pitbldr Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Hey all, Responding to a few requests on how I made my caution panel. Here's the process. 1. I cut out the parts for the indicator panel from .0625" black acrylic. 2. These are then glued together. 3. I cut out the indicators themselves from .125" green acrylic. I use the masking tape to hold them in place for painting and then gluing into the panel. 4. I put one coat of black paint on the indicators, then glue them into the panel. Next I spray on a couple coats of black onto the assembled indicator panel. 5. The indicators are then engraved. 6. I cut out a "diffuser" panel from .0625" white acrylic and then using a mask, paint the edges black. 7. Next I cut out the two pieces that form the bezel. These are cut from .125" clear acrylic and then glued together and painted black. 8. Next part is the panel the holds the LED's. This is cut from .0625" black acrylic. The holes allow me to use LED holders to insert the LED's into. 9. I cut out the baseplate from .125" clear acrylic, then glue it and the LED holder panel together and paint. The picture of the finished part is from the bottom side showing how these are assembled. 10. After everything is painted and engraved, all parts get a couple clear coats sprayed on. 11. Everything is assembled And here's a couple pics of my panel side by side with a real caution panel. The text on my panel is not that visible, the camera flash is just lighting it up.:) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One1way Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 It looks so easy :) Really nice !! Thx ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragtop Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Amazing job dude, cannot wait to see it lit up! 476th vFG Alumni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocko417 Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Ok, so the next question is obviously: "How much?" :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icemaker Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 i want one! really!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Thanks guys! :D The price for this would be $140 plus shipping. The panel, with all its parts, takes more time to cut out and assemble than most of the other panels I am making, so the cost is a bit higher. I have one I can sell right now and will be making more in the future. EDIT - If you want this panel, please post here in the thread so others will know it's spoken for. :) Edited August 14, 2011 by pitbldr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggart Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I'm allways stunned at the time I see what heavy machinery people have standing around in their basements. A precision engraving machine, CNC-controlled? Sure, why not! If we ever encounter a nuclear war, the civilisation will be rebuilt by scavenging all the basements in the world.. ;P And - it's great work! Something like that for the Shark... *dreaming* There's no "Overkill". There's only "open fire!" and "time to reload". Specs: i7-980@4,2Ghz, 12GB RAM, 2x GTX480, 1x 8800GTS, X-Fi HD, Cougar, Warthog, dcs-F16-pedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbull Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Sold! MOBO ASUS P5QL-Pro, Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz @ 3.5 GHZ, 8GB DDR2 Crucial, XFX HD6950, TM Warthog, TIR4 /w Pro-Clip, 24 In Samsung Syncmaster LED, 2 X Cheapo 8in LCD's for MFD's and TM MFCD's attached to it, Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Sold! :D PM Sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbull Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Excellent!!!!!! MOBO ASUS P5QL-Pro, Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz @ 3.5 GHZ, 8GB DDR2 Crucial, XFX HD6950, TM Warthog, TIR4 /w Pro-Clip, 24 In Samsung Syncmaster LED, 2 X Cheapo 8in LCD's for MFD's and TM MFCD's attached to it, Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEChengst Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Bah. I missed out on this one while I was asleep. Can I claim a reservation in case you build another one ? [sigpic][/sigpic] PDP, VAX and Alpha fanatic ; HP-Compaq is the Satan! ; Let us pray daily while facing Maynard! ; Life starts at 150 km/h Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Hey, I am trying to avoid reservations or "pre-orders" since I can't give guaranteed time lines on when I can finish these. I'll continue to make them until I no longer have any interest though, so you can be sure you'll get one. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckling Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Looking great Pitbldr - - - - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Succellus Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Well thats one of the most sexy parts of the plane and one i thought of the most complicated. Awesome work. Ill ask for one, in the near future, but can t right now. HaF 922, Asus rampage extreme 3 gene, I7 950 with Noctua D14, MSI gtx 460 hawk, G skill 1600 8gb, 1.5 giga samsung HD. Track IR 5, Hall sensed Cougar, Hall sensed TM RCS TM Warthog(2283), TM MFD, Saitek pro combat rudder, Cougar MFD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAT_101st Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 wish I culd aford to buy one from you. Looks great thanks for sharing to info. Home built PC Win 10 Pro 64bit, MB ASUS Z170 WS, 6700K, EVGA 1080Ti Hybrid, 32GB DDR4 3200, Thermaltake 120x360 RAD, Custom built A-10C sim pit, TM WARTHOG HOTAS, Cougar MFD's, 3D printed UFC and Saitek rudders. HTC VIVE VR. https://digitalcombatmercenaries.enjin.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanelBuilder Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This is fantastic. One question out of curiosity: what dimensions are the individual indicators? Thanks, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thanks guys! The indicators are .975"x.35". They are very close to the real indicators which I measured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) Hi pitbldr How much time did it take to have it completely assembled, I mean since you start to cutting the panels, the little pieces of acrilic, painting and finally assembling everything? Saludos (Cheers) Edited August 17, 2011 by JAG Quick guide to configure ABRIS and LCD mini monitor Quick Countermeasure Editor v1.3.0 Core i5 3570K 4.0Ghz | GIGABYTE MOTHERBOARD | Crucial M4 120GB | 8GB DDR3 1600 MHZ | ASUS GTX 670 | AOC LED 23" | AOC LCD 24" | HYBRID DUAL THROTTLE (SAITEK THROTTLE QUADRANT + SUNCOM DUAL THROTTLE) | CH FIGHTERSTICK | SAITEK PRO PEDALS | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 Hi pitbldr How much time did it take to have it completely assembled, I mean since you start to cutting the panels, the little pieces of acrilic, painting and finally assembling everything? Saludos (Cheers) It takes about 75 minutes to do all the cutting/engraving for one complete panel. Painting and assembly take about 60 minutes worth of work... but it's not all done at once obviously. I have to cut the parts, glue some of them, wait for the glue to set, then put on a coat of paint, wait for that to dry, put on another coat, wait, then put on a clear coat. So it's 5-10 here and there for assembly and painting. So from the first cut to the final assembly, it can take up to 4 hours from start to finish. That's why I try to do 2 or 3 at one time... more time efficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Thanks for answering :thumbup: Quick guide to configure ABRIS and LCD mini monitor Quick Countermeasure Editor v1.3.0 Core i5 3570K 4.0Ghz | GIGABYTE MOTHERBOARD | Crucial M4 120GB | 8GB DDR3 1600 MHZ | ASUS GTX 670 | AOC LED 23" | AOC LCD 24" | HYBRID DUAL THROTTLE (SAITEK THROTTLE QUADRANT + SUNCOM DUAL THROTTLE) | CH FIGHTERSTICK | SAITEK PRO PEDALS | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulsA-10 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Man your works looks better than the real thing!.. If you ever just want to sell of your panels minus electronics please let me know.. I will paypal you immediately " I'm gonna have to be taking your car today. See I have some top secret clown business that supersedes any plans that you might have for this here vehicle." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 18, 2011 Author Share Posted August 18, 2011 Actually, everything I am selling is minus the electronics. Or are you saying you'd buy MY panels that I've already assembled for my pit?? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TulsA-10 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Actually, everything I am selling is minus the electronics. Or are you saying you'd buy MY panels that I've already assembled for my pit?? :D Minus electronics :thumbup: " I'm gonna have to be taking your car today. See I have some top secret clown business that supersedes any plans that you might have for this here vehicle." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeLv30_Superbus Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Looks very nice indeed I'm interested in buying one of these too for $US 140 + shipping, as soon as you make another one. Please pm me. I was wondering if two 5 mm leds side by side would give a better result than just one? Have you tried what the panel looks like when lit up? I made 3 landing gear and one take-off trim light last weekend using two leds and a semi-transparent piece of plastic to scatter the light and they look ok to me. I'm in no hurry, though. I've got the Opencockpits master card and I still have to figure out how to make DCS speak to it. (Any help would be appreciated, byt he way. I've got Oakes' interface code for Black Shark but just replacing the SIOC parameters with mine doesn't seem to be enough with A-10C.) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Click to view pictures of my deskpit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitbldr Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 I was wondering if two 5 mm leds side by side would give a better result than just one? Have you tried what the panel looks like when lit up? I made 3 landing gear and one take-off trim light last weekend using two leds and a semi-transparent piece of plastic to scatter the light and they look ok to me. I thought about trying two LED's that way as that is how the real caution panel works. I decided against it because it would 1) double the number of LED's needed for the board and 2) use two Phidgets LED boards. I don't know if I could run two LED's in series off a single output from the Phidgets.... would reduce over all brightness but might work. May have to test that. I'm in no hurry, though. I've got the Opencockpits master card and I still have to figure out how to make DCS speak to it. (Any help would be appreciated, byt he way. I've got Oakes' interface code for Black Shark but just replacing the SIOC parameters with mine doesn't seem to be enough with A-10C.) Afraid I can't help with the OC stuff. Don't have that. Have you looked at HELIOS though? It was extremely simple to use this with the Phidgets board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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