Project: 'Troy's Pinball' - Arcade Sequel Build [Archive]

ARTbyTROY

03-30-2012, 04:27 PM

It has been nearly a year and a half since I finished my last project "Troy's Arcade" and it's time for a sequel. I had initially planned on building another MAME with a trackball, spinner, 4-way stick and light guns, but then I saw an article at metku.net (http://metku.net/index.html?path=mods/metku-pinball/index_eng) covering a pinball build and all other plans were abandoned.

Before I ever plunked a quarter into any video game as a kid I had already played a fair amount of pinball, but it wasn't until I found a Williams Whirlwind machine in the early 90's that I truly knew how much I loved playing. Based off a Williams wide body machine my Google Sketchup design is now final and all the hardware/parts needed for the build are here.

http://www.casemodgod.com/TroyPinDimensionsXsm.jpg

http://www.casemodgod.com/TroyPinDimensionsX1_edited-1.jpg

http://www.casemodgod.com/TroyPinDimensionsX2_edited-1.jpg

Sceptre 40" Class LCD 1080p 60Hz HDTV, X405BV-FHD, 1920 X 1080 @60hz, 16:9 Wide Screen, 8 ms, 400 (W) x 200 (H), Screen size is 35" wide x 20" high (40" diagonal)

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20004.jpg

Acer S230HL Bmii 23" Class Widescreen LED Backlit Monitor - 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 100000000:1 Dynamic, 1000:1 Native, 60Hz, 5ms, HDMI, VGA

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20007.jpg

AOC e1649Fwu 16" Class Ultra Slim USB Portable LED Backlit Monitor - 1366 x 768, 16:9, 500:1 Native, 60Hz, 16ms, U-Slim

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20009.jpg

Below is a list of the hardware I will be using for this build followed by a picture of it all...

ZOTAC GF6100-E-E AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 NVIDIA nForce 430 MCP Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
ZOTAC ZT-50608-10L GeForce GT 520 (Fermi) 512MB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express x1 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
Logitech LS11 Stereo Speakers - 2.0 Channels, 3 Watts RMS, 2" high-excursion metallic drivers
Patriot PT232GS25SSDR Torqx 2 32GB Solid State Drive - 32GB, SATA I/II
Diablotek PHD Series PHD380M 380W Micro ATX Power Supply
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804
AMD Athlon 64X2 (ADO4000IAA5DD) CPU 2.1GHZ
EVERCOOL EC-NK804A-925EP 92mm Ever Lubricate CPU Cooler for AM2 and AM3 Series

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20017.jpg

Below is a Belkin 6-outlet surge protector, four pushbuttons and six lighted pushbuttons, two 120mm fans (one speed controlled), two types of red LED lighting, an HDMI and a DVI to HDMI cable, a USB internal to external cable and a 6" extension cord/power cable.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20018.jpg

This next part took a total of 51 days from the day I ordered it to receive it, so if you plan on building your own pinball machine make sure to order the Mot-Ion Adapter & Digital Plunger Kit at least two months before you know you want it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20019.jpg

Below is what will make up most of the enclosure, it consists of one Acrylic Plexiglass Sheet Clear 3/8" x 23.7/8" x 15.7/8" and one 3/8"x 48" x 25.7/8" sheet, two sheets of OPTIX acrylic 3/16" x 18" x 24", three 8" x 1 1/2" lengths of corner Alum-Angle, four black 28" Williams pinball table legs and the mounting brackets, bolts and four leg levelers that go with them.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20020.jpg

I cut one of the 8 foot lengths of Alum-Angle in half and clamped it onto the 48"x26" sheet of 3/8" thick acrylic to use as a guide for the jigsaw.

http://www.casemodgod.com/pinballz%20003.jpg

It is difficult to get an exactly straight even cut, so the side panels will be double sided taped together in preparation for sanding. The two four foot sections of Alum-Angle will be taped onto the edges as guides to keep my sanding even and let me know when to stop.

http://www.casemodgod.com/pinballz%20007.jpg

Forever later and it's sanded pretty even, below shows the taped and clamped Alum-Angle / Acrylic and Mouse sander.

http://www.casemodgod.com/pinballz%20008.jpg

I cut both sides of the of the marquee and sanded them like I did to the side panels. It still needs a little work, but the following picture shows just how massive this thing is.

http://www.casemodgod.com/pinballz%20013.jpg

Here is the back of the 40" LCD, it will have to be removed to allow for accurate measurement of the LCD screen.

http://www.casemodgod.com/077.jpg

Screws removed and back cover off - the speakers, IR receiver and TV side controls will all be removed and then relocated inside the body of the pinball table. While I was looking at the back of the screen I noticed that my Sceptre LCD contains parts stamped Samsung.

http://www.casemodgod.com/079.jpg

Ok, in this next picture all the stuff I mentioned removing above has been, plus you can see where I cut away any steel bits that were in the way. I also cut two lengths of Alum-angle that will run up the edges and serve as the mounting rails for the screen.

http://www.casemodgod.com/088.jpg

There is a rubber grommet lined hole like this in each corner of the screen, all four are ready made to be the points at which the side rails attach to the screen.

http://www.casemodgod.com/086.jpg

I bought four nylon spacers and they fit snug against the rubber grommets inside the holes, the bolt, washer, lock washer, nut combo will hold the rails down.

http://www.casemodgod.com/087.jpg

I cut a corner section out of the middle of one of the side rails to allow a ribbon cable to pass through. The side rails were mounted and then marked for the placement of three Alum-Angle brace rails, that were then then measured, cut and installed. Below shows the modified 40" LCD screen all finished up and ready to mount.

http://www.casemodgod.com/089.jpg

Stay Tuned... More To Come.

Fuganater

03-30-2012, 04:33 PM

woah! Epic start. I'll be watching.

TLHarrell

03-30-2012, 11:52 PM

Three screens??? This goes way beyond my MAME box design. I've got two epic huge TUBE TV screens to build two MAME boxes with. Haven't started building yet. I'm gonna watch this one with interest.

Stonerboy779

03-31-2012, 02:51 AM

Three screens??? This goes way beyond my MAME box design. I've got two epic huge TUBE TV screens to build two MAME boxes with. Haven't started building yet. I'm gonna watch this one with interest.

Make that another guy with a mame build to be but not the time to do it.

Old MK cab (lost the original MK control panel to my uncle but fair is fair he got me the cab) to be restored/modified/built upon.

Will definitely be keeping an eye on this.

ARTbyTROY

03-31-2012, 03:49 PM

@ Fuganater, Thanks... I hope to show more progress soon.

@ TLHarrell, Three screens and the little USB monitor will only ever be using the top 1/2 of the screen as a simulated dot matrix display, the bottom half will be set to black.

@ Stonerboy779, you really should try to find time to build your MAME... and then use a front end like Hyperspin and load up emulators and ROMS for all the classic home gaming systems, at least that's what I plan to do with mine (right now it is only running MALA).

Since it sounds like the both of you mainly need an arcade control panel (or two) for your MAME(s), you could always modify one of these (http://www.xgaming.com/store/arcade-joysticks-and-game-controllers/product/x-arcade-dual-joystick/) to fit your cab, $99 for that is CHEAP. I went with a different controller board, but they are the exact same sticks and buttons that I used in my arcade (http://www.casemodgod.com/Troys_Arcade.htm), they have a nice clicky authentic arcade feel.

TLHarrell

03-31-2012, 05:56 PM

I've got a real cheap USB controller that I wired real arcade buttons to for a remote panel for the laser cutter. Works awesome. I'll probably go the same route if/when I scrape the funds together to do the MAME box. I'd really like to pull together a desktop controller for MAME first though as my main system is more than enough to play on with the 30" monitor.

How realistic are you going with the pinball simulation? Tilting/bumping? Knocker in the head panel for replay? I'd probably try to at least add some solenoids for flipper and bumper action if the software supports it. Nothing quite like the feel of a real cabinet.

ARTbyTROY

03-31-2012, 06:16 PM

@ TLHarrell, I would say that it should be fairly realistic when I'm done. I have a real digital plunger and mot-ion kit that supports bumping/nudging... I hadn't thought about the replay knocker (good call) and flipper/solenoid feel is not super important to me but I'll now be looking into that too.

Stonerboy779

03-31-2012, 08:42 PM

I dont need parts really just time. For me it will be hyperspin and I am making my own control pad have all the buttons and an ipac 2 player controller to wire it all to.
Have the computer to run it, have the old crt for the cab and hope to mount a second 22-24" lcd touch screen flush on the back. Touch screen will run a juke box soft of a name I forget but used to run on an old pentium 2 build till it died.

It will be interesting to see a pinball sim seen plenty of restored cabs but never a sim set up like cab.

ARTbyTROY

04-12-2012, 08:28 PM

Below shows the test fit of parts that will make up the back glass and a cat who thinks that laying down on top of it all is somehow helpful. If you look closely at the 23" Acer monitor you can see a length of Alum-Angle that was initially going to be a support brace on the back of the 40" LCD TV, it is the same exact width as the 23" monitor... which means that everything should fit in nice and tight.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20021.jpg

Here is a better look at my helper, his name is Boozie... he isn't super bright but he is super friendly, so I cut him slack whenever his wacky cat antics slow me down.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20022.jpg

I cut some beefy 2" Alum-angle with my chop saw and used my disk/belt sander to smooth it up.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20023.jpg

Below shows what $100 of Alum-angle and another $100 in acrylic looks like cut up.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20024.jpg

Here is the whole thing laid out on my bed, including the legs and a bottom panel made of plywood that was cut to size and painted black.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20025.jpg

I drilled evenly spaced holes into the Alum-angle and attached all four lengths to the bottom panel using wood screws.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20026.jpg

Here is a shot of the inside of the base, the rectangular hole in the plywood orients to the front and will provide quick access to the backs of the buttons, the TV and speaker controls, fan control, etc.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20027.jpg

I got fed up with working off of my bed and dining room table, since I have more projects going on than we ever do guests staying over it really was a no brainer - goodbye guest bedroom, hello new workshop. Below is the view from the front door looking in...

http://www.casemodgod.com/090.jpg

Directly to the left of the last picture...

http://www.casemodgod.com/091.jpg

Left again, the door in the corner is a closet...

http://www.casemodgod.com/092.jpg

Take one last left and we have the entry door and an exterior door... and that concludes the tour of my workshop. Now that I have a dedicated work space where I am not constantly getting stuff out and then having to put it away each night should help speed everything up

http://www.casemodgod.com/093.jpg

AmEv

04-12-2012, 08:57 PM

Just realized: We have a 40" Sammy LED upstairs.

This thing is going to be HUGE!

OvRiDe

04-18-2012, 10:02 PM

This thing is going to be HUGE!

Hmm.. I'd guess about the size of a Pinball machine! ;)

:P

I'm totally jelly! Can't wait to see it progress Troy! Great work so far.

SXRguyinMA

04-18-2012, 10:03 PM

Hmm.. I'd guess about the size of a Pinball table! ;)

:P

I'm totally jelly! Can't wait to see it progress Troy! Great work so far.

I see what you did there.... :whistler:

ARTbyTROY

04-25-2012, 10:42 PM

I decided to make a couple of hardware changes, first up I am ditching the 2GB of Crucial Ballistix memory in favor of 4GB of Kingston Hyper-X, because more is better and they are lower latency. Secondly, the Logitech speakers work great in my MAME machine, but they are right in your face. At 1.5w per speaker I can't imagine they'd sound as good four feet away, another negative is the volume control knob would have stuck out from the back glass. My new Creative Inspire T3130 speakers are 25w total with 5w each satellite and 15w for the subwoofer are a better fit for this project and the volume controls can now be easily hidden.

http://www.casemodgod.com/098.jpg

I finished drilling mount holes in the Alum-angle and then double side taped each piece onto the acrylic side panels to use as drilling templates. I have a set of drill bits that are specifically for plastic and acrylic and mention it only because they are crucial to achieving professional results when working on stuff like this... besides, it doesn't make sense to risk cracking a hundred dollars worth of 3/8" acrylic over a nine dollar specialty drill bit.

http://www.casemodgod.com/094.jpg

Here the side panels have been drilled and are mounted to the base for a test fit and everything so far fits good.

http://www.casemodgod.com/095.jpg

Below is the inner leg brace, since it fits tight already I only need to drill out the center holes on the side edges of the brace to permanently attach them.

http://www.casemodgod.com/097.jpg

The back side panel is cut from pressboard and the first piece of the two part front panel is cut from a sheet of .220 Optix acrylic, below shows both attached for a test fit. I also bought a piece of black molding from a Williams wide body pinball machine that secures the back edge of the table glass, I cut it to size and it is sitting in place on the top edge below.

http://www.casemodgod.com/099.jpg

I cut the second piece of 3/16 acrylic sheet for the front panel, below shows a top down view.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20028.jpg

The reason the front panel had to be two sheets thick will become apparent when I mount the speakers from the TV and the five recessed LED buttons. The two white pieces of paper show where I Intend to mount the TV speakers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20029.jpg

I had to thicken up the back material so that the pinball table legs will seat correctly, for this I used the same 3/16" acrylic as the front panels. Sadly, in figuring out that the thickness of the rear material mattered when mounting the legs I destroyed two bolts and a leg mounting plate, I am currently awaiting delivery of replacements.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20030.jpg

ARTbyTROY

05-04-2012, 07:40 PM

I cut and rivet together a few pieces of Alum-angle as the start of a simple mounting base for the motherboard and video card. The four screws will secure the motherboard to the wood base of the pinball table and the zip tie is there to hold the video card in place.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20031.jpg

To prevent the motherboard from ever flexing I cut and bolt down a couple cross braces, I chose to bolt the cross braces on instead of riveting because if the motherboard mounting holes don't line up perfectly the bolts will adjust way easier than resetting rivets.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20033.jpg

I installed the processor, CPU fan, video card and memory into the motherboard, I also plugged in a SATA cable, an external USB and I used an old four wire audio cable over the power switch and power LED pin-outs on the motherboard... this thing will be ready to be mount permanently in the cabinet after I install the OS, drivers and software.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20034.jpg

Next up is trying to find the best places inside the table for the hardware. I cut and drilled a strip of 1/2" Alum-angle and attached it to the bottom of a speed adjustable 120mm fan, it will sit up front and blow back. Sitting just behind the fan is a Logisys power distribution box, then the motherboard, and behind that is the 6 outlet surge protector and the power supply. The power supply will be ducted to the rear, as will the subwoofer (shown still covered in plastic).

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20035.jpg

AmEv

05-04-2012, 07:48 PM

So, when are you sending it my way??? :D

ARTbyTROY

05-06-2012, 10:43 PM

@ AmEv... Um, I'm thinking never, besides it's heavy and shipping would be a bitch.

Alum-angle on the bottom of the PSU to mount it and a duct to the rear to provide cool air, I will probably also use some double sided tape on the bottom of the PSU to make sure it stays put as well as rubberize the PSU edge of the duct against vibration.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20036.jpg

Off with the legs! Removing the legs from the subwoofer allows it to sit at nearly the same distance away from the pinball table interior side wall as it sat with legs... without interfering with a couple other things I have planned.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20037.jpg

Below shows the three pieces of Alum-angle that I cut to secure the subwoofer, they will all be lined with felt to prevent vibration before the sub is final installed.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20038.jpg

AmEv

05-07-2012, 12:15 AM

AWWWW... :(
:D

Seriously, though, keep up the good work!

jdbnsn

05-07-2012, 11:52 PM

This is sooo cool Troy!

ARTbyTROY

05-08-2012, 08:17 PM

I measured out where a few holes needed to be cut in the back panel and predrilled pilot holes using an 1/4" bit for plastics, then I run the hole saws first forward to cut the pressboard and then in reverse to cut through the acrylic.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20039.jpg

Below is the back panel with the holes drilled and the hardware that required those holes installed, everything lines up even better than I expected. The blue-green PSU duct will be vinyl dyed black and a black plug for the power cord was added after realizing that the hole I cut was the exact same diameter as the plug I had.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20040.jpg

Next up is a look from the inside with the sub-woofer and PSU installed, since I no longer plan to attach the six outlet surge suppressor to the back panel I will need to figure out another way to secure it... a fair trade for how clean the back looks.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20041.jpg

ARTbyTROY

05-15-2012, 09:02 PM

I decided to change the design of the front panel, so the white, green, yellow and red LED pushbuttons are now out in favor of only using the blue LED jumbo and small pushbuttons. Another two small black SPST momentary pushbuttons will be recess mounted below the plunger to act as the pause and exit to main menu buttons.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20042.jpg

The build will now be themed totally in blue and black, why? Because I got a really cool idea that I couldn't shake about how to make the pinball machine really stand out visually without resorting to print vinyl graphics. Below shows one hundred dollars worth of blue 12v SMD LED strips in lengths from six to forty eight inches and flavors from chaser to flashing that I ordered from a seller in China, they will all be worked into the project.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20044.jpg

I had to test them all to be sure they survived shipping so I screwed ten of them into the Logisys power distribution box. I really like the Logisys unit, it is made for powering video surveillance cameras, but works perfectly for this type of application. Also, I feel that I got more than my moneys worth of SMD LED strips, these bad boys are wicked bright.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20045.jpg

If anyone is curious how the active LED strips look in action I made a video of the six inch chaser SMD LED strips and the twenty-four inch flashing SMD LED strips...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r6u8dAHnwRY

Back to working on the front... below shows the measuring tools, drill bits and hole saws that will be used to fabricate the two ply front panel.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20043.jpg

Here are the front panel pieces almost finished, I used the trusty Dremel flex shaft and a length of Alum-angle as a guide for the ripsaw blade to cut out the extra bits from the speaker holes.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20046.jpg

The front panel with the speakers, buttons and plunger test fit, I still need to cut some mesh and install it over where the speakers are going to sit.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20047.jpg

d_stilgar

05-15-2012, 09:19 PM

Yeah! I love to see this thing going!

AmEv

05-15-2012, 09:44 PM

ARTbyTROY

05-15-2012, 11:43 PM

Wow! Great work!

Love the blue theme!

Are you going to put some plexi in front of the TVs?

I'm nervous about someone seeing it, then thinking "How can I destroy this...?"

'Cause they can't steal it in the night (too freakin' heavy to be a one-man job), so they'd spite you instead.

There will be real glass over the 40" LCD TV playfield.

I had already planned on rigging the whole thing with high explosives (mainly for playing Russian pinball roulette) but after reading your post it looks like I will have to add a few pressure switches to it as well.

Go right ahead and whack it with your crow bar now you unlucky spiteful thieves... KA-BOOOOM bitches!

OvRiDe

05-16-2012, 12:59 AM

I'm nervous about someone seeing it, then thinking "How can I destroy this...?"

'Cause they can't steal it in the night (too freakin' heavy to be a one-man job), so they'd spite you instead.

Huh.. whaaa? Why would you even think that someone would break in to his house and destroy it?!?

I had already planned on rigging the whole thing with high explosives (mainly for playing Russian pinball roulette) but after reading your post it looks like I will have to add a few pressure switches to it as well.

Go right ahead and whack it with your crow bar now you unlucky spiteful thieves... KA-BOOOOM bitches!

Good answer!!

Loving the progress, and looking forward to seeing it in action!

AmEv

05-16-2012, 07:34 PM

Huh.. whaaa? Why would you even think that someone would break in to his house and destroy it?!?

I've known people that are like "Hey, nice (random object), can I have it?" "No." *kick/smash/punch* "Well, neither can you."

ARTbyTROY

05-16-2012, 08:53 PM

I've known people that are like "Hey, nice (random object), can I have it?" "No." *kick/smash/punch* "Well, neither can you."

When I was younger I knew a few douche-bags too, but nowadays I don't worry too much about anyone trying to pull that type of nonsense, mainly because I no longer associate with unstable/lowlife people.

AmEv

05-16-2012, 08:53 PM

^Same here.

Still, I loved your reply.

ARTbyTROY

05-20-2012, 07:14 PM

I got the mesh for the speaker holes cut and test fit, when it comes time for the mesh final install I will secure it in place with Weld-on 16.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20050.jpg

I took the front, table sides and back glass sides to my little brother to sandblast the back of the acrylic panels where the SMD LEDs will be located.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20048.jpg

I designed an old school looking graphic for the project, my brother has a vinyl cutter so while I was there I also had him cut me some decals...

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinVinylNew1.jpg

Weeding vinyl sucks, for those who don't know - weeding is the removal of scrap vinyl that will not be part of the final decal and it is a tedious process. I used clear contact paper over the weeded vinyl so that they can be lifted off the paper backing and installed onto the acrylic. Below are three of the decals I will be using as masks for the vinyl dye part of the project.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20051.jpg

Below shows placement of one of the vinyl decals, it also shows placement of the four 6" SMD chaser LEDs. The plexi-glass where the LEDs sit has a frosted look after sand blasting and should diffuse the blue glow a little when the LEDs are installed behind it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20052.jpg

I needed something to install the 6" chaser LEDs onto so I copied my measurements onto a piece of aluminum flashing, then cut and rivet it onto the front brace piece of Alum-angle.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20053.jpg

The four 6" SMD chaser LEDs all had short bare leads, so I soldered them all together and added longer wires, then I sleeved and heat shrink the whole thing. Now it will only need a single power output from the Logisys power distribution box and even though sleeving was unnecessary because it will likely never be seen it does look nice.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20054.jpg

AmEv

05-20-2012, 07:16 PM

...nowadays I don't worry too much about anyone trying to pull that type of nonsense, mainly because I no longer associate with unstable/lowlife people.

Naw, they just live in YouTube comments :P

ARTbyTROY

05-30-2012, 07:43 PM

I assembled the router table that sat in my shed forever and loaded it with an 1/8" roundover bit in preparation for this next part.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20055.jpg

Wow, what a plastic dust making mess... note to self, next time do it outside. I rounded off the edges of the front and sides, it all feels nice and smooth now.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20056.jpg

I wasn't real happy with the lack of picture adjustment that the USB 16" monitor had and the viewing angle was terrible. Below is the VGA model, it is fully adjustable, VESA mountable and the viewing angle is acceptable.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20057.jpg

The two screens are almost exactly the same size, which is required for the project to turn out correctly.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20058.jpg

Below shows an Antec EarthWatts 750 PSU, a white lazer LED, two sound control modules and four super bright 24 white LED strips. They will be used to power and help light up the replacement parts that are coming from the pinball projects first official sponsor, drum roll please...

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20059.jpg

I am happy to announce that Sapphire (http://www.sapphiretech.com) is on board as an official hardware sponsor for this build, I will be incorporating an illusion that showcases their hardware into the pinball table to thank them for being so awesome.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Sapphire500small.jpg

Below shows most of the 600+ LEDs that will be used in the build all laid out one last time to determine final placement. I decided that the two 44" SMD LED strips and two of the 19" SMD LED strips would be better used to shine from the table bottom onto the floor beneath, and to connect two of the 19" SMD LEDs that go up the sides of the back glass to sound activation.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20060.jpg

ARTbyTROY

06-01-2012, 08:52 PM

I carefully measured and then drilled all of the necessary holes into both side panels, now the Alum-angle frame for the 40" LCD has mounting holes and there is an Alum-angle support piece for the back box. Last but not least I used a hole saw and cut out all four of the flipper button holes, below are a pair of buttons test fit.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20061.jpg

The bottom part of the table is almost ready for paint, next up are the side panels of the back box. Below is an opposite side view of both sides, I installed Alum-angle onto all of the side edges except the front.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20062.jpg

I found a great deal on four 120mm fans, they were seven bucks apiece with free shipping and come with a black fan grill, mounting screws and a fan controller, on top of that they look nice.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20063.jpg

I bought 8GB of DDR3 and a 120GB SSD that is supposed to be whip quick according to everything I've read about it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20064.jpg

I am pleased to announce that AMD is officially on board as a hardware sponsor and want to thank them for supplying my digital pinball project with a sweet quad-core Zambezi processor.

http://www.casemodgod.com/AMDlogosm.jpg

The 36" roll of light diffuser film I ordered arrived, I am going to put it between the acrylic and the LED strips to help spread the light out. The following picture shows the test fire and it gives a good view of how it looks live.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20065.jpg

ARTbyTROY

06-08-2012, 07:40 PM

I drilled a couple holes in the back sides of the alum-angle side braces to allow the wiring from a pair of SMD LED strips to poke through, then I soldered the wires together onto longer wires.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20066.jpg

Below are the finished products all wired and sleeved, both are now ready to be installed.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20067.jpg

Time to build and attach the back box... I used a couple C-clamps to hold the side panels in place and then marked and drilled the attachment holes.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20068.jpg

With the back box attached and the fresh cut top panel in place for a test fit, it is finally starting to look like a pinball machine.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20069.jpg

Here is a look at the attached top panel from behind the machine, below it is a length of alum-angle attached to the black plastic trim piece that will hold the playfield glass in place.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20070.jpg

OvRiDe

06-09-2012, 12:56 AM

I love this mod more and more with each update!

Can't wait to see it all up and running

BruteClaw

06-15-2012, 09:44 PM

This is a sweet looking setup. can't wait to see it done.

d_stilgar

06-16-2012, 02:18 AM

This is too cool. Can't wait for a video of it running.

Will there be acclerometers for tilt?

ARTbyTROY

06-16-2012, 04:38 PM

This is too cool. Can't wait for a video of it running.

Will there be acclerometers for tilt?

I have a Mot-Ion Adapter & Digital Plunger Kit that will allow for tilt and ball english.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20019.jpg

ARTbyTROY

06-16-2012, 07:06 PM

The Sapphire sponsored hardware arrived, the PURE Black 990FX socket AM3+ motherboard is shown below. I have been building computers since the late 90's, so I didn't have to look at this motherboard for very long to know that it's top tier with a switchable dual bios, post code readout and built in power and reset buttons, good stuff.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20071.jpg

Sapphire also sent a pair of Radeon HD 6870 cards... any fears I had about the hardware being too underpowered to run Virtual Pinball, Future Pinball or HyperPin with every bell and whistle enabled are now history.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20072.jpg

Sapphire is awesome and it would be a crime to hide away the killer hardware powering my pinball table, so I am going to work a window into the side with their logo on the outline, I'll also be building a mirrored enclosure inside the table to showcase the hardware within an optical illusion.

http://www.casemodgod.com/SapphireWindowSmall.jpg

The parts needed to create the mirror illusion are shown below, clockwise from top right is a cut down Lian Li motherboard tray, black plastic mesh, white lazer LED, four 12v white LED strips, 12" x 24" sheet of 1/8" first surface mirror, Alum-angle, 3M heavy duty mounting tape, paper Sapphire template, 6" x 12" two-way mirror, 12" x 36" light diffuser film roll.

http://www.casemodgod.com/Pinball%20073.jpg

ARTbyTROY

06-25-2012, 12:55 PM

The motherboard tray was too large, so I measured things out and then used a Dremel to cut off the excess bit. Clamping down a piece of flat aluminum angle protects the surface and makes the cutting easier by allowing the cutting disk to butt against it, which keeps the edge cleaner and straighter.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20008sm.jpg

I needed to find the proper location for the motherboard and window, once that was figured out I taped down the window template.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20043sm.jpg

Below shows placement of the motherboard tray, having hardware in hand let me know that there are a few aspects of the mirror illusion design I still need to work out. They are small details and I will figure it out, but until then there is still work to be done on the back box.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20046sm.jpg

The SMD LED strips that I bought for the sides of the back box were just a bit too long, luckily they can be cut at every third LED (as shown below), so crisis averted.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20012sm.jpg

I installed two SMD LED strips onto the left and right side pieces of aluminum angle, I also rivet on support pieces for the 23" LCD monitor and cut 3 1/2" out of the bottoms of the angle to make room for the speakers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20015sm.jpg

Below is the 23" LCD monitor test fit onto the side support braces, since this monitor isn't VESA mountable it will be held in place with 3M heavy duty mounting tape.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20027sm.jpg

It will also be held in place by an aluminum angle support brace on the bottom, the brace sits just beneath the edge mounted monitor control buttons, so they are all still fully accessible.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20032sm.jpg

The 16" LCD monitor is VESA compatible, but I almost wish it weren't because 3M mounting tape would have been a lot easier than the home brewed VESA rigging I built for it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20023sm.jpg

This next picture shows how my Franken-VESA mount attaches to the back box, the four LCD attachment points are actually recycled bits from the 40" HDTV I tore down earlier.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20017sm.jpg

Both monitors are shown test mounted below, since the front of the back box has a tapered edge the important and difficult thing is keeping everything lined up straight and even to the front edge.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20040sm.jpg

To mount the speakers I cut a piece of aluminum angle slightly smaller than the height of the speaker and then cut a piece of 1/4" acrylic the same length as the alum-angle but slightly wider than the speaker and used two screws to hold it together, it is mounted onto the back box side aluminum angle with four rivets.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20048sm.jpg

I will either use 3M mounting tape or Weld-on 16 to attach the speakers to the acrylic mounts I made. By cutting the bases off of the speakers I can get more left/right, up/down movement to better center them, unmodified the speakers sit tight to the 16" LCD monitor and level to the front edge as shown below.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBoxClose%20068sm.jpg

ARTbyTROY

06-27-2012, 07:51 PM

I cut a piece of MDF pressboard to fit the back side of the back box, then I measured out placement for two 120mm fans near the top of the panel.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20002x.jpg

I used a dtremel to cut the holes and then cleaned up the edges with a dremel sanding bit, below shows a fan test fit and the fan controller that still needs modification.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20006x.jpg

I drilled an 1/4" hole in the pressboard under each of the 120mm fan holes to accommodate the fan control knob posts, the following picture shows the new improved mounting method.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinFanControl%20004x.jpg

Time to get back working on the Sapphire illusion, the first thing I did was make a mock up to get a better idea of how things will work. I made a design in Sketchup, bought a piece of foam backboard, then measured, cut out and taped together the four panels.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20011x.jpg

Next the panels are test fit to the motherboard, which looks sweet...

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinMoboTest%20004x.jpg

Then the panels get test fit inside the pinball table, which fits sweet...

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20014x.jpg

And the panels get test fit to make sure the position of the window decal template is correct, it lines up sweet...

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20017x.jpg

I took my Sapphire window design to Agnew Graphics, a local sign company, the price was reasonable and they did a good job cutting my design fast... and they even gave me a second (mulligan) decal free.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20022x.jpg

AMD came through as well, the sponsored FX4170 processor arrived via FedEx today and it came housed in a sweet little green case, so big thanks go out to them.

http://www.casemodgod.com/PinBackBack%20032x.jpg

Fuganater

06-28-2012, 01:56 AM

Looking great dude. Gratz on the sponsor gear!

ARTbyTROY

06-30-2012, 12:00 AM

The foam board illusion section mock up worked well, now it's time to lay out measurements onto the two-way and first-surface mirrors and prep them for cutting.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20003.jpg

I scored and snapped the mirrors and then couldn't resist setting it up around the motherboard to see how cool it looked, and also to get an idea of what to do next.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20012.jpg

I used the back piece of motherboard tray and the motherboard back plate as a template and then cut the sections of mirror out using a ripsaw blade.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20022.jpg

I had to modify the mounting bracket for both video cards to make them fit right against the mirror panel, a Dremel and a metal file made short work of it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20036.jpg

The next picture shows the illusion section test fit inside the pinball table, everything looks good from this angle.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20040.jpg

And it looks good from this side too, it's almost ready for final assembly and installation.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionMirrors%20038.jpg

Below shows the finished modified motherboard tray, I rivet a couple pieces of aluminum-angle onto the top of the tray to hold the back mirror panel in place and I rivet a few more pieces of alum-angle around the side edges as mounting points.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboFinal%20008.jpg

Next up are the mirror panels and pieces of aluminum-angle that make up the illusion section, I'm waiting to make two more cutouts into the mirror panel on the right before they can be final installed onto the motherboard tray.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboFinal%20017.jpg

Another great company has officially come onboard as a project sponsor, thanks go out to Performance-PCs (http://www.performance-pcs.com) for supplying my pinball project with a kick-ass Scythe Samurai-ZZ CPU cooler.

http://www.casemodgod.com/performancepcs.jpg (http://www.performance-pcs.com)

ARTbyTROY

06-30-2012, 06:40 PM

I removed the TV speakers from their plastic mounting assemblies and then devised a fairly simple way to mount them into the front of the pinball machine.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSpeakerz%20007.jpg

Below shows the aluminum angle and pop rivet solution to mounting the speakers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSpeakerz%20010.jpg

Here's a look from inside the table at the back of both speakers being test fit.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSpeakerz%20031.jpg

The bottom edge of the speaker has an angled piece of plastic that should help to direct the sound upward toward the player. The black plastic mesh covers I made will be fit over the speakers during final assembly.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSpeakerz%20021.jpg

ARTbyTROY

07-01-2012, 07:43 PM

I rewired to lengthen and then sleeved the wiring to the speakers to give them a more finished look, even though it will never really be seen.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20005.jpg

I removed the lower back panel and drilled three holes into it to accommodate the rocker switches that will control most of the lighting, while it was off I spray painted it black.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20033.jpg

Below is a close up of the rocker switches...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20050.jpg

I put the back box face down and cleaned the back pieces of aluminum angle with alcohol and a paper towel, then I cut, positioned and stuck down some heavy duty Velcro.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20012.jpg

I painted the back panel to the back box black, I also installed two 120mm fans and then lined up and stuck the panel down onto the Velcro.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoreBlackBackFan%20002.jpg

Here is a view from the inside of both 120mm fans and fan controllers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20015.jpg

Close up shot of the freshly installed fans...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBlackPainted%20041.jpg

TheGreatSatan

07-01-2012, 09:32 PM

^Pretty

ARTbyTROY

07-10-2012, 11:35 PM

^Pretty
Thanks man.

The Performance-PCs sponsored Scythe Samurai-ZZ CPU cooler arrived and I waste no time installing it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionLighting%20003.jpg

Here is a shot of the CPU cooler in its new home inside the illusion... the mirrors work great, CPU coolers appear to go on as far as you can see.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionLighting%20007.jpg

Another shot, this time looking over the CPU cooler and into the illusion.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionLighting%20008.jpg

The only way the two-way mirror illusion will work is if the lighting inside is brighter than the ambient light outside, that said I cut some channel aluminum-angle the same length as the LED strips to make a lighting array.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinIllusionLighting%20021.jpg

I attached the six pieces of channel aluminum-angle to a length of corner angle with rivets and installed the light strips into the channels, four white and two blue super bright LED strips.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSapphireLightsFinal%20006.jpg

Below is the finished lighting array, the wiring will receive the sleeve treatment when they are final installed.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinSapphireLightsFinal%20016.jpg

Here is how it looks on the illusion section, I will be cutting the side rail to allow more light onto the motherboard. Small problem though, the lighting makes the illusion section just a bit too much taller and it sits directly below where one of the circuit boards from the TV is located.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinTVModified%20013.jpg

I would almost swear that this Sceptre TV was made to be modified because moving stuff around on it is super easy. Below shows the new power inlet and black power circuit board placement, well out of the way now.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinTVModified%20008.jpg

Since everything else is basically done it's time to move on to masking for paint, well not really paint, it's actually automotive vinyl color. I masked off a 3/8" and a 1/4" strip over the SMD LEDs that run up sides of the back box.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskVinylTape%20017.jpg

Here is the front of the machine also prepped for paint...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskVinylTape%20004.jpg

This next picture shows the installation of the side vinyl masks, the two SMD LED strip locations were also masked off with 3/8" tape.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskVinylTape%20002.jpg

Here's a look at the installed vinyl mask and the SMD location masking, vinyl color comes next and that means it's not far now.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskVinylTape%20012.jpg

Fuganater

07-11-2012, 02:13 AM

I gotta see all those LEDs lit up!

ARTbyTROY

07-13-2012, 03:17 PM

I gotta see all those LEDs lit up!

Soon, real soon.

ARTbyTROY

07-14-2012, 06:49 PM

Here is the entire thing completely disassembled, the panels were cleaned up and all the masked edges were tamped, so it's ready to spray.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskedOff%20003.jpg

Below shows what the acrylic panels look like after the first coat of black vinyl color.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMaskedOff%20006.jpg

Three cans later and the front side of each panel was sufficiently black. The backs of each panel were masked and then sprayed with blue vinyl color behind the vinyl decals.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20005.jpg

Here it is with the all the masking removed, the shiny smooth blue letters look killer against the finely textured black surface.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20013.jpg

Sapphire rocks and so does their window outline, vinyl sign material makes a great mask when used with automotive vinyl color, I didn't have color seep under the mask anywhere.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20023.jpg

Time to install the Sapphire decal I had made, I lined it up and taped it along the top edge, then removed the backing paper and used the blue card to smooth it down.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20028.jpg

It looks good, but I still have a little more to do on the back sides of the panels before they can be installed.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20042.jpg

I cut the roll of light diffusing film into strips and black electrical taped them onto the inside panels over the SMD LED strips location, then I brushed all of the taped edges with liquid electrical tape to make sure they stay put. A piece of light diffusing film was also cut to fit over the Sapphire "S", it will also be getting some glow treatment.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20056.jpg

Both side panels are finished and ready for installation... I still can't believe how nice they turned out.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20071.jpg

It took a lot of patience and cans of vinyl color to get all the panels looking right, but at $9 a can I wasn't so worried about the back, if it looks a little splotchy it's because it is. I vinyl colored the duct to the PSU black and screwed it onto the now ready for install back panel.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20079.jpg

Front panel unmasked and ready to install.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20075.jpg

I am putting the back box together first, get those pieces together and out of the way so I can focus on the table part of the build... not far now.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinVinylColored%20051.jpg

Fuganater

07-15-2012, 02:37 AM

The paint came out nice!

msmrx57

07-15-2012, 10:48 AM

This thing is friggin AWESOME!!!! :bowdown: The paint looks killer! :up:
What product did you use for the black out of curiosity?

ARTbyTROY

07-15-2012, 11:29 AM

This thing is friggin AWESOME!!!! :bowdown: The paint looks killer! :up:
What product did you use for the black out of curiosity?

Thanks, I used black Dupli-Color vinyl paint, Plast-Kote also makes a nice vinyl color.

ARTbyTROY

07-21-2012, 04:14 PM

The back box is assembled, now to put the side panels onto the table starting with the back. I also bought a seven outlet surge protector for the inside of the cabinet to replace of the six outlet adapter type I had originally planned to use.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20002.jpg

Below shows where the surge protector will be installed, I will use the heavy duty double stick tape to hold it in place. The biggest selling point for this surge bar vs. what I was going to use... it has a 10 foot cord.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20008.jpg

I installed both of the side panels and then finished with the front. Once it was all together I couldn't resist plugging it in to check out the lighting.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20018.jpg

Here is a look at the front, it looks good and I had no idea at this point, but I had the legs installed and started putting the front together when I realized there was a problem.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20048.jpg

The plunger is too long and sits too high, as such it is directly in the way of the TV, the plunger will need to be relocated lower on the panel... below is a freshly cut new front panel.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinNewFrontArrgggh%20014.jpg

I used four screws and large washers to hold the old front panel securely on top of the new one, it is now just a nicely painted hole saw template.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinNewFrontArrgggh%20017.jpg

Fast forward and the new panel is cut, masked off and ready for vinyl color.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinNewFrontArrgggh%20030.jpg

I took the redo as an opportunity to fix a few things I wasn't happy with, the top panel in the picture below is now scrap and is only shown for comparison. I cleaned up the plunger hole and put the buttons below the plunger back into two separate holes, I also made the left side lower button hole smaller and fixed the edges of the speaker holes.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinNewFrontDone%20001.jpg

Next up are the legs, I could have just bolt them on the way they were but I want to make sure that the legs won't scratch up my machine over time. Below shows what I came up with...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20015.jpg

Here are the four table legs, all felt up and ready to go.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssembly%20054.jpg

Mounting the legs was no easy feat, dipping the bolt threads in petroleum jelly finally helped them go in easier. With all four legs installed it is actually starting to look like something...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinNewFrontDone%20015.jpg

d_stilgar

07-21-2012, 04:42 PM

I can't wait for videos of this thing working. It's going to be awesome.

TLHarrell

07-21-2012, 04:47 PM

This is looking awesome. Can't wait to see it finished. Nice work.

ARTbyTROY

07-22-2012, 08:29 PM

I bought a few more parts for the pinball machine, two 6" USB extension cables five blue and five black SPST NO buttons, a 1.5" square blue LED pushbutton, a twenty LED automotive dome light, a metal plunger back plate and four rubber feet.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinEarlyAssembly%20006.jpg

I rivet together a couple pieces of aluminum angle and attached the 20 LED dome light to it at the level of the side Sapphire logo, below it is the acrylic mount I made for the Pinball Wizard PCB.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinEarlyAssembly%20026.jpg

I had to modify the metal plunger back plate and a few pieces of acrylic to mount the plunger. I also installed the side buttons and the front speakers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinEarlyAssembly%20007.jpg

Below is a shot of the front, I installed SMD LED strips to the underside edge of the table all the way around.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinEarlyAssembly2%20010.jpg

Here is a 3/4 view, ignore the wiring hanging out the bottom, it will all be neatened up closer to the finish.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinEarlyAssembly2%20013.jpg

Next up, another LED test video...

http://youtu.be/GG1IDoAcJRQ

ARTbyTROY

07-25-2012, 11:13 AM

I didn't like that when standing and looking at the machine the LED strips I installed on the table underside were visible, moving the strips back an inch did the trick.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinPartialPimpin%20017.jpg

In a darkened room the blue glow under the machine is pretty intense...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinPartialPimpin%20041.jpg

The front blue LED button and LED jumbo push button are wired to power.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinPartialPimpin%20002.jpg

Fuganater

07-26-2012, 01:25 AM

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo

ARTbyTROY

08-03-2012, 03:40 PM

The black tubular thing below the blue square push button is an arcade push button wrench, it only cost a couple bucks and for getting buttons fit tight it's worth every penny.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinButtonWiring%20005.jpg

In the following picture I have all of my buttons and plunger wired to the Pinball Wizard/Mot-Ion controller, I also installed four push buttons into the bottom of the machine and wired up the square blue push button. Two 120mm fans were installed in front of the freshly meshed bottom vent/access hole

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinButtonWiring%20010.jpg

The TV controls were mounted on the inside edge of the front access/vent hole, beside the TV hand controls sits the IR remote receiver/power LED PCB.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinButtonWiring%20027.jpg

Here is a bottom up shot of the TV controls and remote control PCB.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinButtonWiring%20030.jpg

I cut a length of adhesive backed felt to line the back brace where the 16" monitor face will rest, the area under the sub woofer and any piece of aluminum angle that makes contact with the sub woofer were also lined with felt to prevent unwanted vibration.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinButtonWiring%20024.jpg

The sub woofer and power supply are installed...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20004.jpg

Motherboard, video cards and lighting are wired and installed. There are three separate lighting elements that make up the Sapphire window effect, two are shown below and one still has to be wired, each has it's own on/off switch on the back of the machine.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20039.jpg

Here is a nice shot of the window...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20046.jpg

Here's why two-way mirror was used, the video cards reflection in the picture below appears to go on forever.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20022.jpg

I turned on all of the blue SMD LED strips to make sure they would not interfere with or over power the window.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20064.jpg

The blue LED strips and window lighting work really well together...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20053.jpg

It's starting to fill up with hardware, other than the 40" TV the table part is fully assembled and ready for some wire management.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinMoboInstall%20071.jpg

Stonerboy779

08-03-2012, 04:01 PM

The pic of the video card messed with my head it is so sweet.

TLHarrell

08-03-2012, 09:31 PM

ARTbyTROY

08-05-2012, 03:40 PM

The pic of the video card messed with my head it is so sweet.

Thanks, it is really trippy to look at in person.

ARTbyTROY

08-05-2012, 03:46 PM

Looks like you are mounting the 40" monitor right at the top surface? If I had space, I'd mount it inset like the playfield on a regular machine and put the whole thing under glass.

Awesome build though. Can't wait to see more. Totally drool-worthy piece of hardware.

I am mounting the 40" monitor up almost to the top edge, but there will also be a nice thick piece of glass over it. I already have two lengths of black plastic lock down for use on actual pinball machine glass... I just haven't gotten that far yet.

I almost forgot to show that the Sapphire window is a mirror when the backlighting is off...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxInstalled%20027.jpg

I mounted the 16" monitor into the back box and laid down some 3M screw strong tape along the top and side edges to hold the 23" LCD in place.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxInstalled%20006.jpg

The back box is installed but the side LED lighting still needs to be wired, here is the view from the back...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxInstalled%20030.jpg

With the back box attached it looks like a pinball machine, better yet it feels really solid. The two wires dangling from the front are USB extension cables that will be tucked away inside when it's finished.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxInstalled%20036.jpg

The back box SMD LED strips are wired.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxLit%20001.jpg

Here is another LED video, this one shows all three of the Sapphire lighting effects, the back box lights and the sound activation module that controls the blue LED light strips in the mirror illusion as well as half of the back box LED lighting.

http://youtu.be/c-8FXe7-seI

Here is a shot of the whole thing all lit up...

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxLit%20014.jpg

OvRiDe

08-06-2012, 05:00 PM

Its really coming together! Looks great Troy. Looking forward to seeing it all in action.

AmEv

08-06-2012, 05:34 PM

Still looking even better every time I come here!

The main concern I had for putting the protective glass in was for the little ones from hitting the screen.

But you seem to have taken care of that.

ARTbyTROY

08-11-2012, 11:51 AM

The main concern I had for putting the protective glass in was for the little ones from hitting the screen.

But you seem to have taken care of that.

I hadn't thought of little ones since mine are all grown, I had almost forgotten how kids can/will mess up nice things... my thinking was more to keep the cat footprints and hair off of the screen.

msmrx57

08-11-2012, 03:54 PM

I hadn't thought of little ones since mine are all grown, I had almost forgotten how kids can/will mess up nice things... my thinking was more to keep the cat footprints and hair off of the screen.

Cats, kids both capable of causing problems but you love them anyway. :whistler:

Looking absolutely incredible!!! :up:

ARTbyTROY

08-11-2012, 08:20 PM

The cables inside the pinball machine are out of control, a good part of the mess is from power cables. I ordered three one footers to cut down on some of it, now the 16" monitor, Antec PSU and the power brick for the LED lighting all have short power cables.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20006.jpg

I attached two strips of 3M screw strong tape to the backs of the speakers, this stuff is great and it really helps move fabrication along.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20008.jpg

Here is a shot of the back box with everything installed, I still need to make a back painted acrylic cover piece for the front of the back box.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20018.jpg

Every pinball machine has a lockdown bar to hold the playfield glass down, below is what I came up with for the lockdown bar on my machine. I measured, cut and drilled a piece of acrylic including a button hole, I also cut to length a piece of black plastic lockdown channel and aluminum angle and then bolt everything together.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20047.jpg

Assembled and installed for a test fit and it looks pretty snazzy, now it just needs some black vinyl paint.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20032.jpg

I plan to attach the acrylic lockdown using auto panel fasteners, my reasoning is if I ever need to remove the playfield glass I can simply open the access door in the bottom of the machine and pop up the lockdown panel with no tools required.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20041.jpg

Here is the finished lockdown panel painted and installed, the square blue button is wired for pausing the game, the camera flash/angle makes the square button look kind of washed out when it is actually the exact same color as the other two blue buttons.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinAssemblyContinues%20062.jpg

ARTbyTROY

08-12-2012, 10:18 PM

Time to make the back glass, below is a sheet of clear acrylic that I copied measurements onto and then double stick taped some aluminum angle onto it in preparation for scoring and snapping.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxFrontGlass%20005.jpg

Here it is test fit, it was too tight so I had to sand down the edges a little to make it fit right.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxFrontGlass%20009.jpg

I removed the paper backing and set it in place, using a black Sharpie I marked the corners of both screens with a dot and measured/marked an X through the centers the centers of both speakers.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxFrontGlass%20012.jpg

I put the back glass front side down on the table and using clear contact paper, a ruler and a razor blade cut masks for both monitors, wide masking tape was placed on the backside of the speaker cut-outs in prep for some 2 1/2" hole saw action.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxFrontGlass%20017.jpg

The back glass was then back painted with Plasti Kote vinyl paint and test fit again, I have a couple more things to do to the back glass before it can be final installed, but it's not far now.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinBackBoxFrontGlass%20018.jpg

Fuganater

08-13-2012, 02:42 AM

Having that face panel on the top part looks way better.

ARTbyTROY

08-18-2012, 05:58 PM

Having that face panel on the top part looks way better.

Thanks, but I did a couple more things to the back glass to make it better...

Below is a side edge view of the back glass panel, it is a friggin' dust magnet and the worst part is that no matter how much I dust it off it keeps coming back... I have been down this road before though and know exactly how to handle it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinFixedBackGlass%20006.jpg

Time to cut out for the LCD screen faces, in the next picture I taped thin lines to the exact edges of each screen in preparation for cutting.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinFixedBackGlass%20013.jpg

I used my Dremel and a ripsaw blade to make the cut outs for both screens, then the edges were sanded and it was sprayed with black vinyl paint on both sides. I cut the top edge of the back glass panel a hair short by mistake, so I used a length of black automotive door edge trim to fix it.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinFixedBackGlass%20030.jpg

My back glass is now more of a trim panel, but I don't mind because it will make cleaning the LCD monitor screens a lot easier, and with the acrylic removed the monitors won't have as much reflective glare.

http://www.casemodgod.com/xPinFixedBackGlass%20034.jpg