Arcade machine build

Materials needed:

2x 1800x600mm16mm MDF Sheets

2x 1800x600mm12mm MDF Sheets

A few lengths of 18x18mm wood for the moldings.

Sheet of acrylic or perspex around 1200x600mm.

Piano hinge, lock and draw sliders.



Speakers, buttons, joysticks, pc or raspberry pi, monitor etc

A few tools like a jigsaw, drill, clamps, circular saw, tape measure etc.



Paint and primer.

Preparing for the side panel cuts.

Cutting both sides at the same time to ensure they are perfect copies. For the straight cuts it was quicker to use the jigsaw with a guide. A bucket and a small lid were used to mark out the curved jigsaw cuts.



All the panels cut to size using a circular saw and a guide. (Use a table saw if you have one)



Glue and screw the side panel moldings.



Back panel bottom fan and monitor vents cut with a spade bit and jigsaw. A router would work well too.



The assembled cabinet.



The do-it-yourself garage spray booth. Two coats of primer and a lot of sanding.



Control panel is a sandwich of 12mm MDF and 3mm acrylic. MDF was drilled first with a spade bit and the acrylic was drilled using a step drill bit.



Drilling the acrylic was probably one of the biggest challenges. Getting the holes lined up perfectly and with the button holes so close together I was lucky it didn’t crack.



Wiring the joysticks and buttons.



Button layout is the same as in taito vewlix cabinets. Most games use 6 but NEO-GEO games usually use 4 horizontally.



More layouts here http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout.html



Joysticks and buttons were from www.diyarcade.com.au



So what did this cost?



This project was more about the satisfaction of having made my own custom cabinet than it was the cost. Still it worked out pretty cost effective and can be done under $400.

Wood 100

Acrylic 40

Buttons, joysticks, speakers etc 160

Paint 50

Other, screws, wheels etc 40

If you BYO monitor and PC then it is possible to build this like I did under $400. 19" monitors can be found anywhere fairly cheap, try gumtree, ebay or even ask a friend on facebook, i’m sure someone has one laying around. If you don’t have a spare PC you can just use a raspberry pi for around $50.

How long did it take?

Not that long, only about 3 days on and off over a few weeks while waiting on parts to arrive and paint to dry etc.



If you’re looking for similar plans to build your own http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/model.pdf

