Mirror Blade Design Files - For Sale

[swinks]

Hi all

Some of you will know me for making 1 large run of blades (48 sets - first Aussie Black and Gold Fabricated sets) documented here and the intention of doing a second run but didn't because to make it affordable for you and still to make a little money on the side to cover my effort wasn't really worth it in the end.

Ok have been hesitating to post this but decided to as I didn't want these to disappear into the vault, as I am giving you people - The AP Pinball Community the chance to buy the files at a discounted rate and then you have the control to make 1 sheet (8 sets) or a shit load for you and all your mates in your area or possibly for Greg at RTTB to make and sell on his site and I might even buy a pair off you but hope to get a discount  .

Anyway deal is I will provide the design files and they become yours to make your own blades and save alot of money, make a batch and go splits with your mates, lots of options.

These are listed on ebay as - Mirror Blade Design Files
Stern - $15
Bally / WMS - $15
Combo Design - $25

Just for AP guys - Package of all the files $40

To give you a idea:
- silver mirror sheet $150 (so charge a material delivery of about $50)
- laser cutting of 1 sheet about $150 but about $80each if 3 sheets are run
- total not including freight for 1 sheet is $300 which equals $37.50 per set - BARGAIN

You may remember I was charging $90 and then discounted down to $75, I had to drive 50km each way to pickup and packaging didn't include my time to pack just packing materials so it was more of a favour. The Gold and Black mirror was $500 a sheet so alot and made less money on those at the end of a day. So please don't feel ripped off, nows your chance to make your own pinball parts for yourself.

What files do you get:
1. The dxf laser file for the design that you pick
2. a png file of the dxf laser file so you know what the design file looks like
3. a dxf dimension file so the laser cutter can do a double check.
4. a Bally/WMS/Stern installation instruction file

The only difference with this design file and what was made was that 3 extra holes for thumb tacks was added and the 3 sets of holes were made consistent between the 2 designs - god knows why - anal I suppose. I have also added a turn off layer for the side detail as some laser cutters are hopeless.

I do ask that you don't publish these files as it would be nice to get a few dollars for my efforts.

Ok, a better deal for regular AP members that bought blades off me before you will get $5 off the above price or if you have made more than 100 posts you will get $5 off the purchase. The 100 post thing is basically to ensure someone doesn't join to get the file and never come back to AP.


Refer to the ebay listing for alot more helpful info and I am happy to help where I can with questions and solving.

Just PM me if you want some designs and my bank details and once the funds clear I will send you the relevant files.

[Caveoftreasures]

Excellent product, and the files are a bargain, cause my local sheet metal shop wanted $200 just in design fees to do what u are only charging $25 for Swinksy(Jady).   A bargain of a idea, and anyone can be away and have their own mirror blades produced straight away cause all the hard work is already done, and the local shop can go straight into cutting now at hugely discounted rates than the retail prices other people offer for the end mirror blade product.   Bargain and PM sent.

[swinks]

This is what was posted for the ebay listings







This has come about due to the fact that some items related to pinball either are so expensive that you can’t afford them or other resources just aren’t available. I ventured this direction because in Australia no one made Black and Gold mirror blades and these were super expensive to ship from overseas to Australia.


Pinball Machine - Mirror Blades Design Files

Your Ebay Purchase
What you get for the purchase price:
file 1 - laser cutting file (drg) that you purchased (Stern, Bally/WMS, Combo of both)
file 2 - laser cutting copy file as a png more for reference only
file 3 - a dimension file that you and the laser cutter can use to check dimensions against
note: the laser file is a metric file so the laser cutter will need to scale up by 25.4 to suit imperial laser cutter hence the dimension file as a check.
file 4 - installation details to help you if you are new to this or to issue to others to help them.

Refer to the particular ebay listing to purchase the particular files that you want > Bally/WMS or Stern or Combo of Bally/WMS/Stern - you do not get the blades nor the pinballs

In addition - this is not pickup but all information and files will be emailed to you within a day of payment.

The images in the ebay listing are from installations done from my 2 batches of blades (48 sets in total)


The Designs
Bally WMS 90’s DMD machines - for $15
Stern DMD Machines - for $15
Combo of both designs in one file - $25

All files have been previous cut as a Version 2 with these being Version 3 with the only difference being the addition of 3 x 1mm holes along the bottom edge to suit thumb tack installation. The design has been proven for fit, looks, correct hinge hole and screw mounting holes along the bottom.


The Design File
These files are supplied to you as an autocad .dwg file (and dxf file if required on request). The design file fits 8 sets of mirror blades nested into a 1200x2400mm / 4x8 foot sheet of material. I will also issue a png image so you know what it is so you can print and explain to the laser cutter.

These files are ready to take straight to a laser cutter and simply issue to them to do all the hard work for you:
source the material
cut the parts out
issue back to you to either:
fit in all your machines
sell at cost to your mates
sell locally to the pinball community in your area


The advantage of doing it yourself
With you in control you will save hundreds of dollars, eg I recently cut two separate batches of stainless steel sheets of 1200 x 2400mm (4 x 8 foot) at $250 (laser cutting) for 3 sheets.

Broken down if you do it yourself the costs as a guide are:
$250 for 3 sheets laser cut
$450 for 3 sheets of Silver Stainless Steel (Gold and Black mirror here costs $500 a sheet instead of $150 a sheet)
Total is $700
which means that 24 sets of mirror blades ends up costing approximately $30 a set (for silver). This is a massive saving as the general market is $90 to $110 a set.


Instructions to Laser Cutter
What to tell the laser cutter:
use 0.8mm thick No8 polished Mirrored Stainless Steel
use the nested file for cutting as the file contains set lefts and rights
the stainless must have protective laser film.
tell him that the pierce must be lead in to the shape not on the shape edge
these notes are on the design file which is a information layer that is turned off while cutting.


The Material Used
No:8 Polished Silver Mirror Stainless Steel
material is 0.8mm thick
material MUST have a layer of laser protective plastic on the good side which stay on during delivery, cutting pack and freight to the customer
material is commonly know as architectural stainless steel
in Aus silver is approx $125 a sheet
in Aus gold and black mirror is approx $500 a sheet and can be sourced from Rimex who also are around the world


Stainless Steel
Silver Mirror - is great to light up the playfield and add depth
Black Mirror - is very nice, and stylish more of a subtle touch reflecting light and adding depth but very similar to black painted sides - great for theme specific machines - Spiderman Black, The Addams Family Black, Tron, Creature from the Black Lagoon etc
Gold Mirror - is very nice as well but just for theme specific games - Elvis, Theatre of Magic, Lord of the Rings, Iron Man etc



Word of Warning
I am the creator of these files - developed from manufacturing 48 sets of mirror blades, yes they are similar to many other similar products on the market but with some variations based on my fitting experiences and those that purchased mirror blades from me along the introduction of the thumb tack mounting holes.
I do not take the responsibility of the laser cutter that you choose as even in my experiences some laser cutters have a way of not following what is issued.
I do recommend that you get the laser cutter to cut one set out of some cheap sheet metal just to check the dimension and even fit just to ensure he gets it right. This will be about $30-$50 for say 0.8mm gal sheet just to check and saves you cutting up expensive SS.
Mirror blades will not fit into every machine purely because of existing hardware that may foul with the cabinet sides (like ramps etc) - so use care and patience to determine a good fit as a tight fit will scuff the mirror finish affecting the look. In addition there will be slight variances in the back of the cabinet eg CFTBL has a deeper timber brace so I put a slight angle in the design.


Payment and File Transfer
Once you commit to purchasing with a payment, I will email the files to your paypal email address or other preferred email address - that simple and you are ready to go, no postage, no hassles.

[swinks]

No longer selling, now issuing the designs out for free - see other thread