3D Printed Arcade Controller

Written by

atavernier

in

So I built this really quick arcade controller a few months ago using a kit I bought on eBay. It worked well, but I didn’t have an appropriate enclosure at the time, so it has been living in an old router box. Now with the help of super-future-3D-printing-technology, it can finally have a real home!

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The original cardboard box controller.

The Build

07
The first half of the enclosure, finished after 12 hours. Tape to ensure edges don’t warp during this long print.
14
The PEI print bed leaves this great glossy surface on the first layer.

This is the first object I’ve printed of this size. My print bed is only 200x200mm and this controller enclosure if 190mm wide. It’s also difficult to calibrate the bed evenly across such a wide distance with my current auto-leveling sensor, so the first layer could definitely be improved in the future.

13
The inside is much neater.
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Unassembled controller, with a quick vinyl cutout to cover the top.

I did end up making a vinyl cutout for this controller to make it look even more professional. I suppose I could use another layer of vinyl to add text or images, but I really like the clean, minimal look of the current version.

11
No soldering required! This whole kit is just plug and play.
10
Top half assembled! It is playable at this point, but the bottom is open.
17
The finished controller, with base plate attached.

Conclusion

 

I think the total printing time for this project was about 18 hours–most of it overnight. Assembly of the final parts only took a few minutes. The base plate screw posts were fairly short in the original design, but I thankfully had several sizes of nylon standoffs on hand.

Now if only I could get past the first stage of Ghosts ‘n Goblins!

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