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48/32/19 Tron Theme! first time cab build


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Hi everyone,

 

Long time lurker here!

 

I thought it might be useful if I document my build thread. I will definitely have some questions to ask throughout the build and keeping it to a single thread will hopefully prevent me from high jacking others threads. The electrical part of the build is something I am not very analytical with to say the least! So please be kind :laugh:

 

Background; kid of the 80/90s with a love of arcade and pinball :) built a few arcade machines along the way and spent many thousands of dollars on pinnies and arcades over my life. A good mate of mine owned a smallish arcade when I was growing up so I had access to some pretty cool machines! Favourite is either Addams Family or SNTTG depending on the mood. Fav arcade's are SF2 (most versions), NBA Jam, MKII and the Raiden trilogy to mention a few. Old school Amiga geek as well. Still play them to this day. Anyway.....

 

 

Last year I made this arcade from scratch. I made it 700mm wide (to avoid shoulder grinding) and it has a 27" LED and 5.1 Surround.

 

http://i.imgur.com/cGBWKwG.jpg?1

 

 

 

 

So now time to embark on my new project!

 

List of parts

Hardware (thus far, will update when I grab more stuff)

Playfield - Samsung 48" H5000 LED TV

Backglass - Soniq 32" LED

DMD - Acer 19.5" LED

Audio - Logitech Z623 THX 2.1

Williams Widebody style Hardware - Infinity Amusements

Buttons and Misc - OzStick

Digital Plunger - VirtuaPin

Graphics - Stuzza

4x 200mm Aerocool Lightning fans

2x 140mm Aeorcool lightnig fans

18mm MDF for the cab, 12mm MDF for the bezel.

8m of pine for reinforcing the cab etc

Glass cut to suit

15mm and 30mm wood screws.

Woodglue

Gap filler

CNC Machine

Tools!

 

Cabinet

Custom made Widebody. I am most comfortable playing widebody cabs, so that option was an easy one.

 

 

TVs and Monitors

Initially I was finding it hard to source a decent TV for the fit because I wanted the screen to take up the whole playfield. I hope that the playfield size/graphics ratio doesn't blow out too bad ie; huge flippers etc (can that happen?)

 

So not much is around Australia in the 46" range that I could find locally anyway and I wanted to buy new so it only left me a couple of options. Toyed with the idea of buying a Kogan, but lucky for me JB had a decent sale on Samsung and I ended up with the 48" H5000 for $515.

http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/led-tv/UA48H5000AWXXY

 

Purchasing this TV was really pushing the boundaries of the cabinet, however I just machined 8mm from 1 side and 7mm from the other. The result will be a totally hidden bezel. Nice. The cab will not lose any of its integrity either because of the reinforcements that will be used.

Due to the size of the screen it also meant that I can get it all the way down to the lockdown bar. So hopefully this will add to a nice finished product.

 

For the playfield I opted for a cheap and nasty 32" Soniq. At least they guarantee no dead pixels. The life of this LED is yet to be determined. The backbox has been designed to suit.

 

DMD was going to be run by a Lenovo 14" USB monitor, but I ended up with cold feet in anticipation of future releases and lag/stutter issues. In the end I grabbed an Acer 19.5 LED. Doing this now means that I need to cut a small slit to house the small amount of Acer dropping through as the Back box was originally designed for the Lenovo. Oh well, at least its hidden.

 

PC config

I am a regular customer with my local PC store so I ended up with a much higher spec PC than needed, but that is fine with me.

• Intel Core i5-4690K Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz

• CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

• Gigabyte Z97-D3H

• 8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x4GB DDR3 1866MHZ C9

• Samsung 840 EVO Series 120GB 2.5" SSD

• MSI R9 270 OXC 2GB GDDR5 Twin-Frozr Cooling GPU

• Zalman ZM-850HP PS

• Win7 64

 

Everything is new except an old 850w PS I had lying about. I don't think that the R9 series AMD will give me any dramas over an Nvidia, but I guess I will find that out shortly.

Currently I only have the Software installed and havent tested the 3 screen setup yet. This better not come back to bite me.

PC has been mounted on MDF and will be accessible through the coin door on a self closing runner.

Edited by krusto
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.... I don't think that the R9 series AMD will give me any dramas over an Nvidia, but I guess I will find that out shortly.

Currently I only have the Software installed and havent tested the 3 screen setup yet. This better not come back to bite me.

 

There tends to be very mixed experiences with Radeon cards compared to Nvidia, hopefully yours is one of the better ones!

 

An issue that will no doubt crop up is when you attempt to connect 3 monitors to that card - it will probably have 1 x HDMI, 2 x DVI and 1 or 2 Display Port sockets, but note that on Radeon cards you CANNOT connect separate monitors to the DVI ports! Apparently you can only use the 2 DVI ports when setting up SLI, no idea why they went that way with them.

 

This means you will need to use 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI and 1 x DP, so make sure you have the appropriate cable/adaptor for DP otherwise you will enter into a world of frustration. Also, ensure if you use an adaptor (ie DVI to DP adaptor) that it is ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE, otherwise it may won't work.

 

I recently did a PC setup for someone who decided to AMD and Radeon with his setup and after no end of frustration I ended up with the PD hooked up to HDMI, BG to DVI and luckily the motherboard supported simultaneous video output from onboard as well as the add-on card so I hooked up the DMD to the onboard VGA. In the end it worked a treat.

 

Also, with your backbox, rather than cutting a hole for part of the DMD monitor to protrude thru, are you able to overlap the 2 monitors so part of the DMD sits up behind the backglass monitor? Everything would then be contained within the backbox so you could hinge it and fold it down if you ever need to move the machine.......

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There tends to be very mixed experiences with Radeon cards compared to Nvidia, hopefully yours is one of the better ones!

 

An issue that will no doubt crop up is when you attempt to connect 3 monitors to that card - it will probably have 1 x HDMI, 2 x DVI and 1 or 2 Display Port sockets, but note that on Radeon cards you CANNOT connect separate monitors to the DVI ports! Apparently you can only use the 2 DVI ports when setting up SLI, no idea why they went that way with them.

 

This means you will need to use 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI and 1 x DP, so make sure you have the appropriate cable/adaptor for DP otherwise you will enter into a world of frustration. Also, ensure if you use an adaptor (ie DVI to DP adaptor) that it is ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE, otherwise it may won't work.

 

I recently did a PC setup for someone who decided to AMD and Radeon with his setup and after no end of frustration I ended up with the PD hooked up to HDMI, BG to DVI and luckily the motherboard supported simultaneous video output from onboard as well as the add-on card so I hooked up the DMD to the onboard VGA. In the end it worked a treat.

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure it will be a challenge. I will snag an active DP and see what I can achieve. Otherwise as you mentioned I would be trying the onboard VGA for DMD in analogue and 2x digital signals for the TVS. Fingers crossed.

 

Also, with your backbox, rather than cutting a hole for part of the DMD monitor to protrude thru, are you able to overlap the 2 monitors so part of the DMD sits up behind the backglass monitor? Everything would then be contained within the backbox so you could hinge it and fold it down if you ever need to move the machine.......

 

I did think of doing this but wasn't really sold with the idea of the DMD sitting back deeper than the backglass. I did kind of want both those screens flush. I even toyed wit the idea of making a new backbox as I am only about 5cm off in height. Gah!

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Good luck with your build. Looking forward to see your art package printed on this baby! :)

 

Oh it's going to look mint mate!

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Cabinet build

First things first find some plans! messed about, measured, re-measured all the nervous stuff.

Cab was then converted into the CNC software. Added recessed areas for the supporting 'braces'? mounts? I'm not sure of the terminology. The pine used to hold everything together anyway.

 

Decided to house the sub box up the back of the cab, so measured that and countersunk the dimensions into the cab base. This was done deep enough just to hold it in place nicely. I will finish holding the sub down with some type of brace in case I ever move the cab. We also did the same for the 6 fans that are being installed. These small details will make everything line up so nicely.

 

Headed to the shop and got things moving.

 

This CNC machine is massive! (well its the first one I have seen)

 

http://i.imgur.com/zKmwXq3.jpg?1

You can see the 45deg cuts at work here.

 

http://i.imgur.com/LtLdrXe.jpg?1

Really happy with the layout of the coin door and how neat is that cut for the plunger! Very impressed.

 

http://i.imgur.com/mdl2OeW.jpg?1

Here is that recess for the sub box and the 200mm holes for the 2 front fans.

 

http://i.imgur.com/worJRvR.jpg?1

Nice and efficient with only 2 sheets of MDF required.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ybansPi.jpg?1

Last one. The holes for the legs were drilled out as well.

 

Not sure what all those corrugated lines are on the pics, its not the MDF, might be shadows from something or maybe my phone doing it :unsure

 

Anyway that was the gist of the cutting, obviously nothing much to do but clean up.

Edited by krusto
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I did think of doing this but wasn't really sold with the idea of the DMD sitting back deeper than the backglass. I did kind of want both those screens flush. I even toyed wit the idea of making a new backbox as I am only about 5cm off in height. Gah!

Here's a couple of pics of the backbox of my cab(s) showing what I do to get both monitors to fit:

Pin_JUN13_04.jpg.45c5a5a936e87c4e81f76d8a222bd94c.jpgPin_JUN13_02.jpg.22e179142a6f87f62283f2e2384445a4.jpg

 

The monitors are decased and I use a full ply panel for the front of the backbox, with a rebate cut into the back so the rear of the backbox monitor is flush with the rear face of the panel. The DMD monitor ends uf flush mounted on the inside of the panel and a chamfered cut into the front of the panel for the DMD makes the difference in depth far less noticeable.

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That looks very well done mate. Now I wish I thought of doing that.

 

I am also using a full panel for the backbox. I think the main issue I have was choosing a 32". Priming the cab tomorrow so I will see what I can do before the paint goes on. Appreciate the pics!

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That looks very well done mate. Now I wish I thought of doing that.

 

I am also using a full panel for the backbox. I think the main issue I have was choosing a 32". Priming the cab tomorrow so I will see what I can do before the paint goes on. Appreciate the pics!

No worries Krusto. It may seem like a small cosmetic thing but having the ability to drop down the backbox to move the machine is a BIG thing. Maybe you could rebate the rear of the panel to "sink in" the backglass monitor in a similar manner to mine?

 

I'm liking how you managed to find a CNC router with a 45 degree cutting bit so you could mitre the edges of the cabinet. How are you planning to joint them together?

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No worries Krusto. It may seem like a small cosmetic thing but having the ability to drop down the backbox to move the machine is a BIG thing. Maybe you could rebate the rear of the panel to "sink in" the backglass monitor in a similar manner to mine?

 

Too late now :( The bezel was already cut out. Tried to work out a solution like yours but it wouldn't work.

 

I'm liking how you managed to find a CNC router with a 45 degree cutting bit so you could mitre the edges of the cabinet. How are you planning to joint them together?

 

Yeah I'm so happy that it has mitred edges. Makes it all fit together like a glove. The whole cab has hidden screws and each side butts up against the supporting pine on the inside. So just wood glue and plenty of wood screws.

 

Here are the pine supports

http://i.imgur.com/LvWGD1L.jpg?1

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TBH mate I am completely unsure. My mate has one at work so we used it. His particular machine is worth about $150k for memory and I think they charge $100-150 an hour?

 

He did mention that it would be about an hours cutting if we did it again. But that may help because we made the plans with the software used by that machine. My guess is that engineering places would also charge you for that as well?

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More cabinet build

 

Having the sides mitered all I needed to do was cut the pine to suit. The pine would be used as internal supports and hold the cab together. Now just countersink the wood screws and glue.

 

Everything lined up perfectly!

 

Out came the router and routed out the grooves for the playfield glass rails. A 2.5mm bit was used for this. I could not find an imperial one close by so the 2.5mm would have to do.

 

[img]http://i.imgur.com/PjLv9Oj.jpg?2[/img]

Starting to take shape

 

http://i.imgur.com/JPTi2AE.jpg?1

Boxbox is a custom size to perfectly fit the 32" Screen

 

http://i.imgur.com/UEhM2ME.jpg?1

You can see how the 15mm & 30mm screws were used. With craploads of glue its not going anywhere. Because I wanted the button centered a tiny bit of grinding work was needed for the leg bracket.

 

 

Now it was getting exciting and starting to look like something, so I threw on the backbox and screwed on a few bits and stood back for a look!

 

http://i.imgur.com/UVkUOBe.jpg?2

Edited by krusto
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That's coming together really good! and fast!

Just a heads up , that soniq 32' doesn't have a saved power state so your gonna have to use the remote to turn it on. It can be modified somehow, I read it somewhere but can't remember... requires rewiring.

Can't wait to see the Artwork! I used Stuzza's Art aswell he has such a great range to choose from.

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That's coming together really good! and fast!

Just a heads up , that soniq 32' doesn't have a saved power state so your gonna have to use the remote to turn it on.

 

Yeah I had a feeling about this, seriously how hard woudl it be to include that feature. I will need to jig up some type of wiring to get around it, damn it.

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With the TV not having a saved power state... is it possible that the TV has HDMI CEC and that you can use that to turn the TV on? Haven't looked at the specs of anything you had was just thinking out loud.

 

Now that is interesting.... I want to know if that works too

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Sunday was a nice productive day for me. The DMD bezel was cut to suit which also included a nice border for the TV.

 

The DMD size is a little bigger in width and height, I made sure that the ratio was kept the same.

Width (mm) 404.3

Height (mm) 102

 

The rounding of the edges looks nice and real happy that the CNC could take care of it. Using the router on that area was really starting to worry me.

 

http://i.imgur.com/68qp35v.jpg?3

I think it came up pretty good!

 

 

OK so I probably went a little overboard attaching the bezel to the backbox this way...armed with a new chisel I marked out the areas for the angle brackets and countersunk holes 2mm. I really took my time with this, one bad move or slip and the bezel may have snapped. These brackets were used to strengthen the structure, but I wanted them flush with the MDF so the backscreen still boxed up flush.

 

http://i.imgur.com/CShgfLI.jpg?1

 

http://i.imgur.com/LLcgb8e.jpg?3

And from the from, a bit of wood glue, a few nails with the mail gun and a bit of gap filler for good measure. You may have also noticed the small slit cut for the bottom of the 19" monitor to go.

 

 

 

Painting

 

Gave the cab a good sand down with 150 grit paper, blew all the dust off with the air compressor and prepared for the first undercoat. Had lots of acrylic left from the arcade cab I built so used all that up first. I was pretty lucky that I had a painter on hand with his industrial paint gun, so I sat back and enjoyed the show.

 

Then I hid an error of judgement and failed to tape down the drop sheet. As the coat was drying the wind came up and blew it onto the sides...grrrrrr after all that prep work!

 

Anyway after she dried, the sand back result ended up looking like this....

http://i.imgur.com/obQX1i0.jpg?1

 

A quick taping of the drop sheet and time for the 2nd coat, well coat 1.5 really....

 

http://i.imgur.com/Uvo2pCA.jpg?2

 

http://i.imgur.com/GlBZK8M.jpg?1

 

This weekend will hopefully result in 2 more sands and the final 2 coats of enamel.

Edited by krusto
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