Arcade trash machine
On Habr post recently began to appear about hackerspaces, including our local . An indispensable attribute of many hackerspace is an arcade machine. It serves to entertain, sometimes to divert thoughts, and indeed the thing is funny in every way. I promised to tell you about our arcade machine:
He is far from perfect, made from improvised trash, but playing for him is fun). Who is interested to see how we did it - welcome under the cat.
We started to make an arcade machine with students of the Department of Automation at UGLTU as a fun project after class. The budget was limited by our skinny pockets, so we tried our best to use what is at hand. The machine was going for a long time, worked only during non-training time, so that the noise would not interfere with the activities of the neighbors. Ultimately, the machine took a worthy place in our laboratory , and at the time of the reception company, we exhibited it to the selection committee to attract the attention of applicants) In addition, I probe the idea of working on such projects as a way to motivate junior students to study subjects. Self-care with an inconvenient design then it is easier to take into account the ease of assembly, service, transportation, etc.
Based on my MSI WIND U90 with a broken screen. Since there is a shortage of computers, it should be possible, if necessary, to work with an arcade machine like a regular computer. In addition, if you want to play with the original joysticks - on the face must be USB ports to connect them. As the main material, we used chipboard - an ejected wardrobe from a nearby department. Monitor - LCD, the benefit was able to get, with a CRT was not very heavy construction and it is not entirely clear how to secure it at an angle, the options that occurred to him were either unreliable or non-technological.
From the tool - jigsaw and screwdriver. And of course the file :)
')
We decide on the layout, if we google - a sea of options, tabletop, floor-standing, with different angles of fixing the screens, for a different number of players. Stopped on the desktop version. The width was limited to the width of the chipboard. On paper we draw a sketch, trying on parts, figuring out how to place. After that, cut chipboard jigsaw. According to the mind - a circular saw, or a band saw, but there was only a jigsaw, requiring a firm hand for an even cut.
We twist on confirmatics. For maintenance, the bottom will open, so the design will come out more rigid than with the opening back wall.
Add the rest of the panel and set the monitor. Horizontal panel, on which buttons and handles are made of plywood, as a more durable material than chipboard
On the side wall is the ethernet connector, the power connector. Inside the socket box for convenience, I really didn’t like the idea of cutting off the plug and plugging the wires into the terminal block.
The bottom opens, the piano loop is used as a guaranteed durable and without distortions. The bottom is locked. The machine stands on its feet, and the bottom rests on the stops from the beam, so as not to put pressure on the lock.
Uh, the body is made. All gaps are filled with wood sealant, irregularities smeared with putty and sanded. Fail - an attempt to use siliconized sealant to cover the end of the slab so that the paint would not absorb - it turned out that this sealant would not be sanded later.
Painting - compressor andspray gun flushing tank. While they got their hands on - they planted a couple of smudges, but the students got the skill
Dry in the vestibule
On the second layer to paint - the weather turned bad. Although ... all the dust has been washed with snow)
After drying, we begin to mount the filling.
As a sound system - two speakers placed on the panel above the screen. The panel itself is tightened with black cloth, the speakers are one of the cheapest Auchan speakers powered by USB
Lightbox backlight - CCFL lamps from a broken monitor, a native inverter and a switching power supply unit that came handy. In order to run the inverter, it was necessary to penetrate into the datasheet, close the pair of wires and solder a variable resistor to the board to adjust the brightness.
There was a question how to fix the netbook, because there is not a single convenient surface for it. Got out of the position of fashioned corners for attachment of epoxyline , in place. It is simply molded like plasticine, it hardens within 24 hours, we dub it with a file, we drill a hole under the screw and fasten it. Fixed very firmly.
USB ports obviously would not be enough, I had to buy an active USB hub. Passive did not consider - there were many problems with them. A nice trick - even when the machine is not running, you can charge the phones)
As adapters for joysticks, we used such an adapter, the benefit of which two things were already soldered on dummies. The rest - just disassembled two joysticks from the dandy and soldered to the contacts of the buttons. Later they made shawls according to the scheme from here (Fig. 6), which would replace the strangely lost joysticks and not depend on the purchased joysticks.
Where suitable terminals were, they were crimped so that the replacement of the microswitches would not require a soldering iron. The joystick itself and the buttons ordered on the dilextreme.
The power button on the right of the machine. A switch with a key is connected in series with it. Thus, to start the machine, you need to turn the key and press the power button. It is not an option to start all the power through the key - the key can be whistled if the machine is unguarded. And you can’t turn it on without a key, but you turn it on - you can take the key with you.
Software - FCEUX and .bat script in autoload that triggers an emulator with a full screen game.
The bottom opens and allows you to serve almost all the offal, with the exception of the speakers and lights.
Well, for the machine you need to choose the appropriate interior:
Everything seems to be :). As you can see the arcade machine can be assembled quite easily, and with a minimum of trips to the store. The machine now stands in the laboratory and makes us happy. I hope our experience will inspire you to build your own arcade machine, unfortunately they are not built much here.
What we plan to do in the second generation of our machine:
1) Replacing the laptop on the Raspbery Pi
2) Combine the adapter and the joystick on one board, with a large number of buttons, so that you can start the games not only from the NES but also from the shogi, without connecting external joysticks.
3) Fully CAD made design suitable for cutting on CNC machines
4) Try to make a joystick version for 3D printing
5) Lightbox on LED strip
6) Put everything in open source for easy repetition when accessing machine tools.
He is far from perfect, made from improvised trash, but playing for him is fun). Who is interested to see how we did it - welcome under the cat.
For what and why?
We started to make an arcade machine with students of the Department of Automation at UGLTU as a fun project after class. The budget was limited by our skinny pockets, so we tried our best to use what is at hand. The machine was going for a long time, worked only during non-training time, so that the noise would not interfere with the activities of the neighbors. Ultimately, the machine took a worthy place in our laboratory , and at the time of the reception company, we exhibited it to the selection committee to attract the attention of applicants) In addition, I probe the idea of working on such projects as a way to motivate junior students to study subjects. Self-care with an inconvenient design then it is easier to take into account the ease of assembly, service, transportation, etc.
Based on my MSI WIND U90 with a broken screen. Since there is a shortage of computers, it should be possible, if necessary, to work with an arcade machine like a regular computer. In addition, if you want to play with the original joysticks - on the face must be USB ports to connect them. As the main material, we used chipboard - an ejected wardrobe from a nearby department. Monitor - LCD, the benefit was able to get, with a CRT was not very heavy construction and it is not entirely clear how to secure it at an angle, the options that occurred to him were either unreliable or non-technological.
From the tool - jigsaw and screwdriver. And of course the file :)
')
Process.
We decide on the layout, if we google - a sea of options, tabletop, floor-standing, with different angles of fixing the screens, for a different number of players. Stopped on the desktop version. The width was limited to the width of the chipboard. On paper we draw a sketch, trying on parts, figuring out how to place. After that, cut chipboard jigsaw. According to the mind - a circular saw, or a band saw, but there was only a jigsaw, requiring a firm hand for an even cut.
We twist on confirmatics. For maintenance, the bottom will open, so the design will come out more rigid than with the opening back wall.
Add the rest of the panel and set the monitor. Horizontal panel, on which buttons and handles are made of plywood, as a more durable material than chipboard
On the side wall is the ethernet connector, the power connector. Inside the socket box for convenience, I really didn’t like the idea of cutting off the plug and plugging the wires into the terminal block.
The bottom opens, the piano loop is used as a guaranteed durable and without distortions. The bottom is locked. The machine stands on its feet, and the bottom rests on the stops from the beam, so as not to put pressure on the lock.
Uh, the body is made. All gaps are filled with wood sealant, irregularities smeared with putty and sanded. Fail - an attempt to use siliconized sealant to cover the end of the slab so that the paint would not absorb - it turned out that this sealant would not be sanded later.
Painting - compressor and
Dry in the vestibule
On the second layer to paint - the weather turned bad. Although ... all the dust has been washed with snow)
After drying, we begin to mount the filling.
As a sound system - two speakers placed on the panel above the screen. The panel itself is tightened with black cloth, the speakers are one of the cheapest Auchan speakers powered by USB
Lightbox backlight - CCFL lamps from a broken monitor, a native inverter and a switching power supply unit that came handy. In order to run the inverter, it was necessary to penetrate into the datasheet, close the pair of wires and solder a variable resistor to the board to adjust the brightness.
There was a question how to fix the netbook, because there is not a single convenient surface for it. Got out of the position of fashioned corners for attachment of epoxyline , in place. It is simply molded like plasticine, it hardens within 24 hours, we dub it with a file, we drill a hole under the screw and fasten it. Fixed very firmly.
USB ports obviously would not be enough, I had to buy an active USB hub. Passive did not consider - there were many problems with them. A nice trick - even when the machine is not running, you can charge the phones)
As adapters for joysticks, we used such an adapter, the benefit of which two things were already soldered on dummies. The rest - just disassembled two joysticks from the dandy and soldered to the contacts of the buttons. Later they made shawls according to the scheme from here (Fig. 6), which would replace the strangely lost joysticks and not depend on the purchased joysticks.
Where suitable terminals were, they were crimped so that the replacement of the microswitches would not require a soldering iron. The joystick itself and the buttons ordered on the dilextreme.
The power button on the right of the machine. A switch with a key is connected in series with it. Thus, to start the machine, you need to turn the key and press the power button. It is not an option to start all the power through the key - the key can be whistled if the machine is unguarded. And you can’t turn it on without a key, but you turn it on - you can take the key with you.
Software - FCEUX and .bat script in autoload that triggers an emulator with a full screen game.
The bottom opens and allows you to serve almost all the offal, with the exception of the speakers and lights.
Well, for the machine you need to choose the appropriate interior:
Conclusion
Everything seems to be :). As you can see the arcade machine can be assembled quite easily, and with a minimum of trips to the store. The machine now stands in the laboratory and makes us happy. I hope our experience will inspire you to build your own arcade machine, unfortunately they are not built much here.
What we plan to do in the second generation of our machine:
1) Replacing the laptop on the Raspbery Pi
2) Combine the adapter and the joystick on one board, with a large number of buttons, so that you can start the games not only from the NES but also from the shogi, without connecting external joysticks.
3) Fully CAD made design suitable for cutting on CNC machines
4) Try to make a joystick version for 3D printing
5) Lightbox on LED strip
6) Put everything in open source for easy repetition when accessing machine tools.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/202974/
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