New direction for homebrew pinball

I know my last goal was to go old school and create an all mechanical pinball (might still do that one day), but I need to jump ahead at least a little bit.  So I'm going to move ahead with using the door actuators for powering the flippers, I've got some old used flipper bushings, still have my new yellow flipper bats, I believe I have a couple pawls to connect the bats to the actuators, a spare ball, a full plunger assembly.  In fact other than having an automated ball trowl, and perhaps a few posts to stick onto the playfield, I believe I have all the parts I need to get a semi-working pinball going.

Here's my idea.. Crunching some numbers, I believe I can get a working full-size prototype starter kit (safe kid version running off 12v) for roughly $100 cost, and an "adult" 48V version for about $200.

My idea is "pinball in a box".  Basically in the kit you would get a basic playfield layout (talking flippers, couple side bumpers, an outlane guide, shooter lane), would end up looking something like the default starter playfield in future pinball (but in physical form):

No scoring, no ramps, no layout, just a blank canvas with the very basics to get you started.  I would include a template where you would drill holes for posts, the flippers, the outlanes, and you would simply cut/drill a piece of plywood you pickup at your local hardware store (save the cost of shipping heavy wood if it's something you can buy local, though I might sell pre-made designs at some point).

This could be perfect for the hobbyist that just wants to mess around, but the kid-friendly version would be really neat.  A parent (particularly one that is already in the pinball hobby) could buy this kit, let his kid layout a pinball like he wants, draw stuff on the playfield, then the parent helps clearcoat it.  I can't imagine what better gift you could give a kid than letting him design his own pinball.  Problem that exists right now, nothing like this exists.  The closest you could get to this point is finding an older pinball that has a scorched playfield (but functioning), but even then your looking at between $400-$600 easily.

Pin-2000 for a demolition man

This is the coolest mod I've seen in a long time.  This guy threw a P-roc system in his machine, wrote up some code, mounted a 26" LCD above the backbox, and turned it into what I believe is the first wide-body P2k machine.  Even though it's early code, he's got objects that are breakable, and some neat pop-up menus (not to mention a great scoring system).  I can't wait to see what he does with it:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dm-p2k-concept#post-391920

bought a random playfield

Ok, so I have no actual use for this since I don't own this pin, but fer $5 + $15 shipping, I figured how could I go wrong?  It seems to be in decent shape, and I suppose my plan is to touch-up all the wear spots (after a good sanding), and then clearcoat it.  I can then sell it as a "refurbished" playfield for much more, or I thought about possibly turning it into a really cool ceiling light (populate all the holes with bulb holders, wire it all up in parallel, power it up with a 6VDC wallwart).  Heck, maybe I'll just turn it into a coffee table, I don't know.  Point is, one of the things I liked best about my last shop job was turning a crappy mylared playfield into a vibrant good looking pin.  Here's some photos of it from ebay:

gameroom theme

So while some people will simply finish a basement, throw down some tile, paint the walls, and throw some decorations up, I want to do a theme. This isn't unheard of, just takes a little more effort. I know what my theme is going to be without a doubt, I just have to figure out how I want to do it.



Basically I want to loosely base it off a restaurant that used to be at woodfield mall in schaumburg back in 2001 (it closed after a couple years). There was also one in new york, which just closed this year. It was called Mars 2112.



It had a cheesy entrance, you stepped into a "spaceship", a video played that was supposed to be a window looking out like you were actually traveling to Mars.

That cheesiness aside, the decor of the restaurant was really cool. You had red rock walls, making it look like it was carved out of a cave on Mars. There were space scenes airbrushed to simulate a skyline. The waitresses were dressed as aliens, then they had this wacky scientist who's supposedly responsible for designing the restaurant:








There was also one of those laser projection displays shooting messages on the wall.(which I would love to find a reasonably cheap version of)


Now I'm only taking this theme loosely based.  I don't want a "mars" theme, but I like how they implimented it.  I would like to

create a generic planet, something more like the moon. Also, I want lots of NASA embedded into it. Starting with the stairs, I want the ceiling to be a sky. I plan on doing this by taking some thin particle board, cutting a bunch of holes in it, and backlighting it with LED christmas lights (which will run off the bulb socket at the top of the stairs. I also want a rotating sign above the archway, which will tap into the arcade growing up, which is "Galaxy World":





I also want to have lots of that white structure steel that you see

ideas flowing

So I've gone back n forth a couple times with the other blogger.  Ideas are just flowing, did some massive sketching today at work.  It's really rough, but I can totally see some amazing mechanisms coming out of the original theme we both agree should be made.

I think the best way to move forward is for me to start sketching some ideas of each section, sort of like a storyboard, and then place them in their appropriate section of the playfield.  Then once we agree from that point, I can actually start modeling up some of these parts (I already modeled one up just to see what it would look like).  All I can say is that if this project really came to light, it would rock the pinball world with it's innovation.  I just hope it doesn't turn to vaporware because this pin NEEDS to be made.

New follower - on the same page as me

So I got a comment from a guy in Jersey.. Seems he's also trying to build a homebuilt pinball, but he's electrical (I'm mechanical).  His blog is over here:
http://openpinballproject.wordpress.com

Like most people, he's also tired of Stern's regurgitated pinball layouts (which is honestly sad considering the talent there, steve ritchie, gomez, borg).  You just know that Gary Stern has different thoughts on the pinball business than the designers (I.E. he has to make a profit, pay the bills, push the next pinball out the door before code is done).  If GOOD pinball is so hard to do in volumes of a couple thousand (or less), then how is it that Jersey Jack is building the most innovative thing pinball has seen in 20 years, and at the price point of a limited edition Stern?  Could it be that Stern just has too much overhead?

Anyway, makes me wonder if we could team up.. Or at the very least, if someone like him could provide a CPU/display for someone like me that has everything covered but the logic.  Yes, I can buy a P-roc, and good luck trying to program it, much less write a ruleset.  The predator guys in michigan might have figured it out, but anything code-related has my brains turned to mush in about 5 minutes.

I know I haven't exactly kept this blog updated (I also have a dead MAME blog)
http://joemame.blogspot.com

But I've also been restoring two pinballs (I also run a pinball club, and I need pins to host)
http://ilpinballclub.blogspot.com

I also have a messy basement, which is just recently getting to the point where I could have guests down there without feeling embarrassed by the mess.

I'm always thinking about how I want to do mechanisms, even if I haven't drawn a thing.  I've actually got the flipper mechanisms modeled up 90% now, and I think it's going to work well.  Basically I will have a spring loaded side button that turns a spindle, and that spindle will connect to one, two, however many flippers I want on that side.  Potentially (since I have a mechanical actuated motion now), I could have another button act as a master actuator.  Say I want to pop something on the playfield, like spose I want to pop a ball up a wire-ramp.  Pop a secondary button, and send that ball up the ramp.  What's that you say?  How can a simple mechanical button press send a ball flying up? Think mechanical advantage! Imagine a see-saw, but the center isn't centered.  Put the fulcrum offset, and hit the short end, what happens?  The longer side has a much greater arm with greater motion, from a short throw.  Now you have some serious thrust!

Any mechanical pins I do will be wood, in fact I've considered doing some sort of inlay design for artwork.  I want it to be raw, and feel quality, like an amish built the thing (and I do have amish connections if I ever wanted to produce some), but still have that modern feel.

One thing I want to do for sure once it becomes electrical is use Lexan for the playfield.  Might sound crazy, but Lexan is extremely durable, and very stiff (same material clear basketball backglass is made of).  It keeps the artwork protected (playfield scratched? buff it out, the artwork is nowhere nearby).  Speaking of durable, how many old playfields do you see where paint is flaking from the wood planking? That's the wood absorbing moisture, Lexan can't absorb!  Also I've yet to see Lexan strip (unless you REALLY try).  How many times do you see playfields with stripped holes?

As other projects finish up, or I find spare time (lunch breaks, sitting at home in front of the computer), I will eventually get some of these mechs finalized and hopefully post some photos of solidworks renderings, maybe even some movies of the mechanisms moving.

Also, here's the logo I came up with if I ever formed a company:

PFA stands for Pinball For All. I want everyone in the world to have the opportunity to play such a wonderful game, and at $8k a piece there are a LOT of people that will never get to play one. Yes, there is the used market, but with people hoarding them in their private collections, even used ones are often going for $1k-$12k depending on rarity.

homebrew project.. Back onnnnn

Ok, so after watching this video:



I'm re-inspired, and I realize that I can't just go from never designing a pinball in my life, to the level that Stern is at.  I should know better being an engineer, and realize how a design has to go through iterations, and learning from your mistakes.  I need to start out small, simple, baby steps.  Here's my goal and iteration list:

Version 1.0 - completely mechanical, no electric at this point.  I want to be able to layout a full pinball, with foam board, and have everything powered by motion (of which I have a ton of great ideas to incorporate modern things like multiball).

Version 2.0 - Add LED general illumination, rollover lights, and mp3 sound using a 5V arduino board.  This can run off of 4 D batteries, or a 5v wall plug.

Version 3.0 -  Add a scoring system (using Arduino counter code), add an Arduino driven 7-segment display for output)

Version 4.0 - Update to 14-segment display like on late 80's williams pins (earthshaker, funhouse), add animations

Version 5.0 - Impliment a 12V system to power DC actuator driven flippers, pop bumpers, drop targets, etc.  Run off of rechargable AGM (small sealed car battery).  Use DC to DC converter to drop 12v down to 5v to continue running arduino system.

My intention of this project is multi-fold.
1. I REALLY want to design a pinball, from scratch, while innovating new features that have never been seen before
2. It would be nice if this takes off, to actually sell a small run of them.
3.  Offer something the pinball community has never seen before.  I want to make something simple, affordable, light, and easy to work on (because it will be dead simple).  Ideally, I want to make it possible to stack playfields, and just have cabinet stands (that don't move), and then swap them out to keep things rotated (without having to trade, or sell/buy all the time).  I hear all the time about people living in small spaces in europe, people stuck in small apartments.  If I can offer a way for those people to own pinballs, at affordable prices (and not take up a ton of space, or be able to stow it away), I've hit an all new market.  Also on top of being affordable and lightweight (cheaper shipping), being powered by low voltage and power, it's completely possible to charge up batteries with solar power and have pinball in 3rd world nations (if this business really takes off, I'm totally going to donate a couple to random nations).

I've already come up with a mission statement, a logo, and designed my first mechanism in solidworks this morning.  I don't want to reveal anything until I have a few more mechanisms designed out, and I have my first foam prototype built, but I'm really excited to getting this going.