| Project by Kaytrim | posted 18 days ago | 383 views | 0 times favorited | 11 comments |  |
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This joystick was a long time in the making. Building the frame was easy enough but coming up with the right color and finish took longer.
The customer didn’t really like the standard transtint green because it was too bright. He also liked the cordovan color and thought that having the two colors on the case would be nice. I didn’t like the possible problem of the colors bleeding together in the corners. So on the test piece I mixed the two colors as a sample for him. You can see the differences in the two following pictures. He went with the custom blend.
While the finish color was a bit complicated nothing compared to the work involved with the electronics however. This involved time learning a new skill, programing PIC chips to control the LED lighting effects. There are 4 separate lighting effects each controlled by it’s own chip. The first one is one I have done many times, lighting up the buttons when they are pressed. A simple circuit using a logic chip did this job. The other three were a bit more complex and involved the programming. I drilled out the joystick shaft to run the wires for a RGB LED (Red, Green, Blue). This is controlled by a small chip the cycles through the spectrum in about 15 seconds. The next effect uses four green LEDs in the base. One of the LEDs is randomly chosen to flicker. Then after a random interval another LED is chosen. The final effect is embedded into the artwork and is best seen in a video I did for the customer. Here are two short videos showing the LED lighting effects
Thank you for taking the time to look over my most complex project to date. Michael
-- Computer programmer by day, fine woodworker by night. Custom made joysticks for Console Systems and Personal Computers.
11 comments so far
David65
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160 posts in 177 days
posted 18 days ago
WOW that’s pretty cool I like the work great job…
-- David '65
Lisa Chan
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67 posts in 42 days
posted 18 days ago
I recognize the image… it’s been running around on the net for half a decade. I’m a gamer, and love this joystick. FUN!
-- Lisa Chan, custom cafts and yarn accessories, http://www.grippingyarn.com
McLeanVA
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144 posts in 326 days
posted 18 days ago
While I’m not a gamer, I am a sucker for anything containing curly maple. Really cool piece. Cool videos as well. I bet your customer was more than pleased.
-- Measure, cut, curse, repeat.
stefang
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1638 posts in 226 days
posted 18 days ago
Nicely done, and that finish really came out really well. Love the color too.
-- Mike, American in Norway
ohwoodeye
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83 posts in 45 days
posted 18 days ago
Love the joystick. That color is awsome – really pops the grain. The picture freightens me a bit.
-- Mike, Waukesha, WI
Kaytrim
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56 posts in 467 days
posted 18 days ago
Thank you for the comments. This has been one of my favorite builds so far. I have another one that I’ll post later that is a bit less complex electonicly but again has curly maple with transtints.
The image is a bit disturbing but only mildly so. If it had some gore in it I would have rejected the image. The way I build these cases the end user can swap out the artwork in about an hour. The buttons are typically connected using quick disconnects. Then loosen the nuts and remove the joystick top. After that is done then the plexiglas and existing art can be removed and new artwork can be inserted.
Michael
-- Computer programmer by day, fine woodworker by night. Custom made joysticks for Console Systems and Personal Computers.
a1Jim
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16577 posts in 469 days
posted 18 days ago
A joyous creation good job
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
printman
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51 posts in 965 days
posted 18 days ago
This is exactly what I have been looking for. My friend and I are ordering the electronics now and I want to come up with my own design. would you share How do you attach the top panel with the graphics so you can interchange them?
-- St. Louis - just a cut away from finishing!
huff
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1608 posts in 177 days
posted 18 days ago
So cool….......and a great job.
-- John @ Myrtle Beach
Kaytrim
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56 posts in 467 days
posted 16 days ago
printman,
The graphics are held in place by the plexiglas which is in turn held in place with the buttons. The buttons have retaining nuts on them and that is all that is needed. I learned most of what it takes to construct one of these from http://forums.shoryuken.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177 and http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick.html
I’d go to Slagcoin first. The site operator has really broken down the parts tools and process involved in creating one of these controllers.
TTFN, Michael
-- Computer programmer by day, fine woodworker by night. Custom made joysticks for Console Systems and Personal Computers.
AllorNoThumbs
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54 posts in 173 days
posted 14 days ago
Dude…that is too cool. anything that is steampunked has to be posted on instructables site.
-- Uhhh...I forgot what i was going to say.