Swap-Over of Parts+Wiring between 2 playfields??

[Marty Machine]

Hi All,

I'm faced with a big task ahead (i think).

I have a fully working machine with an 8/10 playfield, and quite clean good parts.
I have a spare playfield that's 9.5/10 but with half it's parts missing (remaining parts are old/dirty anyway), and the wiring loom has it's main length+connectors chopped off.


So, i'm faced with the challenge of keeping my GOOD parts and GOOD loom/wiring from the 'machine' playfield, and try to migrate ALL that across onto the 'spare' playfield.


I foresee this will be a shyte-of-a-job, especially having to transplant the wiring/loom across too....

I expect i probably need to label EVERY wire and what part it goes to, plus a zillion photo's as confirmation....

Any other tips & methods i should try?


Thanx in advance,
Marty.

[illawarra_steelers]

You can do it easy Marty,

Just take your time - I have swapped over 4 playfields - and have 2 more for next year.

Not a large job like you might think, probably around double the size of a playfield rebuild.

[deadlydave]

I recall seeing a thread with pics about this somewhere Marty, not sure if it was at AP though.
From memory the two playfields were laid out side by side and then all looms and parts were slid across in one go.

Cheers
Dave

[FirePower]

I've thought about this a bit for a few "projects" I've got in mind.  I read a few things on the web, sorry didn't bookmark them, but seems people get a big sheet of cardboard from a box and use this to try and keep the shape of the harness and to keep it flat in the plane of the playfield.  As I've studied mine - and they are all WMS machines, but I guess the others are similar - it seems the harnesses are split into three separate entities; one for solenoids, one for switches and one for lamps. Also they have been put down on the playfield in order, so it would be best to preserve this order. I think it was solenoid harness closest to the playfiled, followed by switch harness and then lamps furthest from the underside of the playfield.  The three harnesses are cable tied together at a few strategic points - I'd cut these to seperate into the three individual harnesses but mark with bits of string where they were joined to aid reassembly.

As you say, it would pay to label everything, both on the device as it is pulled off and on the playfield from where it is removed and take heaps photos from different angles. I guess you'd need to pay attention to the variety of hadware and where it is used to attach things, I did this by just sketching each area as it was dissembled.

With carefull attention to detail I reckon it is well achievable and will give you the ability to clean everything really well. Will watch with interest.

[FirePower]

I have a spare playfield ...... and the wiring loom has it's main length+connectors chopped off.

Why do nongs do this? I bought a used playfiled the other day, in fairly good condition, mostly complete and some dill has just chopped all the harnesses at the top of the playfield - without this it would be close to just plug in for a test and a bit of a play.  grrrr

[Marty Machine]

Why do nongs do this? I bought a used playfiled the other day, in fairly good condition, mostly complete and some dill has just chopped all the harnesses at the top of the playfield - without this it would be close to just plug in for a test and a bit of a play.  grrrr

Exactly! i would be happy to leave my wiring on the 9/10 playfield in place if it wasn't chopped.

Then the process would have been a LOT easier to simply move coils and lamps across 1-at-a-time...Grrrr

MM.

[Wotto]

Any other tips & methods i should try?

Marty.

Hey Marty - go see my site - http://home.kooee.com.au/brainsnap/
Go to my Time Warp page, I documented a TW playfield swap and all my methods in some detail and have big pics there of the process as well. I did the good old 'slide it all over in one go method' - worked a treat.

Hope you get some tips from the pages

Wotto 

[pinnies4me]

I have done a few playfield swaps, and also dealt with one identical to your with the looms cut.

For a normal playfield swap (it all from an old field to a new field), the method mentioned using a piece of cardboard  (or ply) somewhat bigger than the whole playfield is what I used. Assuming you've dealt with the top side (generally pretty easy on a pre-DMD game),  you start on your old one by taking one hundred and twelve zillion photo's of the bottom. Then a couple more to be sure. And later when you still can't work something out, you PM  a member with the same game!

next, you begin removing every screw for each component, leaving them basically in place in the process. Some components might be large and cumbersome - for those, remove them after tagging the wires so re-installation is easier.

Eventually you will have an old playfield with all the bottom components sitting in place, but able to be moved. The next part is easier with a helper, but not too hard on your own. You slide your cardboard slowly from one side between the components and the old playfield. Bit by bit it slides along - and then you'll start finding screws you missed, so remove them. Soon the cardboard will be between the old field and the components. Now  slide that lot over on top of the back of the new field, and slowing slide the cardboard out. Now you have the components sitting pretty close to their correct spots, and in the process did not mangle and twist wiring which can easily happen.

Make sure you pay attention to screw sizes though - some components have thicker tabs (ie say a sling hinge) than others (ie lamps). The difference might not be much, but a screw for a think legged component used in a thin one could go through - the ultimate disaster.

As for the one I had with the looms cut - I sate with the old and new side by side, and tagged with a number every wire and it's mating component on the old then the new, and then cut them off and swapped the loom from the other field over. Took a long time to tag everything, but as the components on the one with the cut loom were much beetter, it was a better solution than doing the playfield sawp method and then swapping components back.


EDIT - I must have been typing while Wotto posted - see his suggestion!

[Marty Machine]

" eleventy billion cables " hehehehehe you goose Wotto... 

Thanx for that, it helps me cover everything with preparation etc....

This project might be a little easier for me, because this is an ultra-wide body (Space Invaders), so everything is spaced further apart than a regular pin, so it's not so chock-full of busy areas of wires and hardware...

Thanx again,
Marty.

[Caveoftreasures]

i agree, swapping playfields seems to be a HUGE job.
I reckon having an identical machine sitting next to yours would be the go. It would be so convenient if a member had the same machine and was nearby. Ok, it never hurts to dream. lol

I thought i might do the same with a bugs bunny when i buy a brand new playfield from the USA for my bugs bunny. Because I have two bugs pins, it will make the job much easier, but it is still a huge job.Anyone, who does a complete swap over with only the one pin gets my vote.
MILLIONS OF DAM WIRES. a big big job. But, some guys love the challenge. Love to see some before, during and after photos.   

[Marty Machine]

Yeh, painful job, why can't i just change globes and rubbers or something 

WHEN i get moving on it, i will photograph the progression.

I'll probably post it when it's all done, as i don't know how long the breaks in between stages might be ;-)
MM.

[illawarra_steelers]

Marty,

This might sound silly but as I take each screw out from under the playfield I put it in the same place on the 'new' playfield.

This has helped me a heap - seems simple but saves alot of time

[ddstoys]

Send em both to me and ill swap it all over in exchange for the old playfield 

[JD]

Any other tips & methods i should try?

Marty.

Hey Marty - go see my site - http://home.kooee.com.au/brainsnap/
Go to my Time Warp page, I documented a TW playfield swap and all my methods in some detail and have big pics there of the process as well. I did the good old 'slide it all over in one go method' - worked a treat.

Hope you get some tips from the pages

Wotto 

How good is this site!

Unreal and thanks from the amateur's

J.D.

[Wotto]

Marty,

This might sound silly but as I take each screw out from under the playfield I put it in the same place on the 'new' playfield.

This has helped me a heap - seems simple but saves alot of time

Actually I think I did that as well - kept things simple.
This is NOT as daunting as a task as you may believe it to be...I know I was surprised...