I’m looking on building a Vewlix style cab with a 4player control panel, does anyone know of this being done before? also where can i find a layout for a 4player control panel?
I have heard it done for American style cabs, Captain America and the Avengers, X-men Arcade, Both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games and the Simpson Arcade game as an 4 player cab.
http://www.badenoughdudes.com/wp-content/uploads/x-men_arcade_cabinet.jpg
Actual X-Men Arcade Cab, complete with Dual Monitors (actually 6 players)
(Custom mame Cab, Simpsons themed)
Possible 4 player panel.
But I never seen a single Japanese cab set for 4 player play. Most Japanese cabs are a tight fit for 2 players not the less 4.
Best I seen was 2 Astro City cabs wired together.
To do a Custom Veiwix 4 player cab, it have to be Big. You can still go with Japanese parts, but you have to consider the actual panel design.
it be similar to the Simpsons Cab I shown above, done with the Veiwlix edging instead of the normal t-molding.
You have to come up with all new plans for this project
Kray has made a giant 4 player model of his popular vewlix inspired cab. You might check his website and give him an email to see if he has any directions for one.
thanks for the lead guys i’m on the right track now. you’re right darksakul i was thinking of that simpsons style cp attached to the japanese style cab. Instead of just one gigantic cab. i’d never be able to fit it through the door lol. By the way do you happen to have any dimensions for that graph?
I would get the dimensions for the parts from slagcoin.com and work with a builder to design something that will work for you. There are a lot of things you need to figure out ahead of time such as player spacing, brand of parts (Sanwa/Happ), what you’re hooking it up to and how you want it to hook up (i.e. PCB’s etc.). Just do the research, and depending on how much control you want over the design or how much money you’re willing to pay someone to mock it up/build it for you, you can custom make it to your needs (i.e. 6 vs. 8 button, etc.).
it’s definitely a lot more involved then it seems at first glance. My friend is doing the woodwork, i’ll have to over the designs with him. as for parts I’ve got a jlf stick and some snap in buttons, but i think i’m switching them out for screw in ones, that way i can have the CP a bit thicker on top (just seems like an easier install). My only lingering design questions are how I’m going to deal with switching from xbox to pc, regarding the video source, power and controller. The Paewang pcb i’m going to use needs the turbo button held before switching system. wish it was automatic. Once i solder one up for testing ill get a better idea of how to get it done. Slagcoin is an AMAZING site, really glad i found it through a link here. It never showed up during my google searches. thanks for the help guys! I’ll be sticking around for a while 
If your woodworker has never built a stick before, I would spend the $50-100 to buy a prefab shell first so your friend can sort of “reverse engineer” it and see how arcade shells are designed. I would imagine you want this 4p panel to be somewhat of a long-lasting fixture than a first-time experiment, so the more experience the better. I know if I would have tried to put together something that grandiose my first time out, I’d be kicking myself for all the poor decisions I made because I didn’t know better.
we’ll see how up to snuff he is he used to work at a furniture making company
Then definitely get something for him to work with for reference. If you get a pre-fab shell, assemble/wire/install everything yourself in it ahead of time, you can have him make the tweaks you need to in order to make your life easier when you’re doing the wiring afterward. The last thing you wanna do is get everything all cut and assembled and realize that you didn’t route out the joystick mounting at the right height, or that the button holes are too close together, or that you didn’t leave enough depth for the bottom of the joystick PCB or that there’s no routing holes for the USB cables… or that you don’t have a spot for the USB hub and power cord (assuming you’re going with a hub instead of two separate cables.) etc.