Process of Handcrafting a Retro Arcade Mashine

Planing

I created the plan in Autodesk Fusion 360. I sketched one side and then extruded the different parts. Then I added the fillets and the holes.

Side

Complete model

Cutting

I cutted out the side panels roughly with the jigsaw. The screen border was cut out with the cross cut saw. The other parts were cut by the hardware store and I cutted the bevels witht the tablesaw. All fillets were done with electric sanders.

Sidepanel

Sidepanels

Assembling

I nailed together the parts (with the nail gun) and added some glue in between. I also added a lot of support blocks.

Monitor mounting

Assembled (with tape)

Assembled

Supporting blocks

Coloring

I applied two coats of textured paint (Lacquer). Then I added the U-Molding with hot glue (I would not recommend this method, because the hot glue made the plastic soft and uneven), the LEDs and the satined acrylic.

Colored

One of the four LED stripes. Two in the top, two on the back for ambient light.

Installing the Electronics

I installed the Raspberry Pi, the monitor, the speakers with their small amplifier, the USB extension cable, the power cables for the devices, the switch for the power of the amplifier (to turn on and off the audio) and the power socket (with a built in power switch).

Installed electronics

Installing the Software

I installed RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi as an operating system and uploaded some game ROMs via WIFI.

This is my first project I planed with Fusion 360, so maybe it is not perfect.