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Kraken Pinball


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I like it when I can always see the ball, so I designed these ramps so they don't block the view to the outside orbit.

Yep agreed. It did look good with rails all over a machine but that was 15 years ago. Personally I think all return ramps should be subways so your vision isn't blocked with the return path kicking into the return lane either through a metal flap or coming out the back of the slingshot. The result is the same but it would make the machine look less cluttered.

Another alternative is just a curved lane that directs the ball straight back into the return lane or if you want the ball to go up maybe just have it at the raised height momentarily before rolling back down again straight into the flipper return lane.

These will all achieve the same result but some are a little less in your face than others.

 

 

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I would be a bit worried that the rings would be too soft to be useable. I say this because looking at the way you have formed them I don't think you would have been able to form up a piece of stiffer wire using that method. I can probably dig up an old document to show how to do it with spring steel wire if you think it might help? I have turned up springs in 2mm spring steel wire at 10mm diameter.

 

If the job as it stands will suit you them please carry on as before :) Looking pretty good so far.

 

Dave

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I would be a bit worried that the rings would be too soft to be useable. I say this because looking at the way you have formed them I don't think you would have been able to form up a piece of stiffer wire using that method. I can probably dig up an old document to show how to do it with spring steel wire if you think it might help? I have turned up springs in 2mm spring steel wire at 10mm diameter.

 

If the job as it stands will suit you them please carry on as before :) Looking pretty good so far.

 

Dave

 

Gotta be real careful if they are ever plated as well. Any hardened metal that needs to be plated needs to be de-embrittled first or it becomes very brittle and usually cracks. Probably better to make them in mild steel but even that will give issues when you mig or tig it as either of these welding processes harden the steel right where you welded it.

 

You can read all about it and why it happens here and it might explain to some exactly why some pinball rails break as well as where they do...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_embrittlement

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I now know why so many homebrews don't use ramps or use ramps from other machines. It's a pain to make your own!

 

It's surprisingly hard to create smooth curves in the wire. As I mentioned earlier, I'm aiming for maximum ball visibility, so I'm trying to bend it so the ramp isn't blocking the view to the upper flipper.

 

kraken_1.jpg.996ab5253b9e2f3613e440cd29a1e4a8.jpg

 

The hardest part was getting the two bottom wires to line up nicely with an even gap all the way along. Once that was done, the job wasn't too bad.

 

kraken_2.jpg.065cf3c2583a31ff86ee7630aa081366.jpg

 

kraken_3.jpg.291832d0449abc5e9a331838193fb1e5.jpg

 

 

I'm glad I only have two ramps to make. Well done to all the other homebrews I've seen with complicated ramps all over the place.

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This is going to be so satisfying making those parts yourself.

That’s the exact part I dread.

 

Nice work.

 

I agree, it's satisfying to create these parts. Even if some of them can be a lot of work.

 

The two parts I'm dreading for different reasons are creating the artwork and the wiring. Soldering all those countless LEDs and components is soul-crushingly boring. Also, creating artwork for an original theme is going to be a big challenge for me so I'm not looking forward to it.

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Finally able to test the ramp to see if it actually works. I designed it without knowing whether it would work or not, so it was a massive relief to see this:

kraken_ramp.gif.f6e62e490451a694295642a2a515777e.gif

 

I was surprised by how smoothly the ball landed on the wireforms and by how fairly light shots still made it up the ramp entrance.

 

I still have some work to do on each end of the wireform, but here's how it looks on the playfield:

 

kraken_1.jpg.5216d64cd83fd012cbce38bb7bcfc8a8.jpg

 

I'm not a fan of how some ramps will bounce the ball around before releasing it to the playfield because it looks clunky. So my goal is to have a smooth exit that releases the ball a bit faster than normal towards the flippers. I'm sure I'll need to add extra protection to the playfield, but I want a fast and smooth ramp exit.

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Well done. I like how it bends around in line with the upper flipper and right loop.

 

Youve inspired me to hurry up and start working on one again.

 

Yeah I aimed to have open ended ramp exits for faster returns.

 

Keen to see how that goes.

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How about a couple of washers with slots cut in the 4 corners as templets to hold the correct spacing for your wires?. Not to weld the washers in but solely as spacers to hold them as you weld in your rings and maintain the right spacing between the rails prior to welding permanently? . You should be able to clamp the wires in the large washers with vice grips and once your rings are welded, remove the vice grips and turn the washers sideways to remove them ready for another.

As for the track end and the ball simply dropping hard on the playfield into the flipper return lanes, I always thought this was a bit of a cop out in the design. What about some thinner gauge wire bent in a shape similar to an old school lane diverter gate mounted sideways that the ball in your track rolls onto and that weight of the ball lowers the gate down that prevents the ball from dropping hard and gives the ball a nice angled ramp to roll down that swings back up without the weight of the ball on it thus preventing any divets from forming in the playfield surface but also speeding the ball up as it's lowered into the return lane?

By old school gate, I'm thinking something like this...

A13652.jpg.1dc5030a0e6ce7f60c43e9284c4d93ca.jpg

Use your imagination on a suitable spring to get it to return without the ball's weight on it but I'm thinking a single contact blade would do just nicely. Another alternative that might suit your needs better is simply let the gate drop down under it's own weight so it will always work as a ramp out of the track, swing up if a ball comes into the flipper return lane from behind and if the ball enters the flipper return lane from the flipper end, the ball will travel up the ramp and return backwards do the ramp faster.

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That's a really interesting idea and makes perfect sense as a better alternative to just letting the ball drop. I wonder why it hasn't been done before - you would think somebody at some point should have tried something like this. I might have to find some suitable wire and test making something like this.
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That's a really interesting idea and makes perfect sense as a better alternative to just letting the ball drop. I wonder why it hasn't been done before - you would think somebody at some point should have tried something like this. I might have to find some suitable wire and test making something like this.

 

That is the problem, no one is thinking, they are just repeating what has worked in the past. Let the fresh ideas come from the homebrew scene and anything good will quickly be used by the industry and that I think is a good thing.

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That is the problem, no one is thinking, they are just repeating what has worked in the past. Let the fresh ideas come from the homebrew scene and anything good will quickly be used by the industry and that I think is a good thing.

That drop idea with a spring return is used by Zaccaria in time machine.

 

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Needed a bit of a break from making ramps, so I cut the plastics:

 

kraken_1.jpg.a7ea1b6ae4f35e792e01c2cffe8d6c02.jpg

 

I was going to order laser cut plastic, but the cheapest quote was $110, while a blank sheet of clear polycarbonate cost under $20 on eBay. So I printed the design out on paper, cut the paper parts out, taped them onto the plastic, then used a jigsaw to cut them. Pretty simple.

 

kraken_2.jpg.62a057a0a666039e5d668c8fc466a538.jpg

 

kraken_3.jpg.46c18699b9d7ec69e8c3575a655bc11d.jpg

 

Just need to sand the edges so they're nice and smooth and drill holes for posts. The art won't be done for a long time, so these will just sit around until then.

 

kraken_4.thumb.jpg.5b15ec0d18272fcd4573b2d53093035a.jpg

 

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Despite the 38° weather, I sweated my way through finishing the left ramp.

 

kraken_1.thumb.jpg.c270d30d31731994e75c5b36991d991d.jpg

 

 

 

 

It's not as smooth as the right ramp so it needs a bit of fine-tuning. The area to screw down at the back is way too big, so it sticks out into the orbit area. I'll cut the left support off and try something else, otherwise I'll change the design and get a new one laser cut.

 

Here are the ramps in action:

 

kraken_2.gif.befe6605e1c23bd606a8ab21b881c3ca.gif

 

 

 

 

Pretty happy with the progress I've made in under two months. But things will slow down now that I need to start working on the art. I really want this machine to look professional, so I'll be taking my time to get the art as good as possible. If I was rich, I'd throw a wad of cash to Zombie Yeti as it would be awesome to see him come up with wild sea monsters all over the playfield and cabinet.

 

Edit: Yuk! I don't know what happened with that GIF, but it shouldn't look that blurry

 

I didn't really want to use YouTube, but here's the video of the ramps in action:

 

Edited by matthies
Edit: Yuk! I don't know what happened with that GIF, but it shouldn't look that blurry
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This is such a super awesome effort. Congrats on the inspirational thread! It's looking great and your progress is pretty fast!

 

Thanks for the kind words. I really do hope this thread inspires somebody who has been wanting to make a pin.

 

I wanted to build one for years but kept putting it off because I'd see on Pinside so many people discouraging others from trying to start a homebrew. I kept hearing them say to not even try unless you already have extensive experience repairing other pins (which I don't have). I hope threads like this inspire people who are interested to give it a go rather than not even try.

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Despite the 38° weather, I sweated my way through finishing the left ramp.

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tkraken_1.jpg Views:\t0 Size:\t47.1 KB ID:\t2107976","data-align":"center","data-attachmentid":"2107976","data-size":"full"}[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

It's not as smooth as the right ramp so it needs a bit of fine-tuning. The area to screw down at the back is way too big, so it sticks out into the orbit area. I'll cut the left support off and try something else, otherwise I'll change the design and get a new one laser cut.

 

Here are the ramps in action:

 

[ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tkraken_2.gif Views:\t0 Size:\t676.6 KB ID:\t2107977","data-align":"center","data-attachmentid":"2107977","data-size":"custom","height":"247","width":"139"}[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

 

Pretty happy with the progress I've made in under two months. But things will slow down now that I need to start working on the art. I really want this machine to look professional, so I'll be taking my time to get the art as good as possible. If I was rich, I'd throw a wad of cash to Zombie Yeti as it would be awesome to see him come up with wild sea monsters all over the playfield and cabinet.

 

Edit: Yuk! I don't know what happened with that GIF, but it shouldn't look that blurry

 

I didn't really want to use YouTube, but here's the video of the ramps in action:

 

I wonder what it would actually cost of you had a draft mostly done and got an artist off deviantart or something? If you do have a budget for it maybe that’s an option. Even if it’s just line work and you color it in yourself *shrugs*

 

Perhaps send Damien from haggis a pm and ask him about what his approximate cost was.

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Thanks for the kind words. I really do hope this thread inspires somebody who has been wanting to make a pin.

 

I wanted to build one for years but kept putting it off because I'd see on Pinside so many people discouraging others from trying to start a homebrew. I kept hearing them say to not even try unless you already have extensive experience repairing other pins (which I don't have). I hope threads like this inspire people who are interested to give it a go rather than not even try.

 

Posts like this are inspiration but in my case it is cash rather than inspiration needed but that doesn't stop me doing what I can and help others in there quest. As for your artwork have you considered someone that does tattoos to help out?. Your not after a tattoo, just some artwork and allowing them to sign there work.

Who doesn't like some advertising?.

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I wonder what it would actually cost of you had a draft mostly done and got an artist off deviantart or something? If you do have a budget for it maybe that’s an option. Even if it’s just line work and you color it in yourself *shrugs*

 

That might be a good option. There's a lot of amazing artists out there and you're right - I only need a draft then I can refine and colour it. I'm sure some of them might like to see their art on a pinball machine. I might search Deviantart and ask a few people.

 

 

Posts like this are inspiration but in my case it is cash rather than inspiration needed but that doesn't stop me doing what I can and help others in there quest. As for your artwork have you considered someone that does tattoos to help out?. Your not after a tattoo, just some artwork and allowing them to sign there work.

Who doesn't like some advertising?.

 

Yeah it's a shame it's such an expensive hobby. It'd be a lot cheaper if we lived in the US and didn't have to pay crazy shipping costs (and deal with customs). I'm sort of hoping Damien from Haggis expands to selling parts in the future.

 

I've been looking at some tattoo art to get inspiration on what to create. I didn't even make the connection that I could look at hiring a tattoo artist! That's another option I'm going to have to look into. Thanks

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