Next time I'll measure the inserts more carefully!
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| 1) Playfield with inserted inserts. They are currently not glued in place. A little sanding is up next, then glue, touchups and paint! |
What a beaut'!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Inserts are inserted (pun intended)
Quick update - did a little powertooling so all inserts fit properly now.
Next time I'll measure the inserts more carefully!
I did try to get a good shot of the playfield, but my cell-camera seems to have given up completely... The "black" inserts at the bottom are dark green and the round insert at the bottom is blue.
Next time I'll measure the inserts more carefully!
"It...is...accomplished!"
After months and months of searching, driving, waiting, asking, questing, something else'ing -
The playfield is now routed!
And it looks awesome!
There's still some work to be done on it before painting, such as drilling holes for various objects and rails. Most, but not all, screw holes have been marked but some of them I'll have to do after the board is complete (yikes!).
Today is a good day!
The playfield is now routed!
And it looks awesome!
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| 1) Before any work's been done. Flat and boring. |
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| 2) The insert layer is taking shape. Excitement grows! |
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| 3) Finished, but untouched, playfield. Totally awesome! |
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| 4) After a little touch-ups. After the inserts have been inserted (no pun intended) I'll stripe the whitemask on and spray paint the white color. Then it's decal time! |
There's still some work to be done on it before painting, such as drilling holes for various objects and rails. Most, but not all, screw holes have been marked but some of them I'll have to do after the board is complete (yikes!).
Today is a good day!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
More pressing and blinking
I've decided to redesign the electronics inside the machine.
Basically, it's more trouble than it's worth having two different systems trying to handle the same thing - I'm talking about the serial communication between Arduino and Chipkit. It does work, but it's only a matter of time until it becomes unbearable sending information back and forth, not to mention the very limited RAM in the Arduino.
I'll most probably only use the Chipkit since it's got plenty of I/O, lots of RAM and overall a beefier MCU. After the converging of the boards I'll have to see how many inputs/outputs there are left, but most definitely I'll have a couple to spare. There will be some pretty nasty refactoring of the code thou...
I've also decided that I need to build a switchboard and a light board -
The switchboard will give me 64 switches instead of the old one with 32 inputs.
The new one will also feature cable connectors so that there's only two flat-cables to unplug instead of 32 independent ones. Much simpler and much less to keep track of. They will still be 64 independent switches and not a matrix, so each switch gets it's own connection. In theory I could matrix these switches to create 4096 (64*64) switches...
The lightboard gives me 96 independent digital outputs for lights.
The old MUX-shield I planned to use only gave me 48 outputs and for some reason I cannot explain - it does no longer work. I'm actually not sure if I've ever tested it in with the Chipkit (+3.3VDC vs +5VDC). Since it's an output board, each of these outputs could in turn trigger a MOSFET to turn on/off a series of lights, instead of just a single light. This board will also use two 50-port flat-cables for quick and easy disconnections. The two extra ports in each cable will be additional ground lines.
On top of that I will have a couple of PWM light-chains for the GI. PWM, pulse-width modulation, is basically a digital analog output that allows me to dim digital outputs by flickering them fast enough. Since I'll be using LED's for the GI I believe this is the only choice. With regular bulbs I figure I could use the analog outputs instead.
The best thing about these boards I'll be making (parts are ordered) is that I'll only trade 3 control pins for "any" number of inputs/outputs required. This means I could hook up another identical board to gain an additional 64/96 inputs/outputs. Sweet!
Basically, it's more trouble than it's worth having two different systems trying to handle the same thing - I'm talking about the serial communication between Arduino and Chipkit. It does work, but it's only a matter of time until it becomes unbearable sending information back and forth, not to mention the very limited RAM in the Arduino.
I'll most probably only use the Chipkit since it's got plenty of I/O, lots of RAM and overall a beefier MCU. After the converging of the boards I'll have to see how many inputs/outputs there are left, but most definitely I'll have a couple to spare. There will be some pretty nasty refactoring of the code thou...
I've also decided that I need to build a switchboard and a light board -
The switchboard will give me 64 switches instead of the old one with 32 inputs.
The new one will also feature cable connectors so that there's only two flat-cables to unplug instead of 32 independent ones. Much simpler and much less to keep track of. They will still be 64 independent switches and not a matrix, so each switch gets it's own connection. In theory I could matrix these switches to create 4096 (64*64) switches...
The lightboard gives me 96 independent digital outputs for lights.
The old MUX-shield I planned to use only gave me 48 outputs and for some reason I cannot explain - it does no longer work. I'm actually not sure if I've ever tested it in with the Chipkit (+3.3VDC vs +5VDC). Since it's an output board, each of these outputs could in turn trigger a MOSFET to turn on/off a series of lights, instead of just a single light. This board will also use two 50-port flat-cables for quick and easy disconnections. The two extra ports in each cable will be additional ground lines.
The main power output of the lightboard will be controlled via a relay, so no power is sent to the outputs unless it's told to by the MCU. Purely for safety, and not sure if needed - but I had a relay to spare. The increased number of outputs allows for much more lights, and that's a good thing!
The best thing about these boards I'll be making (parts are ordered) is that I'll only trade 3 control pins for "any" number of inputs/outputs required. This means I could hook up another identical board to gain an additional 64/96 inputs/outputs. Sweet!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
There are signs everywhere!
Half a million pieces are completed!
Starting to get pretty good at cutting, sanding and wet sanding now!
Note that most of the playfield plastics are missing their decals. It's simply because I haven't got the playfield/or drawings yet to mark the drill holes.
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| 1) Cut signs and playfield plastics with decals partially applied. The large piece below everything else is the top loop piece - it's a bit rough in the edges because it's not yet completed. It didn't align perfectly with the loop rails so I'll have to redesign either to make them match. Man, I need to clean my keyboard! |
Starting to get pretty good at cutting, sanding and wet sanding now!
Note that most of the playfield plastics are missing their decals. It's simply because I haven't got the playfield/or drawings yet to mark the drill holes.
Downed Those Plastics!
Three hours and two aching hands later I've finished cutting (literally) the playfield plastics.
Cutting PVC with a pair of household scissors... But it's all about getting the job done, right?
Looking pretty good too.
Although I'm pretty sure I'llneed to tweak them in the morning when my eyes and hands have rested.
To be done is drilling holes for the posts and cutting all the signs and billboards etc.
Cutting PVC with a pair of household scissors... But it's all about getting the job done, right?
Looking pretty good too.
Although I'm pretty sure I'll
To be done is drilling holes for the posts and cutting all the signs and billboards etc.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Hinges of Steel
Finished the major elements of the backbox today!
I mounted the speakerpanel on a a piano hinge and it works and looks rather good actually. The downside is that it's a little too short so I'll probably need to cover up the edge with a rubber strip or similar.
I also (finally) got the backglass finished and put in its rightful place!
It's basically a high quality decal that is sandwiched in between two layers of crystal clear PVC. It gives me a nice surface that can be cleaned (with alcohol, if needed) and keeps the decal scratch free.
The back glass lights up just enough so that the printing is visible, which was the goal. I was afraid the colors might become too washed out or not illuminated at all, but it turned out just right.
Now I'll just have to wait another week until the playfield is routed!
I mounted the speakerpanel on a a piano hinge and it works and looks rather good actually. The downside is that it's a little too short so I'll probably need to cover up the edge with a rubber strip or similar.
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| 1) The speakerpanel in a open position. What's not visible in this picture is that I've also fixed the speaker cables so that they can be easily detached from the speakers if needed. |
I also (finally) got the backglass finished and put in its rightful place!
It's basically a high quality decal that is sandwiched in between two layers of crystal clear PVC. It gives me a nice surface that can be cleaned (with alcohol, if needed) and keeps the decal scratch free.
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| 2) The plastic sandwich. Looking pretty sharp! |
The back glass lights up just enough so that the printing is visible, which was the goal. I was afraid the colors might become too washed out or not illuminated at all, but it turned out just right.
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| 3) Illuminated backglass. There's a pretty strong reflection from the sun, but from the players point of view it's looks perfect! There's also a slight light bleeding from the fluorescent tube shining through the edges that needs to be corrected. |
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| 4) Another angle of the completed backbox. |
Now I'll just have to wait another week until the playfield is routed!
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