Gaming Pod Construction > Wednesday, July 12th, 2006
By: John Baez
In the following segments we will walk you through the construction of our gaming pod that will be used at Comic-Con, and just about any other event where we will be showcasing our games.
(Note: We build our own gaming pods because we are cool)
These are some of the aluminum tubes and fittings that make up the pod. In the background you can see the 24" X 24" X 3/8" alumnium plate that will make up the bottom base.
This is the nearly finished base plate. All the bolts are tapped into the base so we don't have to worry about forgetting or losing nuts. The center section that is cut out is for the power supply. Even though the base is 24" square, we decided to add 3/4" x 6" solid steel pads in each corner for extra weight. It also raises the base so we can have the power cord pass under the base without making it unstable.
These are the Hollaender Speed Rail fittings which make up the pod. We tried to design it to be portable to we can take (lug) it to PAX with us in August.
The pod mocked up using 1' tubes instead of the 8 footers. Smaller tubes will go out horizontally from the middle fittings. Since no reducer sleeves are available, we'll have to make our own. :)
The beginnings of the adapter sleeve. We are using 1.25" schedule 40 aluminum tubing, so we interchange parts with regular PVC pipe fittings. This is a 3/4" coupling that we've sanded smooth on the inside so the 3/4" aluminum pipe can slide continuously through it.
JB Weld was used to epoxy both pieces together. For maximum strength, the 3/4" aluminum pipe should be pressed against the inside wall of the sleeve, so we drilled oversize holes for the threaded stops.
Tune in tomorrow for the next installment where we build the monitor brackets.
