A new folding build

[Raketemensch]

We had a 43" TV laying around, along with an older gaming PC and I suddenly had a spare 1080ti when I finally upgraded my gaming PC a few months back, so I've been working out how to build one of these insane things. Between lots of research and a windfall of Amazon gift cards from a rewards program that we use at work, I've picked up just about everything I need. 

 

Today I picked up some 1/2" plywood and got to work building the main cabinet. It's about 3 inches longer than the playfield display, because the 2x2s that are bolted onto the VESA mounts will be mounted to a dowel rod that will allow me to both tilt the playfield up to work on the hardware in the cabinet as well as to let the front of the cabinet fold down flat against the wall under the backglass:

 

 

I hadn't planned on de-casing the display, but doing so will allow me to cut another 7-8cm off of the cabinet, which will help a lot when folding it down. The flatter the better. Plus it let me reconnect with 10 year old me who loved to take things apart...

 

I then did a quick layout of

• mobo/CPU
• bass shaker
• subwoofer
• exhaust fans
• surround module
• 2 amplifiers
• 4 exciters
• hard drive

 

 

This led me to realize that I needed better power/reset buttons for the PC, a couple of new fans and especially a 24v power supply to run the amps. Fortunately they all arrive tomorrow.

 

I have a couple of older monitors laying around, but none are the right size for the backglass -- I think a 32" is ideal, especially in a 4:3? There are a few computer repair stores around that stock used monitors, but I have to wait for Monday for them to open. That part of my plan is still very loose, but it'll come together more when I have the monitor in hand and can start working on the dimensions.

 

A few things I'm still pondering is gas struts for lifting/lowering the playfield and the best way to solidly mount the legs to keep the thing stable during play, but allow for folding when it gets "put away."

 

Oh, and I also need to sort out a cheap plunger.

Edited yesterday at 01:49 AM by Raketemensch