This web site documents my journey through building a high-end arcade pedestal, being a total noob in the process. My end goal is to create this beauty in real life:
Posts
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Routing T-Molding Slots - Jul 22, 2023T-molding is a rounded plastic edging that can be run along the outside edges of wood boards. The molding provides a smooth cap for an otherwise rough wooden edge, and is used in nearly all arcade cabinets. T-molding has a fin that projects from the rounded cap and must be...
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Designing Vinyl Graphics - Jun 13, 2023The arcade pedestal needs some artwork designed that will serve a couple purposes. First, artwork for the control panel specifically will give detail about the controls that are available. Second, artwork for both the control panel and cabinet should make a visual impact by having a common design and harnessing...
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CNC Cutting - May 27, 2023Now it is time to gather up all the wood boards and the acrylic sheet to take the CNC vendor for cutting. The CNC machine will make sure that all our cuts for the button, joystick, and other device holes were exact. In the previous post, we cut the MDO...
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Preparing Wood for a CNC Vendor - May 12, 2023The arcade pedestal is primarily made of wood boards. Since a number of these wood boards have very specific sizes that must be exact, have rounded corners, and/or have cutouts or routings for electrical components, use of a CNC machine vendor is my only option for cutting the intricate boards...
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Designing the Pedestal - May 08, 2023The control panel surface is a large 4’ x 2’ area and needs a box frame to house all of the controls and wires. A large cabinet needs to be constructed underneath the control panel box to hold the PC and provide storage for accessories like light guns. The pedestal...
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Designing the Control Panel - May 06, 2023Designing a control panel involves doing product research and selecting the controls to be included, making sure your control panel wood board has enough surface area to support the controls, and then using a vector design application to plot the overall layout. The previous post examined several possible joystick and...
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Planning a Joystick/Button Layout - Jan 04, 2023One of the first things you should do when starting an arcade control panel design is to determine the layout of your joysticks and buttons for each player. When you look at example control panels on the web, you’ll see all kinds of button counts and configurations. The important thing...
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Inspiration and Overall Design - Oct 16, 2022I’m a software developer and have always loved video games. I have fond memories of visiting arcades as a child and have owned a number of console gaming systems. While I appreciate the simplicity of classic retro games, I also love more modern PC and console games such as those...