RacLab

On Halloween night, we dressed in our finest mad scientist garb and set up the capacitor bank in the back yard. Using a mouse trap as a rudimentary contactor, we set up a high voltage impulse circuit. The circuit was run through a piece of citrus fruit, leaving a gap between the conductors inside. When triggered, a high energy arc formed inside the fruit, causing a massive and catastrophic expansion of vaporized citrus juice. The thick skin of the fruit allowed a large amount of pressure to be built before it ruptured, resulting in an explosion!

We captured this on camera at 240 FPS:

This is the first in a long line of experiments for testing our high voltage discharge system.

Keg + MAME: An arcade machine that dispenses beer.

MAME / Arcade - Keg + MAME

This project started as an idea I got back in college, to combine two of the things I love: beer and video games. It features a keggerator housed inside a steel framed arcade machine. The beer line is actively cooled and plumbed to a beer faucet on the side of the machine, thus allowing players to grab a frosty pint while they play their favorite arcade games.

This is a "grown up's" arcade machine. The connotation goes further than beer, though. This machine is built for two adults to comfortably play a game, side-by-side, looking straight ahead at eye level. Materials were chosen for aesthetics over sheer durability, and the beer faucet is something that all beer enthusiasts can appreciate. I see the project kind of like "American Chopper," though instead of building a custom bike, I build a custom arcade machine. A more refined version of the machine could easily be a celebrity plaything, like a Superman-themed Shaq-sized console (hint hint :P )

For MY "American ~~Chopper~~ Arcade Machine," I wanted something that would look nice around the house, be easy to move and modify, and of course, serve beer. This project is the result.

Buttons and joysticks from Ultimarc and Happ controls are interfaced with a PC, running Ubuntu Linux, in an Antec Fusion HTPC case. The computer is connected to a massive 26" HD monitor and an audio system. A small VFD on the front of the computer displays the beers on tap and storage temperature. The coin door on the front of the machine won't take coins, but the "reject" mechanism acts as a coin-in button when playing arcade games. Trim panels are made from wood, metal and fiberglass, and the whole thing is wrapped in red and black vinyl.

When not in use as a game console, the computer is useful and conveniently located in the kitchen. It can stream music and video via WiFi, browse the internet, burn DVDs, etc. So in addition to providing refrigerated adult beverages and providing endless hours of gaming fun, it also is a convenient place to look up a homebrew recipe or check e-mail.

More pictures and a more in-depth look at the build up...

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