dillingerradio
Enthusiast
Hello everyone!
Today I'll be walking through my receipt of several Universal PCB Cases from forum user @Semload.
Introduction
Over my time on these forums, I've managed to acquire a considerable collection of games (some of you may actually recognize the ones I'll be talking about today as previously having been yours, thanks again)! With many I've been particularly lucky that the arcade community has so many creative folks, and they either came with cases or had one available that I could buy to house them. For many others, however, I was unable to find a readily available solution outside a corstat box or large anti-static bag. In my quest to house these unprotected PCBs I was very fortunate to discover @Semload's post about their universal case. Reviewing the posting, I really quite liked the appearance, and the promise of fitment to the diverse dimensions of my as-yet-unhoused PCBs.
I reached out to @Semload for more information, and after speaking with him for a bit, I decided to jump on in with a big order. I enjoy supporting the community, the cases looked good in the post, and it seemed like a good opportunity for me to finally acquire cases of sufficient size to house a couple of my larger, older titles. Subsequently, I asked for cases for the following titles:
Of the 10, 6 are single board, and 4 are double-stack PCBs. The largest of the titles is Donkey Kong Jr., a double stack PCB measuring in at 36 x 30 cm, and being 8 cm tall (with the rainbow cable). It's a fairly chonkster unit! The smallest- by contrast- was Kingdom Grand Prix, measuring in at basically 24 cm square.
After letting @Semload know the titles, I supplied him with the requisite board measurements and half the total cost up front. He set to work right away, and shortly after provided a proof shot of the labels for me to salivate over while the rest of the work was prepped and sent to manufacturing. When the time came for the units to ship, I paid the remainder of the invoice and @Semload shot them my way. From initiating the conversation to receipt of the cases, the timeline was approximately a month.
Shipment and Packaging
The packaging and organization on the shipment was, simply put, outstanding. The cases were broken down into several discrete packages, each consisting of a couple units bundled together (with each unit having a couple cases inside). Each unit had a label which identified which cases were contained within. Opening up a unit revealed the individual case bundles (each individually wrapped, labeled, and protected). Each case's individual parts (and an accompanying hardware package) were not simply wrapped together- they were also affixed by tape to a large batting board (which is a step above and beyond). The common hardware package for the entire set was located in one of the units, and was itself broken down and bagged individually for purpose, with clear and easily legible labels.
The artwork comes with the cases (a very pleasant surprise to me). The side labels appeared to be printed on light card stock. The flyers were likewise professionally printed, but on double-sided, heavy gloss paper. On the opposing side of the game art flyer is the instruction set (where applicable, otherwise an alternative art is used so you can choose which you like). Also included was a roll of corners, for affixing to the cases to hold the flyers. He even included a couple sets of nitrile gloves (to prevent fingerprints during construction) - a thoughtful touch.
Construction
The construction process was straight-forward and easy, made even more so by the very clear visual instructions (in the form of a PDF build guide) that @Semload provided. Once I completed the first and understood the process, I was able to go from packaging breakdown to completed build in about 45 minutes per box (working at an unbothered pace). The hardware for the box looks and feels of good quality, and the acrylic was laser cut cast acrylic. On the bottom plate is engraved the game's logo and on the opposing plate is a set of alignment marks to permit for affixing the included game flyer. The sides and bottom of the case are affixed via screws into aluminum (I assume they're aluminum, anyways) support cubes. The top edge is affixed entirely by magnets (permitting easy access to the edge connector). Similarly, the 'face' plate is held in the corners by magnets, but the connection is reinforced by two large thumb screws through the middles. This arrangement allows for fast access to the underlying PCB without having to break down the box (while the thumb screws ensure it's sufficiently held in place).
Issues
As we all know, not everything goes perfectly. The side labels suffered from a few mispunches for the mounting holes, and a couple were just slightly too large. Having said that, the holes wound up disappearing once mounted, and the very-slightly oversized labels were appropriately clamped into place by the mount, so it wound up not mattering. Additionally, a couple plates wound up needing a recut. One plate was simply a manufacturing error, the other was the result of Battle Garegga's unusual orientation (which has the edge connector on what may be construed as the side). After speaking with @Semload and identifying the issues, he promptly made it right, and I have zero complaints. Accidents happen and this was resolved 100% without issue.
Criticisms
With regards to criticism, I do not like the magnets. I will almost certainly be removing them and replacing them with screws. On paper the idea sounded really great, and I quite liked the concept; but, in practice they are far too weak to accomplish their job appropriately. The only location where I intend to leave them is the top edge plate, which provides access to the edge connector of the PCB, which functions well. Everywhere else, though, I feel like the better solution is simply to use screws and sacrifice some of the ease of access for improved case rigidity.
Overall / Final Impressions
Overall I'm both impressed and very pleased with the purchase. The packaging was really phenomenal. The assembly was tremendously easy. The results are beautiful and practical, and speak for themselves- I think. I especially love the prominent artwork on both sides and the windowed appearance. I was also particularly happy to be able to find a solution for my classic, double-stack PCB games. The Donkey Kong Jr. case fit brilliantly, which was my largest game and the one I was most concerned about. @Semload was professional, friendly, and responsive throughout the process (I'll almost certainly be buying again from him).
If you'd like to check a look for yourself, the post can be found here: https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/the-arcade-pcb-case-universal-case.33885/
Today I'll be walking through my receipt of several Universal PCB Cases from forum user @Semload.
Introduction
Over my time on these forums, I've managed to acquire a considerable collection of games (some of you may actually recognize the ones I'll be talking about today as previously having been yours, thanks again)! With many I've been particularly lucky that the arcade community has so many creative folks, and they either came with cases or had one available that I could buy to house them. For many others, however, I was unable to find a readily available solution outside a corstat box or large anti-static bag. In my quest to house these unprotected PCBs I was very fortunate to discover @Semload's post about their universal case. Reviewing the posting, I really quite liked the appearance, and the promise of fitment to the diverse dimensions of my as-yet-unhoused PCBs.
I reached out to @Semload for more information, and after speaking with him for a bit, I decided to jump on in with a big order. I enjoy supporting the community, the cases looked good in the post, and it seemed like a good opportunity for me to finally acquire cases of sufficient size to house a couple of my larger, older titles. Subsequently, I asked for cases for the following titles:
- Battle Garegga
- Battletoads
- DoDonPachi
- Donkey Kong Jr.
- Double Dragon
- Ghosts 'n' Goblins
- In the Hunt
- Kingdom Grand Prix
- The Simpsons
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Turtles in Time!
Of the 10, 6 are single board, and 4 are double-stack PCBs. The largest of the titles is Donkey Kong Jr., a double stack PCB measuring in at 36 x 30 cm, and being 8 cm tall (with the rainbow cable). It's a fairly chonkster unit! The smallest- by contrast- was Kingdom Grand Prix, measuring in at basically 24 cm square.
After letting @Semload know the titles, I supplied him with the requisite board measurements and half the total cost up front. He set to work right away, and shortly after provided a proof shot of the labels for me to salivate over while the rest of the work was prepped and sent to manufacturing. When the time came for the units to ship, I paid the remainder of the invoice and @Semload shot them my way. From initiating the conversation to receipt of the cases, the timeline was approximately a month.
Shipment and Packaging
The packaging and organization on the shipment was, simply put, outstanding. The cases were broken down into several discrete packages, each consisting of a couple units bundled together (with each unit having a couple cases inside). Each unit had a label which identified which cases were contained within. Opening up a unit revealed the individual case bundles (each individually wrapped, labeled, and protected). Each case's individual parts (and an accompanying hardware package) were not simply wrapped together- they were also affixed by tape to a large batting board (which is a step above and beyond). The common hardware package for the entire set was located in one of the units, and was itself broken down and bagged individually for purpose, with clear and easily legible labels.
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The artwork comes with the cases (a very pleasant surprise to me). The side labels appeared to be printed on light card stock. The flyers were likewise professionally printed, but on double-sided, heavy gloss paper. On the opposing side of the game art flyer is the instruction set (where applicable, otherwise an alternative art is used so you can choose which you like). Also included was a roll of corners, for affixing to the cases to hold the flyers. He even included a couple sets of nitrile gloves (to prevent fingerprints during construction) - a thoughtful touch.
Construction
The construction process was straight-forward and easy, made even more so by the very clear visual instructions (in the form of a PDF build guide) that @Semload provided. Once I completed the first and understood the process, I was able to go from packaging breakdown to completed build in about 45 minutes per box (working at an unbothered pace). The hardware for the box looks and feels of good quality, and the acrylic was laser cut cast acrylic. On the bottom plate is engraved the game's logo and on the opposing plate is a set of alignment marks to permit for affixing the included game flyer. The sides and bottom of the case are affixed via screws into aluminum (I assume they're aluminum, anyways) support cubes. The top edge is affixed entirely by magnets (permitting easy access to the edge connector). Similarly, the 'face' plate is held in the corners by magnets, but the connection is reinforced by two large thumb screws through the middles. This arrangement allows for fast access to the underlying PCB without having to break down the box (while the thumb screws ensure it's sufficiently held in place).
Issues
As we all know, not everything goes perfectly. The side labels suffered from a few mispunches for the mounting holes, and a couple were just slightly too large. Having said that, the holes wound up disappearing once mounted, and the very-slightly oversized labels were appropriately clamped into place by the mount, so it wound up not mattering. Additionally, a couple plates wound up needing a recut. One plate was simply a manufacturing error, the other was the result of Battle Garegga's unusual orientation (which has the edge connector on what may be construed as the side). After speaking with @Semload and identifying the issues, he promptly made it right, and I have zero complaints. Accidents happen and this was resolved 100% without issue.
Criticisms
With regards to criticism, I do not like the magnets. I will almost certainly be removing them and replacing them with screws. On paper the idea sounded really great, and I quite liked the concept; but, in practice they are far too weak to accomplish their job appropriately. The only location where I intend to leave them is the top edge plate, which provides access to the edge connector of the PCB, which functions well. Everywhere else, though, I feel like the better solution is simply to use screws and sacrifice some of the ease of access for improved case rigidity.
Overall / Final Impressions
Overall I'm both impressed and very pleased with the purchase. The packaging was really phenomenal. The assembly was tremendously easy. The results are beautiful and practical, and speak for themselves- I think. I especially love the prominent artwork on both sides and the windowed appearance. I was also particularly happy to be able to find a solution for my classic, double-stack PCB games. The Donkey Kong Jr. case fit brilliantly, which was my largest game and the one I was most concerned about. @Semload was professional, friendly, and responsive throughout the process (I'll almost certainly be buying again from him).
If you'd like to check a look for yourself, the post can be found here: https://www.arcade-projects.com/threads/the-arcade-pcb-case-universal-case.33885/
