Making an Arcade Cabinet for Mortal Kombat 11

We made a retro arcade cabinet that plays Mortal Kombat 11 on a PS4! If you are interested in the game check it out at http://bit.ly/iltmsMK11. It is Rated M, for mature audiences.
Sponsored by Mortal Kombat 11
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1k8msFr
BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Gmn777QM4NE

GET THE PLANS!
https://iliketomakestuff.com/product/arcade-cabinet-mkii/

RELATED VIDEOS
Original ILTMS Arcade Build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3QXLQ1UXqs&t=3s
Behind The Scenes: https://youtu.be/Gmn777QM4NE

MORE PROJECTS, POSTS AND EVENTS
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com

TOOLS & SUPPLIES We USED (affiliate links):
https://kit.com/iliketomakestuff/mortal-kombat-11-cabinet
https://kit.com/iliketomakestuff/my-woodworking-tools
https://kit.com/iliketomakestuff/shop-safety-gear

I WROTE A BOOK!!
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com/makingtime

Want to support ILTMS? Get exclusive content and more...
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com/patreon

BUY A SHIRT, STICKER, NOTEBOOK, DIGITAL PLANS and MORE!!
http://www.iliketomakestuff.com/store

FOLLOW:
http://twitter.com/iliketomakestuf
http://www.twitch.tv/iliketomakestuff
http://instagram.com/iliketomakestuff
http://facebook.com/iltms

MUSIC: http://share.epidemicsound.com/iltms

Josh made the 3d model for the arcade cabinet in Fusion 360. We used a special plug-in that allows us to make a materials list and a cut sheet. Armed with these essential pieces, I began to break down 4 sheets of 3/4" plywood, labeling the parts as I went. We were very careful to group the items together into boards that could be rough cut to larger sizes. Some of the bigger side panel pieces were going to be cut on the CNC, or you could use a jigsaw and the provided templates (plans are linked above!).

The team at Mortal Kombat wanted this new game to be showcased in a retro cabinet, so we modeled its construction off of the original Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet from the 90s. Josh added the angled front and the extra side accents to the model to really set this cabinet apart. The angled front panels were attached to the bottom, shelf, and top of the base section with pocket screws. Instead of a back panel, the back of the cabinet was left open so that all of the electronics could be easily accessed

This area is the meat of the cabinet sandwich. It is a shorter section that will hold the game controls, the joystick and buttons, in a tray hanging off the front of the cabinet. The control section is also a platform for the upper, Screen Section, to sit on. The rear of this section is mostly empty space, which was great for hiding the extra lengths of cables and wires

The Screen Section is where all the action happens. It is where the computer monitor will be mounted, where the speakers are, and where the lit marquee resides. This area also has some tricky bevels and miters, so go slow. I cut out the side panels for this area using the CNC (or the provided templates) and used pocket holes to attach the bottom and the top. The platform that holds the speaker and the light bar was also attached with pocket holes after I cut the two holes for the speakers to project through. Those holes will later be covered with some round speaker grates

The tricky part is the bezel that covers the screen. To make it, you must start with the size of the screen you plan on using. We have linked the one we used in the links to the right, but begin this process by measuring your tv/monitor. Once you have the screen's viewable area, the bezel is just like making a picture frame. I matched the inside of our "picture frame" bezel to the are inside the monitor's own bezel, which was inset about a half inch on each side. The outside of the "picture frame" was equal to the opening on the Screen Section. You may find that in order to get your bezel to fit within the side of the cabinet, you may have to cut off some width from the sides

To match the angle of the side panels, I had to cut a bevel on the bottom so that it sat flat against the top of the control section when assembled. To hold the TV up against the back of the bezel we made, I made a bracket that acted like a bridge. I cut two small 1x4 the same thickness as monitor and pocket holed them to the back of the bezel, being sure it could still fit inside the side panels. I cut another 1x4 to bridge the span between these to additions and wedged the tv under it. Earlier, I drilled holes through this bridge piece that matched up to the screen's mounting bracket holes

At this point, all of the 3 sections were sitting comfortably onto of each other with their major components secured. I locked the three tiers together with some screws and make one solid tower. Josh cut the larger side panels on the CNC (again, the templates work too) and the whole cabinet was ready to assemble. I used a router and a special T-molding bit to carve in the groove that the black T-molding would snap into once we got the graphics on.

Read more at iliketomakestuff.com!