Unico ULM26 3D printed mounting brackets for Astro City

[mattsoft]

Alright, I hesitated posting this, but figured someone might find this useful.

I removed the CRT in my Astro City for a cleaning, recap, and tune-up and didn't want to live without the cabinet for a few weeks so I quickly designed these brackets to mount a Unico ULM26 LCD monitor (horizontally) in its place. I printed these on my Bambu Labs P1S on "strong" (25% infill) and they are STRONG.

STL files and pictures of install here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6894239

Since this was temporary, I did not spend the time designing/printing a bezel, but it could be done pretty easily with a few hours of work. At least I know that if this CRT ever fails completely, I have a backup solution with a ULM26!

 

[PaulWoodpross3r]

Dude, this is remarkable work! I can see where this can benefit other cabinets that use the Nanao MS8 and MS9 tubes, like the Japanese Daytona USA cabinets. I'm going to try to 3D print these myself to use on my Harley Davidson (MS9) that needs a cap kit.

On your design, do you just slide the monitor to the existing 4 monitor mounts to where they simply hang, or do you actually screw them into the cabinet?

I will update once I get them installed. Fingers crossed! You're a genius, Matt.

 

[mattsoft]

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm no genius!

So ya, on the Astro City (and the Blast City), the metal frame in the cabinet has bolts permanently fixed. So once these brackets are attached to the ULM26, the whole thing just simply slides onto the 4 fixed bolts. Then you can tighten it down with the washers and nuts that held the original CRT monitor frame on those bolts.

Please note the correct bracket for each corner of the ULM26 -- it is important! The 2 top mounts are shorter than the bottom mounts. This is so that the ULM26 is perfectly centered in the Astro City's bezel. If you mount this on a different cabinet, the ULM26 might ride too high or too low.

Let me know how it works out for you; I'm curious to see how these fit other cabinets.

Good luck!

 

[Aurich]

Nice work.

Honestly if you're in this hobby and you don't own a 3D printer ... get one. I consider them essential tools.

 

[rewrite]

This is really well done. But I do wonder how this is faster than just recapping the monitor, lol.

 

[mattsoft]

lol! It’s the shipping time for parts…during the holiday break shipping took forever!

 

[rewrite]

lol! It’s the shipping time for parts…during the holiday break shipping took forever!

Oh man, everything I've ordered in the past month has taken at least twice as long as normal! This year was particularly bad!

 

[MegaShock-76]

Nice work.

Honestly if you're in this hobby and you don't own a 3D printer ... get one. I consider them essential tools.

I don't own a 3D printer but im interested. Any suggestions for small projects?

I did this for my Blast City when my tube blew out. The Único monitor held it down until I found a replacement tool. I made brackets out of wood. This is a great idea Matt. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mattsoft]

I'm partial to the Bambu Lab printers. The P1 comes pretty much assembled

I've had Reality and Ender printers before and they are OK. The best part is that they are inexpensive. But the print quality is only OK and they are fickle devices to maintain and get consistently good prints. I'm now partial to the Bambu Lab printers. They are well engineered with easy to replace/maintain parts and the print quality is good to excellent (depending on model and upgrades). For the beginner or small projects, the A1 series is pretty good. Most parts will print on a 256x256x256mm bed which is what most "economical" printers have. More money than an Ender, but you won't be pulling your hair out in frustration. I have their P1S and love, love, love it. I print in the basement where it's cool, so having a fully enclosed printer is a game changer. You can also get parts printed and shipped; but if you do this a lot, you might as well just buy a printer.

Though I should warn you, 3D printing is sort of like this arcade hobby: it's a rabbit hole! First you have 1 printer, then 2, then you upgrade the hot ends, the fans, you need accessories like special build plates and adhesives. Before you know it you're surround by 3D printers and 3D-printed stuff. Sound familiar?

 

[rewrite]

but if you do this a lot, you might as well just buy a printer.

It's so easy to cross over that line now too with how cheap smaller ones are now. And if you really have a distaste for the "3D printed look/feel" SLA printers are cheap now too. Elegoo puts out an incredibly good line of cheap SLA printers (but I've heard horror stories about maintaining their FDM ones).

 

[Aurich]

I don't own a 3D printer but im interested. Any suggestions for small projects?

Just buy whatever Bambu Lab printer your budget will fit.

There are other options, other considerations, it's a whole topic. But that's the answer that works without headaches. They make the closest thing to "appliance" printers—they're easy to set up, easy to use, reliable, fast, high quality, and very price competitive.

If you look around you'll see that same recommendation echo'd all over, and the other advantage of that is because they're so commonly recommended there's a ton of resources as far as tutorials, beginner tip videos etc.

I would avoid resin printing for anyone just starting. It's messy, toxic, a bit of a pain in the ass, takes more equipment, and it's not really friendly to using inside your house. It's great for high detail, when that matters, but not really the tool for structural print, like this thread features.

My more specific recommendation is if you don't mind spending slightly more get the Bambu P1S (I use an X1C, love it, don't think the extra expense is really worth it unless the cash is not an issue to you). If you can spend a little more get the AMS multi spool system.

Even if you don't do multi-color prints the AMS is so useful for easily switching filaments. And the P1S or X1C being enclosed means you can print things like ABS which is really useful for being more heat resistant and versatile.

 

[MegaShock-76]

Just buy whatever Bambu Lab printer your budget will fit...

Thanks for the info and recommendations yall. I'll take a look.

 

[PaulWoodpross3r]

I can confirm these fit a Nanao MS9 frame.
I got the brackets 3D printed using prototyping PLA filament, and while a couple of the mounting holes were not perfectly printed, the Unico still mounted in there nice and snug using the 8 M4 bolts with washers and nuts.

Here is the ULM26 installed in my Harley Davidson machine with them in the attached pictures. I even used one original nut and one original washer from the Nanao tube, on each of the 4 corners, so the screen doesn't fall. Next I need to fill the voids of the bezel so no exposed monitor parts stick out.

You literally saved my thumb from being potentially sliced using power tools. Thank you Mattsoft!
If I were operating this on location, I would make sure to layer in a sheet of glass or a screen protector to prevent kids from banging on the Unico. But for home use this is more than sturdy and I can't thank you enough for your hard work.

While the refresh rate of the Unico is not quite as buttery as the CRT, I have to appreciate what it delivers in bringing the proper aspect ratio and vibrant colors.