Make The Cut 4.1.0 Serial code#

The wire connections would ultimately run to the mounted scoreboard. Once all switches and LED lights were mounted, they had to be wired and soldered to a centralized perforated wafer board with a standard connector. As we will see later, this color scheme will match the colors that display on the scoreboard. The 10- and 20-point scoring rings were illuminated in red, the 30-, 40- and 50-point scoring rings were illuminated in blue and the two 100-point scoring rings were illuminated in green. The scoring holes were color coded by scoring values. The LEDs was then secured with a 1/4вЂќ cable clip. A 1вЂќ diameter Forstner drill bit was used to drill to a depth on 3/8 inches. To accomplish this, a hole had to be countersunk just outside the rim of the scoring hole. Small LED lights were mounted to the understand of each scoring hole to illuminate the opening. I also wanted to add lights to the target board. The long wire had to be shaped and centered so it would be вЂњtrippedвЂќ by the ball no matter where it passed through the scoring hole. The switch had to be attached to the underside of each scoring hole so as not to interfere with a falling ball, but it also had to be centered so it would not вЂњmissвЂќ any balls falling through. A home-made bracket was designed and fabricated using 1/8вЂќ thick hardboard and small right-angle brackets: See below: I needed to find someway to attach the microswitch to the underside of the target board. The target assembly was mounted at a 45 degree angle.ДЄn arcade microswitch with a long straight wire was used to detect the skee ball as it drops through a scoring ring. Once the target board assembly was completed, the sides and top that surround the target assembly were designed, cut out and attached. Both the target board and the bottom of the enclosure were lined with a soft mat material to вЂњdeadenвЂќ the bounce of the solid wooden balls. The bottom ring was made from vinyl edging and was glued to the target board after a ВјвЂќ router bit was used to form a channel to accept it (so would hold the curve).ДЄ bottom enclosure (box) was built to contain and channel the thrown skee ball to the exit chute. It was centered and glued into place also. The larger ring that surrounds the 20-, 30- and 40-point scoring rings was cut from the top of a laundry pail. They were glued in place with construction glue to be centered over the cut holes. I used 4вЂќ diameter PVC pipe for the scoring rings. The scoring holes were laid out on the plywood and cut with a 4вЂќ diameter hole saw connected to my drill. The size of the target board is 16 inches wide by 24 inches long and fabricated from ВЅвЂќ thick plywood.

Servo motor (drop down door for game ball release).

220 ohm resistors (for LED lights and tall 7-segment LED).

1.2вЂќ tall, 4-digit, 7-segment LED (Adafruit Industries).

Various LED lights (built in resistors вЂ“ used on target board).

(7) Arcade coin door microswitches with straight wire.

4вЂќ tall white vinyl tile edge molding (bottom ring of target board).

1/8вЂќ thick clear plexiglass (scoreboard).

2 x 4 pine studs (cut to smaller widths for ramp frame).

ВЅвЂќ plywood (sides and target board assembly).

My previous Instructable entitled вЂњAnother Skee-Ball MachineвЂќ gives more detailed instructions on the woodworking techniques needed to fabricate a Skee-Ball machine.

Make The Cut 4.1.0 Serial code#

In this Instructable I will concentrate on explaining the electronic components and code needed to implement automatic scoring on a home-made Skee-Ball machine. The final dimensions of the game are 17 inches wide by 79 inches long by 53 inches tall at its highest point (scoreboard). However, I did not like the way golf balls launched of the game ramp, so I switched to 1-1/2вЂќ wooden balls that can be purchased from Woodpecker Crafts. I did not want this game to have a big footprint, so my original idea was to construct a game that used golf balls to play. When a new game is started, a door will drop down, allowing the regulation 9 skee balls to be played. I also wanted to design a holding chamber for the game balls. It would be nice to be able to count your Skee-Ball score electronically so this elaborate channel system could be avoided. This allowed the player to track their game score manually by adding up the balls in each channel. Others have also chosen this construction design. I have previously constructed a Skee-Ball machine that funneled the game balls into separate channels based on the scoring ring they passed through.

Home-made Skee-Ball games can be great fun for the entire family, but their drawback has always been the lack of automatic scoring.