New prototype case completed in toronto

Tech Talk
1

ok dudes,

so been working with some builders in the gta and here is the latest proto done.
note revisions to the design are being done. and the posssibility or 2 more designs are being done. we are not taking pre orders at the time. estimated price tag will be under 100.00CAD/80.00USD for sure. i will have a better number once we finalize the design. enjoy all!

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype1_top.jpg

Top view with control panel on

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype2_top2.jpg

Top view with control panel off

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype3_top3.jpg

Top view without control panel

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype4_bottom.jpg

Bottom view

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype5_side.jpg

Side view, left one is 3" all around for Happ/IL components and right one has a mild slant and a bit thinner for Sanwa/Seimitsu parts. These dimensions are not final and just used for the time being since we are in prototype and test fitting stage.

http://www.vendor21.com/metalprototype6_side2.jpg

Side view showing seam weld

Capcom USA Street Fighter layout in 6 button or 8 button

Standard Japanese arcade layout in 6 button or 8 button

Please ignore the holes that are cut in the top panel, the metal CNC worker just wanted to give you guys an idea of what the final product will be like. In case you are wondering, the top panel will be offered in various layouts such as:

The top panel currently is tack welded but will be all welded just like the last picture showing the seam weld in the side view. I know things look rough for now but the finished product will be much more polished and there will be options for paint, powder coating and possibly even a mirror polish finish. It will all boil down to the costs. These two prototypes were made tonight in about 3 hours from the time I sat down with my friend at his metal shop to draw it out and finish off a mini keg of Heineken :razz: In case you are wondering there will be space allocated for artwork and plexi to go on top which will sit flush with the 3/4" border around the top. Holes will be pre-drilled and threaded for countersunk screws to hold it down.

Right now I am in the process of testing fitting Happ/IL, Sanwa, and Seimitsu parts. Hopefully by this time next week I will have all the parts from this group buy test fitted. This design will accomodate screw in or snap in buttons, LS-32-01/02 and maybe a Happ perfect 360 if I can get my hands on one too. I’m waiting just like everyone else to get my parts.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the approximate weight of the case right now is ~ 6.5lbs. This is not the final weight and these two boxes were just made with scrap cut offs in the shop. Other materials can be used such as aluminum if some people prefer a lighter stick but the cost will be more. For now we will be using metal which is much more solid than wood. Once test fitting is complete, I will review areas I can help reduce costs, such as going with a thinner gauge of metal, to keep the final price as low as possible. Right now from the looks of things, the price will be very competitive with wood solutions being offered.

Stay tuned and I will post up more pictures of progress.

feel free to critique guys but please be civil and keep this thread clean.

2

Looks cool. Interested to see how the final version looks.

3

yeah that case in the pic is far from near complete.
thinking to make major changes to the main base.
and obviously brush finish it.

4

Umm how do you get access to the inside of the stick to put in parts?

5

initially we used the top open design and we also had a flip top idea. we are still debating if we should abandon those ideas. like i said this is just a prototype. the purpose of this thread is to get feedback on what you guys want to see in a case.

6

Wait, so you and mwong are making these cases? Or is it just mwong?

7

Like this idea.

8

it’s a joint effort and we’ve been childhood friends since SF2 days lol playing at various arcades in the tdot… brimley and eglington. funaland on yonge. ryerson… if you were a local down town player like me you prolly seen me around the gta and played me. initially in other threads i said i would be working with various builders and other ppl in the scene to try to bring better product and easier access to us guys here in the east and north. not just in areas of fighter gamers but also in other areas like diy projects and computer plans. expect more from me and others in the scene soon. this is just the beginning. it looks like cases just for now but believe me plans for other stuff is in the blueprints. if your an rfder you know that i am also very active in the tech and computer and phone forums.

9

Yes this is a joint effort on both our parts. I see so many cases made out of wood so I thought why not metal. Turns out I have a close relative that has been eating, sleeping and breathing the metal industry for the last 25 years. I apologize for how rough things look because we just used scrap cut offs to make this prototype.

The final version will be cleaner and seams will be welded, right now for the purpose of getting the idea out things have been tack welded. Should be test fitting Happ parts tonight and hopefully Sanwa and Seimitsu parts later on this week. Then the next item to debate is panel layout options. This is where Infamous really shines given his experience building custom sticks, all components mentioned above will be 100% tested to fit in this enclosure.

10

Damn, that’s pretty awesome.

Now if only there were case builders out west located in Canada… :frowning:

11

well hopefully as the this and other diy stuff progresses up here we can get other out west to jump on board. it would be nice to see more ppl in canada.

12

We’ll try to keep the weight of the final case down, right now it’s almost 7lbs :rofl: Some people might want this because I read threads before on people using sticky wheel weights to make their sticks heavier.

Shipping is not that expensive and if you can rally up a few people we can ship a few cases in one shipment and split the costs. We will not mark up or make anything on shipping once these are ready. The only extra charge I see at the moment is the 2% service charge for paypal but I will discuss that with infamous later since he probably has more experience in dealing with online transactions.

13

The TE 8-button layout should be fine, with 3 buttons on the back. (start, guide, back) A flip top or a removable panel at the bottom would be nice.

Also, are you guys planning on adding some sort of insulation inside the case? Since it’s metal, I can imagine shorts happening to the PCBs. I guess to cut costs, people can always electrical tape the insides themselves.

14

that explains a lot… no wonder you always got each other’s back

-joe

15

Thought about that already, we plan on making a compartment in the bottom for PCB mounting to avoid it from moving around freely. Might be a bit more tricky for those that are cramming a hacked up 360 controller in there but we’ll get to that once we test fit the component on the top to see what usable space we have left. I will be the test guinea pig for this since I have a 360.

16

I do like how you guys are obviously taking your time and testing things about before just jumping into the trading outlet with cases for sale.

Keep working and perfecting it before you introduce them for sale, and make sure you’ve got everything down.

I would think you could easily make the top panel removeable with 4 flat screws.

17

Just pre-install spacers and mounts on the bottom for a pcb. Look inside a PC case and use the same method a motherboard uses.

18

Yes that is the idea with 4 countersunk screws but infamous is sorting of having second thoughts about this. My idea was to leave just enough space so by the time you put the top panel in and plexi on top it should sit flush.

Just wanna throw this out there but would anyone be interested in having the bottom made of diamond plate?

http://www.troys3ddesignart.com/images/DiamondPlate-Silver.gif

19

I don’t recall who (finkle maybe) but someone sells some sticks with the diamond plate.

It doesn’t really add to the design just being on the bottom, but if it gives grip, then it has a benefit.

20

We will have to experiment with a controller and see what holes or points we can use to make a mount. I saw some guy put wood pegs like this:

I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out but thanks for your suggestion.

I was thinking of this for a different finished look besides painting it a particular color.

As for grip on the bottom, I was going to stop by a local home depot and see if I can get what others have been using for a screw in rubber feet. We want to provide as complete of a solution as possible for everyone. Things like additional screws, rubber feet and plexi add to the cost of the overall end product. We might just end up drilling 4 standard threaded holes and you guys can go source that out locally at your hardware store.