99 replies to this topic

[sc204]

Got a few things done so far today.  Cabinet rear door is cut and hinged.  Still have to make cutouts for fans.  I also installed the computer mount with slides for easy servicing.  Last picture should show the track saw setup.  Plywood sheets are cut on the ground with a sacrificial piece of Styrofoam under it.

Attached Files

•  cabinet back door 1.jpg   78KB   6 downloads
•  Cabinet back door 2.jpg   110.73KB   5 downloads
•  Computer drawer 1.jpg   90.74KB   5 downloads
•  Computer drawer 2.jpg   78.68KB   5 downloads
•  track saw setup.jpg   120.59KB   5 downloads

Edited by sc204, 16 January 2015 - 09:23 PM.

[sc204]

Backbox hinges arrived today so I got them installed.  I installed a 1/16" nylon washer on the hinge box pivot between the cabinet and the hinge to prevent the hinge from damaging the cabinet artwork when the head is moved up or down.  I also made the rear of the back box and hinged it at the top.  A standard toggle latch holds the door shut.  I still have to order a couple of the standard wing screws to properly secure the backbox to the cabinet.  The latch is not strong enough by itself.

 

 

Attached Files

•  backbox hinge 1.jpg   101.92KB   5 downloads
•  backbox hinge 2.jpg   86.07KB   5 downloads
•  backbox hinge 3.jpg   58.16KB   5 downloads
•  backbox hinge 4.jpg   71.86KB   6 downloads

Edited by sc204, 17 January 2015 - 02:22 AM.

[sc204]

My plans are to add 3 exhaust fans.  One in the backbox and 2 in the rear of the cabinet.  All three will go in the rear doors.  I purchased 3 140mm fans.  Instead of mounting them to the inside of the door and adding grills to the outside I wanted to try something different and inset them into the door.  This would have been no problem if the fans were simply round but they have mounting ears.  Choice would be to cut them off and try to mount the fan in a round hole or make cutouts for the mounting ears.  I wanted to try using a template and a router with a straight bit and bushing to follow the template.  I traced the fan onto 1/4" ply adding about 3/32" to make up for the difference between the router bit and outside of the bushing.  After cutting out and sanding the template I tried to cut a test piece and it was 90% there.  I made a few adjustments to the template and cut the 3/4" ply back with several deepening passes of the router and it worked.     Still need to cut 2 more for the cabinet.

 

 

Attached Files

•  fan template.jpg   81KB   6 downloads
•  fan cutout.jpg   63.74KB   6 downloads
•  Fan test fit.jpg   67.1KB   6 downloads
•  router with bushing guide.jpg   130.49KB   7 downloads

[sc204]

Finished the cutouts and mounting of all three fans.  These are going to blow air out of the game.  I will probably just use openings without fans for the intake in the cabinet bottom. 

The cabinet rear door is kept closed by two small draw latches (the real name for the backbox latch) purchased from Lowes.

Attached Files

•  Fans installed.jpg   117.67KB   8 downloads

[sc204]

The speaker panel was next and definitely was the toughest part of this project so far.  Since the TV backglass is not as tall as the real thing the speaker panel is a little taller to make up the difference.  From the start I planned to make the DMD section a little larger than a real game.  I also wanted the speaker cutouts taller than wide.  I use Corel Draw a lot for stuff like this and after positioning the DMD where I wanted it on the third monitor made some measurements and drew up what I thought would work.  With a drawing program if things don't work out quite right it is easy to change and then print new templates.  I planned to use the same template/router cutout method that i used for the rear fan cut outs.  Using Corel allows you to make the templates perfectly symmetrical.  I can also add registration marks on the 90 degree points for positioning on the wood.  Another nice feature is once I decide on the final size and shape of the planned cutout, the template would have to be a little larger to accommodate the loss of width from the router's bushing/bit combination.  Drawing programs usually let you do that in just a couple of steps.  I can make my template outline perfectly 1/8" (or whatever I need) larger than the planned cutout even with curves.

 

I happen to have a vinyl cutter which I use to make graphics for my model airplanes and used that to cut out my templates on a vinyl masking material which does not adhere as strong as the vinyl used for graphics.  This way I can stick my vinyl template to my wood template material to cut out.  Once they are sanded smooth they become the template for my cutouts.  One wood template gets reused for both speaker cutouts.   I did make a test cutout for the speaker and was not happy with the appearance on the first try so I reshaped it ia bit giving it the more rounded corners. And started again. 

 

The 3 cutout sections were cut most of the way through with the router.  The center scrap was released by cutting recesses in the back of the panel.  The recesses are for the speaker grill material and a piece of 3/16" acrylic in front of the 3rd monitor.  Finally I used the router to give a decorative round over to the front of the cutouts.  All in all took more than a day to get this done.  Guess it would have been a lot quicker if I had access to a CNC type router

 

 speaker panel drawing.jpg   23.03KB   12 downloads

 

 router templates.jpg   122.46KB   10 downloads

 

 speaker routings.jpg   104.12KB   10 downloads

 

 DMD template.jpg   95.25KB   10 downloads

 

 

More pictures

 

 back cutout 1.jpg   115.39KB   10 downloads

 

 back cutout 2.jpg   97.1KB   10 downloads

 

 panel front finished.jpg   99.55KB   11 downloads

 

 

more

 

 panel installed 1.jpg   168.55KB   12 downloads

 

 panel installed 2.jpg   169.99KB   12 downloads

[jimlee2469]

Is there any way you I could get a set of measurements in inches for the widebody from you. I can only find them in metrics and my wife wants me to build her a pinball machine. I would greatly appreciate it.

[sc204]

It is easy to convert metric to inches but I will see what I can do

[sc204]

Sound system done:

From the start I had plans to tackle the speakers in a little different way than most.  On my home computer I have a set of Bose Companion 5 speakers.  USB driven self powered with 2 satellites and a base unit.  I am pretty picky about my audio and these sound very good with enough bass.  Also very simple to use as they just plug into a USB port and no additional sound card is required.  A little expensive at $399 though.  Lets face it the sound quality of most 1990's pinball is not that good.  One of my favorites, TZ is a prime example of low quality sound samples.  Most speakers are going to be adequate as long as they can play the volume needed.  One of my reasons for the taller than wide speaker cutouts is that it fits the Bose satellite shape.  To mount them I took them off their normal stands and made new shorter ones from 3/8" aircraft ply.  Pieces were glued with cyanoacrylate glue.  The new mounts were screwed to the sides of my back box.  The base module is just sitting in the cabinet for now.  Once I have the an idea of additional component placement I will make a brace it so it can't move around. 

One other item taken car of was the trim above the backglass monitor.  Cut out of an old 2 x 6 and glued in place.  A couple of knots will need filler but it was the only 1 1/2" wood that I had. 

Attached Files

•  Speakers 1.jpg   110.23KB   14 downloads
•  Speakers 2.jpg   109.68KB   9 downloads
•  backbox upper trim.jpg   68.84KB   9 downloads

Edited by sc204, 23 January 2015 - 01:44 PM.

[Pinball999]

Amazing attention to details.
Congratulations on your build, looking forward to seeing more.

[sc204]

Appreciate the comment.  good to know people are looking

Working on the playfield glass next.

[sc204]

The comment above from Pinball Fan about paying attention to detail could not have been better timed  See below

 

Glass Installed :

 

The slots for the side glass channels are cut with a router and slotting bit.  They come in multiple thicknesses but 3/32 is the proper width for standard pinball glass channel.  Just tight enough to hold the channel in place but it can also be inserted and removed without breaking it.  For the most part the slot will be near center on the sides of the cabinet but of course may depend on the exact cabinet width.  I measured the glass I was going to use (JJP Invisiglass)  and ended up putting the slot for the rails about 1/32" outside of center on each side.

 

The rear glass channel is where I found that I did not pay attention to detail!  Mocking it in place to drill for the screw holes showed me that it would not fit properly.  Turns out that the front edge that it screws to is angled and forms a 90 degree angle to the cabinet sides and not the rear cabinet top.  It is angled about 10 degrees.  This allows the rear molding to accept the playfield glass properly.  Luckily the track saw came to the rescue.  Just set it at 10 degrees and set the track to the very edge of the top piece.  Cut 95% of it away leaving just a little section at each side to carve away and sand.  A second piece of ply is needed below the rear top piece to form the full attachment face for the rear glass molding.  This piece was cut with the front at the same 10 degree angle and fit and glued into place.  Then it was just a matter of positioning the rear channel with the glass in place and securing with 1/2" #8 screws.  

 Glass molding slot.jpg   56.77KB   14 downloads

 

 Glass molding siides.jpg   65.55KB   12 downloads

 

 cutting angle glass rear.jpg   100.9KB   12 downloads

 

 2nd ply glass rear.jpg   102.22KB   12 downloads

 

 2nd ply glass rear 2.jpg   96.5KB   9 downloads

 

 glass rear channel.jpg   120.03KB   9 downloads

Glass in

 

 glass in.jpg   130.76KB   10 downloads

Edited by sc204, 24 January 2015 - 03:56 PM.

[rickla]

This is great detail here! I'm considering starting soon also.

I wonder why you (and most others) choose to route slots for the play field. With thin bezels is there not a tv that would fit on a frame?

I have this apprehension about not being able to fiddle with the play field position or get to the inside front easily.

[zany]

Looks REALLY nice!!!

[gigalula]

We can surely say that you have a some good skill as wood worker... A real pleasure to follow this topic

[sc204]

This is great detail here! I'm considering starting soon also.

I wonder why you (and most others) choose to route slots for the play field. With thin bezels is there not a tv that would fit on a frame?

I have this apprehension about not being able to fiddle with the play field position or get to the inside front easily.

 

 

 

 

It is just a matter of size.  A 46" TV requires the slot to fit into a standard widebody cabinet.  A smaller set does not require a slot.  If you choose to make the cabinet a little wider to support the 46" TV without a slot then you need a custom width lockdown bar and custom cut playfield glass.  

Edited by sc204, 26 January 2015 - 01:28 PM.

[BzZziLLa]

I have been following this thread too and I'm very impressed with your woodworking skills. You should be very proud. Hopefully, you pay the software side of the house as much attention to detail as you have been on the cabinet!

[sc204]

I am working on the electronics side right now.  Getting the LEDWIZ and Zeb's virtual output kit to work.  I have the basics worked out and functioning but still don't quite understand it all.  I am using the LEDWIZ.ini file from Zebs site and games like medieval madness do not seem to be using it.  I am about to read about Direct output framework as that seems to be something that may be useful.  If I am going in the wrong direction let me know

 

A lot of links about this to the Hyperspin forums but the site has been down all day,

Edited by sc204, 26 January 2015 - 09:35 PM.

[sc204]

I think I finally have the LEDWIZ basically figured out. and will get to that in a moment.  Before starting the basic wiring inside the cabinet I was concerned about wires running between the computer or LEDWIZ setup and the cabinet "toys and switches".  With the computer and LEDWIZ on a sliding shelf it moves in and out about 24".  I really did not want the extra wire length just bunching up when the drawer was inside the cabinet.  A cable management arm takes care of this excess wire on equiptment that slides in and out on a drawer type mechanism.  So I just copied a basic Cable management arm making it from some left over aluminium angle stock that I had.  I used 2 pieces to make a U channel for the cables and wire to ride in.  Once done the wire can be held in place by cable ties wrapped around the U channel.  All aluminum to alumium moving surfaces have a nylon washer between them.  One end of the arm is attached to the sliding table and the other to the insiude of the cabinet.  A few larger cables (USB cable, and power supply power cord will be in there along with all of the wires that go to the toys switches and lights. 

 

My plan will be to run the wires to a terminal strip right where the arm attaches to the inside of the cabinet and run all the wires to the toys, switches and lights inside the cabinet from the other side of the terminal strip.

Attached Files

•  wire management arm 1.jpg   132.05KB   10 downloads
•  wire management arm 2.jpg   108.75KB   10 downloads
•  wire management arm 3.jpg   99.19KB   10 downloads

Edited by sc204, 29 January 2015 - 09:00 PM.

[sc204]

 

Getting Lights toys and switches to work:

 

When I started this build I wasn't sure how the LEDWIZ integrated into the system or how to wire it.  I purchased it with a bunch of stuff which included the virtual output kit from Zebs boards off of Ebay.  That person bought it with the shaker/gear motor combo and LED light strip but decided not to add them to his cabinet.

Instructions included are rather incomplete and even with lots of searching on the web it was not clear how everything went together or worked.  Part of the problem is that there are multiple ways to do the same thing and several versions of Zebs boards that each get wired differently.

 

So to summarize what I learned after lots of hours on the computer and with my game in hopes of making it easier for anyone in the same position:  In reality it all goes together pretty easily.  The LEDWIZ is a device that the computer talks to to turn on or off all of your toys.  This includes RGB LEDs, pushbutton lights, a shaker, a gear motor, the knocker, and the contactors that give you feedback for the flippers, slings, and pop bumpers.  Any device that can be turned on and off can essentially be triggered by the LEDWIZ.  Each LEDWIZ has 32 outputs that can be switched.  Each RGB LED takes 3 of them so the usual 5 LED panel takes 15 of the outputs.  Software takes care of how the LEDWIZ functions in relation to the pinball program and particular game.  The LEDWIZ has nothing to do with how the buttons you push (flippers, start button, plunger etc) interact with the computer.   That would be taken care of by an item like the IPAC, Virtual Pin plunger or modified computer game joystick.  Esentially they are all keyboard emulators turning button pushed into the equivalent of key strokes.

 

Now the LEDWIZ can handle by itself outputs of up to 500 ma for each switch although there would be a limit to how many can be active at one time.  A better option is to add electronics that the LEDWIZ trggers to operate your "toys".  There are lots of examples for this on the web.  A simpler option is to use premade boards that do this for you.  Zebs virtual output kit is one such set.  My boards were purchased about 1 year ago and are not the latest version shown on his website.  They are also not the earliest version and wiring them had changed which lead to some confusion.  There are 2 boards, one that handles the RGB LEDs and shaker motor called the PWM Output board, and the other that handles the gear motor, contactors, knocker and switched lights called the motor inductor board.  Also has a couple of other switched circuits available.

 

Wiring is actually pretty simple.  The LEDWIZ is wired to the two boards via a ribbon cable.  The wires are pretty fine so they will not hold in the LEDWIZ connectors without folding them up or wrapping them around the insulation which is what Steve from Zebs Boards reccomends.  I ended up soldering the wires to the connector mounts.  The PWM board gets outputs 17 to 32 and the motor inductor board gets 1 to 16. The LEDWIZ connects to the computer via a USB cable.  Also on the LEDWIZ board is a 5v and ground connector.  The ground connector gets hooked up to the pwm output board.  The 5v connection is only needed if you are driving your toys direct from the LEDWIZ..  Power is supplied to the lower PWM output board from a 20 pin ATX power cable.  The inducter board which is the upper of the two when mounted as suggested gets its power from a standard 4 pin Molex computer supply coinnector.  In a prior version the upper board was wired directly to the lower board for power.  This can still be done but the wiring is not direct 1 to 1, 2 to 2 etc.  I almost burned up my upper board trying that.  Just use a 4 pin Molex from your power supply (different supply from your computer).  From there on the wiring to your "toys" is pretty straight forward. for example for the contactors the 24 volt power connector would go to all of the contactors input A1 and the individual switched negatives are marked, BR, BL, SR, SL, BB, BC, FR, FL. which each go to A2 on the particular contactor.

 

The software was confusing as there have been several different programs that have been made to achieve essentially the same thing.  The newest version at this moment appears to be DOF or Direct Output Framework.   Instructions can be found at this website http://directoutput....tput/index.html          

Following the directions in Installation and configuration should get you started.  There is also a DOF configuration tool that lets you make a specific ini file for your particular setup.  Here you define how many LEDWIZ's you have and which toys you have hooked up to each input.  A file is generated that has all the commands for different outputs for each game.  I am not sure what happens when a game is not in that file or how often it gets updated when new games are released.                                                                                                                                  

 toys spread out.jpg   163.55KB   11 downloads

Some of the stuff that needs to go into the game.

 

 LEDWIZ wired.jpg   130.82KB   11 downloads

Ribbon cables soldered tot he LEDWIZ

 

LEDWIZ wired to the flasher output board.

 

 LED WIZ to output board.jpg   128.32KB   12 downloads

Edited by sc204, 30 January 2015 - 01:17 PM.

[sc204]

Not as bad as a real pin but there are a lot of wires to take care of.  For the most part the wiring is done.  All of the "toys" are in and connected up to the virtual ouput boards.  I went with 8, 24 volt contactors for feedback. I know some people are now using 10 but the boards I have only have provision fro 8.  I also wired up the Virtua Pin plunger which I purchased last year.  Besides the plunger it is the keyboard emulator so now my flippers and buttons are all finally working.  Nice to be able to play a game using the flipper buttons instead of the keyboard.  I have tried to keep things as basic as I can.  I have the flipper buttons, a launch button for games that used it or a trigger handle to launch the ball, A start game button, buy in and exit.  Except for the Buy-in button I think that is about as minimal as you can go to navigate and exit games.  Some of the wiring is still a bit messier than I would like but final tie wrapping will be done after the cabinet is painted and all the eqipment is re-installed.    The terminal strips did work but I think I would prefer the circuit board connectors that are used on real games or maybe molex connectors.  Using terminal strips requires undoing all the wiring to take things apart.  

 

I still have to figure out wiring for my main power and probably install a USB hub in the front of the cabinet.  I want to try to limit the number of large cables that run in the wire management arm.  

 

So far I am not so thrilled with the plunger.  It seems like most games need modifications to use it and its function is not very smooth.  Hopefully I can find out why.  Usig the launch button gives a much smoother and linear hit to the ball.  

 

 wires 1.jpg   140.39KB   10 downloads

 

 wires 2.jpg   146.07KB   9 downloads

 wires 3.jpg   134.45KB   9 downloads

I also have to figure out what to do with the controller for the Bose speakers.  Unfortunately when first plugged in it starts in muted mode.

 

 wires 4.jpg   99.92KB   9 downloads

The center pop bumper contactor and the rear one.

 

 wires 5.jpg   131.84KB   9 downloads

The coin door service switches are also wired to the plunger board.  The 2 loose yellow wires are for the lights in the coin door.