DIY MAME Arcade Machine Construction Images – Part 5
Building Your Own Arcade System at Home
Hey guys! If you have been following my “Build Your Own Arcade Machine” project, you will see that we are progressing nicely. I think in some ways this has become more of a fun thing to do on Friday nights than a rush to complete a Home Built Arcade Machine. For future projects I will be building on more of a consistent timeline, but for now I am using this as an opportunity to learn a lot from my friend about wood working, and carpentry.
This past Friday we got a lot done on the system. We started out by working on the Arcade Controls. A week or so ago we cut out our controller piece and fit it into the system, but this week we added the Arcade Joystick and Buttons to dry fit the pieces and establish the layout.
We also did some cosmetic work to the Arcade Cabinet like filling tack holes, using Bondo on some gaps, & sanding and smoothing some surfaces to get it ready for Priming.
I took apart the Trackball Mouse and Logitech Controller to get a look inside of them so we could get an idea for how we are going to wire them up, and how they will fit in the layout of our Arcade Controls.
Once that was done I installed Kubuntu Linux on the system. The Arcade Machine is now dual boot between Windows XP Home and Kubuntu Linux KDE 4. Working with Linux is mainly for my own personal learning experience on this project.
The next day we removed all the PC Hardware from the system and started filling, sanding and priming the Arcade Machine to get it ready for when we can finally paint it. We also installed the Trackball Mouse into the Arcade Controls.
I hope you enjoy the latest pictures. I will try to include a detailed summary of what is happening in each one along with any "Building Tips" I learned during the process. As always you can see the complete series of photos along with additional descriptions on my Flickr account here.
Home Built Arcade Machine DIY Pictures
The first thing we decided to work on this week was the Arcade Controls for the system. We wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to work on the layout and to dry-fit the Arcade Joystick and Buttons onto the panel. As mentioned in previous posts I am using a Arcade Joystick and Button layout from SlagCoin.com.
Here is a closer shot of the Arcade Button layout. Because we are working with limited space on the Arcade Controls I am using the “Sega layout for player 2” from SlagCoin’s “Panel Layout” page. I will be removing the last set of buttons on the right for a total of 6 buttons on my small profile Arcade Machine.
We had to mount cleats and standoffs to the bottom of the Arcade Control panel so we could mount it into the system. We have designed the Controls so they can be removed from the Arcade Cabinet for upgrades or repairs down the road. The standoffs slide into our Controller area on the Arcade Machine and can then be screwed into place by two screws that go in through the sides of the Arcade System.
I started filling in the tack holes and doing some surface filling on the Arcade Machine to get it ready for painting and priming. We are going to be using a method someone mentioned on the Arcade Controls Forums for using an auto-body primer / filler and Bondo to get a very smooth surface prior to painting.
We checked out the layout for our Arcade Joystick and Buttons so we could get the placement and spacing perfect. We need to save space for the trackball mouse that will be mounted into the system. Here we have come up with an ideal placement for the controller and buttons that will still leave space for the mouse.
I took apart the Trackball Mouse so we could see what we are working with inside it. Because we will be mounting the mouse through the bottom of the Arcade Control panel we needed to create as much clearance over the top as possible. We will also be wiring in two buttons to the mouse so we wanted to make sure we had access to everything.
I also took apart the USB Gamepad we will be using to wire up the Arcade Controls. This one is slightly different than the original one I was doing tests with. The contacts are much closer together so it looks like we may need to solder directly onto the traces that are running off each of the button areas on the circuit board.
We dry fit the Arcade Joystick and Buttons into the Arcade Controls and I also laid the Trackball Mouse onto top of the controls to get an idea for layout and placement. When the mouse is actually installed it will be underneath the controller and you will barely see it except for the ball.
Here is a shot of the Arcade Machine with the Control Panel mounted into place. We are just fitting parts and doing layout so it will get removed later. In the background you can see Kubuntu Linux KDE 4 running. I installed Linux on the Arcade Machine to dual boot with Windows XP Home. This way I can learn a little about working with Emulators and ROMs on Linux.
We also applied Bondo to fill a large gap below the Arcade Controls. We had extra Bondo mixed up so we applied it to the front panel of the Arcade Machine to test using it as surface filler. It worked really well!
The next step was removing all the PC Hardware from inside the Arcade Machine. As you can see we were working on it during the day on Saturday so we could do some painting and priming outside, without it being so cold. You need temperatures above 45 degrees (ideally) for paints and primers to work good. Also when working with paints, primers and fillers like Bondo it is crucial that you have plenty of ventilation and do not work in a closed garage or workshop.
Here we have removed the Arcade Joystick and Buttons from the Arcade Controls. You can see where we have traced the spot where we will be mounting the Trackball Mouse to the Arcade Controls. We pretty much figured out how we were going to do it on the fly so it took a little bit of brainstorming.
We added wood standoffs to the existing screw holes on the mouse so that we could screw it into the bottom on the Arcade Control panel. We also used a drill to router out some of the wood on the bottom of the Control Panel so we could get the mouse as far up through the controls as possible. This was important because a trackball does not rise up that much and we were working with ½ inch MDF.
In this picture we have mounted the Trackball Mouse into the Arcade Controls. The ball is perfectly accessible and sticks up just enough so that it is easy to access for game play. I am using the Kensington Orbit Optical Trackball Mouse in the Arcade Machine.
We also created a top plate for the Roller Ball out of some of the extra plexi glass we had from the display and marquee. It was cut out, the edges were sanded to give them a beveled look and feel, and then we taped off the front and spray painted the back of the plexiglass black.
This gave the top plate a really nice shiny black look. I am really happy with the way it came out, it looks great!
Next we had to get the Arcade Cabinet ready for Priming and Painting. The first thing we did was sand down all the wood filler we used to fill holes from the tacks. Once that was done we sanded down the sides entirely with an electric sander to get them as smooth as possible prior to filling, priming, and painting.
Before we started applying primer we used a dry cloth to wipe away any residue (and sawdust) from sanding down the existing primer. This is important because you don’t want anything that will keep the Paint and Primer from adhering to the surface of your Arcade Machine.
Here is a shot of the Arcade Machine with a light coat of Krylon Primer applied to the side. After doing some test runs with Primer and Filler on some of the scrap MDF we had lying around we decided to try a few of the different methods we had come up with.
For the first side we are just applying Krylon Primer to the side we used wood filler on and then sanded down.
Then we tested the Krylon Primer on the front panel where we had applied Bondo the night before.
We sanded down the area where we applied the Bondo and then applied the Krylon Primer in thicker coats than on the first side of the Arcade Machine. We wanted to see what the result would be when we applied the Primer in thicker coats.
(The gap underneath the controls was filled with Bondo to level it out. Here it stills needs a little more applied to totally smooth it out. We did this but you can't see it in this picture.)
Building a DIY Arcade Machine “Part 5” Summary
Overall we have got a lot done on the Arcade Machine in the past two weeks. I think our biggest improvement has been making “TO DO” lists each time we finish working on the Arcade Machine. Once we have completed a large part of the construction we sit down, take a look at the Arcade Machine and say “hmm, what do we need to do next week.”
Having these To Do lists really helps because it keeps us on track and minimizes the time we spend trying to figure out what the next step is. If I had one bit of advice to offer this week it would be:
- Make “TO DO” lists to keep your project on track!
We are getting closer and closer to being finished with the construction of the Arcade Machine. Once that is done there will still be a lot of work that still needs to be done setting up software, transferring ROMs, configuring controls etc. But I am happy to see my DIY Arcade Machine finally taking shape.
As always, thanks so much for checking out the site! I have noticed the site is getting more and more hits every day. If you have any questions or comments about the project please leave them below and I would happy to respond.
Also note the “Shout Box” and “Polls” widget on the sidebar. Please feel free to contribute your feedback to the site through any of these methods. I love to hear other people’s ideas and suggestions and will incorporate them into the site in any way I can.
Thanks!
Build Your Own Arcade Machine Construction Images – Part 4
Pictures of my DIY Arcade Machine Project
Hey all! We got a lot of work done on the Arcade Machine this weekend. We came up with a “To Do” list last week so we knew exactly what we needed to get started with this time around. This helped keep us on track and we got a lot of misc. additions installed.
During the construction we cut out the Arcade Controller panel piece, and created a nice beveled edge for it. We also did the modified wiring for the Power LEDs and Power Switch in the system. In addition to that we installed the plexiglass for the monitor and the Arcade Marquee, and also mounted the White Cold Cathode for the marquee into place.
Once all that was complete we installed the modified wiring, hooked up the light kit, uncovered the LCD display and POST tested the system for the first time. Everything went great with the exception of me forgetting to plug in the data cable for the SATA hard drive, and some problems with an inconsistent power supply (PSU).
So overall we got a lot done and we got the first look at the POST screen on the system. It was late but we wanted to see some semblance of an OS running on the system so we booted it with a Linux Live disk of Kubuntu Linux KDE 4. I will be installing Windows XP Home as the primary OS on the system, but I have set aside a 10gb partition for Kubuntu Linux so I can write up some articles on using Emulators in Linux and add them to the site.
As always, all of the pictures for the construction can be found on my Flickr account but I have featured the highlights of the construction here with details and tips for Building your own Arcade Machine.
Home Built Arcade Machine Images - Part 4
Here is a picture of where we finished up last time. As you can see we have most of the external parts of the Arcade Machine complete with the exception of Arcade Controller.
The first thing we did was cut out the Arcade Control Panel piece according to the PDF Arcade Machine Plans I have posted on the site.
Once we had the Arcade Control panel cut out we mounted it into the Arcade Machine to make sure everything fit correctly. It was a perfect fit. We went ahead and added a 45 degree cut sloping towards the monitor for aesthetics and so we would have access to the controls on the LCD monitor if needed.
Once we knew the Arcade Controller piece would fit into the system properly we added a second layer of MDF along the bottom so we could create a beveled front edge for the Control Panel. I traced a line along the bottom of where the Arcade Controller rested on the system so we would know where our second piece of MDF needed to stop.
We traced out the shapes we needed and got them as close to the right size as possible. You want a little bit of overlap on your original piece and then you can use a router to even up the edges.
Once this was done we used a beveled edge bit on the router to round the top and bottom edge on the front of the Arcade Control Panel. This gave the piece a very nice rounded look and feel.
Here is a close up shot of the beveled edge on the bottom of the Arcade Control panel. Once we were finished, both the top and the bottom of Arcade Controls had a nice beveled edge like this.
Next I prepped the wiring for the Arcade Cabinet. Because we are running the power switch to the top of the Arcade Machine (like you would find in many Commercial Arcade Machines) I needed to use the wiring from another power switch to create an extra long one.
I also needed to splice together two Red Power LEDs to illuminate the coin plate I will be crafting for the system. The red LEDs will provide the glow from behind the coin clot that is so trademark of most modern Arcade Machines.
Here you can see the dual red LEDs I have wired up. I spliced the two LEDs into one set of wires so both lights will be powered by the Power LED lead on the motherboard. This way I will have two constant red LEDs glowing in the system. I just need to solder the points where I connected the wires and they will be good to go.
Next we had to cut the plexiglass for our Arcade Machine. There are a lot of suggestions online on the proper way to do this. After reading some forum posts to get a little background we decided using the back of our razor blade (the dull side) to score the plexiglass was the best way to go.
Once this line had been scored into the plexi we used the sharp side of the blade to create a nice line where we would break to the plexi-glass. After that was done you just give it a light whack and it should break perfectly along the line you have made. Worked like a charm!
Next I got the White Cold Cathode light kit ready to be installed into the Arcade Machine. This will be mounted behind the plexiglass for the marquee to provide illumination for the Arcade Marquee.
Here we have installed the plexiglass for the Display and Marquee in the Arcade Machine. We tacked in cleats on the side of the LCD monitor so we would have a place to attach the plexiglass.
In the top you can see the Marquee piece still has the protective film on it. If you look closely you can see the White Cold Cathode mounted inside the system behind the Marquee plexiglass.
Once we had the additional wiring in place we fired up the system to make sure everything was working properly.
Here you can see the White Cold Cathode behind the Marquee is turned on and working properly along with a faint POST screen that can be made out from behind the protective cover for the LCD Monitor in the Arcade Machine.
Since I opted not to install a CD/DVD ROM drive into the system (to save on space and budget) I am using an external DVD-RW drive that I borrowed from work to install Windows XP Home and Kubuntu Linux KDE 4 onto the system.
This way I can just plug the drive into the USB ports on the motherboard, set the BIOS to boot from a USB device and I am ready to go.
This is the final shot from this week’s construction. It was about 1:30am and we had just POST tested the system for the first time. All the hardware worked great with the exception of the power supply which is experiencing an inconsistent POST on hard reboots (Shutdowns).
We used a Micro ATX 200w Power Supply to test the system and rule out problems with the one we had installed. (An AGI 350w PSU). This cleared up the problems with the inconsistent POST so I will need to exchange the PSU before next Friday so we can get this bad boy up and running.
Building Your Own Arcade Machine Follow-Up
Overall I am very happy with the way things are progressing. We have been taking our time and thinking things through while we construct the system. I think this is one of the most important pieces of advice I could offer to people who want to build their own Arcade Machine.
“Take your time. Plan things out. Have fun, and be Creative!”
After all that's what makes a project like this worth doing. If you're not having fun, or don't like the way things are turning out, take a breather and come back with a fresh perspective on your project.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. I will respond to any and all comments people leave on the site regarding the project.
As always thanks for visiting my site and keep coming back to check for updates! Next week we will be working on the construction of the Arcade Controller so be sure to check back and see how things turn out!
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.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Build a faux coin plate for the system.
- 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.
- Get front plates for the speakers.
- Cut the plexi glass for in front of the display and the marquee section of the Arcade Machine.
- Come up with a way to mount the Marquee into the system.
- Cut the panel for the Arcade Controller.
- 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.