June 26th, 2024

Can You Make It Bigger? – A Journey in Building Collapsable Arcade Cabinets

Leigh Hackspace designed portable arcade cabinets using Fusion 360 and Shapeoko XXL. Equipped with Cooler Master monitor, Raspberry Pi 4, and Sanwa JLF components, the cabinets featured PyGame-developed games and were showcased at events. Additional enhancements included trackball for two-player action.

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Can You Make It Bigger? – A Journey in Building Collapsable Arcade Cabinets

Leigh Hackspace embarked on a project to build arcade cabinets that could be easily transported and stored between events. The initial idea was to create small arcade cabinets, but it evolved into designing full-size cabinets that could be disassembled for portability. The team used Fusion 360 for design and Shapeoko XXL for cutting the prototype. The cabinets were equipped with a Cooler Master monitor, Raspberry Pi 4, Sanwa JLF arcade stick, and buttons. The games were developed using PyGame and showcased at the Devoxx UK event. After the successful event, the cabinets were disassembled, packed, and prepared for the next event. To enhance the prototype, side panels were recut, painted, and additional components like a trackball were added for two-player action and more game modes. The final arcade cabinet made appearances at various events, including the International Discworld Convention. Leigh Hackspace welcomes visitors to play on the arcade cabinet and offers opportunities for commissions and skill-building.

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Link Icon 3 comments
By @lobsterthief - 4 months
Very cool! I’m well-versed in the portable arcade cabinet space—I built one a few years back [into a rugged hard case](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyR60wn1Ec). To accomplish this, I used a removable arcade joystick assembly.

Still, wouldn’t have worked with full-size cabinets ;) Kudos on the great work

By @crawfishphase - 4 months
looks nice and would take some custom vinyl side-art and marquee nicely.. some states tax these things or have other oddball laws for them when put in certain public places