So I'm semi getting back into my project.. I really like how Hugh tried to make the most cost effective pinball controller possible (so new homebrewers could get into it cheaply). Well I've been tinkering with a cabinet design in solidworks for a while now to cover the other barrier to entry and finally decided it was time to start making something. So let's just go over what options there are:
1. You find someone getting rid of an old cabinet (like me). A friend was dumping a williams F14 cabinet, so of course I grabbed it because it was much better than the crappy early Stern cabinet that was really only good for a single level playfield. But an early Williams cabinet is also semi-limited in space compared to a modern cabinet like Stern. I'll admit I'm not entirely happy with the limitation of it.
2. You buy a virtual cabinet. Fully assembled with hardware you will pay $1350. If you go the DIY route:
$280 lower cabinet
$50 backbox
$130 coin door face (because you have to fill that hole with something)
$20 - stern lockdown reciever bar
$65 - stern lockdown bar
$8 - lockdown clamps
$22 - Williams backbox hinges
$16 - leg brackets
$39 legs
You still need a speaker panel for the backbox, rails for the translite.. But you're already in it for $630 (no wonder why a homebrew is starting to sound expensive)
3. You buy a cabinet from spooky.. Annnd still buy all that hardware.
Option 4. I hope to one day offer this option.
So there's this channel I subscribe to called laser sterling. This guy is from colorado and he's been building a "homebrew lamborghini", and he's 3d printing all the body panels and covering them with carbon fiber. It's not... bad, for what it is (and sort of amazing he's printing it on a small hobby printer in sections and using epoxy to join them), but if you watch his channel for a while, you realize what a fit nightmare it is trying to get everything to fit right and getting consistent body gap.
https://www.youtube.com/c/lasersterling/videos
So it got me thinking, a pinball cabinet isn't that complicated, but cutting everything out (and joining the corners) is sort of an art. You don't have to be an expert cabinet maker, but you sorta need reasonable woodworking skills. So although my cabinet compromises a little artwork, and currently there isn't room for a shooter rod (I prefer an auto launcher to avoid alignment issues), it's VERY simple, VERY cheap, and VERY easy to assemble. I'm 3d printing corner joints so that it makes the flat pieces MUCH simpler to cut. I literally drew the lines to cut my plywood, made my cuts, and assembled this in less than 2 hours:
Now I'm still tweaking the design as I go (I still have a bottom panel and backbox support to install), but I'm pretty confident this will be plenty strong for a homebrew game (even taking to shows).
So the cost? Well even though I haven't ordered all the hardware I need:
$60 - 1/2" plywood, 2x4 sheet x4 (cabinet wood)
$65 stern lockdown bar
$20 lockdown receiver
$3.75 x 2 (latches)
$24 in filament cost for the 3d printed corners and approximately 70 hours of print time
$39 4 legs
$4 x 4 (leg bracket)
$4x2 glass rail channels
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$239.50 total
Haven't quite finalized the backbox (but it too will be simple and cheap), but I'm already $40 less than JUST the virtual cabinet, and I have nearly a complete cabinet. About 4 years back I started to tinker with a 3d printed lower playfield (which I would still like to complete):
Between those 2 things, I figure I could get a flipping playfield IN a complete cabinet for probably less than $500 in total material. That's no logic, no sound.. but it would enable someone to start lying out an idea with minimal investment.
