My home built metal DDR pad (Part IV)

Synaesthesia · Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2005 9:12 am Post subject:

Maistorm, if the polycarb is already in the 11" squares, a hacksaw is sufficient for cutting it, so long as you can saw in a straight line. Scoring/snapping is best for cutting large sections at a time. For custom-fitting under the brackets (or what have you), use the hacksaw all the way. You may have to cut from both sides (hacksaw may not let you get all the way through; in fact, you probably can't). If you have a saber saw, or know someone who does, that might be even better.
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Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

Does anyone have orange and blue ITG style arrow designs saved? I was looking at the Afterburner and I decided that I have to have those ITG arrows. So I went back into the forum but I couldn't find any links to a design, and DDRFreak's search isn't working for me.

EDIT: oh and on that subject, does anyone know how much Kinkos charges for 4 prints on 11x17 paper? My dad was making a big fuss over how much it would cost to go to kinkos and have them print out the designs.

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

just print them out on more than one piece of paper on the best quality on your own printer

print them out, cut them, tape them together

it looks fine..unless you REALLY want to get it customized at kinkos, and pay prolly $10 (just a complete guess), then go ahead

its really not that noticable when its on more than 1 piece of paper..
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Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

geckoinc99 · Trick Member Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Location: Chattanooga, TN

If you need good color prints, head to OfficeMax. I got 11x14 prints there for less than $2 a print. They turned out great. I just had them print onto regular paper for two reasons: one was that the plexiglass takes care of the glossy look and the other is that I wanted light to be able to shine through. Anyway, try there. Much cheaper than Kinkos for the same thing.

David
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Heffenfeffer · Trick Member Joined: 22 Apr 2002 Location: Las Cruces, NM

stupidbarber · Trick Member Joined: 28 Feb 2005

Thanks for the info, Synaesthesia.

New question, please, for Stoli or Stoli-pad builders.
I'm halfway through, and have made a few substitutions. I'm using a heavy-duty rubber floor mat instead of the 1/4 + 1/8 hardboard, to try to dampen sound (I'll report back on how that works). Also, I'm using Lexan instead of Lucite, because I already had some. It seems very flexible - more than the Lucite that I have seen in the stores. My question is about the mouse pad in the corners. It seems very solid, and doesn't compress very much at all. Is this really going to have enought "give" to act as a spring in the corners? Or is the purpose of this design to actually have the panels bend in the middle to allow contact between the two plates only in the middle of the pads?
I'm thinking of leaving out the mouse pads and using the weather stripping alone. Bad idea?

Thanks, as always

Ravenwing · Trick Member Joined: 22 Jun 2003 Location: Leavenworth, KS

Aflac · Trick Member Joined: 28 Mar 2005

yay, we went to home depot and got aluminum flashing! now i can actually finish the pad! yay!

okay anyway... does anyone have any tips about working with flashing? Or how to polish it up and make it look shiny? A friend of mine recommended lapping, which was taking sandpaper and slowly polishing it up, but it would be a pain to sandpaper all the flashing i have on my pad. Any ideas?

Synaesthesia · Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:02 am Post subject:

geckoinc99 · Trick Member Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Location: Chattanooga, TN

Aflac,
Aluminum flashing is pretty easy to work with. I don't know how you plan to attach it, but gluing works very well as long as you get both the flashing and the other surface covered well. Follow the directions about sanding down the edges on the wood so that the corner is more rounded. Here are some tips with the flashing:

1. Cut it bigger than you plan to have it. In other words, leave about 1/2 - 1 inch extra on all sides.
2. Draw a straight line from the sides of the board outward onto the extra flashing. This will mark the part to cut out to allow you to bend at the corner. You should be cutting a square out if you made the extra the same on both sides. (let me know if this confuses you).
3. Use a rubber mallet to tap the piece down onto the glued surface (if gluing). The rubber mallet is also used to bend it around the corners. Just bend at small intervals, work across several times to get to the full 90 bend. Otherwise, you'll get and uneven bend.
4. Once the glue has had a chance to adhere well, take an box cutter and score along the board's side where the excess flashing is. Score it several times and with a good amount of pressure. The more you do this, the easier it is to remove. Once scored, bend the piece back and forth till it snaps off cleanly. If you did this right, it should end right at the corner. This method will completely cover the top and sides, but leaving the bottom to be screwed down or glued.
5. Flashing is shiny on its own and just needs cleaning with a mild cleaner. If you really want to shine it, get some aluminum polish. I believe most car shops carry this.

Hope this helps you out. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

David
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Life is very different 3000 feet above the earth with only a wing to hold you up....
Can't wait to be there again. Wanna join me? Visit http://www.hanglide.com

slvrshdw · Trick Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005

another thing on the flashing..

in my experience, i would NOT cut the excess off at the ends

1)cut the sqaure so its at LEAST a 1/2" (3/4 is better) bigger on EACH SIDE (i think it was about 1 1/2" longer each side total, do the math urself

)

2) bend the excess around, using a straight piece of wood and clamping it to the end, so its

wood, flashing, straight piece
(with a clamp all holding it together)

3) then use a rubber mallet to bend it at a 90 degree angle or as close to it as possible

4) use some nails to hold down the edges that didnt quite go 90 degrees
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kalakaflaca · Basic Member Joined: 06 Sep 2004

Heffenfeneffer wrote:

"As for the sensors, the ones used at the arcade are tricky things - they're actually bits of metal encased in a thick rubber - stepping on the rubber causes the metal inside to make contact and register a step. There are four of those for each panel, and replacements cost about $10 each. Perhaps you should stick with the metal contact solution for the sensors."
Any of you knows if any supply is selling this kind of sensors??..should be good idea to set them under the top switch to avoid noise...
Kalakaflaca

SuRfReAk · Trick Member Joined: 19 Dec 2004

On cutting polycarbonate, a carbide blade (they're black) on a skil saw goes through it like nobody's business. As for the flashing, it's EXTREMELY hard to bend, so I just scored it and broke it off, I found this really easy, and gives a cleaner edge. I didn't even glue it to my panels, only a screw in each corner. If you MUST bend it, at least score it first along the edge to make it easier on yourself. On the other hand, if you tilt the knife while you score it, then break it off, some wood can be exposed.
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Synaesthesia · Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:17 pm Post subject:

kalakaflaca · Basic Member Joined: 06 Sep 2004

160 bucks??..no so good...I have now another idea to try in a few more days for my pad...if you feel something is wrong please post to stop my crazy idea!..how about if on the bottom switch instead of weatherstripping on the metal I make like a home made sensor with strips of rubber like this...on a strip I pass several peeled wires ( before this I can pass a bigger needle or something to wider the holes and the peeled wires can go trought easy) after passing all wires ( maybe 20-30 wires for ech sensor should be enough) leaving on the top letÂ´s say a 1/4 inch to bend...then all of those wires on the bottom of a strip can be solded together to a one common ground.. two purposes can be done on this way..first, all those bent wires resting on the top of the rubber strip can
work to receive signal after contact with the top switch..leading to a common ground as said...course, we donÂ´t need the metal plate on the bottom switch any more....second...since all those wires are resting on the top of the rubber strip surely after stepping the top switch it wonÂ´t produce any loud noisy...thinking about after use and abuse of the pad those wires could be buried on the rubber and donÂ´t make contact I donÂ´t think so...weÂ´re talking about 4 sensores...each sensor will have let say 30 wires, then are 120 wires to make contact...any of them will do!.

..not enough??. how about to set 8 sensors instead?? ..2 each side of the bottom switch??..of course ..just my idea...sure it have to be perfected...I see many geniuses around!..any idea sure is welcome...
Kalaka

Ulala321 · Trick Member Joined: 28 Sep 2004

*smacks head* Stoli, after looking at your site again I saw the graphic you made earlier.. not sure if I'm blind and totally missed it or if you added it. Either way, I've solved my problem, thanks

Maistorm · Trick Member Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Location: B'ham, AL

Are the 8 wires inside an ethernet cable sheathed? That is, for the DDR Pad (ddrhomepad's design), would I be able to buy about 10 ft of Ethernet and essentially have 80 feet of cable to work with?

Tenesu · Basic Member Joined: 05 Feb 2004

Maistorm · Trick Member Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Location: B'ham, AL

alright thank you very much!