Arcade/Pinball Transformer concept

[dshickman]

I was thinking earlier today about how I could save space in my house and still have and arcade and pinball machine. Initially, I though I could just make miniature versions with all the functionality of full sized machine. I like this idea, because having mini arcades or virtual pinball machines is just crazy awesome. I plan on having a game room one day, in the not so distant future( I hope...), but for right now, i want to use my house more efficiently.

Then it came to me. Why not build a arcade cab that is also a virtual pinball machine. A cabinet that has both built into the same cabinet. If i want to play an arcade game i put the cab in an upright position, and if i want to play a pinball game, i rotate it to the pinball position.

I spent the next few hours modeling the concept, and here is what i came up with...

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2842&stc=1&d=1248157963
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2841&stc=1&d=1248157944
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2843&stc=1&d=1248157979
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2844&stc=1&d=1248157990
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2845&stc=1&d=1248158007
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2846&stc=1&d=1248158021
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2847&stc=1&d=1248158042
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2848&stc=1&d=1248158054

Tell me what you think. And if you want to use these pics for inspiration to build your own, by all means, build away.
Oh, and if anybody has built something like this already, let me know, i would really love to see them:)

[BadBoyBill]

That would be crazy to see that come to life. Are you actually gonna build this maybe?

[j5350]

I think it would be insanely awesome. I hope you build it so you could take some live shots/video.

[akiles500]

It,s very original but I don´t know if it can to make

[dshickman]

I dont have the funds right now, sadly. But it is very possible to make. I would just need to make sure that i balance the weight evenly on the pivot point. And I havent figured out how to lock the legs in each position yet, but its only a matter of time.

[The Loafer]

This kicks ass; holy cow is that a neat design. The power consumption would be something else though. If you aren't worried about someone ripping off your design and want to read a lot of comments, post this at the arcadecontrols.com forums and you'll get a lot of comments!

[RetroBorg]

I want to see that built.

[jeepguy81]

That is rediculously awesome, i think i'd loose it if i went to someones house and they flipped that thing around!!
One thing to note, i know theyre just concepts, but you might want to position the cabinet just a little bit higher on the base braces. With the cab being so close to the ground, as you rotate the whole thing forwards, the front edge of the cab will probably hit at that height. Could round off that front portion so as to keep it low to the ground. Just a thought.
I've worked with allot of slider trays and worm gears in car audio so that back glass for the pin portion is easily possible, throw a little mercury switch on there so it slides up automatically, yeah baby!!

[SophT]

that's even cooler than Baby Pac-Man!

http://www.lyonspinball.com/images/video_games/baby-pacman.jpg

[garnerb350]

That build would be SCARY!!!...My jaw is still dropped...The only thing that would worry me is the weight...
Just like Loafer said...Throw that idea on arcade forums...The comments would explode people heads....

[mildanti]

Super Sick!

[billpa]

Those models are sick...you have some talent there! The only issues I would think of is power, heat, and weight of that sucker.

I actually had a similar idea I was talking to BBB about. But I was working on a wall mounted structure....kind of like a slim cab. The base would be attached to a hinge which would be mounted to a lazy susan type piece. You would have to lift the base up and turn it 180 to make it into a pin cab. Here is a drawing if it makes any sense.

http://i32.tinypic.com/nnvg5z.jpg

I was planning on doing it in the basement and just locate the computer on the other side of the wall although I suppose you could find space for it somewhere. The backglass would act as the main monitor for arcade. The problem would be that it would actually be the secondary monitor so you would need hyperspin to be able to show up there. You could then have hyperspin launch hyperpin and have hyperpin relaunch hyperspin when you exit out.

I would love for someone to come up with a good pin/arcade cab!

[dshickman]

I was thinking of the weight and heat problems myself, and i took into account rotation height when modeling, so the front bottom wont hit the ground.

I would probably use a mini ITX motherboard, one that has nvidia Ion gpu and socket 775 for a core 2 duo or better cpu. Being so small, it wouldnt product as much heat as a full size rig, and would also use less space and power. This setup would use 3 monitors, so a monitor switcher or 2 PCs would need to be in the case.

i would probably use this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500022

4:3 aspect ratio monitors at 17 to 20 in dont produce much heat, but a larger widescreen monitor around 32 to 42 in would produce more. but it isn't a problem, I would just mount 2 120mm fans on the bottom of the cabinet, toward the front side, so it could ventilate the interior with the scoreboard monitor in the closed position. Weight distribution would be key in this build, I would try to center as many components as possible to the center of the cabinet, near the pivot point.

The only thing i havent figured out yet is how to make the legs lock in both playing positions, and do it in a way that makes it user friendly and clean looking. If anybody has an idea, let me know.

[Section_25]

You should patented that design, you might make a million bucks! :call:

[Lashek]

This is a rather simple and doable design. A few flaws of course due to weight distribution, but definitely doable.

I would suggest making design changes to the bottom where it's least likely to be seen as opposed to above the CP area. See my cheap drawn-over attachment for my suggestions on the design. :)

[dshickman]

Yes, that is a slide out drawer that will contain the monitor. I was thinking about using locking pins too. But if it is at all possible, i would rather not use extra legs at the bottom to stabilize. But it will all depend on how well the weight is distributed and how strong and secure the legs and there locking pins will be.

[dshickman]

Im exploring other designs aswell, here is one of them.
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2857&stc=1&d=1248238635
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2859&stc=1&d=1248238682
http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2858&stc=1&d=1248238666

[BadBoyBill]

The pullout drawer one in the second shot is more practical I think and its a quick way to shift back and forth, thats pretty cool.

[Circo]

Your going to want to invest in some serious cooling that thing is gonna run HOT!!! :)

This got me thinking, I got up and looked at my cab, and it struck me, my slide out keyboard tray is the right width for probably a 32" widescreen. Wouldnt it be neat to have a slide out 32" or 37" with pinball buttons that just slid out from under your control panel? Then your regular arcade monitor could be the backglass. It might have to stick out of the back of the cab a little. But would be a nice do-able project.

EDIT: just saw your idea that was similar but the slide out method would keep people from kicking your screen ;)

[SomewhatLost666]

just a FWIW worth type thing, but if you use linear actuators for all the movements, you don't need locking pins or anything to hold it, as the actuator will hold it open/rotated/whatever... besides, IMHO, having it auto rotate/move/change is the only way to go...

even cooler would be to get BBB to put the proper 'hooks/triggers/whatever its called' into HS so the cab changes automatically based on the game currently selected...

[dshickman]

thats a good idea, ill look into actuators.

[SophT]

that second design - you're going to want to put like 1/2" plexi over your monitor - "OH GOD MY KICKPLATE THERE GOES $800!" XD


I would probably use a mini ITX motherboard, one that has nvidia Ion gpu and socket 775 for a core 2 duo or better cpu. Being so small, it wouldnt product as much heat as a full size rig, and would also use less space and power. This setup would use 3 monitors, so a monitor switcher or 2 PCs would need to be in the case.


if you switch to a microATX board with 2x pci16 slots you can run 2 ATI boards in Crossfire and have up to 4 monitors on board and independently configured ;)

with nVidia you can't really do that many simultaneously independent monitors.

[SomewhatLost666]

thats a good idea, ill look into actuators.
FWIW, I have used Firgelli Automation (http://www.firgelliauto.com/) before... always good service, not bad prices (for linear actuators at least...), DiY friendly...

using a little one in my cab to spin the monitor...

[StarControl]

I like the concept, but I see a couple of practical concerns with the first design. To rotate it to the pinball configuration you are going to have to pull it away from the wall quite a bit, which means casters on the feet. In the pinball configuration I think the table is going to be highly unstable with the current design. Ideally, the legs would remain stationary against the wall and there would be some sort of scissor linkage that would let the base rise and pivot without hitting the back wall. Then you would have some front legs pivot down to give the pinball table a 4 point stance. But the design of such a pivot mechanism is beyond my mechanical abilities.

I think you would also have to plan on using a flat screen monitor for the arcade machine as well. I know the 27" tube I am using would not fit with a pinball display using a reasonable cabinet depth.

[jwferne]

I say get one of those lazy boy chairs that lifts old people up and into a standing position haha. You could strip it down and use something like that as your base to build on :)

[Ronker Room]

I like StarControl's idea, you might be able to use murphy bed hardware. The trick would be hiding the legs when in the upright position.

BTW - It's been just about a year since the original post, has anyone built this yet? billpa, have you built your wall mounted slim cab?

[guitarman84]

That is the sickest idea ever I am gonna work on some designs based on that. Holy crap mad props bro.