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Anyone interested in working together on completely homebrew pinball machine(s)? I have a great shop available to work in. The idea is to design and build a single machine design and write the program with the same rule sets but customize the look of the machines for each person involved.
What I can offer...
Cabinet building and cnc router
Silkscreening
Vinyl Printing
Laser Cutting
Water Jetting
Welding
Full automotive paint booth
Molding and casting
3D modeling and printing
Oh.... Looked at your location and figured it out. "Wish I Were Closer"
LOL. ugh. I can't believe that no one out here is interested in making a scratch build pinball machine.
I work for a film/television prop shop. I am allowed to work in the shop on the weekends. Makes things very easy.
Location is Sunland 91040...
I don't think this would be an every weekend type thing. Seems like a lot of the planning can be done via email and phone. Of course the build would be done on site and if there are 4 people involved, I'd like to build all 4 simultaneously until we get to the wiring stage.
I used to program Pascal, basic, visual basic, ladder logic, etc. back when I was much younger. I'm looking into Python and Pyprocgame right now to see how much different the programming is.
I'm leaning toward Mission Pinball Framework currently. Seems much simpler to get things going and seems like an ample platform.
I don't think you have to be local to work on this. I'm pretty sure that anyone who is involved in this would communicate primarily via email and cell. I think we a trip down here on occasion wouldn't be the end of the world but it is a drive for sure. Or, I'll pick you up from the airport.
Sounds like we might have a few people interested. I'm hoping that we can get this off the ground. This is a project that I've always wanted to do. Looking forward to seeing something come together.
Does anyone know when FAST controllers will be available? They are back ordered. Same with P-ROC
LOL. Wasn't there a hard bodies pin already?
I think that the plan is, for this to really work out for everyone, that we will try to agree on hardware elements, targets, ramps, etc. in the game design and allow everyone to "theme" their own. I have a theme that I would like to do but I'm sure EVERYONE has a specific theme they'd like in the end.
I don't mind working on cabinets, playfields and programming for others. I just want everyone involved to be willing to jump in and help each other out. It's not important that everyone gets their machines done at the same time.
Also, I'm not bothered by distance. Like I said, I think most of the communication will be via email and cell. Once a white board is somewhat proven, I can concentrate on things. I can run the playfields here, ship them out and let you guys apply graphics and hardware. Cabinets can be CNC'd and shipped flat to everyone as well.
I appreciate the heads up. I assume that most will get tired from "slow" progress. Two or three will probably stick with it out of ten.
I project manage. That's basically what I do here. I would probably approach this the way I do with any other project of it's size. I will outline milestones (individual element deadlines). That's usually the best way to approach multi-faceted projects like this.
Oh cool. Yeah. I saw a video of this working a while ago. The music is great. Multi-ball lock design is awesome also.
That's exactly the point. 99.99999% of the people who wish to do this have never built one. If I had built one myself, I would not be approaching it this way.
LOL. I'm not a fan of building by committee but I'm hoping that people vs. person will help with troubleshooting before it happens.
My brain is still functioning so I'm confident that I will come up with something. It just seems a shame to build a one-off machine if you have others who might be interested as well.
Either way, with the P-ROC, FAST and Mission Pinball Framework available. I feel very confident that I will be able to complete this project.
This is my basic starting point. Like I said, I'm "borrowing from a few games that I love. Targets will change but my favorite shots will not. The purple lines are my favorite shots. Center shots are obvious so I didn't bother to draw those in yet.
I'm no expert. That's for sure.
I have to examine the gap between the flippers. I think they are in the too close. I seem to remember Mr. Gomez talking about a specific measurement that he likes to use in his designs.
If you want to get in on this, pm me so I can keep track of who really wants to and who is just interested. I've gotten a bunch of pms.
To be clear, you do NOT have to bring anything to the table other than your interest in the project and the purchase of raw materials when the time comes. For the most part, I will probably be able to get material costs way down aside from actual pinball parts.
I believe that I can, at the very LEAST, fumble through this whole project with my current level of knowledge and ability to learn. IF you are a programmer and I do not need to learn to program using MPF or Pyprocgame... even better. I could concentrate my time on building, modeling and engineering.
I'm going to try to lock it down to an even 6 people in the group to keep the chaos down to a minimum. I'd love to have a concept meeting via phone, in person or combination in about two weeks. I intend on having a first pass playfield laid out by Halloween. I'm going to setup a facebook page called "Pinhead Homebrew" to help with communication within the group.
I should have matching shirts and underwear printed by the end of October for the group.... kidding.
Quoted from sd_tom:http://pinballmakers.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Some of the standard dimensions are on a diagram in the file section
I love that site.
Quoted from Zdoor:I'd be interested but have limited time for a while
Limited time is fine. Everybody works and has real life. I'm sure some will be playing catch up constantly. It's ok and totally fine.
We will have a 3D modeler to work with us on ramps and the layout. We will be able to utilize the 3D printers at the shop. I will cover the costs of materials.
Ok. So I've been working on the programming end of it since it is the most unknown portion of this project for me. I figured that I should at least get my feet wet to see what I'm getting myself into.
That's great work. You are way further along. Ive made contact with a couple guys locally who are interested in the project. I'm getting a couple real world pieces together to have things to talk about.
I'm also making progress on the programming end as well as the design end. Unfortunately, I'm having to learn to model as well as program and design but it's all in good fun.
I'm going to 3d print this piece. I'm still learning to 3d model things so this basic shape and size will have to do for my testing.
Hi Swinks. I'm using it as reference initially but I'm planning on getting the others together soon and discussing the real layout. This is all very much preliminary at this point. It's basically my presentation to the others to see what they think and to see what ideas they have.
In the end, I was thinking that this center piece to the game would have 4 positions for balls for a multi-ball mode. I'd like to use either the Fast products for the servo controls or P-Roc rather than build something inferior.
I'm planning on having those involved in this project up to the shop to meet in person. Come to find out... I'm the outsider. Hah. They all know each other. I'm cnc'ing and 3d printing parts this week to have discussion pieces for when people show up. I'm trying to develop a list of items for us to discuss and get nailed down so we can proceed.
I don't speak for the others but my personal intent in this project is to create a machine that could pass as a late 90's pinball machine manufactured by Williams, Bally or Stern. Of course, hopefully, with some twists that have not been done before.
My CNC'd playfield for discussion came out great. I'm very happy with the quality of my work. 
Oh. BTW. Has anyone used one of these wire markers before? I used to be and electrican/PLC programmer when I was a kid. I used to design the electrical, wiring diagrams, program and even wire the machines back then. I'm planning on using wire markers to make things easy on this prototype machine.
I just ordered this printer. Has anyone used. Had good or bad results? I had a Brady marker when I was a kid but that machine was a couple thousand dollars.
Yeah. I'm going to manually add the flippers. I didn't exactly know how big the holes should be and what distance I wanted to use yet. I have a laser cutter and will make an overlay template to position the holes once I figure that out.
Finally got a chance to meet with most everyone involved and started laying out the play field based on feedback from everyone.
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Quoted from vec-tor:The 3x4=12 rule, 4x3=12. On a basic pinball layout, the most satisfying layout is a game
- that has followed this rule. Once you understand it, then you can break it.
What is that rule?
Thanks vec-tor! I appreciate it. I'm not sure how this will layout in the grand scheme of things yet. We're still working on specific shots we want. I do appreciate the input though. I'm going to try to keep that in mind when we are setting up the shots this weekend. I'll have more info and pictures then. Right now, we are looking like we have 3+2+2+3=10 but I'm not 100% sure at this point.
We had ramps in the design but now have removed some of them so it's very up in the air at the moment.
I can possibly see getting 11 total targets not including any upper roll-overs or anything like that but I think 11 is really pushing it on this playfield.
Well, we'll continue to do our best to make what, will hopefully, be a fun pinball machine that could be mistakable for a machine straight off the production line in the late 90's. I hope. 
I cut the electrical back panel for the back box at lunch today. I'm going to start mounting components and wiring them up. I'm going to use standard molex connectors for everything between the back panel and the cabinet body. Originally, I was going to keep everything local but have decided to add two linear power supplies into the head to power the PC, usb ports, Fast Pinball Nano, etc. The switching power supplies will be located in the cabinet body to power the solenoids, lights, magnets, etc.
Damn. I just found out that my wire is just shipping today. I won't get it until this coming Tuesday.
There are five of us currently involved in this TLS pinball machine. We're going to meet on Saturday morning to go over shots, ramps, etc.
It's nice to get input from other real players who've been immersed in pinball for years. I'm relatively a new comer.
Getting there! We're meeting on Saturday to discuss shots and ramps. I should make some VERY fast progress once we all get that stuff locked down.
Hopefully this weekend or next week. Actually excited to see these guys and get some things nailed down. We have the simple version of the playfield almost complete and will have the components mounted tomorrow. Hoping to have thing flipping on Saturday.
We had a great meeting. We came up with a great first layout.
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Someone messaged me asking "why are you going so nuts with the panel?".
LOL. Well, it's not really nuts. I'm trying to make this simple for myself. Drilling and tapping some holes and the added cost of terminal blocks and such is well worth it when I have to hunt down problems. The cleaner things are and the better labeled, the easier it will be for anyone. IMHO
The good thing about the industrial controls approach is that troubleshooting is much easier. Everything is labeled. The wire tracks hide the wires but allow you to pull out a wire that needs attention. I, of course, do not think this should be how a production machine should be made but for a one-off, or in our case, a four off, this will work great.
Only got a little footage of the ramps being printed. All of these should assemble into a multicolored left ramp.
On these lower end printers, they flat sections only take about 3 to 5 hours. The ramp up and down sections take about 12 hours or so. I also have the right side ramp printing right now all in one piece. That's about 22 hours. It should be done by morning.
LOL. I mean lower-end, not in a bad way. If I were to buy one myself, it would be a high-end printer. Lower-end refers to the array of printers that we have at work.
Someone asked me how I'd make the head components disconnect from the cabinet components.... My plan is to run my wiring off the terminal blocks at the bottom of the main panel to multiple circular connectors. This will allow for an easy disconnect. For the network cables, I built a box to easily connect and disconnect the two cables. AC power will be on it's own connector along with the DC power (12/5vdc). 48volt power supply will be located in the main cabinet body.
Total wire count from head to cabinet (SO FAR):
CONNECTOR #1:
1 - 120 VAC
2 - Neutral
3 - GND
CONNECTOR #2:
1 - RGB CH1 DIGITAL OUT
2 - RGB CH2 DIGITAL OUT
3 - RGB CH3 DIGITAL OUT
4 - 5VDC
5 - 5VDC
6 - 0VDC
7 - 0VDC
CABLES:
9 - NETWORK CABLE OUT
10 - NETWORK CABLE IN
We're trying. All the guys involved have been great about meeting and moving things forward. Right now, unfortunately, we're waiting on hardware controllers to continue the programming. We can't wire up everything and test the components without the parts.
Hah. Well, there's always a lull in projects. It's just the way it is. I'm lucky that I have access to the shop all hours and weekends so it's helpful in that respect. On the other hand, the guys involved are very responsive and have great ideas. They all have a great understanding of the gameplay which is where I lack. I really think this will end up a very playable and fun game.
We were even fortunate enough to find someone who might be interested in helping with the coding and implementing some deeper rules.
I still need to build a cover for the line filter. I ended up using the 30A filter rather than send it back and getting the correct one. I don't really like that the terminals are so exposed so I will work on a clear finger shield to go over it.
We did this test print today of the sign. It seems ok. We are breaking it down so it will light as it did in the film.
Who's Grig?
... kidding
It's weird because aside from the ultra shitty special effects, the film had a lot of heart. It was ground breaking for special effects because it's the first feature length film to utilize CGI to produce all of the visual effects but the software and hardware just wasn't quite there yet.
The printers are relatively decent. We only use them for mock ups and things we will not really end up using in the end but overall, they've performed pretty well. There are a couple things we did to fix some design flaws.
I've got the lower cabinet power panel wired up. Just waiting on some more terminals and the filter board. I was thinking about redoing the I/O board and adding terminals but I don't want to introduce any additional connections that aren't necessary. Especially on the low voltage I/O stuff.
Hah. That's actually just the way industrial wiring is done. I don't know of a controls company who wouldn't fire you if you didn't wire this clean or better. I was fortunate enough to work for a controls company for about 4 years doing electrical design under UL standards. I can only apply what I learned there but for this, it should be fine.
Good news. My linear power supplies will be here tomorrow. I can finally wrap up the main panel wiring and put that to bed.
Seems to me like things are moving along ok. I think that once this first assembly is complete and playable, we'll start moving forward faster. It's a little bumpy right now because we are still in our early development stage.
Quoted from Aeolus7:You’ve landed on one of my top 3 untouched dream themes. Great progress. Can’t wait to see the final results!
Hah. Me too! Can't wait to play this thing!
Here we go. The ol' version 3 playfield is done. Going to start attaching devices tomorrow.
This will be our first playable version of the playfield. The next version will probably have some adjustments.
Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions. Some were implemented and some were disregarded as garbage. ...kidding
A few people have asked me to put my electrical drawings package up for public view. I will do so for sure. I need to go through it and prove the connections first. It's still not 100%. I'm on REV B right now. We are getting the new playfield setup to test and I will need to wire in many of the components so the guys can all have their way with her. We'll probably play it like this for a week or so before going nuts on a revised playfield.
Time is working on the program. I'm going to try to help him as much as I can since that is the biggest part of this entire project. All the wiring, construction, etc. is easy when compared to the programming. Very appreciative that he is able to jump in and help us out.
Holy cow. We're officially 60 days into the project! Kind of... I guess it's really just 60 days since the thread started. We got a group together about 3 weeks after I started this thread. So technically I guess we are only into it by about 37 to 40 days. We'll get there. We'll celebrate when we hit 90 days for sure.
What the heck could this be?
Kapow! We've got power! We test fired the main panel with the new linear power supplies. Super clean power like fresh rain water in the... err... high mountains where it's really clean.
Anyway... Fired up without a hitch. Sub-panel will get fired up tomorrow when I meet with Time at the shop. We'll be testing some things and I'll be setting up the new playfield for playing next week. Now keep in mind, this is not a fully assembled playfield. This will only have partial components and zero scoring or modes. It will have flippers, scoops, slingshots, ball trough and maybe the auto-launch.
Things left to do before playing:
1. Assembly the playfield - transfer components from old playfield to new playfield
2. Finish the motorized target wall
3. Install manual shooter into the test fixture
4. Install buttons and switches into the test fixture
5. Wire up EVERYTHING!
6. Test fire outputs and check inputs
PLAY
Quoted from MarkInc:It's one of those up-down target bank thingies!
Dangit Mark! Yep.
It's funny. I would've never guessed it a couple days ago.
Met with Time today. I learned a lesson again today... Eat something. I get low blood sugar and when I do, I make A LOT of mistakes. All friggin' day making mistakes. Next time, I'm going to eat something.
Anyway, long story short, we got some things going today. I'm working on the skeleton program today to just get the machine up and running. Hoping to have this playable by next weekend.
I will also be running ground drain wires to the backplates when we get them mounted into the cabinet.
Welcome.
I didn't really have the most productive past couple days but here's the prototype for the motorized 3-bank drop target. It's a little rickety at the moment because I just switched to servo from linear actuator and some of the new measurements were rushed. I also allowed for a little too much play in the parts because I wanted to make sure that it would at least move. In the final piece, these parts will be machined from delrin to ensure strength and a really clean movement.
It's been a really good collaborative effort. Great bunch of guys that are very responsive even with full time jobs and families. Once we are at a playable state, we be revisiting some things and slowing it down a tad. Moving things around and adjusting is going to take some time. There are quite a few custom built parts in this machine that are mechanical and electronic. We'll be focusing on function and playability.
Really fun project so far. One of the best I've been able to work on so far.
Ugh. I've been up last wiring and modifying electrical drawings. I'm still a day or two behind. I may not make this playable by Saturday. I'm going to try to catch up today but it's not looking good. Some of the mechanical mods are forcing me to go back and redo them. Total bummer.
LOL. I'm trying! I'm trying! We're all trying!
I've been a little under the weather for a few days so I've had a hard time keeping up with the project. I'll drink some whiskey and do some cocaine and finish it tonight.
I've been asked a few times if it's too late to get in on this project. I think it's a little late since we are so far into it. I'm also asked if it would be ok to come check out the project when we all meet to discuss. I don't see why not. Just shoot me a pm about that and we can figure out a good time.
So obviously, this is NOT the final playfield layout by any means. This is a very early prototype. I glad to say that everyone jumped in and got this thing up and "running". It is playable and I personally like the layout but it definitely needs some work. We're discussing the next whitewood already. I can safely say that the ramps are too flimsy and need to be beefed up to be really usable. I'll get some more footage as we get things working better.
Hah. Thanks swinks, ThatOneDude
We moving along. Seeing the playfield in action has made a huge difference of the confidence in our layout. Personally, I love the layout. The flow is great. With a dozen or so modifications and/or tweaks, I think this will be a really fun layout. Even without the sounds, I can feel it.
etlandfill Truthfully, it's a pretty brutal schedule we've been following. This holiday will be nice to get some rest and get some more stuff done.
Our currently layout creates the need for thin bumpers that anchor way back. I tested the small bumper but needed to go to the longer bumper for more stability and I don't have room on all of them to have two mounting ears.
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We started the playfield tear down today. Water jet new stainless guides. Instead of eyeballing the metal guide shapes, I laser cut a template and traced the positions of the metal guides. I also setup the hole markings on the template and the metal guides matched up perfectly. Math and CAD still blow me away.
New edge bumpers being tried out now. We'll see how those work out.
New ramps have been printed. Much thicker and with side and bottom rails so they are not so flexible.
I'm going back in tomorrow morning to throw a few more hours at it and see if I can get it flipping again.
toyotaboy Absolutely!!!
CaptainNeo Thanks so much. Me too.
toyotaboy We're not 100% sure yet. The Death Blossom multi-ball is something we want to be spectacular and we have a few little tricks we're going to implement but it's still in development. There are a couple things I'd like to do but not sure exactly how to do them. We're working on it.
Yeah. Not bad. I think I have a couple tweaks to make to them for the final shape but pleasantly surprised.
Just watching some of the ball movement in slow motion. Pretty amazing what I miss with my naked eye.
I'm working on pocketing the back of the playfield to raise the targets a bit. They are essentially being crushed by the playfield hole and do not allow for any compression. Normally, they would pad the hit a little and the ball wouldn't use it as a launch pad
7" just like CFTBL. We're going for a somewhat difficult game. We didn't want to just make something that was SOOOooooo easy. Good flow and quick. We've got some other gimmicks that are not working yet that will hopefully make up for the difficultly.
Oh damn. Don't take my next custom pin theme away from me! That was our next theme in line for a custom build after The Last Starfighter.
That's so funny that you brought that up.
ThatOneDude Yeah. It's hilarious how great minds think alike. We had been discussing it for several weeks now but I think we are going to be tied up with this sucker for a few months still.
MustangPaul LOL. I thought I was the only one who thought that movie was amazing. The Oscillation Over-thruster was the prop I always wanted from that film.
Jackontherocks Oh. Of course we will never forget the ol' Death Blossom Range thing.
Originally, we had it conceptualized that the ship would spin but we all agreed that longer shots would be more fun. The ship would need to be placed lower in the playfield to work like that and would shorted the shots a tad. It may still do something but currently, it is not designed to spin anymore.
hah. I think we're a little too far along to change directions that drastically. There are still cool things to come.
Thanks. I personally like the pop bumpers from the original layout but I love the flow of the new playfield.
LOL. Yeah. We're still working on it. We've got a lot of ideas. We're going to implement some of them and see how they pan out. We'll post some videos as we go. No telling what will pop up on this playfield.
'
Eh. Not bad. I know we can do better. I'm going to come up with a better design that is far more stable and more durable.
He's a cute little boy. Was great having everyone together to get a chance at playing the current layout.
I had the targets on an endless loop but we added some VERY temporary sound effects to ensure that all targets are working. They still need to be adjusted.
Yeah. Surprisingly durable. I still want to do some upgrades to the design. I'm not a huge fan of the adjustment process.
Ok. Going to have to kick this project into high gear.
I've built myself a new schedule for this current playfield. I'm hoping to have this 100% operation in a week,minus programming of course.
Well.... I mean like getting to see cool changes in the state of the project like, game play, lights, graphics, toys, programming, etc. We're starting to get to some of the more interesting stuff.
We're getting closer to completing construction of the prototype where it will boil down to the programming and rules. There are several changes to this playfield that need to happen but overall. I think we are all pretty happy with the way it's playing so far.
Almost done with the current playfield layout wiring for the prototype. The wiring is rough and temporary. This is NOT the way it will be done in the final go round. All of the 48v solenoid wiring will be separated from the low voltage and switch wiring to keep weird feedback issues from arising.
LOL. Well, currently, there is no lighting wired in. Can you imagine if the lighting was in there?
This is the current layout and condition of our design. We are discussing the addition of some new components now that we've had a chance to play it a little. We're going to start moving into adding the magnets and things into this design as well. It's starting to get very exciting!
Does anyone know of a silk screener who is familiar with playfield printing and who takes custom work? I read a couple threads where people are speculating the costs for a custom playfield print and I think they are WAY too low in their cost estimations.
Usually, you have:
1. artwork charges - This is where they take your files, add registration marks and correct errors, etc.
2. film charges - You need to have films made for screen exposures per color. 10 or 11 colors at a very large size tend to add up quickly
3. screen charges - Screen with high mesh counts, exposed. 10 or 11 colors again, tends to add up
4. setup fee - This is the cost where they mount and align the screens on the press. This will involve test printing.
5. Printing - At least one pass per color, flash dry between and probably air dry after all passes.
6. Additional fees - If they don't already have frames for screen that are large enough to print your playfield then they will most likely charge you to have them made.
I have a belief that if it's worth doing... it's worth overdoing.
We will need to make 6 of these. One of each will end up going to each person involved. If they decide to do the full build at the end, they will have the playfield ready to be populated.
Oh... And, we started the cabinet. Why am I building manually vs. CNC? Because all the CNCs are busy right now. They are going to be tied up for the next few weeks.
I want the lower cabinet done by Tuesday so... I will build it manually.
I purchased the 45-degree lock mitre router bit the way everyone used to make cabinets. Really cool. Never used one before.
Hi Mark. I'm going to drive them in bundles. I'll build some LED arrays if I can't find them. The neon star housing will have a few blue leds inside that will edge light the star. The slits in the faceplate are designed to allow pieces of clear acrylic to be installed. I will frost the outside (showing) edge of the acrylic to catch the light.
DDDwingmaster It would be easier but I don't think you will get the intensity of the direct lighting. We're going to be using the spinner below on the right orbit to control the letters of the sign so I may need more individual control of the letters.
These are the fiberoptic wires I bought. I was mistaken when I spoke in the video about them being 4mm. They are .04" (1mm). Duh. That's one of the reasons I didn't bother with LEDs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSYM91F/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01
Someone asked me about the how I'm planning on cutting the holes into our cabinet. Normally, I would do this with a CNC router since I have them to use but right now they are busy for a while. In this situation, I'm going to use a hand router and templates. I'll show you how this works shortly.
To start, I laid out the hole patterns in Autocad. You can use pretty much any vector art program. You could cut your templates out of MDF or something else using hole saws, drill bits and jig saw. This will require you to clean up the cuts a little before you actually use the template but it works just fine.
I used the laser cutter here at work and cut my templates from 1/4" thick acrylic. I'm going to cut these holes at lunch so I'll post again in a couple hours.
epthegeek LOL. I didn't mean it that way... They are not mine. They belong to my workplace. I just meant that I would normally just load up the wood on the CNC and cut the parts via files. Much faster and easier. There is a lot to be said about building the cabinet yourself though. It's very rewarding and quick.
Haha. That's not as bad as I thought. I think our water jet was about that. Yeah. The materials from Stratasys are expensive. The rigur and verogrey get burned through so fast here. It's ridiculous. They are about $1200 per cartridge I believe. We pretty much run ours 24/7 for film and tv garbage.
The Raise3d printers are run as prototypes and throw away stuff. That's why I use those machines for my BS pinball stuff.
I'm going to print the Starlite Starbrigte sign on the formlabs printers. The detail on those is way better than the Raise printers.
Mbecker It's only a matter of not sleeping and never taking a break. LOL. Yikes. Sounds a lot like work except it's more rewarding.
I just maximize my time by doing all my planning while I sleep and do the work when I'm awake.
We might add that but right now it's behind the ramp so it doesn't make sense to add it if you can't read it.
LOL. That would be great but I don't think any of us can afford to start a pinball company and the licensing required for the theme. Maybe Stern will pick up the theme and make a cooler machine for sale. I'm sure they have the ability to really make something like this awesome.
I'll use this as my resume and see if a pinball company would hire me. "I'm sorry. Your videos are shaky and you are monotone. Good luck."
LOL. Well thanks. I glad at least someone is watching the videos. I keep watching them myself by the view count doesn't go up. 
Started cutting the head. I don't think I'm going to build it the same way they did. Seems hokey to me. Changing things up just a hair.
Just starting to mount necessary components....
j_m_ Well, there is a short story for that. I have some plans that call for 3/8" diameter holes there. When I went to install the IEC inlet box, the threaded inserts are only for 10-32 screws. Maybe this is a difference between Williams WPC and Pin2000. Dunno. Anyway, in order to hide my now too large holes, I knocked the threaded inserts out of the IEC box and used 5/16" Tee nuts in the 3/8" holes. Now, it's ultra-heavy duty.
toyotaboy Had I not followed the plans and check my IEC box first, this would not have happened but it's not like this will bug me. The tee nuts are on the back. P.S. Do not let JPOP see this thread.
MustangPaul Thanks for the insight. I will most likely do that when I disassemble this again tomorrow. The TIG is already setup ready to go.
I put some of the mesh in and got two legs mounted. I have to do the back legs tomorrow. I ran out of time tonight.... wife said so.
After this cabinet is assembled, I'll tear it down, fill and sand and shoot it with some poly-primer. That should keep some of the dings out of it while we are working on the playfield.
MustangPaul Oh man! I can't believe I've never seen those before. Just looked them up. Those are amazing! Heck no! I'll buy a few sets though. I'd like to put those on my other three machines too.
PM sent.
I just read the Wiki. That's a shame. Sounds like a hole that just kept getting deeper and deeper.
This is why so many companies fail... Capital is key. If you do not have enough capital to get you through bumps until you can turn things around, you're doomed. It happens with most small companies that start without proper funding to back them.
Very unfortunate...
On a lighter note... The faceplate is done. The housing will be done in a few hours. These parts are printed on the Formlabs printers in a material called "tough".
As you can see, even at a lower resolution, there is very little texture on this type of printing.
cleland Thanks Kevin. I actually think that we are all doing a great job. The input and having everyone on the same team is really making this work out well. Anyone can build via trial and error. It's knowing what will and won't work well that requires knowledge of gameplay and that is where I fall short. You guys are very in tune with the pins and rules. That's what is going to make the game.
Like I said before... Even a simple pin can be really fun if it has creative rules. The rest is just gimmicks.
I still need to cut and drill some holes. I need my hardware first. This is just so we can get it to a better playable state. The guys want the full feel of the machine. That's what their going to get.
cleland What do you think?
cleland Yes. I've got those on order. I have the playfield slide locks coming also. I'll have to add some temporary supports in to set the playfield on for the time being. Admiral Lock bar and lock bar mechanism is on the way as well. I forgot to order stainless side rails.
Damn. I was going to test light the sign tonight but got home and realized that I don't have tiny little drill bits here. ugh
Quoted from MustangPaul:The bb looks really tall, or is that just an optical illusion? For side rails are you gonna go with special laser cut ones with EL paper behind the cutouts?
Should be exactly the same as Medieval Madness.
This entire cabinet is hand cut and routed. Someone pm'd me asking if I really did it all instead of CNC. For people who are hesitant to get started on making something like this. The key is to make all your measurements first. CNC saves time for sure but it's really not that big of a deal to build. I think only have about 8 hours total into this cabinet so far.
Just don't be afraid to make an error. It's just wood.
Well, I'll add that it's easy if you have the tools and space to build. There are some great videos on how to on youtube.
These little printers have great resolution but they are slow. They do better with the objects that are flat printing on an angle. Our Objet printer prints great with objects lying flat.
LOL. The rig on the other end with the led is someone holding it. You could very easily rig something that would cause the lights to sparkle and move like that.
swinks Thanks. Very happy that it's working this well on the first go round. I have such limited time, I don't want to do things over. I'm trying to maximize my time to build as much as I can. Some things are designed as place holders but for the most part, I'm building for the final.
We're going to be moving into graphics soon. I'm really looking forward to this portion. This is what will breathe some life into the bare wooden monster.
Not yet. I will when I build the final back box or I’ll add them to this one. My main panel is going to change.
Oh Yeah. I met Mike for the first time today. Very nice gentleman. Super enthusiastic. Someday, I'm going to have to hear the entire story of what happened. He has the greatest attitude.
cleland Ok. I would like to run the new playfield over the holiday if I can but We'll talk. I'll work on the new ramps. I'm going to try to adjust the flippers to 6.75" gap. vs. the 7" gap. I can feel everyone's tears already.
Well, we have a save function that I think in combination with a post is too nice to the player. I think this game needs to be difficult.
Combination of both Software and Hardware. Everything hardware pretty much requires programming but there will be rules present to activate and initiate the ball save feature.
Well, as you know it's far more expensive buy components that are new from places like Marco Specialties, Pinball life, etc. than buying wholesale. The total bill so far is already at about $7500. Now, The reality is that there was a lot of unnecessary components that were purchased that would be avoided in the future but that really only amounts to about $500-$750 of the total thus far.
I imagine that the cost of components of a pinball machine would normally want to be around $3500-$4500 all-in including labor and licensing. That cost would drastically change for a license like Star Wars or something relatively current. Price tag would need to be about $5.5-6K minimum based on a quantity of 2500 or so in order to profit. I may be way off though.
In cases like this, I'm sure Stern is buying their full assemblies from China directly. It's really the only way to really profit in these low quantities. The circuit boards, I know, are an issue with a lot of you. Having all the LEDs directly mounted to large circuit boards, tiny little components that you, as a user, can't replace or repair. That's the reality of having to adapt to the lower interest in pinball machines. If someone would come along and make a huge pinball movie, the market would be invigorated for about six months to a year and would create some new blood in the consistent market. The problem with pinball is that all the customers are older customers or people who have just stumbled onto this "hobby".
The would-be new customers don't have the cash in general to drop on a new game so they often will start with an 80's title or something like that.
In my case, I started with pinball only about 8 years ago. I grew up liking arcade machines and was addicted to them as a teenager. As an adult, I forgot about them almost entirely until someone gave me a Ms. Pac-man cocktail table that didn't work. I, of course, took it home and fixed it and became hooked on arcade machines. One day, I went to go buy an arcade machine from a Craigslist weirdo and he had a pinball machine in his garage. It was actually in very nice condition. He asked me if I was interested in buying it but he said it didn't work. I always love a challenge so I asked how much? I figured he'd come back with something like $1500 or $2000. He was only asking for $750. I ran to the ATM and grabbed the pinball machine. I had no idea how they worked or even if I would like it. Truthfully, I figured that I could fix it and flip it to buy more arcade machines.
I got it home. It wouldn't power on. I got the back box opened along with the playfield up. I got it powered up within a couple hours. I found a capacitor that everyone had issues with that was the main culprit. The rest of the week, I spent fixing the previous owner's horrible hack repairs. I still have that machine and it's still one of my favorite games to this day.
High Speed II: The Getaway
This game is also why I love "flow" games.
Quoted from Jeremy8419:Amazing thread.
This really highlights the importance of good project management.
If you don't mind me asking, how deep are y'all in this financially, minus the shop equipment, thus far?
It's interesting because going into this project, I thought that I'd have to wrangle these guys more but they are all on top of everything. They are all very responsive and knowledgable. I couldn't really have assembled a more competent group of guys to work with on this project if I had tried. Everyone just kind of came together through the interest in the project. I'm actually hoping that these guys stick around for the next one and we keep this "Six Pack Pinball" group going. It's been a lot of fun so far.
Jeremy8419 Probably pretty fast. It's pretty fast already.
TKDalumni LOL. yeah. I know. We were like... Adam's gone. Let's get some Sh!t done!
Jeremy8419 LOL. I had to read that to my wife. We both had a good laugh at that. That's EXACTLY what we are going to do. LOL
I got the slide mechanisms installed along with the lock bar today. I can't tell you how good it feels when that playfield locks into place. So good...so damn good.
The diverter is working. I cut the left ramp shorter. Ship trough is wired but not working. Not sure why. Ball trough is wired. I'll be bringing this home tomorrow to work on it all week long from home. Next weekend should produce some really interesting gameplay where things will be continuous and some basic functions will be working.
I designed this plate today. I'm printing it now to see how it will work. It is designed to hold 17 LEDs. Each of the little tubes will house an LED and the bundle of corresponding fiber wires will be inserted into the tube. One LED per letter on the sign.
The plastic stuff is really cool. I just like the look of the 90's Williams machines. The apron doesn't look difficult to make. I think I can build it on my lunch break.
GimpMaster Thanks. Fun project so far.
FYI... When you are cooking breakfast for your wife and you are using really hot jalepenos, don't rub your nostril and left eye until you've thoroughly washed your hands.
Just Sayin'
Jeremy8419 LOL. Thank God it was only my eye.
MustangPaul I know right?
Some cool start up/auto-boot programming via Unbuntuu. So excited to see the hardware working. Time is working on the programming. It'll be much easier when everything is all connected and tested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=-3AI9OdEUTc
Well dang. I didn't finish because I went and got a sandwich and ended up talking to a buddy for a bit but here's where I am. I'll finish before end of the day. I went with 16 gauge steel. I should have gone with .030" or .040" but this is what I had and it doesn't really matter.
I will still need to spot weld in some mounting brackets but I will do that once those are invented.
skills = water jet
Things are somewhat easy to duplicate especially if you are not making a replica of something else. If it's just the "idea" then you have a lot of leeway.
MustangPaul The circular hole will on this version. Although I was driving around today and decided that I want to change it again. I have some other ideas. The other guys have some great ideas too. Who knows what this thing will look like by the final version.
Sorry for lack of updates. TV pilot season kicked in early this year. Someone opened the flood gates.
MustangPaul I'm going to try to get tricky with it but for now, I'm going to just keep it simple until we get a handle on this playfield.
Jeremy8419 I haven't played that yet. I'll check out the sounds on youtube.
Burley9043 LOL. I'm going to have to go to some acting lessons so I don't sound so monotone.
Ok. Sorry for the lack of updates. It's birthday month in my family. Holy cow.
Back at it. We've received all the connectors so final wiring to multi-pin connectors will commence. We've also ordered a custom header pin board to be used as an easy interconnect board. We'll see how that works.
New design for our custom blade bumpers is being printed tonight. I will print a plastic mold vs. a part that will be molded. The reason is that I'll be casting the blades in a colored silicone. It's way easier to cast into a hard mold than a silicone mold when you are casting silicone.
Pouring silicone. Technically, this is injection molding but it's very low tech. Plastic molds, injecting silicone.
Sorry guys. I just getting back after almost 10 days with the flu. Ugh. Best weight loss program EVER!
Fortytwo Thanks! They'll basically be held and be replaceable components just like any other bumper.
https://images.pinside.com/9/2b/92b16e03c33a77a09633d0935776fdafced41178/resized/large/92b16e03c33a77a09633d0935776fdafced41178.jpg
Danzig I joined. Thank you. Pending...
Wolfmarsh Yes. I'll shoot a video when I do this. I'm planning on using a syringe to inject from the top but also added a "funnel" to feed the mold while things settle.
lurch Yeah. Unfortunately, the past two months haven't been very productive because of holidays, birthdays, more birthdays and sickness. I'll get my sh!t together and kick this pig!
Yes. That's the intent. The magnet will, theoretically, stop the ball, pulse and send it back up the ramp and out of the entry as cleland said.
Just starting work on how exactly that will work but all tests show that it should work just fine.
I'm going to vomit up another short video showing more of the current state and some of the changes that we're working on now. We're also downsizing the control panel to a slightly smaller/simplified version. That will be coming in the next week or so. For now, these or some grabs of the current design. Most of this is already on the playfield and functional. The magnet return on the left ramp is new and will be installed, hopefully, this weekend. This will not be the final design for looks. Just a place holder for some functions and discussion.
Screen Shot 2018-02-13 at 3.10.48 PM (resized).png
Screen Shot 2018-02-13 at 3.11.10 PM (resized).png
Screen Shot 2018-02-13 at 3.11.25 PM (resized).png
Yeah. Truthfully, I know how to build some stuff but most of the time, I'm going on youtube / internet and seeing how others do it. I had no idea how to 3D model anything or 3D print, etc. Just learned and now.... I'm a professional novice.
Finished this design last night. Hopefully this works better. At the very least, it should be far more durable for testing. Parts are printing. I'm headed to the shop to cut the aluminum backplate.
Screen Shot 2018-02-19 at 10.41.19 AM (resized).png
Screen Shot 2018-02-19 at 10.45.00 AM (resized).png
Heh. Sorry guys. I always forget how screwy work gets this time of year. I'm crazy at work for another two weeks. I'll get you guys some updates.
As of right now, I've been working on some mechanics. Basically stuff I can do on lunch and at home. You guys saw this before but it was version 3. This is now version 7 and I think it's our winner...for now.
This is the motorized drop target wall. I've remodeled it from scratch because it was driving me nuts. Before it gets mounted, I'll take it apart and replace the plastic switch plate with a steel switch plate. The Pololu Maestro is currently mounted to the servo motor mount for ease of wiring and to keep things clean.
jwilson Strength is not a strong point (no pun intended) with 3D printed parts from this type of printer. You have to do what you can to make parts far stronger than you would normally. The intent was to make a part that works and places the top of the targets very close to where it will need to be in the closed state. This will allow the servo and controller to be less accurate. The original unit I made was great until you slam the steel ball into it a thousand times.
DDDwingmaster Nailed it!
Mbecker Yeah. I found parts here and there but it would have costs quite a bit to put them together. Also making 5 of these machines, I wanted to do something that was easy to reproduce.
j_m_ I called PPS to see if I could buy one. They would never reply or call back so I figured that they were just not interested. I agree. That would be great for them to sell them to a pinball parts supplier.
MarkInc Thanks. I would have preferred to buy something that is already tested and ready but it just didn't work out that way. I would like to have used bearing glides and a lead screws also. That would have been super solid state!!!!
I'm just finishing the cnc work on the new playfield although I have to do another couple passes to get the mounting holes put in. The more complex the playfield becomes, the more work it creates. Crazy how much more work it is to add small holes into the new design.
This is the Version 9 playfield coming up. Very excited for this one. Really looking forward to this version.
Currently, we are using 15mm Baltic Birch. It's a high grade plywood that has alternating grains. 15mm is approximately 10 layers laminated with the outer layers being thicker than a normal piece of even cabinet grade plywood. That's probably about as close as we will be able to get. It's a little thicker than a normal playfield at 15mm but we are adjusting where necessary.
Actually, the 15mm birch plywood is .5415" thick. They advertise as 15mm but there's always some variation. Playfields are all slightly different. All plywood is different. The manufacturers may list it as 17/32" thickness but it will almost never really be right on.
This is what I get...
Attack from Mars: .5215" thick (13.23mm)
Getaway - Highspeed 2: .5302" thick (13.47mm)
Kiss: .5227" thick (13.27mm)
Last Starfighter: .5415" thick (13.75mm)
Measurements:
3/8" (.375") = 9.525mm
7/16" (.4375") = 11.1125mm
1/2" (.5") = 12.7mm
9/16" (.5625") = 14.2875mm
5/8" (.625") = 15.875mm
So far, we haven't had any issues with the thickness. I believe that most pinball components are designed with some tolerance to allow for varying materials otherwise the plywood would have to be dead nuts on. We know that's just not possible unless you go with another type of material.
MustangPaul LOL. I know right? It's a shame to throw them away but they are no good once we make enough changes.
j_m_ Holy crap! How did you know?!?! You have one of these too?!
Oh Snap! Scott in our group sent me this.
https://io9.gizmodo.com/rogue-ones-gary-whitta-tells-us-his-plans-for-a-last-st-1824988120
We gotta hurry!
Check this out! Jayson Time from our group put together a test of two LCDs running off the same processor. It looks really good. Man I'm excited about this thing!
...and a test print on the backside of acrylic for backlight purposes. The colors came out really nicely.
audihere Lewis!!! LOL. That's awesome.
swillie Thanks. The next test will be on glass. We'll see how that goes. The LCD stuff is amazing.
Time blows me away with the skills.
MustangPaul Yeah. I think the final may be on Lexan if we don't end up on glass.
Wolfmarsh Thanks. Very excited to get somewhere on this sucker.
Buju Yeah. Can't wait to hear some of it.
swinks Thanks. It's getting there.
Time came by and was working on TLS002 while I was working on TLS001. He brought the computer and displays. So awesome.
This is the playfield for TLS002 but it's actually the same playfield but we're working on it along side the current cleared playfield to make small alterations and additions. We'll be making some changes like, colors, features and corrections.
Hah. Thanks guys. Very kind. I'm very happy with this team. We have a great set of guys. Getting ready to crank out cabinet for TLS002 so it can be worked on by Time . I know it's hard to right code and test without the machine present.
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