Coffee Table Raspberrypi Arcade Machine
Made by Dubious Engineering / 3D Printing / Displays / Games & Gaming / Retro Tech / Upcycling
About the project
Enjoy dinner and gaming at the same time!! - This is a slightly complicated build and requires a few woodworking tools. Building a good quality monitor and sound system into your coffee table and including some USB ports on the front is well worth the effort!! Both my wife and I are in love with this epic project!!
Project info
Difficulty: Difficult
Platforms: Raspberry Pi
Estimated time: 2 days
License: GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)
Story
Ages ago, I made a BarTop Arcade machine. My wife loves to play it but it takes up a lot of room in the kitchen. We have a coffee table that also takes up room in the lounge... it's useful, but it doesn't include a screen... ALL COFFEE TABLES NEED A SCREEN!! - I just couldn't help but get on and build a screen into my coffee table, then, I installed a Pi4, a sound system, and two USB ports on the front, RetroArch and BOOM - Were eating Pizza and playing games together!! Full build videos below including some of the details of the mistakes made and learning during the project. YouTube Channel is Dubious Engineering Let me know if you make one... I'd love to see it!! BUILD PT1
BUILD PT2
BUILD PT3
Buy the parts and commit a good couple of days to this project to get a nice job done. DONT RUSH!!
Measure your screen up and cut the coffee table apart!
DO NOT FIT THE SCREEN FLAT - THE VIEWING ANGLE WILL STOP YOU FROM SEEING THE SCREEN UNLESS YOU SIT DIRECTLY OVER THE TOP OF YOUR COFFEE TABLE - So, to be able to sit more comfortably, you need to angle the screen!!
Then get on and build up the electronics and electrical side of the table...
Add some NICE speakers :-) Its a nice coffee table... so deserves good quality speaks , a DAC and an amp as the Pi audio output is horrible, noisy and hissy!!!
Add a GLASS top cut to size - Many hardware stores offer this service... the glass for my table was £50
And BOOM!! -
Now I'm working on the Joysticks...
Detailed build videos below...
BUILD PT2
BUILD PT3
The next part of this mission is to finish the build of those proper big joysticks to compliment the machine for more serious gaming events with friends once social distancing is back to normal!
Schematics, diagrams and documents
Credits
Dubious Engineering
Creator, Engineer, YouTuber - Continue to come to ElectroMaker also, visit and subscribe to Dubious Engineering on YouTube for regular updates and product reviews!
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