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DIY ROM Arcade Machine Construction Pictures – Part 3

More Pictures of My Home Built Arcade Machine

Well it has been a long time since I have posted! Sorry for the delay in my updates. I actually had a pretty rough couple weeks. I don’t want to bore anyone with the details so a brief recap of what happened to me in the last 3 to 4 weeks.

02/23 – 02/27 – Got the Flu and a Fever of 102 degrees.
02/23 – 03/10 – Contracted a Bronchial infection and cough from a coworker.
03/05 – 03/08 – Stomach bug with flu like symptoms that I caught from my boss.
03/11                      – Had all four of my Wisdom Teeth removed.
03/11 – 03/18 – Contracted a case of “Persistent Hiccups” that lasted about 156 hours straight (almost 7 days) and ended up in the Emergency Room on Friday night and Urgent Care on Monday, and Tuesday. I was so doped up on Thorazine when they finally fixed me I couldn’t think straight until Friday. (03/20)

Needless to say, it has been an eventful month. >.<

Now that I have got all that off my chest (no pun intended.) I would like to give an update on the status of the project.

We finally had a chance to work more on the Arcade Machine I am building this weekend. Since our last round of work consisted of dry fitting all the parts into the system we needed to actually mount all the PC Hardware into place inside the Arcade Machine.

Below are pictures from the latest round of the construction of the DIY ROM Arcade Machine. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments below if you are interested in the project.

DIY Arcade Machine Construction Pictures

Since we did a dry fit of all the PC Hardware inside the Arcade Machine last time we needed to finally mount all parts into place. We decided to glue in a layer of plywood over the MDF we built the system with so we would have a more solid surface that is better for holding screws.

We simply used wood glue to mount the plywood into the bottom of the system and let it set. We now had a great surface to screw into for mounting our PC hardware into the Arcade System.

Once the plywood was in place we started mounting the PC hardware into the system. Here is a shot of the motherboard mounting plate and hard drive mounting enclosure mounted into the system. We were able to screw directly into the plywood to hold all the parts in place.

To mount the Surge Protector and Speakers into the system we attached the hardware to smaller plywood panels we cut out. This way we could screw the panels directly into the plywood we installed into the bottom of the Arcade Machine. 

To determine where we need to install screws into the panel for the Surge Proctor we did a rubbing of the bottom to determine where the screw holes were. Once this was done we could cut out the paper and tape it down to our panel so we had a perfect template for where the screws needed to go.

Once we had the plywood panel mounted onto the Surge Protector we were able to mount it into the system. We are going to do the same thing with the speakers which will go on both sides of the hard drive enclosure we have installed into the Arcade Machine.

Once the Surge Protector was in place we mounted the speakers into the Arcade System. We did the same thing as before and mounted plywood panels to the bottom of the PC hardware so the panels could be screwed into the plywood base we installed in the Arcade Machine.

Next I mounted the Motherboard and Video Card onto the motherboard mounting plate we installed onto our wooden panel. We cut slots in the cleats on the back of the system so the wooden panel can be slid into place once the motherboard has been installed. This gives us easy access to the parts incase we need to modify or repair the Arcade Machine.

In this picture you can see that all the PC hardware has been installed into the system, and is mounted in place. Every has been securely screwed down so the system can be easily transported without having to worry about the hardware shifting back and forth inside the Arcade System. This is the lower level of the Arcade Machine that houses the Power Supply, Hard Disk Drive, Surge Protector and Speakers.

Here is the second level inside the Arcade Machine that houses the Motherboard and Video Card in the system. The plywood panel for this sits directly above the Power Supply and Surge protector giving me easy access for wiring up the system. At this point all the basic wiring has been done and I have started to zip tie cables to clean up the inside of the Arcade Machine and keep it nice and organized.

This is a shot of the Power Cable from the Surge Protector running out of the back of the system. The Surge Protector serves two main purposed in the Arcade Machine. First it protects all the computer hardware in the event of an electrical issue, and it makes it so we can plug in our monitor and PC and still utilize just one cable from the Arcade Machine.

These are the buttons and joysticks I ordered from Xgaming.com. I decided to bring them even though we were not working on the Arcade Controller this time so that we could experiment with the idea I have for the controller. We will be using a USB controller and soldering on to the existing points in the controller to add the Arcade Sticks and Buttons.

Here you can see the first Button for the Arcade Controller attached to the USB joystick. The USB joystick in the picture is one that I had from a while back that was just being used for testing purposes incase we messed something up.

You can see in the picture the wires have been connected to the controller and the button has been wired up. The initial tests worked great with good response from the button in an NES Emulator.

I will be posting more information on this topic once we move into the construction phase of the Arcade Controller for the system.

Build Your Own Arcade Machine “To Do” List

So there you have it. That’s the third week’s progress on our Home Built Arcade Machine. As you probably guessed from my health update above things have been going a little slow but now that I am feeling better I want to get back to more regular updates on the side which means more regular work on the Arcade Machine.

The pictures above of just a few of the massive stockpile I have been adding to my Flickr account along with extended details on each picture and the project. If you are interested in more information or would like to see more of what’s going on with my DIY Arcade Machine check my Flickr profile at the link below.

DIY ROM Arcade Flickr Profile

Due to the fact that I was unable to drink beer during our last construction phase we actually got a lot more done than normal so I was looking the system over and planning out what needs to be done next time we have a chance to work on it.

TO DO

1. We need to install cleats on the sides of the display so we can attach a piece of plexi glass over the monitor to protect it from finger prints and dust.
2. Attach a cleat in the top of the system behind where the marquee will go. Drill holes in the sides of the cleat so we can mount the White cold cathode into the system.
3. Run a power button up the side of the system into the top so we can install the power switch into the top of the system like in many authentic Arcade Machines.
4. Splice together two Red LEDs for the PWR Lead on the motherboard. (Power Light) so they can be installed behind the faux coin plate I will be building for the system.
5. Build a faux coin plate for the system.
6. Drill holes in front of the speakers to improve system sound. These holes will need to be covered by some sort of front plate for aesthetic purposes.
7. Get front plates for the speakers.
8. Cut the plexi glass for in front of the display and the marquee section of the Arcade Machine.
9. Come up with a way to mount the Marquee into the system.
10. Cut the panel for the Arcade Controller.
11. Bring a keyboard, mouse, and CD-Rom to start installing the operating system onto the Arcade Machine.

These are just a few of things that come to mind for next week’s project. As always I expect some things will come up as we go, but we have been taking our time with things and I am very happy with how the system is turning out.

I will post more updates next week after we have another chance to work on the system. As always Thanks for checking out my site, and please feel free to leave and comments or feedback on the article below.

DIY Arcade Machine Construction Images – Part 2

How to Build a MAME Arcade Machine at Home

Hey guys! I have been really busy this week but I have finally got around to posting the next series of pictures from the Arcade Machine construction.

We did more work on the Arcade System last Friday including creating internal mounts for all of our PC hardware, and dry fitting the parts in the system to make sure everything would fit properly.

We used an old PC case that we cut apart with an angle grinder so we could utilize the mounts on the metal plates. One thing to be aware of when constructing your own Arcade Machine is that MDF does not hold well for screwing PC hardware directly into it. Keeping this in mind we used the inside of the computer case to avoid any issues.

Below are the pictures of the next phase of the construction with a brief description of what is going on in each. If you would like to see all the pictures check my set on Flickr here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diyromarcade/sets/72157614491536643/

Here is a picture of the computer case we are using to mount the PC hardware into the Arcade Machine. It is from a Foxconn 626 PC case, a relatively basic and inexpensive case. I found a few out by a dumpster and kept them for this project. If you do need to buy a case you can get a cheap one in the range of 20-30$ usually.

We cut the case apart with an angle grinder so we could use the piece from the case for securing the PC hardware into the Arcade System. Here we are cutting out the top piece and top rear piece so we can use the mounts for the power supply in our Arcade Cabinet.

Here we are dry fitting the power supply mount into the Arcade System. You can see the power supply has been mounted into the section we cut out of the PC case. You can also see a picture of the motherboard mounting plate we will be using in the system. Once the side and the back of the case had been cut it was very easy to slide this motherboard try out of the enclosure.

In the next picture we have cut out a rear fan grate from the case to use as an exhaust cover for our power supply. Because the Arcade Machine we are building is smaller than normal I have designed spots for rear exhaust to blow heat out of the system. This piece will eventually be painted black when we paint the system. The system is currently covered in a black primer for when we do get to the painting stage.

Here we are creating a mount for the LCD monitor in the Arcade System. I am using an ACER LCD monitor for the project. One nice thing about Acer monitors is they all have 4 screws hole in the back for mounting the LCD. Because the standard placement and easy access to these screw holes you are able to mount the LCD to almost anything without the need for a mounting kit. Here we are mounting the LCD to a pre-cut panel we made that will be mounted in the system to some cleats we will install for the display.

Now we are installing the cleats that the monitor mount panel will rest on in the system. Once the panel has been dry fitted into place and we know everything fits we will secure it into place with screws so it does not fall out of the system. We pre-measured the placement of these cleats during a dry fit of the LCD earlier.

The LCD Monitor has now been mounted into the system and fits perfectly. After doing this dry-fit we will screw the mounting panel into the cleats to hold the monitor in place inside our Arcade Cabinet.

Here you can see the inside of the system with the cleats we have installed for the LCD monitor and the motherboard mounting place. You can also see a cross section we installed where the controller will be in the system. The Arcade Controls will slightly overlap this piece and rest on top of it. It is there to provide more stability and strength for the controller and also to stagger the controller away from the display slightly so I will still have access to the buttons on the LCD monitor.

We have now mounted the motherboard mounting place and power supply mounting plate into the system. I realized as we were doing this that the motherboard plate was oriented in the wrong direction and would case the I/O ports to be pushed up against the wall. We will need to cut this piece down and rotate it in the system so the motherboard is facing the correct way for easy access to the cables.

In this picture we have cut down the motherboard mounting plate and aligned it so it is facing the correct way. You can see now that the I/O ports are accessible from the left side of the panel. We have also cut out the PCI slot mounts from the PC case. This way when we install the video card into the system this will keep the card from falling out of place.

We cut out the 3.5" metal mounting bays from the PC case and will be installing it into the front of the system. There is room on each side of the mounting cage for the speakers in the system. Having the hard drive mounting cage in the system will allow me to easily change or add a hard drive down the road if I run out of room in the system. I am currently using a 500gb SATA hard drive for storage.

Finally we have all the hardware and mounts dry fit into our Arcade Machine. In this picture you can see the power supply on the bottom which has been mounted into the top section from the PC case. In front of that is the hard drive mounting enclosure we installed into the front of the Arcade Cabinet. The gap to the right of the power supply, is where we will be installing the power strip which will power and protect all the hardware we are installing into the system. Above the power supply you can see the motherboard mounting plate along with the video card mounting piece (PCI plate) that we installed. The I/O ports will be accessible from the right in this picture. Above that the LCD has been mounted into place and fits perfectly. 

We did this to check where all the connections, cables, edges, and tabs will line up. Dry fitting your parts is very important because it is easy to overlook something as simple as a cable being blocked, or screw getting in the way of something. Things never look quite like they do on paper in real life so we felt this was a very important step.

A final picture of the system with all the PC hardware installed (Dry fit into the system). The next time we work on the Arcade Machine we will be securing all the loose parts into place since we now know they fit into the system without issues. In the next phase of the build we will:

1. Permanently install all the hardware into the Arcade System.
2. Install the speakers and surge protector in the Arcade Machine.
3. Finish up the mount area around the LCD monitor.
4. Install the Cold Cathode light kit where the marquee will go.
5. Create a plexi glass cover the LCD monitor.
6. And start working on the Arcade Controls.

I hope you enjoyed the latest article. If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to comment below. Thanks for all the suggestions and thanks for checking out my site!