Make: Volume 52

Hep Svadja

Shake, Rattle, and

I

attended the Oculus event at GDC this year,

where I first heard Pinball FX2 VR was in the

works. I tried the game and after 5 minutes I

knew I wanted to build a VR interface for it!

VR solves my biggest gripe with traditional

“virtual” pinball games — you can’t move your head

around to get a better read on shots or the ball.

Well, now you can. And with my PinSim cabinet

you can actually feel the game in your hands too.

I’m sharing the SketchUp files, dimension renders,

wiring diagram, and Arduino code so that anyone

can make one. You can order my custom PCB or

just use an ordinary breadboard.

The VR pinball cabinet is essentially the first 8

inches of a real pinball table. My original cabinet

was made from foamcore but wood will provide a

more lasting frame. Just make sure to consider the

width of your material in cutting the sides of the

cabinet. My drawings show the exterior dimensions

and button hole placements, but the diameter

of the drill holes will depend on the buttons you

choose to use.

The joystick is used to conveniently navigate

the game menus. And an accelerometer is used

to simulate nudging the table, which can help you

guide the ball or can backfire (“Tilt!”) just like the

real game, if you overdo it.

MY FIRST BUILD

One week before the Oculus release date I made

a trip to Walgreens and picked up two sheets of

Written by Jeremy Williams

Hep Svadja, Pinball FX2 VR by Zen Studios

makezine.com/virtually-real

makezine.com 33

JEREMY

WILLIAMS

is a team member

at Tested. He grew

up on an Atari 2600

and IBM PCjr. Since

graduating from

Kenyon College,

he has managed a

LAN gaming center,

started a video

company, been an

editor at PC Gamer

magazine, and

helped engineer Qore

on the PlayStation

Network. Now living

in San Francisco, he’s

interested in Arduino

and “making” stuff.

He also loves pinball.

And his kids.

BUILD THE “PINSIM” CABINET CONTROLLER

AND PLAY VR PINBALL WITH REAL FLIPPER

BUTTONS AND AN ACCELEROMETER-BASED

NUDGE SYSTEM!

MATERIALS

» Teensy LC

microcontroller board,

with pins $15 from

pjrc.com. Mount it on

a breadboard or on my

custom PCB.

» Micro USB cable

FOR PCB BUILD:

»PinSim printed circuit

board (PCB) oshpark.

com/shared_projects/

ngC13rwO

»Female headers, 1×14

(2) such as Amazon

#B00899WQ6U

»PCB screw terminals,

2 pole, 3.5mm pitch

(12) such as Uxcell

#a14122500ux0169,

Amazon #B00W93KCDQ

FOR BREADBOARD

BUILD:

» Solderless breadboard

Adafruit #239

» Jumper wires Adafruit

#1957

» 10 screw terminal block,

breadboard plug-in

type such as eBay

#400546234141

» Foamcore board or

plywood I used two

22"×28" sheets of

foamcore. Anthony in

the Make: Labs used ½"

plywood, about 2'×4'

total.

» Arcade buttons, 30mm

(2) Adafruit Industries

part #473, adafruit.com,

for flippers

» Arcade joystick, small

Adafruit #480

» Accelerometer, triple

axis, ADXL345 Adafruit

#1231

» Hookup wire, black and

red Adafruit #290 and

3068. Any 2-conductor

speaker wire also works

fine.

» “Start” button Williams-

Bally #20-9663-1, Pinball

Life #956, pinballife.com

» “Launch Ball” button

Williams-Bally #20-

9663-B-4, Pinball Life

#919

» Pinball legs (4) Pinball

Life #140. Browse the site

for more color options!

» Leg bolts (8) Pinball Life

#1792

» Leg brackets (4) Pinball

Life #144

» Leg levelers (4) Pinball

Life #921

» Cabinet leg protectors

(4) (optional) Pinball Life

#1403

» Wood screws and/or

hot glue

FOR OPTIONAL

UPGRADES:

» Xbox rumble motors (2)

about $10/pair on eBay

» Transistors, 2N222 (2)

for rumble motors

» LEDs, white (2) to

replace lamps in Start

and Launch buttons

» Resistors, 22Ω (2) for

LEDs

» Pinball shooter

assembly Pinball Life

#pbl_B-12445-6

» Shooter mounting plate

Pinball Life #535-5027-

00

» Shooter spring, brown

(low tension) Marco

Specialties #10-148-6,

marcospec.com

» Machine screws, #10-32

× ⁄, pan head with

lock washer (3) Marco

Specialties #4010-

01006-10

» Analog distance sensor

Sharp GP2Y0A51SK0F,

Pololu #2450, pololu.com

» JST ZH-style cable,

3-pin female Pololu

#2411

TOOLS

» Saw or hobby knife

depending if you’re using

plywood or foamcore

» Drill

» Soldering iron

» Screwdrivers and

wrenches

» Sandpaper or sander

» Computer with free

software: Teensy Loader

application (pjrc.com/

teensy/loader.html) and

PinSim project code

(github.com/jerware/

pinsim). The GitHub

page also links to the

Arduino libraries you

need. You won’t even

need the Arduino IDE (or

Teensyduino extension)

unless you intend to edit

the project code.

» 3D printer (optional)

M52_032-6_SSpinball_F1.indd 33 6/14/16 3:20 PM