13 replies to this topic

[MikePinball]

Last October I got into this hobby and by early January I had completed my first controller box called Mikrocontroller. See the link for my build thread on this. Since then I have added a lot more components including a GTX1070 TI GPU, LG43UD79 42.5" monitor, chimes, knocker, addressable LED strips and matrix, beacons, RGB flippers, LCD apron monitor, and my own version of a Pinscape main board.

 

I have now reached the stage of having a mostly complete setup and prototyped everything I need to. The next step is a proper cabinet. My woodworking skills are not very good so I investigated both VirtuaPin flatpacks and already constructed packages (from unpainted all the way up to installed hardware). I knew I wanted to customize some things as well so in the end I choose to build my own cabinet using CNC manufactured parts. The cost is not much less than VirtuaPin using a local company  and I get all the features I want. Another cheaper alternative is to use the CNC equipment in a local "Maker" group and just buy the furniture grade plywood.

 

The first step is to get a CAD software package and learn how to use it. I choose Fusion 3D and dived in. I have say that the learning curve is quite steep but I think I am getting proficient. I do have a nagging worry that I will spend $500 on creating firewood so I am checking a lot of stuff as I go.

 

I thought I would show my progress to date and also ask some questions. Hopefully the answers will allow me to make some more progress towards the goal of having a first time design with few or no design errors.

 

Here is a view of the base cabinet. The back box has not been started yet. I have pasted images onto some of the wood faces to make it more realistic. I took a few minutes to create an image for the LED matrix. You can see the monitor as well as the addressable LED matrix and small apron. The yellow item sticking up near the front is a representation of the lockdown bar receiver.

 

The next picture shows the right side removed so you can see the leg brackets, a big black box representing the PC, and a representation of the plunger and potentiometer holder (in white).

Below is a view of the monitor at an angle of 6.5 degrees. The slope of the side is the usual 9.7 degrees. You can see how close the monitor is to the addressable LED matrix, plunger components, and the front apron. Part of the reason to add the additional non-wood components is to figure out all of these clearances.

 

Here is another picture of clearances but this time for the inside left front of the cabinet showing how the 3 button holes and USB hole line up with the lockdown bar receiver and leg bracket. I did a similar thing for the plunger (right) side of cabinet.

 

 

The picture below shows the detail for the flipper holes. The top one is in the standard position. The magnasave button is below and towards the front. There seems to be mixed opinions about where this should be but I like this position the best as I can reach it with my middle finger.

 

The holes do not have shoulders and are straight-through so that RGB LEDs can be used to color a clear button. I am using the VirtuaPin leaf springs which need a 1 3/8" button. I decided not to unscrew the leaf spring base and therefore had to buy some relatively expensive clear Stern fire 1 3/8" buttons. The square shallow depression around each button hole is to hold the "nicemite.com" PCB for the LEDs without adding to the total button depth.

 

The middle right shows an angled depression for the right playfield addressable LEDs. At the top you can see the underneath of the apron, the glass plastic edge, and playfield glass.

 

 

Here is a picture of some of the detail that is just not easily achievable by even an experienced woodworker. It shows the underneath of the wood where the back box rests on. This piece of wood slots into the back of the cabinet and both sides to give a 1/2" lip for the playfield glass.

 

Edit: There is a lip on the edge of the top that fits onto the back of the cabinet. It is rather thin (0.18") and it might break. I decided to remove it and add that part of the wood on the back panel of the wood. That is the advantage of modeling first

 

You can see the large cutout for the cables and one of the holes for 3/8" bolts and wingnuts to hold the two together. I decided not to use a back box hinge because it will be just as easy to remove the back box for transportation.

 

 

The following picture was colored to how the detail of the cabinet bottom. It shows holes for up to 3 buttons, 2 fans, and a subwoofer. There is also a lip that fits into the front, back and sides of the cabinet, a depression for under cabinet LED lighting, depression for the subwoofer if needed, and small holes for LED wiring back into the inside of the cabinet.

 

 

 

 

Edited by MikePinball, 02 June 2019 - 09:33 PM.

[MikePinball]

Now for some questions with pictures:

 

1. What is the height of the lockdown bar receiver above the front edge of the cabinet? It would seem to be zero or very small (<0.2"). Th picture below with the glass would appear to show that mine is too high. For now I can make it flush with the front edge of the cabinet.

 

 

2. I made the sides start at an angle from the front edge of the cabinet. I do not trust myself to create a properly angled front. The sides are cut into the front by approximately 0.35". That means there is a very small triangle part (0.71" by 0.06") on each edge. I decided it would be best remove that piece as it will be easily damaged. This all hidden by the lockdown bar. What did other people do for this?

 

 

3.I believe that the back legs 2.25" higher than the front legs? Is this achieved by rotating the leg bracket so the holes are higher on the front of the cabinet?

 

4. One of the next things to add is the support for the monitor. I plan to use the "rotating pole" method where a pole is attached to the monitor mounting frame and the monitor can be rotated until it is vertical. The mount point is below the monitor. How far back should the pole be? Close to the middle is ideal for balance but the monitor will hit the PC or bottom of the cabinet. Too far back and the monitor is heavy and does not stay upright easily.

 

5. I angled my monitor screen a 6.5 degree slope. Does that seem reasonable? What did other people do. Adding 2.25" at the back for the legs increases the overall slope of the monitor to just approximately 8.5 degrees.

 

6. The LED matrix at the back of the playfield is vertical but I have seen flashers angled upwards. Anyone have a recommended angle for the light panel at the back of the table? An angled LED matrix means less room for the apron and the possibility that an apron 7" display will not work.

Edited by MikePinball, 03 June 2019 - 02:18 PM.

[MikePinball]

Just when I thought things were going well, I discovered a design problem. There needs to be room for the playfield glass back plastic which means that the LED matrix needs to be 0.75" taller and the monitor is also now lowered. It also means that ideally LED matrix panel should be tilted by 9.7 degrees to receive the glass straight on. I think most people do not do this and rely on the flex in the plastic.

 

Now I am wondering what else I have missed. Luckily I have already purchased all of the metalwork and plastic for a widebody (from "PBL"), so it should be just a matter of trying out everything and not making any assumptions.

Edited by MikePinball, 03 June 2019 - 04:27 PM.

[blietzkrieg]

Mike, Firstly, your doing exactly the right thing in designing in CAD BEFORE taking a saw to expensive wood. I had to learn the hard way and make lots of on-the-fly corrections/adjustments which would of been avoided if I had of modeled in CAD first.

Your CAD drawing looks great and judging from your phenomenal Mikrocontroller mock up, your finished product is bound to be incredible.

 

For item 1 - My lockdown bar receiver is perfectly flush with the front of the cabinet. How I arrived at this position was by putting the two pieces together and then placing the lockdown bar in its final resting position on the front / siderails and then marking through the coin door. Separate & then affix receiver. Just make sure that you allow enough clearance of the glass for the "hooks" of the lockdown to enter the receiver. (and not do what I did and have to route out back wood vertical to make the toughened glass fit (as can't be cut once toughened)

Item 2 - to avoid that "triangle" the corners are supposed to be cut on a 45 degree angle. I believe professional CnC builds use a lock router mitre bit to achieve that perfect 45 but with an extra level of strength. refer: https://nickpinball....06/img_0632.jpg for 45 degree angle e.g. & https://www.youtube....h?v=xbJszKqyfBA for mitred 45 e.g. I unfortunately did not have the gear or skills for the mitred 45, and had to rely on my table saw. Came out OK. Either way - you are right and the lockdown bar will hide any ugliness on the corner joins, but on the downside, you may see that front wooden seam from the sides (even after applying decals) as very difficult to get that cut-out fitting seamlessly perfect.

Item 3 - You are perfectly correct - invert the leg brackets. At least that was my understanding also and therefore that's what I did.

Item 4 - One of the best examples of this can be seen here: https://i.ebayimg.co...zlC/s-l1600.jpg (more images here: https://www.ebay.com...tm/332560996962 - which was a huge inspiration for my build) another good example https://blog.codingh...itor-raised.jpg I would say as far back towards the back as possible to maximise both the clearance of the PC and accessibility of the cabinet.

Item 5 - I wouldn't get too hung up on angles here. The golden 6.5 degree playfield pitch is for physical tables - that seems to be the speed sweet spot for gravity rolling pinballs. For virtual cabinets you can make them whatever really. mine is about 10 degrees. I would just make sure that the TV clears the plunger at the front, and sits just below the your back led matrix. Make the addressable LED slot parallel to the mounted TV angle (i.e. recommend to keep it exactly as you show)

Item 6 - Even though I don't have a LED back matrix, my flasher bar is at 90 degrees - again the same as in your drawing and I would recommend that. If you were going to angle, I'd angle it upwards so that the lights of the matrix are not flooding onto the playfield TV

For the back playfield glass plastic channel - the one I got looks like it was designed to be mounted at 90 and the channel for the glass is sloped to accommodate the glass perfectly. Another reason to go with vertical for Item 6. What I did was route out 3mm out of the top of the back wooden piece so that my flasher bar would fit flushly on the wood and over the screwed down plastic channel. I recommend you do the same with your LED matrix so that it too fits over the top of the plastic strip that screws into that small wooden apron (hope that makes sense).

Edited by blietzkrieg, 06 June 2019 - 04:23 PM.

[MikePinball]

Thank you blietzkreig for confirming things. I was getting into the mode of second-guessing myself and of course most of the answers are already available if you look hard enough.

 

I do not plan to saw anything - I cannot saw straight. I hid my awful sawing and sanding on the Mikrocontroller box.

 

2. The triangle exists because the front is horizontal and not angled. No matter what kind of joint you use, the little bit of slope from the back to the front of the cabinet front will be missing. I decided to go with simple joints so that they will fit easily even if there is some differences in wood thickness. You still cannot get perfect joints with CNC. The bottom of the cabinet has an edge all the way around to fit into the 4 sides but I might make it simpler than that (again to avoid problems). I do not want to be widening slots (dados) because I messed up.

 

4. I like the ebay listing picture with the kickstand. The others I have seen before.

 

6. I like your idea. I will look at my plastic and see if I can do the same thing. Routing out an extra 3mm will be no problem with CNC.

 

 

[KillaB]

2. Could the CNC operator swap in a chamfer bit for the top front edge? I see 11.25deg is a common bit angle. Seems close enough to 9.7deg.

Alternatively, you could cut the front piece long and then make a single 9.7deg angle cut on a table saw later.

The following build is a good example: https://www.vpforums...=30224&p=293251

 

Edit: There do appear to be 10degree bits available. One example being the Bosch 85659M.

Also, I'm just assuming this bit will work. I really have no idea.

Edited by KillaB, 10 June 2019 - 05:40 AM.

[MikePinball]

Thank you for the help KillaB and your suggestions.The link is helpful.

 

The chamfer bit is not going to work because that outside will be at the bottom. I need the inside to be on the top as I am cutting some rabbets for the cabinet sides to fit into. The table saw might work but I don't have one I could use a handheld router I suppose but I don't any experience.

 

My woodworking skills are limited and this is an opportunity to get better and do things right with the proper tools. Father's day is coming up and I just replaced my old circular saw and for the first time bought a jigsaw. There are 3 parts to this build that have me worried:

• The slot on the top of each side for the glass channel. I think I am going to do these before I glue anything. I was thinking of use my circular saw with a fence.
• The holes for the legs. I will have to make a jig for this. I may drill a small hole from the inside out to mark things.
• Rectifying any CNC errors that I make.

[LynnInDenver]

• The slot on the top of each side for the glass channel. I think I am going to do these before I glue anything. I was thinking of use my circular saw with a fence.

Don't use a circular saw for that, it'll cut way too deep, plus there isn't enough surface available to keep it straight up and down. You'll want to use a router with a bit designed for routing a channel for use with t-moulding.

[MikePinball]

Don't use a circular saw for that, it'll cut way too deep, plus there isn't enough surface available to keep it straight up and down. You'll want to use a router with a bit designed for routing a channel for use with t-moulding.

Well you can alter the depth of cut with a circular saw but I understand your point about the standard way of doing this. I may need to round over certain edges as well so a handheld router will help.

 

I'm going to have to ask my kids for another Father's Day "gift",

[dondi]

Hey Mike. How's this build going? I'm following right behind you by a few months planning my Widebody build

Question: Did you source the NiceMite RGB boards before the site went dark? They seem to have disappeared. I would love to see a simple alternative solution if they're permanently done. MJR posted Eagle plans in reply to my question in the RGB flippers thread to accomplish the same, but that is nowhere near my field. I have come across two possible off-the-shelf candidates, but neither seem like they accomplish the full monty:
RGB Flipper Button Kit by Cointaker (Looks like it's for real pin machines, with proprietary lighting controller and a single LED; no idea what RGB leads there are for connecting, and if you are able to snip the controller and modify to connect to the PinScape)

RGB Flipper Button Set (Made by a questionable company. Looks to be a 3D Printed sleeve with an LED inserted. Meh. They also "pre-assemble" a PinScape solution & Teensies)

 

Any breakthroughs on PF monitor lifting mechanisms? I have been obsessively pre-planning and I was looking at Bedframe Lifting Mechanisms to achieve this. I think I'm sold on the idea and they're fairly cheap. I think this one is my winner.

 

[MikePinball]

Yes I have four boards from them and are using (expensive) 1 3/8" clear buttons (Stern fire buttons). I have looked at building my own builds pre-soldered with RGB LEDs. This might be a future project. The NiceMite website says they will be back soon.

 

My CNC design contains a square cutout to hold the Nicemite PCB and LEDs. You can see them if you look carefully here:

 

I hadn't considered the bedframe lifting idea. I have some dowels with a simple rotation mechanism which allows my display to rotate up to a vertical position.

 

Here is a video that I hope helps. The display has MDF screwed to the 200mm x 200mm VESA mount and then two dowel rods are fastened to that. The dowels fit into my 10 contactor mounting frame which is screwed to the cabinet sides.

Edited by MikePinball, 20 October 2019 - 02:31 AM.

[KillaB]

Any breakthroughs on PF monitor lifting mechanisms? I have been obsessively pre-planning and I was looking at Bedframe Lifting Mechanisms to achieve this. I think I'm sold on the idea and they're fairly cheap. I think this one is my winner.

 

 

I wouldn't attempt this unless you can pair the mechanism with some ultra light duty struts.

YMMV, but I've owned a storage bed and it took a lot of force to close.

[dondi]

Hey Mike. Did you source chimes for this (or building your own)? So far, my only purchase was an original Gottlieb EM Chime set pulled from a cab on Ebay. I jumped on it as it had the elusive resonator box with it; hopefully the coils are good. It should be at my house in NY now waiting for me to come home.

[MikePinball]

Hey Mike. Did you source chimes for this (or building your own)? So far, my only purchase was an original Gottlieb EM Chime set pulled from a cab on Ebay. I jumped on it as it had the elusive resonator box with it; hopefully the coils are good. It should be at my house in NY now waiting for me to come home.

Slightly off-topic. Yes I bought some chimes from e-bay. They work really well with EM tables.