SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by tom_454 »

I have missed your updates PinGeorge. Looking forward to this thread again.
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Gis »

Welcome back! I can't wait to see the new updates! :wave
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by aerostarz »

Also very excited! Your MM wood built cabinet is amazing!
Your hand machined ramps/tools and mechanical devices..oh! also the hand built circuit boards.. simply amazing!

Glad you are back!
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Thanks for your feedbacks here! It´s allways awesome to be here :-)

Meanwhile all is removed now to cad/cam technology here in my workshop. A large cnc router is available here, also a big drum sander and much more. In this moment i´m creating a large cad library for all pinball parts, then the design process will be go faster with high precision. A second workshop is available now, because there will be made some other great stuff for pinballs in future.

More coming as soon as possible......

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

comment to the ramps:

this year i get a special machine to produce the ramps in plastic in every colour, form & shape.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by WARLOCK »

Glad to hear and see that you are back George.
All the best with all your projects. I look forward to reading your exploits.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Well, in a few days there will be the first update about my work. The new design library is finished, also the complete cad drawing from WB II is finished. Needs only a few modifications and then it will be published here.

Some guys asking about hard- software. Just in this moment i check what other guys made in this direction..... also interesting for me to see her innovated ideas :-). I noticed about a controller with an interface card, based on an arduino mega controller. I got this idea before some weeks from my nice son-in-law who is living in the ukraine and a great software programmer :-) I will figoure out what´s the best solution, creating and produce this interface card is made within two days :-) here at my workshop.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Short update now.......

Some PC´s must be replaced last year, now all is available here, from any old pc running under win95 up to the last hard- and software.
pc-01.jpg
The new cnc router, he got a second revision last year with a central dust vacuum and the controller pc beside.
cnc-01.jpg
This year in summer the router get his next revision, then the controller will be replaced with a five axis controller for full 3D milling.
cnc-02.jpg

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by HPR Pinball »

Yeeees !! PinGeorge is back :-)
The video game i want to play is always the one i don't have :FP:
Les arcades, j'suis tombé d'dans quand j'tait pti !! :-)

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Mrhide »

George!! w00t!! nice to see you're back!

"this year i get a special machine to produce the ramps in plastic in every colour, form & shape."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can't wait to read more!
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

WB II project starts here...... official at the finish of my IJ project.

Here is the first cad-draft from the new playfield with some modifications.

- the upper playfield area is now mirrored
- a fourth jet-spin available
- new plastic and wire ramps
- a new mode with five drop targets for the "magic mode"
- three magnets at the bottom of the playfield
- a seventh game mode for the "wild toys"
- three movable poppers, up / down and rotating
- now three up / down posts in the upper lane for more possibilities
- a second eject hole which starts the "magic mode"

Hardware is done, WB II will working now with a Dual Core E8400 system, software is in progress and all is written in c++ under os win xp. The game will be finished this year in a running condition. There will be no new controller, no led illumination, the old powerdriver board will be used and the prism card is removed and replaced with a solid state disk. The cad draft from the wild toys mini playfield is upcoming soon.

Stay tuned!
wb-II-design.jpg

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Azatotht »

This is very exciting, still using screen reflexion like Pinball 2000 ?
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Fifty »

PinGeorge wrote:comment to the ramps:

this year i get a special machine to produce the ramps in plastic in every colour, form & shape.
Talk about a teaser! Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! P-L-E-A-S-E !!!

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Yes, that´s right...... my future projects* will allways get a large tft display for the animations like Pinball 2000. It was the pinball revolution what never got a real chance. I´m working also on other solutions, a combination with several tft displays, but it´s a pretty difficult. That reminds me, that some guys were also working in a direction, mounting a large tft display at the playfields bottom. But what happens with the pinball parts like coils, brackets, illumination, poppers? If there is a large display located, you will have no chance for mounting other standard pinball parts.

Future projects are: WB II,MM II and TAF II (cad construction is complete done in a super widebody size) and Ghostbusters ( is in a first stage of construction )

Second question: First i asked my dictionary about teaser, but it can´t help me. Also Google translator gave me no real help, it made a translation without any sense. But i guess, that you asked me about a general problem, the difficulty to produce plastic ramps.

Pics will be first available at summer, at a time when the machine is ready and the parts will be produced. In this moment i can give you some basic informations. Many guys were producing now plastic parts with 3D printers, interesting technology but it has some disadvantages. The surface has not the smooth quality like industrial made parts. The plastic will be fast broken, because it must be made with polycarbonate, also well known under the name lexan. 3D printers can work with abs plastics, it´s a strong material, but not strong or stable enough. Abs plastics can be used for inserts, because it´s strong enough and the colours never faded out.
High quality plastic ramps were made with injection moulding machines, the mould is made from steel and sometimes from aluminium. It allows a production of a high quantity parts, with steel mould can be produced 1 million parts, with aluminium around 100 000 parts. But the production of moulds is very expensive, prices will be around 25.000 up to 100.000 $, depending on which parts must be produced. Makes no sense to built up moulds for only some prototype parts.
Another way to produce this parts, you´ll need a vacuum machine. The Wizard Blocks ramps were made in this technology :-) and i will produce this parts in the same way with some modifications. First there will be made the cad drafts with acad in 2D. The dwg / dxf files will be imported to Alibre Design to create the 3D model stp files. This stp files will go now to the cam software to create the g-code files for the cnc router. On the cnc router will be milled now the complete part, it can be also milled into wood! or other material. The complete (wood) model can be milled into on or more parts and then mounted on a complete basic sheet, which will be used into the vacuum machine with a heater. A sheet of plastic will be heated in the machine and then with vacuum placed onto the 3d wood model. In a few minutes you´ll get a complete copy of the plastic ramp, and my modifications will be made with stainless steel inserts and some other features. Difficult to talk abut it how it works, but i hope you understand a little bit about my story now......

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by WARLOCK »

Excellent progress.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Hello guys.

Long period of time i wrote nothing, that means that i´m working in the background....... but i´m very closed, starting up with the new playfield.

Now there is made in my second workshop a big vertical wood saw, for fast and exactly wood cuttings. Pics will be here in some weeks, when i´m cutting all wood parts for the new IJ game.

Learning all about 3D design, for creating new and amazing animations for this new game. This all will be done with Cinema 4D, and now creating the first animations like "Jack in the Box" and all around, but complete new...... it has nothing common to the original design. Well, first steps were difficult, working with nurbs, splines, polygons...... but now the workflow is going faster and faster. One sample of this new animation will be shown here in next time!

Also i create new digital sounds for the game, would be very helpful if there would be some samples available from the original analog sound files. But i assume, that there is only a help available from some videos, shown on YouTube about the prototype.

More upcoming asap

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Azatotht »

Looking forward the pictures and videos :-) Exciting !
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Creating now all new animations for my WBII project in 3D. Workflow is going pretty fast now, every day learning new great features :D
Sure, a tremendous work now, to design all small parts, but all parts can be moved and animated in future. After all main parts were created, they will be getting great colours made with bodypaint 3D.

The finished "Jacko In The Box" as a first preview, what´s upcoming in next time.
IMG_7908.JPG

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by HPR Pinball »

That's what i call a modern pinball, Stern need to learn everything from you ! :-)
Stern new pinballs playfield design look 30 years old with very bad artwork but with more rules because of the modern software possibility.
The video game i want to play is always the one i don't have :FP:
Les arcades, j'suis tombé d'dans quand j'tait pti !! :-)

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Hi pinball guys!

Well, lot of work with the new 3D design..... in this moment the new Wizard Kid is finally done, and much other stuff.

But also there are new machines now in my workshop, the new vertical wood sheet saw and the vertical drum sander. Both machines are selfmade, because i have a lot of parts in my stock. The drum sander is made for the wall, because it needs not much place, and the playfield will be moved down from the top through the drum. The drum is complete adjustable, which allows me to sanding down the playfield to a very smooth level. Only some mods must be done, but the machine is closed for his first sanding job. More informations were coming soon, with my new projects to show how the machine works. A first picture about the large vertical wood saw is coming tomorrow, here at this place.
Drum-Sander.jpg

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by Mrhide »

mindblowing as always Georgy!!
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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

My large vertical wood saw, which allows me now to get perfect wood sheets for the upcoming new custom pinball games. How it works, will be shown in my other topic about the new Indiana Jones pinball game. Now it´s an easy job, cutting wood sheets from the original acad construction drawings.
wood-saw.jpg
Last machine is now under construction, a new screen printing machine, which replaces my old machine, which was allways damaged - getting replacement parts was allways a big problem.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Wanted - powerdriver board from P2K! Is anyone here who has two or three used powerdriver boards? Better in working condition, but also damaged. Minimum required in this moment is one working board, because in january 2017 my old wb will be fired up. First i must look, how it works, to figoure out the mistakes and anything more - starting up the new wb game. If anyone is here who can help, i would appreciate it!!!!

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by PinGeorge »

Powerdriver board found today in germany, what a great pleasure...... only a few small parts missing now, the game can be fired up in some weeks.

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Re: SpecialPinball - "Wizard Blocks" project

Post by semicolin »

Awesome!

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