Y.A.R.M.A.U.S. V2 (Arcade Spinner Controller)

thingiverse

This is an improved version of my original 'Y.A.R.M.A.U.S.' spinner design, which can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4354590 **Standard Y.A.R.M.A.U.S. Features (V1 & V2)** - Fits a standard Happ joystick drill pattern - Dual 608 skateboard bearings (smooth and heavy duty) - Adjustable sensor PCB mount - Adjustable flywheel inertia (match the feel of the dials from your favorite games) - 1/4-20 hardware (so we can support our local hardware stores!) **Y.A.R.M.A.U.S. V2 Improvements** - Lower profile (fits slimmer controller enclosures) - Larger diameter code wheel (higher PPR possible) - Simpler and stronger sensor mount bracket - Tighter 'glue-free fit' around the pennies - Finger size holes to easily remove flywheel pennies - Easier assembly (middle nut was eliminated) - Assortment of code wheels to choose from (64, 128, & 300) **To complete this project, you'll need the following hardware** - 1x hacked ball style USB mouse (or pro-micro+encoder IC, or whatever... the emitter/sensor must be mounted on a custom PCB) - 2x 608 skateboard bearings (clean with paint thinner or gas if they're greased) - 1x 1/4-20x4" coarse thread bolt or all thread (may have to cut to length) - 1x 1/4-20 nylock nut (2x if using all-thread instead of a bolt) - 4x M3-10 bolts - 2x M3 nuts - 24x pennies for weights (optional) - An arcade controller enclosure that fits a Happ joystick pattern **...and these printed parts** - 1x base - 1x encoder (must be opaque color, or painted black) - 1x bracket - 2x bushings - 1x knob (may need a tap) - 1x flywheel (optional) **Assembly** The bushings adapt the 1/4" thread to fit snug in the 608 bearings; they go on the outsides of the bearings. If you are using a bolt, press the flywheel and encoder on toward the head (omit the flywheel if you prefer a lightweight feel). If you use all thread for the shaft, press the flywheel/encoder on after installing a nylock nut on the end of the shaft. Adjust the nuts so the knob fits your panel with some clearance underneath. Use a metal cut off wheel to shorten the shaft if it protrudes too much past the flywheel. Use M3 hardware to mount the bracket to the base, and the sensor PCB to the bracket. Adjust the sensor position as needed so it works well, then tighten in place. I noticed on my Dell mouse that the slots on the stock wheels were placed very close to the sensor side within the gap (farther from the emitter side). Consider these kinds of details if you happen to have problems getting your sensor lined up and adjusted properly. **Sensor PCB** The encoder PCB can be made using a 0.5"x0.9" piece of standard 0.1" proto board (4x8 holes). If you haven't made custom proto boards before, it is quite easy to do with a razor knife and a vise (or long nose pliers). You basically score the board on both sides, clamp it on one side of the line, and snap it along the line. Cut the width first, then cut it to length. A dremel cutoff wheel is used to cut a slot in the PCB for the encoder wheel to fit. I also used a sanding drum to clean up the snapped edges of the PCB (this is optional). 2 of the holes are drilled out to fit the M3 mounting screws. See my uploaded photo for details. **Knob** I remixed the Tempest knob from here to fit a 1/4-20 shaft and M3 grub screws: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3626107 I apologize for being too lazy to model the 1/4-20 tap in Freecad. I used M6 from the library instead... close enough. I had to clean the threads out with a 1/4-20 tap for it to thread on cleanly. If you don't such a tap handy, you can easily make one using a dremel to cut 'flutes' into a 1/4-20 bolt. It doesn't have to be perfect; it's only cutting small amounts of plastic. Once you get the knob threaded to the correct height on the shaft, you can use some M3 grub screws to secure it. I found that the fit after tapping was tight enough that grub screws were not required. If you do need grub screws, you may want to use a cutoff wheel to grind a corresponding flat spot on the shaft, which lines up with the screw. **Flywheel** The 8 holes in the flywheel are sized to fit up to 3 US pennies each; add as many pennies as required to get the feel you are after. The pennies should fit snug. If not, after you have the proper amount of weights figured out, you can glue them in permanently if you wish. Add weights symmetrically to keep it balanced. Precisely balancing the flywheel is not required given the speed at which most games require it to spin. If after mounting everything up you feel any unacceptable wobbling, you can add glue to the light side of the flywheel to tune it. Note that original Tempest cabinets had a fairly large flywheel... fill it completely with pennies if this is what you're after. It would be great to have a list of dial inertias used in the popular arcade games, with a column along side showing how many pennies this thing requires to match it. **Code Wheels** I included an assortment of encoder wheels with different spoke counts to suit various needs (64, 128, & 300). More slots = higher resolution, but optical encoders all have a max switching rate (steps/second) beyond which "strobing" will occur, which results in a game destroying loss of control. The encoder's strobing limit and your printer's limits in printing very thin lines with minimal gaps between them, and how fast you will turn the dial, all adds up to limit the max resolution possible with this design... but even 64 spokes feels very smooth and strobe proof. Remember you get 4 positions per spoke. So 64 spokes -> 1.4 degree (more than adequate for most if not all games), 128 spokes -> 0.7 degree, and 300 spokes -> 0.3 degree resolution. Most printers (ie, a 0.4mm nozzle) should easily be able to make a working 64 or 128 spoke encoder. The 300 spoke wheel is supposed to be kind of a joke. The 300 requires ~0.3mm wide lines and gap, which isn't impossible, but you'd have to honestly ask yourself if your fingers will even notice the difference between 0.3* and 0.7*. For myself, the guts from the old Dell ball mouse I used had 64 spoke wheels. So I went with that on my spinners, and they feel/perform perfect (never strobes out, and plenty smooth/responsive).