First my complements on your tackling a cocktail pin. These are a sorely neglected branch of the pinball tree. I'm excited to see this project as I'm beginning work on one myself. I'll be following your build closely for ideas and identifying pitfalls.

Putting yours up on legs answers one of my criticism of the form which is they don't normally nudge. Since I need to keep mine low I'm struggling to think of some way to float it on a suspension.

Thank you for pointing out the limitation of cabinet depth. I'll have to keep that in mind.

Regarding cutting your playfield. If you have not already figured out these tips, I have a couple. One way to work around losing steps causing inaccurate x and y, is by cutting the playfield incrementally (sling shot holes, pop bumper holes, roll over slots, outside edge, etc). Having your workflow incorporate a homing step (reestablish 0,0) at that start of each category will keep the errors from accumulating. That way if the machine loses a few steps, the errors do not add up with each cut. As I think you identified, shallow cuts improve accuracy. I never cut more than 2.5mm myself.

On the metal bending, your ball guides look great. I had a lot of trouble getting my mounting tabs to bend exactly where I wanted them. My work around was to weaken the metal where I want the bend to land. I did this by drafting a tiny notch at the "ankle" of the foot. I use a 1mm radius half circle on either side of the bend point. Then, when I go to bend the metal, it naturally wants to fold there. This allows me to get a 90 degree bend using merely a vice on the ball guide and a few taps with a small hammer on the foot.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your development.

Another way to minimize the infill geometry artifact is to print your plastics upside down with approximately four perimeters, and no volume other than the perimeter itself. If you get your model, right, it’s like an injection molded piece that you then flip over and attach to the playfield.

Actually, I think the rails look pretty good. On my CNC I always cut my parts from larger stock with holding tabs. I screw or clamp the edges of the waste and then don’t worry about it coming loose. It’s wasteful of wood, I know. But it works for me.

Have you looked into a boot and dust collection system? The only drawback is static electricity which can zap your controller or worst yet ignite the dust. So you have to ground it!

Indeed. Upvote that!
Nice solution on the trough!

You might check out some of the dust shoes on thingiverse. I use a printed one to good effect.

Nice. I’m looking forward to seeing the other side.

I like this very much and might use it in my next design. Let me see if I understand. The PCB is the hind most board in the support stack for the standup? How does the light from the LEDs get through the steel support that hold the target? Did you have to drill holes in the steel for the LEDs to shine through? Next revision, how would you improve the connectors, make the board long so it hangs below the leaf connection points?

Thanks for posting your RGB solution. When you have it playing, I'll be interested on how well they hold onto their mounts without a rivet.

Very cool! Is there any nudging the game to help sink the skill shot?

Thanks for the great post. I really like those drop targets. Being able to do them with round holes is very elegant. They could be made with transparent plastic and lit as their own inserts.

I've read you can bend PVC and other tubings by preheating it and filling it with hot sand. The sand keeps it from crimping.

Great stuff. Thank you for discussing your thought process.

Regarding your overpowered slings, do you have granular control over pulse duration? If so, how long are you pulsing them for?

Neat. Thanks for explaining your reasoning. I'm always learning something or gaining a new perspective in homebrew posts.