Cases are now available on my site: Art’s Hobbies
!!! 3/27/11 NEW Updates regarding Diamond Joints and Hitbox! Jump to post #702
LOTS OF INFO AND TONS OF PICS INCOMING!
******* PLEASE CHECK THE 2ND POST OF THIS THREAD FOR Q&A and FUTURE UPDATES . READ THAT FIRST IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS IN CASE YOUR QUESTION IS ALREADY ANSWERED! I WILL NO LONGER ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT ARE ALREADY ADDRESSED IN THAT POST. Please just take a moment to read the info…**
These cases will be available on my website, Welcome to Art’s Hobbies, in early September.
These are Cases ONLY. Not full fightsticks. Joysticks, Buttons, PCBs are not included
Hey guys! I would like to reveal a project I’ve been working on for the past few months, under the radar.
Some time late last year, parabellum asked:
**"May I humbly suggest some additional services which you may wish to consider offering?
Simple plexi cases: If you offered a ‘bolt it together yourself’ case made from laser cut plexi, you could supply these with the screws, etc…and I think there would potentially be great demand for this. If the price could be kept down to around $50-$60, I think it would be a winner."**
That suggestion has stuck with me and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Since working with plexiglass (acrylic) has its limitations, it took me some time to come up with a solution. Many months and lots of trial and errors later, finally… I believe I’ve found the solution and I bring you a completely modifiable DIY full acrylic case!
**This case was designed with you, the modder, in mind with the ability to customize pretty much every aspect of the case… to make it your own! So lets take all these pieces… **
And turn them into this! (Might be a tad hard to make out all the details at first, being that everything’s clear and there’s a lot of reflection in the pics. But the details will be more prominent as you scroll further down.
Lets look at one of the unique things to personalize your case. The Name plates!
**The Name Plates act as extra support for the case, and it’s a great place to cut your name/handle/short phrase to really identify your case. These are “Cut” through the acrylic, not “etched”. **
**Now it’s a little hard to see, with everything being clear, but on the back of the case there is a PCB section which has a couple of PCB holders and a wire hook to help with PCB placement and organization. **
These holders can be adjusted/removed to fit your needs. While initially designed to fit the cthulhu boards, they can still hold hacked pads and other pcb’s by a simple ziptie method or whatever you come up with. You don’t have to use them, but they are there to help you out if you want them.
Here are some pics with a JLF and some buttons in place .
The pics above only show a glimpse of what can be done. Let me try to get into more details and options with more pics =).
Lets say you want to replace the front panel now because you prefer a Neutrik Adapter rather than a cord opening. No problem, lets take a front panel with a Neutrik space…
now unscrew the four screws holding the front panel of the case…
place the buttons and Neutrik adapter on the new panel and screw back in…
and Done!
Or decided you no longer want buttons on the side panel? No prob, swap it.
Yep, it’s that easy to change your mind.
**Now lets look at some color options. Here’s a Dark Blue theme. **
Specs:
Top: Clear; Sega Blast City 6 Button
Top & Bottom Borders = Transparent Dark Blue
Name Plate & PCB Plate = Transparent Dark Blue
Front Panel = Clear; S/S Buttons and Neutrik
Back Panel = Clear
Left & Right side panel = Transparent Dark Blue
Bottom = Clear
JLF Mount = Transparent Dark Blue
**The colors help distinguish some parts a little better, for instance the border design. **
Lets try an Iron Man theme
Specs:
Top: Clear; Sega Blast City 6 Button
Top & Bottom Borders = Transparent Red
Name Plate & PCB plate = Transparent Red
Front Panel = Fluorescent Orange; S/S buttons and Neutrik
Back Panel = Fluorescent Orange
Left & Right side panel = Transparent Red
Bottom = Clear
Bottom Thin Plexi with 2 Artworks (one facing each side)
JLF Mount = Transparent Red
This shows Artwork placed on the bottom but facing top side to add a little background to future wiring. A thin bottom plexi is used to sandwich the artwork in place
The Fluorescent Orange reflected the flash so the front couldn’t be seen. Below is without flash (ugly color turnout) but at least shows the Name Plate. Under regular light, you can see through to notice the name plate.
Flipping the case around, there’s another artwork. Basically I place two artworks between a thin bottom plexi.
Here are some pics without the artwork so the design is more clear.
Here’s some closeups of the Name Plates in these examples:
View of the case frames. Showing Borders, Name Plate, and PCB Plate which forms the skeletal structure of the case.
**Those are just some basic color combinations. But basically, the color combinations and setups are up to your imagination? and what color/material stock I can get, lol.
**
Oh and top artwork you ask? But of course! Optional thin top plexi’s will be available.
**The artwork is cut a little smaller than the full top of the case. This gives a natural border, particularly for dark and opaque top colors. For clear tops, this makes the artwork look like it’s floating in a frame. **
Gotta show the popular Chun Li artwork by Stanley Lau.
Taking this even one step further, how about thin plexi options all around the case which essentially allows you to turn the entire case into swappable artwork.
Lets say I wanted to give my entire case a carbon fiber look with a high res print of a carbon fiber pattern. Then cut the image for the top and all four sides. Sandwich all pieces to all sides and…
Obviously a full artwork case swap is all up to your imagination. I plan to make one with a large cast of either Marvel or SSF4 all around the sides.
Alright, almost done. Sorry if I’m tiring you out with all the pics, lol.
**Here’s my working, complete prototype from about a month ago. A few minor changes were made since these pics. (Fluorescent Orange Border, Name Plate, PCB Plate and Left/Right Sides. Using a salvaged 360 TE PCB)
**
Here’s probably a better closeup of the PCB holders and wire hook in action. Just using zip ties to keep them in place.
**And last, but not least, here are what I call “Side Decors”. Here’s a sample of Acrylic shapes that can be screwed on to the side panels to further express yourself.
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**They will come in pairs so you can apply them corner to corner, or a piece per side. Or use two sets and have them corner to corner on opposite sides.
**
Apply them anywhere on the sides of the case, where room permits. Obviously if the area has buttons, these won’t fit that area.
Other Side Decor colors and shapes will be made available.
Finally, those are all the pics I have so far =). I will post more pics of other various colors when I have time. (I want to take pics of the lighter colors, and when I restock Fluorescent Blue. Also with opaque colors, and etching samples).
Here are some more highlights and details:
*** Size: L 13 1/2" x W 8 1/2" x H 2 1/4". Height is about 2 1/2" with feet.
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Weight: Just case is 2.35 lbs; With JLF, Buttons and TE PCB is about 3.5 lbs (will obviously vary)
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Everything is put together by screws and what I call “Diamond Joints”. There is absolutely no “gluing” or acrylic bonding agents needed.
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Because no permanent bonding is used, all parts can be easily swapped and changed to fit your style. Also, if by some unfortunate accident a part of the case gets damaged, you can simply replace the damaged part with a new one rather than worrying about replacing the entire case.
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Your personal Name Plate, cut with a short text of your choice. Not etched, actual cut through the acrylic.
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Top and Bottom panels are extended out past the rectangular outline of the case with rounded corners. This prevents issues with sharp corners.
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Popular button configurations will be available (ie: Vewlix, Blast City, T5, Midway, Capcom, etc).
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Various button options for the left/right side panels, as well as front panel including neutrik setup.
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Most parts will have etching options.
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Thin plexi and Artwork options available for top, bottom and sides.
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All pieces (except for diamond joints) are made with 1/8" acrylic so more colors can be available. (Majority of colors are more readily available in 1/8" thickness)
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PCB holders and wire loops to help with PCB and Wire organization. **
So that’s it for now. Hope you guys are excited as I am =). I will showcase more on etching and other color combos when I get a chance. I will be working on an instructional video to show how everything is put together. Hopefully I’ll get that up within a week or two.
I have also asked a few experienced modders to be testers and when they get the first cases they can share their personal experiences. But from my personal experience, and one other’s, the results have been great!
Thanks again for everyone’s support =). And shout out to parabellum, where ever you are buddy, thanks for giving me a challenge ;).
Got Questions? Look at the bottom post first.
