have paid someone to do it like yours .As my quality is defiantly not at that level Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nintenjo Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 So a final update. After getting all the perspex signs in and fitted i was able to add the finishing touches to the cabinet.. Speaker wiring 12v Mini Amp driver TV IR control panels mounted at the rear Internal 4 way AC power supply At this point the cabinet is almost complete. At this stage it was being stored in my conservatory, which didn't impress my wife very much, so i discussed with my employer and agreed it might be nice to put it in the works kitchen for everyone to enjoy. I am planning to have some retro gaming competitions to earn some extra funds for a local games based charity. I still have a number of bug to resolve with HS and Rocket Launcher but once I've fixed them all i'll call it done..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sucramjd Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 wow I missed this build, but wow that is awesome dude, make your wife appreciate all the hard work you've put in its beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericleroi Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Very nice indeed. Really great job nintenjo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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