Simviation Forum - How to make "glass" look flush with pane

Oct 21^st, 2008 at 4:52pm

stevehookem Offline
Colonel
Hello!

Gender:
Posts: 388

My two LCD monitors for the glass gauges will be pressed up to the backside of the MIP which is 3/4" thick. I'll have a thin strip of foam around the inside for the bezels to press against.

I thought I saw an article somewhere that talked about making the screens appear like they are actual gauges, more flush with the front of the panel.

Any idea what I am talking about? If so, how do I do it?

« Last Edit: Oct 22^nd, 2008 at 9:46am by stevehookem »

i7 940 at 4.0ghz • Asus P6T Deluxe • 6gb OCZ Gold 1600 • BFG 285 Superclocked • Velociraptor 300gb HD • LG BlueRay Burner • Thermalright 120 cooler • PC Power 750W PS • Antec 1200 • Windows XP 64

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #1 - Oct 21^st, 2008 at 8:03pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Steve,

The facing MDF wood on my MIP is only 1/4" thick. When you add the 1/8" bezels on top of that... the total thickness at the gauge opening is only about 3/8". That helps a lot.

best,

.............john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #2 - Oct 21^st, 2008 at 8:35pm

JSpahn Offline
Colonel
Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

Gender:
Posts: 1808

Its possible on top of Johns logic to inlay a 1/8" plexiglass inside the bezel, that should make it look more flush Undecided

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #3 - Oct 21^st, 2008 at 9:53pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Steve,

Watch when you press the LCD screens up to the rear of the MIP that you don't inadvertantly activate the monitor's control buttons. Wink

Been there , done that, bought the T shirt.

best,

..................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #4 - Oct 21^st, 2008 at 9:55pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

JSpahn wrote on Oct 21^st, 2008 at 8:35pm:

Its possible on top of Johns logic to inlay a 1/8" plexiglass inside the bezel, that should make it look more flush Undecided

I'd say you could use even thinnner clear plastic of some sort. You just want to create that "reflection layer" near the front.

With the monitor behind the panel .... you'll always get the hassle of a little of the parallax view issue. If it looks OK from the captain's seat and head position, when you take a photo located from the rear and more on the copilot's side...... the gauge will look off-center in the housing.

best,

...........john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #5 - Oct 21^st, 2008 at 10:29pm

stevehookem Offline
Colonel
Hello!

Gender:
Posts: 388

Thanks for the tips. Someone had mentioned "perspex". Is that the same as plexiglass?

I think I will cut the 3/4" thick MIP so the monitors can go all the way through and sit flush. I'll then have an "overlay" made by Front Panel Express (http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/) What should the engravings say? I won't have a ton of switches yet.

i7 940 at 4.0ghz • Asus P6T Deluxe • 6gb OCZ Gold 1600 • BFG 285 Superclocked • Velociraptor 300gb HD • LG BlueRay Burner • Thermalright 120 cooler • PC Power 750W PS • Antec 1200 • Windows XP 64

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #6 - Oct 22^nd, 2008 at 7:26am

JSpahn Offline
Colonel
Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

Gender:
Posts: 1808

Yes perspex is the same plexi is just a trade name Wink

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #7 - Oct 22^nd, 2008 at 10:23am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

stevehookem wrote on Oct 21^st, 2008 at 10:29pm:

I think I will cut the 3/4" thick MIP so the monitors can go all the way through and sit flush. I'll then have an "overlay" made by Front Panel Express (http://www.frontpanelexpress.com/) What should the engravings say? I won't have a ton of switches yet.

Steve,

Nice stuff.... but expensive solution.

As to labels.......

Before I did anything physical in my pit I surfed the airliners.net cockpit images and stored a TON of them to study. What I was after was understanding what made an aircraft's cockpit LOOK like a cockpit. Searching for the essence of "cockpit-ness", if you will.

I'd suggest you do the same before ordering such expensive and permanent parts as the PanelExpress type thing. Look at a lot of MIPs to see what is labeled, how it is labeled, how it is all positioned, how 3 dimensional the surface actually is, what the various colors are, where various panels are positioned, how many switches and lights there are, and so on.

Your idea certainly will work to solve the issue originally mentioned.

best,

....................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #8 - Oct 22^nd, 2008 at 2:44pm

stevehookem Offline
Colonel
Hello!

Gender:
Posts: 388

Back to avionics:

Ellie or Cockpitware OGS?

i7 940 at 4.0ghz • Asus P6T Deluxe • 6gb OCZ Gold 1600 • BFG 285 Superclocked • Velociraptor 300gb HD • LG BlueRay Burner • Thermalright 120 cooler • PC Power 750W PS • Antec 1200 • Windows XP 64

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #9 - Oct 23^rd, 2008 at 1:04am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Ellie by a long shot. Wink

best,

................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

	Search the archive: