Ok so I like American style arcade sticks but the thing that’s always bugged me is the lack of a square gate, so I decided to make it myself. At first I thought it would be easy enough just make the square gate print it out and call it a day, but after modeling the gate and testing it out I realized a little bit more designing should take place.
So the problem with using the gate by itself is that the actuator doesn’t engage the gate rather the stick shaft engages the circle that holds the spring in place.
What I did is enlarged the hole, but by enlarging the hole I also had to enlarge the shaft spacer. I also had to make a smaller diameter actuator shaft so it rides on the square adequately.
I printed all the parts in PLA with .3 layer height and 3 perimeter walls. I’m going to print the shaft spacer in nylon next, to have a smoother feel. This is still a work in progress so I’ll be updating parts as I test it out. If you want to test it out and give me feedback you can download the parts in the following link.
Update 3/6/2016
After testing it out I redesigned the bat actuator cylinder to be a little bit shorter and easier to print. By making it a bit shorter you get a better springiness in the stick feel. Printing the bat spacer in nylon gives you a much better and smoother feeling.
Dooooood! This is so sick! I’ve wanted to do this myself but never felt I have the available materials to do it! If you ever wanna sell some of these sometime let me know! (either that or I guess I can find somewhere to print them). Keep updated!
I think it’s so awesome how people engineer new things for joysticks, especially american style sticks which are kinda neglected.
If you’ve only used the comp or the super, I understand, but there were american/euro sticks with square gates .
Did you ever try out the “universal” sticks from HAPP and the better version (also called “universal joystick” ) from Industrias Lorenzo?
The universal had a square gate! It wasn’t as popular (shitty square dustcover**) as the super or the competition, yet it had a gate that looked exactly like the one from Sanwa for its JLW model. (RickRoss says your gate looks like a JLW part… funny coincidence…yet I do not agree completely as JLW gate is screwed, but its scrwes are always aligned with the axis, unlike yours which is more JLF style -offset attachment points to the main body- .)
In fact the IL (or Happ) part is so similar to sanwa’s that it even has the same rugged edge and the circular slots to pivot the gate from 8 into 4-way (chekc the pics right after), except the IL part is much sturdier than the one for the JLW due to the material (IL part is nylon).
Who copied who I have no clue.
happ
IL
** crap dustcover was proposed by these companies on this universal model to permit the arcade tech to drill a hole in the panel without the urge for it to be either neat, centered or really circular, since the dustcover could not be lifted.
speaking of square gates on euro and US style sticks, let’s not forget the Suzo500 still well appreciated today by oldtimers (it has a rubber grommet and an unusual adaptable square gate,)
Been working on revamping my HAPP stick then I find this thread. Please keep us posted on this and how it feels with different materials.
I am very tempted to take the plunge myself and have this printed because I like the stiffness of American sticks and feel of concave buttons, but I used a modded SE for SF4 and am spoiled on the JLF I had in it after my padhack on my HAPP stick stopped working. Using a JLF makes you apriciate a square gate and now neither stick has felt right since.
Anyone have any experience with this? I have a pair of custom made controls with HAPP sticks but hate the fact that there’s no square gate. Someone linked me to this thread. I’m not sure if a Sanwa stick will fit in my controls without major modification, so perhaps these 3D printed parts would be the way to go.
Hey @MikesterRX7 , welcome to SRT TT, I don’t have any direct experience with @charliedrums 's 3D printed work, but from what I see in this thread, and what I have experienced using Happ sticks over the years, I believe if you PM him to request a set of his square gate 3D printed conversion parts you should be good to go with your current MAME arcadesticks.
If you would like to put a Sanwa joystick into your MAME arcadesticks, @armi0024 & @SusanInParadise 's Paradise Arcade shop offers the adapter plates and longer shaft you’ll need to make that work. I can’t guarantee it’ll have that classic arcade feel your looking for, especially if you’re used to the feel of American style arcade cabinets, but it’ll definitely get you into square gate land =)
