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Pacman Multiball conversion?

myPinballs

myPinballs

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As part of a new board i'm developing for bally and stern games from the 80s, i'm wondering if i can convert my pacman trough to be a multiball trough instead of single ball. Would open up some interesting ideas in code and rules.

So this thread/question is one for those 80s ball fans and other collectors with good knowledge of this era of games. (@Sven Normansson , @Dave2084 @astyy @Nedreud )

My new board in develpoment (replacing the one i developed for the same games a few years back)

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The pacman trough. Now notice those slots in the metal near the trough exit. Why do you think they put/left those in? Could they be used to add extra switches and release mech??

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Maybe like this gottlieb approach?

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Fireball classic has a good trough design to, so i wonder if those parts could be retro fitted also. I really don't like the multiball switch design on games like fathom, elektra, fireball2 etc
 
Many bally games are 3 ball. Most 80s games are. The trougj is different. A system 11 game may also work or mod ot for a trough
 
Is there a vacant solenoid drive to use for an additional 'lane feeder' mechanism? AIR this game already has a solenoid extender and an extra display latch. As above, most of the Bally m/ball games, and Stern's Flight 2000, simply leave the balls queuing at the outhole.
 
Poibug said:
My HHouse multiball mod was with a gottlieb type gate set up, in my HH article on pinnews
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Yeah, like i was showing on my original post with the big hurt trough image, i think the gottlieb ball release mech is the best option, as it means the least amount of playfield changes and all is still mounted under the apron.

Any idea what the part number is for the ball release mech and where you can find one or the parts? I really need one of those gottlieb parts manuals for 1986 ish. So annoying they dont include all the assembly drawings in the game manuals. Might be another 3d print design coming up at this rate.
 
Jay Walker said:
Is there a vacant solenoid drive to use for an additional 'lane feeder' mechanism? AIR this game already has a solenoid extender and an extra display latch. As above, most of the Bally m/ball games, and Stern's Flight 2000, simply leave the balls queuing at the outhole.
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I've got plenty of new drives available with my new controller as it unlocks some extra drives from original driver hardware, plus adds another 16 via new hardware options to

I'm avoiding any stacking in the outhole, terrible idea. Can't believe bally did this when they already designed fireball 1 / 4 mil bc troughs..
 
Not true multi-ball play, but another interesting example is Gold Ball with it's separate troughs and twin solenoid outhole gate - a lot of complication once the pinballs look the same colour anyway!
 
Well this was easy to redraw NOT! 😂

Gave up trying to find the gottlieb part number or finding the bracket and made my own improved one.

Copyright myPinballs Electronics 2019 😎 now I can tweak it for Bally troughs any time I want.

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Looks good! whats the strength of 3d printed parts like? is it quite brittle, or does it have some give?
 
Davey D said:
Looks good! whats the strength of 3d printed parts like? is it quite brittle, or does it have some give?
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These are proto prints using pla. It’s pretty good and rigid when 2mm thick but with some give not brittle. For mechs like this where it’s just moving a gate essentially it’ll work great.

I could get it printed in any number of other materials to!
 
Couple of tweaks and additions to my ball release parts. I also have something pretty cool in 3d printing terms coming shortly to. Treated myself at the end of my financial year

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This is what i got recently to assist in 3d printing going forward, shared on the 'this arrived today' thread to

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Some pics of assembly progress so far. This kit really is an amazing piece of design. So well thought out and a joy to assemble.

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Nice piece of kit!! I was going to pick one up a year or so ago, however i couldnt justify the massive price Vs quality with some of the others on the market. Plus the Wait time was absolutely ridiculous (3 months post payment). Nice to see it's now days :)

Am surprised that they haven't brought the price down, or at the very least update it more often.

However - Enjoy - they are the Rolls Royce of 3d printers :) - but you knew that! :)
 
Paul said:
Nice piece of kit!! I was going to pick one up a year or so ago, however i couldnt justify the massive price Vs quality with some of the others on the market. Plus the Wait time was absolutely ridiculous (3 months post payment). Nice to see it's now days :)

Am surprised that they haven't brought the price down, or at the very least update it more often.

However - Enjoy - they are the Rolls Royce of 3d printers :) - but you knew that! :)
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22 months with no update? This model was released in Feb 2019. The mk3s. Shipped same day and I had in 5 working days from order date via dpd
 
Paul said:
My bad - i updated my post before you replied as i was wrong - apologies! :)
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No worries. I am genuinely impressed with the quality of this kit including how it’s packaged and the instructions. A joy to assemble. Most of what I read before buying said this was best under a grand printer so not that expensive in context.

I’m replacing my ‘magazine weekly assembled one’ that I inherited off my dad who bought it as something to keep himself occupied. I thought it would be absolute bobbins but I actually got a lot of use out of it and has spurred me on further. I kind of got to the end of its ability now though and want something better

What did you decide to get instead? Hopefully more people here will get into 3d printing ness! I think it’s got many many pinball uses!!
 
myPinballs said:
What did you decide to get instead? Hopefully more people here will get into 3d printing ness! I think it’s got many many pinball uses!!
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I ended up with a Wanhao i3 plus mk2....

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If you havent used it Octoprint is a very worthwhile addition using a Pi - ability to monitor from any browser, add a webcam for live checks, and a host of other uses!
 
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