Project GT-C. Let's talk about circular JLF restrictors

Tech Talk
1

Updates!
The GT-C circular restrictor is a custom developed replacement for the square or octagonal restrictor normally found in Sanwa JLF sticks. It does exactly what it sounds like; makes your joystick move in a perfect circle with no hangs up on corners, just smooth curves all around.

You can read this first post and see the steps as this was developed, but the project is completed. The production model GT-Cs have been made and are available from LizardLick.com for purchase:
http://www.lizardlick.com/Sanwa-GT-C-Round-Restrictor-Plate-Insert_p_616.html
You can also check out the installation video here:
http://tinyurl.com/GT-C-Installation

These things turned out way better than I could have originally hoped for. The build quality is solid, edges are smooth, plastic is strong, and the color is pretty. The size of the restrictor circle is at a perfect spot where the corners are not hard to find, but the maximum throw isn’t that big either. The diameter is actually less than could be made out of a modified octagonal or square gate, so if you’ve tried the hand mode circular restrictors in the past, the GT-C is a serious step up in many different ways.

As always, this is a fan created part. Sanwa doesn’t know about, care about, or endorse this. Plastic injection molding is rather expensive, so I must ask that if you like the one you get, please make sure to let folks know about. Enjoy!

Original Post:
I’m not very sure where, if anywhere, this idea will go. After accepting that an optical JLF board would require a custom milled mold for injection molding, I started thinking about what other things are needed by the community that need to be molded, and a circular JLF restrictor was the first thing I could see. I won’t talk about the second thing yet.

So I took some measurements and laid out a part, and had the college make me a few prototypes in different sizes:

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/5505/dsc03410jc.jpg

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/571/dsc03408z.jpg

It may be hard to tell, but there is a 0.7 mm different between each piece shown in the picture. I wanted to try out different diameters to see if I could find the best size to use if I were to ever make some.
I could make more using the SLA machine that these were made from, but the cost to run it comes out to about $10 each. Not bad for prototyping, but not so great of a price for production run. Getting them molded would make the ‘per unit’ cost less, but with a MASSIVE initial investment of about $6,000-$8,000 dollars to get the mold made, and that’s with a cheap mold. Doable, but only if I could seriously expect to sell 10k over the next couple of years, and I don’t think I’m that confident.

So, I guess I’m posting this up for two reasons. First off, if you’d be interested in one, please post up with a price you’d be willing to pay for one. Second, I could use testers to give an opinion of these prototypes I have. Testing them would involve me sending one of each size to you, letting you try them out for a week, and get back to me which size you felt worked best, and mailing them back, with me covering postage. If you’re someone I’ve worked with before and heavy in the community, I’d be willing to loan them out for the feedback. If not, please understand if I ask for a paypal deposit to refund when they’re returned.

2

Oh wow. This is awesome! Another great product from Toodles.

I’d definitely buy one of each just to see which ones would work best with JLF and more importantly my Flash1.

I’d be happy to pay the current $10 for a couple. I’ve really wanted a quality production type of a circular gate for a while.

I would also volunteer to test, but I honestly don’t even play games anymore sadly. My arcade sticks are gathering dust and aside from some outstanding sticks that two people have been waiting on, I don’t even touch parts anymore. So I’d be probably next to useless in terms of being a good tester.

If you do happen to have a couple that you are selling at $10 a pop, let me know. I’d like to buy some as soon as you make it an option.

~Paik

3

Id pay $15 shipped if your cost is $10.

4

I’m guessing the actual gate won’t be included with the modded center piece, and given that you must sell a very large quantity to make up for the initial investment, I would say $5-6 per center piece sounds reasonable. It’ll take quite some time to see some returns with that cost, but regular tech talk users will most likely buy 2 or more of these to customize their multiple sticks with. I know I’m already down for 2. I would still buy one these for $10, but that would be my limit at that price.

5

I’ve always wondered why sanwa isn’t producing this already. Nice project name btw.

6

I think that if you made clear 30mm sanwa button centers, like the Seimitsu PS-14-GNCs, you would be able to sell a lot of those.

For me personally, I have a LS-32 round gate and a JLW round gate, and a iL made Happ comp, and do not like round gates at all anymore.

7

Wow. thats really nice i wouldn’t mind spending $10 for one.

8

I wouldn’t mind being a tester. I grew up on Happ, and I use JLF exclusively. I also own a couple circular gates that a fellow SRK member made for me for comparison. No hard feelings if I get passed on though, but thought I’d be pretty ideal.

9

Yeah I consider myself a round gate, bat top connoisseur having the LS-32, JLW, Happ, and custom jlf round drilled gate made by someone on this forum, and the only problem with the custom one is there is no angle like there is on your project. I would be happy to help you with the testing, and I would buy 3 at $10 2 $12.50 and 1 at $15 hope this helps and good luck with the project I have my fingers crossed that you get enough interest.

10

Interesting. Just for kicks I took an old gate a had and used a grinding cone on it to hake it round. It worked, but I’m not sure if the throw is teh same or if I made it longer. Your way seems much more professional.

And I agree with rtdzign, clear (ir translucent) centers for seimitsu buttons would sell like hotcakes. Being able to light the plunger and rims (like a clear happ button) would be great for arc-eye users…

11

Interesting. Just for kicks I took an old gate a had and used a grinding cone on it to hake it round. It worked, but I’m not sure if the throw is the same or if I made it longer. Your way seems much more professional.

And I agree with rtdzign, clear (or translucent) centers for seimitsu buttons would sell like hotcakes. Being able to light the plunger and rims (like a clear happ button) would be great for arc-eye users…

12

$5-7 pre shipped would be nice. i would be down for 2 if they appeared in the market.

13

I’d like these as soon as possible. I’ve been waiting for the other round gate maker, but he’s sold out and hasn’t made a new batch in a long time.

to be honest, I wouldn’t think the mold would be the way to go. It seems very unlikely for you to sell over 10k of them. I would, however be willing to pay 15$ for each of them

14

I have to admit, I didn’t think about those. I’ll see what I can do. Just to be clear, you’re talking about the white piece of plastic that sits between the microswitch and the clear top cover of the KNs, right? the round piece with the little tabs on the sides and the rectangular slot in the middle for the microswitch?

15

I’m getting the feeling that the SLA is the way to go as well.
So let’s do this. If you’re interested in picking one up immediately or just trying them out, and live the US, send me a PM. First three people to do so, I’ll ask for a $35 paypal from you, and send them out priority mail along with a postage paid envelope to send them back to me. When you decide which one of the three sizes you want to keep, throw the other two in the envelope and mail it back to me, and I’ll refund $20 back to you when they arrive. If you’re just testing them out and return all three, I’ll refund the full $35. I’ll know pretty quickly the prefered size since I’ll run out of them quickest, and I’ll talk to the rapid prototyping people to see how much I can squish down the cost by getting a batch of 100 made once I know the best size to make. Sound fair?

16

Oh man, if you were to make a run of clear button plugs I’d be all over that. Its sad that you can’t get Sanwa buttons with the aesthetics of Seimitsus unless you’ve got a couple OBSC-RGs like rtdzign haha

17

Oh, for sanwas, my bad. I was thinking the white piece on white Sei KN’s. I’ll see what I can do.

18

Yeah, People wish they could buy clear centered Sanwa’s. The microswitches of Seimitsu are not to the liking of many people, and the Seimitsu centers don’t fit well in Sanwa buttons.

19

Trying to do the two piece plunger like the Sei’s use would require two different molds. That’s one hell of a lot of money. Doing a copy of the original one piece plunger is doable, but there wouldn’t be any artwork inserts like you see on KN’s. Add in that it’d still have to go with a full price Sanwa button on top of it, and I just don’t see it being able to pay for itself. Even if people were willing to pay an additional $5 on top of the normal $2-$4 for the button itself, it’d still take 10k-20k of them just to break even on the molds. If I tried to get some made with the SLA that these prototypes are made of, then it’d only be possible to go the one piece route, and they’d be $10 each per button.

I don’t think I can financially justify trying to make clear inserts for Sanwas. But I will get a couple of the KN plungers done up in clear, at least to show off the LED controller. I doubt they’ll be marketable, but I want a few for me and the demo sticks.

20

I would also REALLY like someone to make clear plungers for SANWA buttons. I would buy at least 12 - 18 of them at $2-5 a piece if available.