Jump to content
Due to a large amount of spamers, accounts will now have to be approved by the Admins so please be patient. ×
IGNORED

Glass for Virtual Pinball


Recommended Posts

Hey all,

 

I need to purchase glass for my virtual pinball that is currently being built, the pinball has been built to the Widebody cab specs that MAMEMAN put together and someone from here passed onto me. The thing that confuses me is the length of the glass to cover the playfield. I measured where the glass will fit as approximately 135cm in length however from the specs I can find, the length should be 43" (109.22cm). Does the glass not go all the way to the back and how far under the lockdown bar should it go? I'd just have a look at some pinballs locally however I don't know that I'll get my answers.

 

A further question is, do most of you bother with glass for the backbox? I can't decide if I want to put glass in front of the TV on the backbox so I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey all,

 

I need to purchase glass for my virtual pinball that is currently being built, the pinball has been built to the Widebody cab specs that MAMEMAN put together and someone from here passed onto me. The thing that confuses me is the length of the glass to cover the playfield. I measured where the glass will fit as approximately 135cm in length however from the specs I can find, the length should be 43" (109.22cm). Does the glass not go all the way to the back and how far under the lockdown bar should it go? I'd just have a look at some pinballs locally however I don't know that I'll get my answers.

 

A further question is, do most of you bother with glass for the backbox? I can't decide if I want to put glass in front of the TV on the backbox so I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

Thanks.

 

My glass goes up until it makes contact under the backbox. At the front it hides under the lockdown by about 20mm.

 

I've got no glass on the backbox and am happy for the TV screen to be its finish. If I was to put something up there, I would prob just use a Lexan to keep the weight and cost down, rather than use glass.

 

It boils down to how accurate a replica you want your machine to be.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have a 'glass' on the backglass, it's that thick clear plastic sheet you can get from bunnings as a temp window replacement and cut to size, its perfectly clear and solid - and heaps cheaper than glass. REckon it ads a little more to the look ? not seen and problem with dust though at the start when you take the protective sheet off, then it's like a magnet :)

 

how is the build going ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been tossing up with that for ages, am worried it will scratch too easily, go milky and draw too much dust.

 

What's it worth cost wise compared to glass?

 

Yes acrylic scratches, but only if you put things on it or you're careless when wiping it over. It's not a flat surface so it's not like it will be treated as a table, which means scratching SHOULD be inconsequential. Also the static effect lessens over time so it won't always attract dust from miles away that was otherwise destined for another surface! From the little I know about plastics I recall being told that discoloration can be an issue if subjected to a lot of extreme temperature variations (which won't happen assuming your cabinet has good ventilation) or exposure to direct UV light (you probably won't have your cab sitting in direct sunlight). I've seen a lot of "milky" and/or scratched acrylic on arcade cab control panels which is due to a lot of hands-on contact, but that's not going to happen with a pin cab.

 

Cost Vs Glass? Depends on the type of glass you're getting - if you went with a standard dimension cab then you'd pick up a suitable sheet of toughened glass from a pinball place for a bit over $100, as they get their glass done in bulk to cut cost. The last toughened glass I got a quote for was a custom cocktail cab i did for a customer and the cheapest I could get it for was $225. I ended up going for 5mm Acrylic which was $55.

 

For a larger cab such as yours I reckon a piece of 5mm Acrylic would set you back about $75 and who knows how much for that in toughened and edged glass!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

how is the build going ?

 

Getting there... I keep thinking that I'll create a build thread but not quite getting there..

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]102730[/ATTACH]

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Yes acrylic scratches, but only if you put things on it or you're careless when wiping it over. It's not a flat surface so it's not like it will be treated as a table, which means scratching SHOULD be inconsequential. Also the static effect lessens over time so it won't always attract dust from miles away that was otherwise destined for another surface! From the little I know about plastics I recall being told that discoloration can be an issue if subjected to a lot of extreme temperature variations (which won't happen assuming your cabinet has good ventilation) or exposure to direct UV light (you probably won't have your cab sitting in direct sunlight). I've seen a lot of "milky" and/or scratched acrylic on arcade cab control panels which is due to a lot of hands-on contact, but that's not going to happen with a pin cab.

 

Cost Vs Glass? Depends on the type of glass you're getting - if you went with a standard dimension cab then you'd pick up a suitable sheet of toughened glass from a pinball place for a bit over $100, as they get their glass done in bulk to cut cost. The last toughened glass I got a quote for was a custom cocktail cab i did for a customer and the cheapest I could get it for was $225. I ended up going for 5mm Acrylic which was $55.

 

For a larger cab such as yours I reckon a piece of 5mm Acrylic would set you back about $75 and who knows how much for that in toughened and edged glass!

 

Thanks for the info... I'm going to get prices for both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting there... I keep thinking that I'll create a build thread but not quite getting there..

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]102730[/ATTACH]

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

 

 

Thanks for the info... I'm going to get prices for both.

 

First question: Do you have a cat?

 

If yes: Get glass! Their nails will stuff acrylic in no time.

 

If you use acrylic I would recommend that you go 6mm. Unlike the same thickness in toughened glass, acrylic will sag over time. Any less than 6mm and it will sag pretty fast (especially if your cat likes to sleep on it while your not around) ;)

 

We use acrylic in our work and have to be careful with our sheet storage (even the smaller bits) as sagging/warping is an issue.

 

I used 6mm starphire glass in my cab. It's optically clear (not all glass is believe it or not), toughened (not etched) and has polished sides . Cost was $180 from a supplier in Bris.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I'm going polycarbonate, apparently it is better than acrylic. It turns out I can buy it quite cheap so if I don't like it I can change my mind and I won't have lost much money.

 

Sent from my SM-T805Y using Aussie Arcade mobile app

 

It's more impact resistant than acrylic but it's easier to scratch. It can be polished though. We used it (Lexan) as windscreens on our rescue boats and I use to polish them with T-Cut to get rid of the scratches.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went with glass for both playfield and backbox.

You can't see the glass at all. @skids was standing there looking and thought the locking mech was for show.

5mm for PF and 3mm for BG. Cost $50 for both. No need for tempered as there's no steel ball [emoji459] and I doubt you're about to walk on it or punch it. And cats can chase the ball on it too.

 

Just measure your cab , from inside the lockdown bar strip up to the back of the plastic at the backbox and subtract 5mm for a good fit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got ripped, I paid $150 for my pf and bg.

 

Think you only need glass for the bg if it improves the look?, maybe hides the tv bezel or maybe to get the illusion of a bg depending on the shape of your tv used as a bg.

 

 

I reckon it does improve the look of the BG to have something in front of it... I used to have nothing there for a couple years but thenthe $20 sheet of thick poly in front of the TV and it does looks nicer.

 

Cleaning isn't an issue either... I've barely noticed my BG ever have any dust on it, any my garage can get pretty gnarly at times (as well as pins and arcades it doubles as a motorbike and bicycle workshop)

 

Don't think I would use it on the playfield though. There it's glass all the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...