codemonkey76 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 So I have finally bit the bullet and decided to build my own arcade cabinet. I want to build a 4-player cab with trackball and spinner. Here is my control panel design. I have ordered 8-way competition Bat top Joysticks and concave buttons from suzo-happ. Got my spinner and trackball and i-pac 4 encoder (Before i saw the kickstarter for the howler arcade controller, that thing looks insane!!). I went with the red knob for the spinner and heavy flyweight. Got my coin door and wiring harness's from Austin Amusements (Aussie company). Started building the box for the control panel over the weekend, here are my progress pics so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfancella Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Very nice! I look forward to seeing it progress. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Very nice, indeed. Did you drill the button holes already? If not, you could first print a draft and put it on your control panel to see it it works out for all players. Currently it lloks like buttons for player 1 and 2 are alligned the same. It might be a good idea to rotate the P2 controls a little to get a more convenient standing. As said - print it and try it - also with 4 people. Not to end up haveing everything done and the seeing that you cannot fit all players in front of the CP. Also, did you think about a coin button? I also have a coin door but sometimes it can be annoying to insert coins all time. In addition I use mine as "Select"-key in other emulators (NES,PSX,...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfancella Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Also, did you think about a coin button? I also have a coin door but sometimes it can be annoying to insert coins all time. In addition I use mine as "Select"-key in other emulators (NES,PSX,...) I just mounted a switch behind the eject button: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?30178-Coin-Slots&p=286323&viewfull=1#post286323 Just a thought. Thanks, Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegadeFred Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Looking good so far. Control panel is nice and big! Something to think about. Player 3 / 4, I see it often, the joysticks are angled on many builds. I do not remember any dedicated 3 / 4 player machine with angled joysticks, and playing on them in my opinion is a pain in the arse. I would advise to consider keeping them straight. But that's your call. Also, are you planning on using p3 / p4 for other emu's? If not and you plan on using them for MAME only, lose the 6 buttons and go with 4. There's no Mame games that use a more then 4 buttons for any 3 or 4 player game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Very nice! I look forward to seeing it progress.Ron Thanks, I will keep this updated as I progress... Got some sanding and filling to do this week. Very nice, indeed.Did you drill the button holes already? If not, you could first print a draft and put it on your control panel to see it it works out for all players. Currently it lloks like buttons for player 1 and 2 are alligned the same. It might be a good idea to rotate the P2 controls a little to get a more convenient standing. As said - print it and try it - also with 4 people. Not to end up haveing everything done and the seeing that you cannot fit all players in front of the CP. Also, did you think about a coin button? I also have a coin door but sometimes it can be annoying to insert coins all time. In addition I use mine as "Select"-key in other emulators (NES,PSX,...) I have not yet drilled the holes and planning on printing the individual layout elements and placing them on the board to get a feel for the controls before mounting them. I also have a spare sheet on to do a test run/mounting to make sure there is no problems with the layout. Looking good so far. Control panel is nice and big! Something to think about. Player 3 / 4, I see it often, the joysticks are angled on many builds. I do not remember any dedicated 3 / 4 player machine with angled joysticks, and playing on them in my opinion is a pain in the arse. I would advise to consider keeping them straight. But that's your call. Also, are you planning on using p3 / p4 for other emu's? If not and you plan on using them for MAME only, lose the 6 buttons and go with 4. There's no Mame games that use a more then 4 buttons for any 3 or 4 player game. Hmm, unsure I might have to test the angled joystick theory on my test board to see how it feels before finally deciding on the angle of the joysticks for p3/4. I may emulate some SNES games but mostly mame. So good call on the extra buttons for P3 and P4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 ...planning on printing the individual layout elements and placing them on the board to get a feel for the controls before mounting them. I also have a spare sheet on to do a test run/mounting to make sure there is no problems with the layout.... Prototyping is the best you can do - especially if it is the first CP you're designing. Just go on like this and you will learn a lot in order to have your personal perfect cab in the end. PS: It does not always have to be wood - cardboard is also doing fine for protos - I build my whole cab out of cardboard before cutting any wood I just mounted a switch behind the eject button: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?30178-Coin-Slots&p=286323&viewfull=1#post286323 Great idea - I like that one! My door has a mechanical eject button which is not really accessable - and which I need to leave intact as I relly need it for ejecting wrong coins that someone inserts. If you have the right coin door and you do not need the extra button for other emulators, this is definately the collest way to go. ...angled joysticks, and playing on them in my opinion is a pain in the arse... You could always use them for Q*Bert, at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorspawn Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 why do you need 6 buttons for player 3 and 4? you'll never use that many... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 why do you need 6 buttons for player 3 and 4? you'll never use that many... As RenegadeFred pointed out above I only need 4 buttons for player 3 and 4 and am changing my design accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 I have a test piece of wood for the top of the control panel and wanted to try out my joystick/button layout and check for elbow room between players. So I drilled out the holes and tried it out. I tried the angled joysticks for a few different games and also had my daughters play them without telling them about the angle. It actually feels pretty intuitive because the front angle cut into the top which you lean against is the same angle as the joystick is mounted. So I went down and got some acrylic and marked out the button layout on top of my actual top that I will be using (25mm Form Ply) Now hopefully on the weekend, I will get to use a friends drill press to drill all the holes. In the short term I intend on making a temporary pedestal for the control panel so I can just plug the computer up to our old 42" plasma TV downstairs and use it with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 Oh, BTW that screen in the first picture is a 27" iMac, so the control panel is MASSIVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 I am trying to sort out how to mount the joysticks and trackball. I don't want any extra holes in the top of the control panel. According to slagcoin.com the mounting depth for my Happ joysticks is between 1/3" (8.5mm) and 2/3" (17mm) between the top of the base and the top of the control panel. I am using 4.5mm acryllic so that only leaves at most 12.5mm for securing the joystick, is that enough to give it good stability? My control panel top is 25mm ply, so I will be routing the joystick base holes down to 12.5mm only leaving 12.5mm for the screws to secure into. I don't want any bulging on the top side where the screws will screw in either so will pre-drill the holes. The trackball comes with expanding inserts. I am at work so can't measure them at the moment, but I think they are around 10mm long. Which means i have to be extremely careful getting those into the bottom of the panel as there will be only 2.5mm of clearance above them if that is the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I am trying to sort out how to mount the joysticks and trackball. I don't want any extra holes in the top of the control panel. According to slagcoin.com the mounting depth for my Happ joysticks is between 1/3" (8.5mm) and 2/3" (17mm) between the top of the base and the top of the control panel. I am using 4.5mm acryllic so that only leaves at most 12.5mm for securing the joystick, is that enough to give it good stability?My control panel top is 25mm ply, so I will be routing the joystick base holes down to 12.5mm only leaving 12.5mm for the screws to secure into. I don't want any bulging on the top side where the screws will screw in either so will pre-drill the holes. The trackball comes with expanding inserts. I am at work so can't measure them at the moment, but I think they are around 10mm long. Which means i have to be extremely careful getting those into the bottom of the panel as there will be only 2.5mm of clearance above them if that is the case. If I understand correctly, you are not planning to drill holes through the wooden part in order to insert bolts securing then with a nut from below, but instead you are planning for bottom mount using wood screws? In this case, 12 mm will probably not be enough to secure the stick. If using wood screws, I would at least go for 4-6 screws, each 25mm long. As you will anway put acrylic on top (most probably either back-painted or with artwork in between), why do you not go the easy (and stable) way of drilling holes and using nuts and bolts? Another possibility for bottom-mounting would be to use an S-plate leaving more "beef" to screw into - of course this depends on your joystick. Personally, what I did: - inserting drive-in nuts to the top of my CP (wooden part) after routing a shallow cavity so they end up at the the lavel as the wooden top - using an S-plate in addition so from the bottom I only had to route the joystick base, but not the part where the screws are (okay, this part also a few millimeters) - securing using bolts and nuts - in the end covering everything with artwork and 3mm plexi I ended up having the joysticks secured by 2 bolts each running through 17mm of beefy multiplex birch wood. You can unscrew the joystick from the bottom and nothing is visible from the top This pages gives a nice overview: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering.html This is an S-plate: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering/jlf_s.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 OK, I have decided to mount my joysticks from the top, I have Happ joysticks with no S-plate... I will countersink my screws so that when I lay my artwork on top you won't be able to see them. And then acrylic on top of that. I borrowed the use of my father-in-law's drill press to drill out all the holes through both the ply and the acrylic. Then I went and bought myself a router so I could route out the bottom to make room for everything (I am using 25mm ply, which is too thick for all the components) Then I wanted to test what it looked like with everything mounted, so installed all the buttons and the trackball and spinner. The hole for the trackball was originally large enough to fit the flange on, but now with the trackball mounted a mm or 2 out from it's correct location, the flange won't fit, so I had to take out the trackball and make the hole a little bigger with the router. Next step is to design my artwork to go on the control panel. I found a nice SF2 picture online and cleaned it up (and added some arrows and button surrounds so it wasn't too busy over the buttons). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 If I understand correctly, you are not planning to drill holes through the wooden part in order to insert bolts securing then with a nut from below, but instead you are planning for bottom mount using wood screws?In this case, 12 mm will probably not be enough to secure the stick. If using wood screws, I would at least go for 4-6 screws, each 25mm long. As you will anway put acrylic on top (most probably either back-painted or with artwork in between), why do you not go the easy (and stable) way of drilling holes and using nuts and bolts? Another possibility for bottom-mounting would be to use an S-plate leaving more "beef" to screw into - of course this depends on your joystick. Personally, what I did: - inserting drive-in nuts to the top of my CP (wooden part) after routing a shallow cavity so they end up at the the lavel as the wooden top - using an S-plate in addition so from the bottom I only had to route the joystick base, but not the part where the screws are (okay, this part also a few millimeters) - securing using bolts and nuts - in the end covering everything with artwork and 3mm plexi I ended up having the joysticks secured by 2 bolts each running through 17mm of beefy multiplex birch wood. You can unscrew the joystick from the bottom and nothing is visible from the top [ATTACH=CONFIG]35899[/ATTACH] This pages gives a nice overview: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering.html This is an S-plate: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/mounting_layering/jlf_s.jpg i take it you countersunk your bolts? do they cause any indentation in your artwork any pic of the process on your's using this method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Sorry, there are no good pictures existing. Zooming in a lot, you can see it in the attachex picture. The finished one does not show any signs of the bolts (currently not at home so i cannot take detail Pictures - search forum for "fire&ice cab"). I printed my cp artwork to (pretty thick) photo paper as it amyway is behind plexi. This helps hiding the holes Sent from my Lumia 710 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Sorry, there are no good pictures existing.Zooming in a lot, you can see it in the attachex picture. The finished one does not show any signs of the bolts (currently not at home so i cannot take detail Pictures - search forum for "fire&ice cab"). I printed my cp artwork to (pretty thick) photo paper as it amyway is behind plexi. This helps hiding the holes Sent from my Lumia 710 using Tapatalk k, no matter. I stopped off at the hardware shop on the way home from work and bought some nice countersunk head bolts and nuts to suit, counter sink them just enough to lay flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 k, no matter. I stopped off at the hardware shop on the way home from work and bought some nice countersunk head bolts and nuts to suit, counter sink them just enough to lay flat. So you will contersink (and then insert) the bolts from the top before putting artwork and plexi on top? Did you think about removing the nuts later to remove/replace the joystick? You might not have the ability to put a screwdriver in your screws anymore - this is why I used the drive-in nuts. If you insert screws from the top, make sure to put some glue so you can safely unscrew the nuts later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 If I replace the joysticks, I can always poke a hole in my vinyl where the screwdriver goes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 I am not sure how how to secure my acrylic/lexan... Are the buttons going to be enough... I would prefer an unblemished appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 If I replace the joysticks, I can always poke a hole in my vinyl where the screwdriver goes in. your cab - you decide I am not sure how how to secure my acrylic/lexan... Are the buttons going to be enough... I would prefer an unblemished appearance. In my cab the CP is between the side panels, so I routed a path to the panels where the plexi fits into (secured to the sides), the front bottom is secured by a metal profile while the top is secured by the bezel plexi pushing against it. I see this is not really possible for your designe - you will not have the side panels. Buttons will kind of fix the plexi. I guess you will add t-molding? If yes, this will fix it too and avoid sharp edges - you can also add a little glue between plexi sides and t-mold (carefully). Of course adding small (painted) screws will fix if more tightly, but they will be visible in the end. Adding (spray-)glue between artwork and plexi I would not recommend - will look cloudy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 I decided on painting the bolts black and having them go through the artwork as suggested. I have everything mounted and have done most of the wiring (Wiring harness i bought didn't have enough connectors, gotta order some more.) Also waiting on a usb hub and Panel mount USB connector, to finish it off. I plan on putting 30mm aluminium angle around the edge of the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mono Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 looks nice! Very clean cabeling. Aluminium angles will work and give it a nice finish, I think - I thought about it also, but was afraid of sharp edges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorsdad Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Looking nice Your wiring looks a helluva lot tidier than mine. Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codemonkey76 Posted December 19, 2013 Author Share Posted December 19, 2013 looks nice!Very clean cabeling. Aluminium angles will work and give it a nice finish, I think - I thought about it also, but was afraid of sharp edges Thanks, I am not going to cut it around the edges, I am going to bend it, i will cut a v out of one side (the bottom hidden side), so it shouldn't be too sharp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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