Roadcase (somewhat) Portable Arcade

[caver01]

@p4r4digm Yeah, it's a bit hard to see it, but there is an interesting "sandwich" of parts that make the top panel. From the top layer down:
Clear acrylic, 1/4" laser cut holes for controls.
Black art paper sheet, hand-cut holes for controls and LCD
Black acrylic, 1/16" laser cut holes for controls and laser cut opening for LCD video
Plywood, 3/8" laminated, laser cut holes for controls and laser cut display mount.

I don't remember if I mentioned the paper in the original post, but basically, that was an afterthought, and something I was able to cut using an x-acto knife. It was necessary because the black and clear acrylic together was creating a frustrating moire pattern. I did not expect this to happen, but there were places where the black and clear came together so tightly that they "stuck" and it looked like a blob of water or oil was sandwiched between them. This would have been fine if it spread across the entire sheet, but tiny air gaps here and there created horrible dark black patterns that would shift around as it flexed. So, I simply put a piece of black paper between them and the issue went away. It is hard to describe this problem, but you should avoid putting two pieces of acrylic face-to-face with no air gap.

Other than that, it all makes sense. The holes for the controls go through everything, the additional rectangular hole in the black bezel piece is perfectly measured to cover the display hardware showing only the screen itself, and the rectangle in the plywood is cut to accommdate the display's mounting bracket. Obviously, everything had to be drawn/designed beforehand so it would all line up properly.

[p4r4digm]

@caver01 Cool! that makes a lot of sense. If you had to do it over again would you have gone with a different material for the now-hidden-by-paper middle layer? Seems like you would still want something rigid and stable.

If I can prod with another question, I'm curious about the mounting bracket you used for the LCD. It's not custom made is it? I have a 20" ultrasharp that still has the plastic case around it that I have yet to pry open and take a look at. I get the feeling metal mounting brackets are probably something you can just order somewhere?

[caver01]

@p4r4digm I could have done just as well with a mat board for the bezel, but it needed to have all of the holes cut in it for the controls. If I had to do it over again, I might rethink the idea of a continuous surface from screen to controls. That decision created the flat aesthetic, but demanded that EVERYTHING is laser cut so it all lines up. In some respects, flat was simple, but I wouldn't mind having the screen surface broken up from the controls. The only clear piece would have been over the display and the rest could have been black.

As for mounting the display, I guess it is hard to see it but there is no additional mounting bracket. The display happens to be a Sony19", but I have seen Dells with similar specs. Basically, if you take apart a monitor like this, when you remove the plastic shell what you are left with is an LCD and its electronics all held together with the steel you see here. In other words, this is how it came out of the shell. It's the second LCD I have uncased for a project like this and both times they had some kind of steel surrounding everything. It is what gives the monitor some rigidity and it is how the plastic is attached. The tiny tabs that stick out were screwed to the front half of the plastic shell I removed, so when I measured up my plywood, I had it cut such that I can use the existing tabs and screw them into the wood. If this were not an option, or if the existing screw holes were not setup as a convenient flange, I would have attached angled aluminum extrusions to create the same effect.

[p4r4digm]

@caver01 aha! I had a hunch that that may be the case. Didn't get a chance to pry the frame open last night and I'm at work. Definitely had a feeling that the bracket in the pictures was factory-issue.

And yeah I am way into the aesthetics of the single-piece panel but its definitely ambitious. Especially because its looking like mine will be a fair deal larger in area. I'l think on it.

Thanks so much for all your help, projects been on hiatus for a couple months because ive been unsure of what step to take next, just been hoarding pieces here and there. Think its time to get back to it.

[UDb23]

Fantastic work !!!
And special thanks for sharing all these really useful and inspiring details.

[AndersHP]

Wow, this build is amazing, and cleverly provides the best way to solve the switching screen formats I've ever seen.

I can only imagine the amount of work dedicated to get the screen image rotated and button mappings to correspond to the different placements of players per game ! Well done!

[caver01]

@andershp Thanks!

The per-game stuff isn't too bad as shader preferences are repeatable. Also, since most of the vertical games have cocktail mode, I end up mapping controls in lr-mame2003 anyway.

This setup does give you the best scenario for both landscape and vertical and it really shines in 4-player games. It gets a little tricky when you have a vertical game that actually plays co-op side-by-side. Rather than use video mirroring, I simply have games like 1941 setup to play from the horizontal panel. Not perfect, but no different than anyone using their TV.

It's nice to have a spinner on the far left of the horizontal panel, as it gets double use as it can be reached from the left vertical end for games like Tempest or Turbo.

I highly recommend this configuration. It has been a lot of fun covering so many titles. You can even play Smash TV 2-players using all four sticks.

[Gee]

Simply LOVE IT !!!!!!

[Majin Wamu]

Wow! It's beautiful Caver! Maybe I should post my custom arcade cabinet as well.

[AndersHP]

@majin-wamu Do it! Love to see these builds!

[Majin Wamu]

@andershp Alright. I will work on getting the pictures together tomorrow. I am quite proud of it.

[caver01]

@majin-wamu Thanks! Please do post images. It's fun to see what other people are building.

[Majin Wamu]

@caver01 Alright, I created a topic and posted it

[Roll_SK]

Damn that's HOT!

[caver01]

@roll_sk Thanks!

[Clyde]

@caver01 I'm dying of awe right now … what a great idea and execution. 😄