MadeByRP Acrylic Arcade

[puskarich]

This is a build I have wanted to do for a while and finally got around to making it. I'll be using acrylic and red oak, along with a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and the EasyGet controllers from Amazon.com.

On with the details...

I cut and etched .2" acrylic on the laser cutter.

[puskarich]

I then heated and bent the acrylic.

A test fit...

More to come as the build continues.

[The Real Phoenix]

Nice! Where did you get your heater and your bender? From your photo they are from Formech but their products are freaking expensive. Are you using a "Maker Space" place-like or similar?

[Adam]

Greeeeaat!!!

[puskarich]

@the-real-phoenix, yes, I'm a member of a local TechShop. The tools here are amazing.

[Substring]

Looks promising ! Why only 4 buttons per player ?

[puskarich]

@substring, I cut a test control panel out of wood and played the games for about a month with 6 buttons. I couldn't figure out a good use for the 2 extra buttons (outside of page up/down). So, this will be my test of only using 4 buttons. Select will double as the hotkey on this panel.

[Substring]

@puskarich you ... I just ... don't understand ... how come .... you ... errrr ... build a cab not to play street fighter ?

I have a few examples for you :

• remap neogeo buttons so that they are like :

   B   C   D
A

• align the megadrive buttons
• play mortal kombat and street fighter

[puskarich]

@substring, lol. Valid point.

I know it is probably taboo, but I'm not a huge fan of those games. I built this for the nostalgia of playing Atari 2600, Nintendo, and some of the arcade games of my youth. At this time, I'm not a huge fan of the games that required 6 buttons.

If that does change, I could easily add the extra buttons. They are just sitting in a box.

[puskarich]

Vinyl cutting the stickers to place on the LED buttons.

Finishing the wiring.

I felt like I was going to go blind trying to "weed" this from the vinyl.

All lit up. Looking good!

Next step will be to cut the oak sides and base.

[puskarich]

I cut two pieces of oak for the sides and then routed an edge for the acrylic to sit on.

A test fit...

I cut an oak base so that I can mount the Pi and boards.

This arcade will be on display at a local maker showcase. I need a way to easily detach the base from the sides to explain how things work. To hold things together, I'll use 12 small rare earth magnets. Later on, I'll probably add pocket hole screws to make it more secure.

Drilling holes for the magnets.

Magnets added to the side and base using CA glue.

I then stained the wood.

The next step will be to add a poly finish to the wood and then assemble everything.