I grew up in the 80s, probably the glory days of arcade gaming, so I have always wished I had an arcade machine of my own with real arcade joystick and buttons.

Fairly recently, I built a 3D printer from kit, so I thought I should put it to good use and make myself a desktop arcade machine.

Over a few weeks, I ordered all the electronic parts I needed, like the controller, LCD display, Raspberry Pi 3, etc. I then did all the 3D modelling and spent over 100 hours printing the parts. Also, I wanted my arcade machine to have a lot of detail, so I also created things like a faux coin slot, etc. To give it the professional finish, I also designed the artwork which I sent to a commercial printer to have it printed on vinyl sticker.

Do take a look at the video and photos below to see how much effort I put into making a small dream of mine come true!

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The completed arcade machine. There’s even backlight for the marquee on top!

It started with 3D modelling. I had to break it down to smaller parts so that it can be printed on my 3D printer

Over 100 hours were spent 3D printing all the parts

Test assembly to make sure the parts fit

Almost done printing

Primed and sanded to give it a smooth finish

Then I painted it matte black and waited a few days for the paint to cure

The back panel with ventilation holes. This was added later because I realised I forgot to put in any vents

The 8″ IPS LCD and driver board used for this project

The display installed

Controller installed

The speakers and LEDs behind the marquee

Final assembly

The insides of the machine

Created the artwork and had it professionally printed on vinyl sticker

The result!

The joystick + buttons were based on actual arcade layout with just a minor change, and I ensured there was sufficient room to rest my palm

The whole journey from start till finish

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