5 Minute Maker
Arcade Stick with rubber bands






BOM

  • 2 hard bases (can be a tupperware / lunchbox)
  • 1 threaded rod of 8mm with 2 washers and nut's
  • 4 bolts of 4mm with 3 washers and 2 nuts each
  • Rubber bands (min 4)
  • Wires and something to detect the movement
    (a metal piece, endstops or distance sensor, whatever you want)

Important Notes

The hard base is where you will hold the threaded rod that would work as the arcade stick (top base), and another of the hard base (bottom base) is what will hold the contacts that will detect the movement. This can be anything you have at hand, in our case
using a small tupperware / lunchbox was the best option

Assembling



Cut a hole of the area that you want the stick would be able to move, at the center on the top base



Drill a hole in each of the corners of the top base, this is where each one of the 4mm bolts are going



Adjust each one of the 4mm bolts in the corner holes, looking up.



Slightly adjust the threaded rod with a washer and nut from top and below the top base




Hookup a rubber band between one threaded rod, below the top washer and one of the corner bolts.
Then go to the opossite side and hookup another, and another till you get the desired tension
in the main rod. If the rubber bands are too large, you can twist them to have more tension



To detect the movement of the main rod, anything can be used, like endstops or distance sensors
In this case, we will use the most basic option, just 2 washers at the side's of the threaded rod




Adding the washers at the bottom base, on the left and right side of the threaded rod and
a bunch of copper wire at the end of it, to have a better contact, together with a signal wire

Done!

And you just made it ! An arcade stick with rubber bands and a couple of bolts!

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