XBox360 Arcade

XBox360 Arcade - using a computer monitor speaker parts and 2 fightstick game pads, make an exciting arcade for your own home.

Black Gloss Paint
Clear Gloss Coat
1 inch Hole Saw
Particle Board
1x4 Wood Planks
Green TMolding

24 inch Monitor
Mini 12v Amplifier
XBox 360
HDMI Extractor
Power Strip
RCA Cables
Small Speakers
Illuminated Buttons

Illuminated Buttons Kit
Exterior Decals
Embossed Branding Stickers

XBox 360 Controllers (x2)
Fightstick (x2)

Because the Fightstick joysticks need an actual XBox360 controller plugged in to work and the "home" button has to be physically pressed on the joystick before the fightstick connects correctly, the following is needed to get the "home" or "player 1 / player 2" buttons to work on the arcade.

Take 2 XBox360 controllers and disassemble them. Where the buttons would normally "press" (the circular metal contact connection), use a light sandpaper to expose the metal. Soldered a "home" button connection directly to the contacts of where the home button would normally press if it was still put together. This lets the joystick button "press" home as if it were a rubber button inside the original controller.

Build a basic Frame from the 1x4 planks to hold the monitor in place in the shape of an arcade cabinet.

Make sure the monitor fits correctly across the build.

Using the table saw, don't cut all the way through, but leave a slit in the wood where the bottom edge of the monitor would go, this will allow to place a thin piece of balsa wood to fit along it to keep the monitor from sliding out forward.

Using the fightstick button holes as a guide, drill using the 1" hole cutter the holes for where the buttons will go.

With the particle board, cut the side panels with a triangluar slant, however leaving the top in a square shape to contain the "top bar" where the amp / speakers will go.

Place the Monitor in the Build to Make Sure Everything Lines Up.

Cut Rounded Corners on the Edges of the Button Panel.

Cut the rounded corners in the button container using a jigsaw and the small paint can as a guide to make it rounded off.

Take the woofers and tweeters out of the speakers, we'll use them for the arcade build by installing them directly in the arcade top panel.

Follow the above wiring diagram to ensure you have all the right pieces connected together.

Gather Button Illumination wires to power all the button lights via 5v USB source.

Prepare all the illuminated buttons for mounting in the cabinet. Make sure all the wires are color coded for ease of construction, illumination lights as black and red. Bound all the wires together so that the entire set of buttons receives power for illumination.

Take the back off the fightstick and observe the connections, we'll have to duplicate this inside our cabinet ourselves when we wire it together.

Note the circuit boards inside specify conveniently which connectors go to the A/X/Y/B buttons and so on for our guide when wiring the cabinet.

Connecting the buttons to a USB 5v power source (with 2 amp or higher rating) make sure they all illuminate correctly and with enough current.

Using a small jigsaw cut holes for the 2 tweeters / woofers and small amp and make sure the mount correctly.

Gather all the decals together and cut the 2 largest decals to make them appear on each side of the cabinet.

Mount the internal components and power source for final assembly.

Tape over the home button controller buttons to make sure that the wires stay put.

Cut hole in back to power the unit and connect the console.

Cut a hole in the back for the wall power to enter and for the 2 controller USB cables / HDMI cable to extrude from to connect to your XBox360 console.

Place the decals squarely on the top bar where the speakers and amp are mounted. Flip it over and cut with a razer blade the holes correctly.

Make sure the top bar has the wiring it needs.

1) Power for the small amp.

2) Sound output coming from the HDMI audio extractor.

3) 5v power for the buttons (black and red wires)

4) Button leads (green and yellow wires).

Attaching the Green TMolding along the edges for a proper arcade cabinet look - I've used simple glue to glue the TMold to the edges of the arcade (cutting off the T part on the bottom) If you do have a nice router you could cut the slots in the wood to have the TMolding fit correctly.

Mount the amplifier in the top bar using the 3DPrint/ folder "AmpSurround-Final.stl" model file to create a nice looking Amplifier black frame.

The github project is here for the file:

https://github.com/khinds10/XBox360Arcade

Plugin your XBox and Cabinet and you're ready to go!