Air hockey game diagram and firmware. Homemade air hockey

The boss's birthday at work was approaching and I wanted to do original gift, but what can you give unusual, and even to a wealthy person? And wandering around the Internet, I came across the fact that the bourgeoisie make their own home air hockey.

There was an idea, the challenge was accepted and it was decided to make the table full-size. But the original design has been redesigned.

So, the store and materials: 8 mm thick laminated MDF, sawn in the office where it was purchased. Sheet length 1850, cutting width 920 mm. it turned out to be three pieces, two of which will be the bottom and the table.

The sides will be made of 140x45 boards (solid, solid).
Borrowing a router bit from a friend, I cut grooves for the bottom and table top.

Fitting.

And with sides.

I strongly advise you to do everything in the garage/outside/workshop, everything in the apartment was covered in dust and sawdust, it took another month to raked it out of the corners, from cabinets and shelves.

Next stage! This is an activity for the patient, I drilled holes with a diameter of 2 mm in increments of 20 mm (the bourgeoisie have a smaller diameter every inch, but here I took the advice that thin holes will clog faster, and it’s easier to break a thin drill). Total 4096 holes. To simplify the task, I made a template from thin MDF.
The process took 2 evenings and took 3 drills.

The cutter cut through the “gate”

And he covered the table with a thinner board, making pockets for pucks behind the goal. The process of drinking the boards was something I forgot to capture, so there is a photo of the already closed one.

Another photo, with a test washer made of MDF (it didn’t last long, it fluffed up quickly around the edges).

To clean the table itself from dust, I decided to harness the robot.

I found a channel on the advertisement site centrifugal fan, in order to use it for supercharging (it is quieter than the leaf blowers and vacuum cleaners used by the bourgeoisie, and the used version is cheaper). I took a diameter of 200 mm, but as practice has shown, there was an excess supply and I could get by with 150 (I’m not sure about 100).
I cut a hole in the bottom and secured the fan using corners.

I also screwed two boards from the bottom to fasten the stands-legs (Ikea).

Covered the entire tree with colorless varnish water based in several layers. And I applied markings with markers from a fixed price, and since I am a gifted fan of the SKA hockey club, I applied the emblem on the field.
Also, the lens did not capture the process of making bits (several circles of plywood with a handle from a construction store and velvet glued underneath, but after a week of use the plywood began to break from the washer and in the end we bought factory ones. And it turned out to be not expensive), as well as washers (one of MDF, painted with a marker, also quickly became disheveled, the second is made of vinyl plastic, but the marker paint from it sometimes left streaks on the field, so they soon changed them to factory ones).
And here's the result.

About three months ago I took the kids to the cinema, where they played AeroHockey, and since then the thought of how to build this thing at home has not left me.

The device itself is simple - a box with holes at the top, a fan at the bottom, the fan pumps air into the box, it comes out through the holes and lifts the puck.

To begin with, I decided to do something simple - I took a box from women's boots, pierced holes in the lid with an awl every two centimeters (pierced with inside outwards, so that the edges of the lid are sides) I taped the lid to the box, taped all the seams in the box with tape, made a hole in the side and inserted a hairdryer into it

MiniDVD disc was used as a washer
(Thanks to my wife, without her boots and hairdryer nothing would have worked =))

Inspired by a successful trinket, I decided to make a larger unit.
Initially, I wanted to make it foldable, because where to store such a hump, and it’s easier to make, so the size was chosen 80x80cm. those. when unfolded it should have been 80x160 cm. IMHO this size is quite enough.

I cut out two pieces of 80x80 fiberboard, nailed 25x25mm bars to one of them (which became the bottom one), and coated all the cracks with silicone sealant.

Preparing the working surface of the table
This is a separate song and not a simple one:
1. Draw a grid every 2 cm.

2. Drilled holes in the mesh nodes - a 2mm drill. A simple calculation shows that you need to make 39 * 39 = 1521 holes... this requires quite a lot of time and patience, it took me 3 hours. It’s best to take the lightest drill, or even better, a mini drill or Dremel

When I drilled the lid was nailed to the base of the box, it was error because in fact, it was hanging and as a result there were large potholes/burrs on the reverse side
Therefore, if someone decides to repeat it, it is better to drill without weight

3. Quite large burrs have formed around the holes (perhaps the material was not chosen well, I think there would be fewer problems with MDF) - to remove them I sanded both surfaces

4. After sanding, the holes became clogged by themselves, so I decided to do this:
I filled every hole with varnish

5. When the varnish dried (after two days), I drilled all the holes again, the process happened much faster than in step 3 and took two hours. As a result, the holes turned out neat and without any rags around the edges

6. Since the varnish drops, although not very much, still rose above the surface of the table, I had to sand it again, and in order to bring the table to its proper condition, I had to cover it with aerosol enamel paint (therefore, in the video the table may seem metal - in the store the paint was only under silver)
This point could have been avoided if see point 4

Fan- how much there is in this sound...
I tried quite a lot of them, at first I didn’t want to describe them... but then I changed my mind so as not to repeat my mistakes + some thoughts on this matter and so:

First I tried a hairdryer (not that I was counting too much, I just had it at hand) - the power was clearly not enough

Thought: you can try a hair dryer (it has much more power) - but I don’t have one, so I haven’t tried it.

Initially, I intended to use a vacuum cleaner for these purposes, I think it would have enough power to spare, but there are too many shortcomings: firstly, there are practically no vacuum cleaners on sale now with a blowing function (and I don’t have such a vacuum cleaner either, but if you really want to, you can figure out how to get out of this), secondly, they make noise and thirdly, they consume energy - I haven’t tried it because... there are other options

Another thought about the vacuum cleaner - in extreme cases, you can use the motor for the vacuum cleaner; in some repair shops you can purchase it separately... it will probably be cheaper.

Ordinary household fan(which we use to save ourselves in the heat if there is no air conditioning) - I tried a diameter of 50 cm. The power was 60 W - for some reason it didn’t work, I think because of the large diameter (as a result, I ruined the fan and made a huge hole in the bottom of the unit... which had to be repaired later) .

Fans for the computer system unit - I tried it because... there was a 12 cm 12 V 0.2 A available, its power is frankly ridiculous 2 W (and how is the system unit cooled like that) - in general it is too weak.

In a specialized store for radio amateurs (Khabarovsk "TV Service") I found fans:
120x25 mm 220 V 18 W - (I don’t remember the coding because I returned it to the store) - it doesn’t work, I think the thickness of the fan also matters

120x38 mm 220 V 20 W(JA1238H2S0N) - that’s what works in our video

Thought: I saw fans for ventilation in a hardware store (they are in place in an apartment ventilation grille are inserted) their parameters are approximately the same: diameter 100 mm 220 V 14 W - I think if you put several of them, it will work.

So here's what happened:

We still have to finish the sides - so that there are no gaps between the table and the side, otherwise the disk gets stuck there, and come up with bits (you probably think - well, I would have posted it when everything was ready... but I feel some fading interest in the project, later I’m afraid I won’t want to write an article later) and I almost forgot - the second half of the table needs to be done =)

Here are a few more photos:

A large white circle around the fan is the result of an unsuccessful attempt to use a household fan; in addition, the hole for the fan was made a little larger than necessary - so I had to cover the cracks on the sides with plasticine

Summary
Material: fiberboard,
Size: 80x80x3 cm,
mesh: 2x2 cm,
hole diameter: 2 mm,
Fan: 120x38 mm 220V 20 W,
Distance between sides: 25 mm (thickness of bars)

Test result
The puck hovers above the table, the air flow is evenly distributed - no differences were noticed either in the center or in the corners

DIY Air Hockey Table - in English, registration required

Air Hockey at your home DIY or Do It Yourself - Habrahabr, translation of the first + comments
To be honest, I didn’t like either the article or the translation.
in particular, phrases that raise questions:
"It is necessary to saw 8 various parts with cuts at 45 degrees at the ends" - and not at 45 degrees, which is not possible?

"Drill holes according to the mesh you just created. Use drills with a diameter of 1 mm (or 1/32 inches)" - IMHO 1 mm is not enough, and those in the movie also have holes clearly larger than 1 mm

"You need about 150-200 wooden posts 35mm high - if you are going to run on it, then it is possible and necessary, but if you are playing IMHO it is not necessary, well, unless the table is very large and then one post per 50 cm should be enough

Supplement to the magazine "Young Technician No. 11 for 1976
There is little useful here, but from a historical point of view it is interesting that the material and technical base has changed radically since then

I wish you good luck, patience and you will succeed!

The birthday of the boss at work was approaching and I wanted to give an original gift, but what can you give something unusual, and even to a wealthy person? And wandering around the Internet, I came across the fact that the bourgeoisie make their own home air hockey.

There was an idea, the challenge was accepted and it was decided to make the table full-size. But the original design has been redesigned.

The sides will be made of 140x45 boards (solid, solid).
Borrowing a router bit from a friend, I cut grooves for the bottom and table top.

Fitting.

And with sides.

The cutter cut through the “gate”

Another photo, with a test washer made of MDF (it didn’t last long, it fluffed up quickly around the edges).

To clean the table itself from dust, I decided to harness the robot.

On an advertisement site I found a ducted centrifugal fan to use for supercharging (it is quieter than the leaf blowers and vacuum cleaners used by the bourgeoisie, and the used version is cheaper). I took a diameter of 200 mm, but as practice has shown, there was an excess supply and I could get by with 150 (I’m not sure about 100).
I cut a hole in the bottom and secured the fan using corners.

I also screwed two boards from the bottom to fasten the stands-legs (Ikea).

I covered the entire tree with several layers of colorless water-based varnish. And with markers from a fixed price I applied the markings, and since I am a gifted fan of the SKA hockey club, I applied the emblem on the field.
Also, the lens did not capture the process of making bits (several circles of plywood with a handle from a construction store and velvet glued underneath, but after a week of use the plywood began to break from the washer and in the end we bought factory ones. And it turned out to be not expensive), as well as washers (one of MDF, painted with a marker, also quickly became disheveled, the second is made of vinyl plastic, but the marker paint from it sometimes left streaks on the field, so they soon changed them to factory ones).
And here's the result:

Well, after unpacking and delivery.

Total week of work in the evenings and about 4k rubles in expenses.

To all lovers popular game air hockey gotta like this post.
One craftsman decided to please his son, who loves active Board games.
He made an air hockey table with his own hands.
Let's take a look at his creation.

1. Air box. For the bottom of the air box we need 9 mm plywood, and for the top 4 strips of laminate flooring. The size of the box will be 1210x770 mm. Cut the required piece of plywood slightly larger than the size of the laminate (2-3 mm).

2. We connect the laminate strips together “into a rigid hook” provided by the plates. By the way, the laminate was not chosen by chance. Before that, there were thoughts of making a base from plywood, boards, furniture board, chipboard/fibreboard/MDF boards. But all were rejected due to low strength, softness of the material and suspicion of damage during drilling (the holes must be small and even!).

3. Mark the grid for drilling holes. We retreat 30 mm from each edge (this is the size of each side) and another 10 mm in order not to make extra holes at the side. The pitch between the holes was 20 mm.

4. Take a drill and drill about 2200 holes. The diameter of each hole is 1.5 mm. This is the most time-consuming and tedious operation when building a table. She ate about 4 hours of my life and four drills. I used 7 drills in total (they quickly became dull). I did everything in the bathroom, because it’s a huge mess (because I’m too lazy to clean it up later). Then I used an awl to widen all the holes on the back of the laminate.

5. I bought two 45x15 3m slats and sawed them into 4 parts (strictly according to the size of the plywood). These will be the sides of the air box.

6. We drill holes in the plywood (it is necessary, otherwise it will crack) and slats and place it all on the bottom with screws (you can nail it without drilling, but then you need to bite off the sharp end of the nails with wire cutters). In general, you will have to drill a lot here, so you will dream about the drill for a very long time. An anecdote on the topic: Today a neighbor knocked on my door at 3 am... Out of fear, the hammer drill almost fell out of my hands...

7. Electronics. We rummage through various computer junk and find 6 fans of varying power and a power button.

8. We also take the power supply from the old scanner. PSU characteristics: 12V 1.25A.

9. We sum up the consumption of all fans 0.25+0.22+0.22+0.12+0.12+0.12=1.05A. Yeah, there’s still room for lighting the gates with LEDs – that’s good!

10. Mark the fan holes and places for the mounting screws. We drill holes for the fans and holes for the mountings of these fans.

11. Kote’s youngest son came to help.

12. File the edges of the holes and attach the fans. Long stripes on the plywood indicate the joints of the laminate sheets.

13. Since the structure is heavy and there must be space at the bottom of the table for air suction, I bought 5 rubber feet (door stops). They are made of very durable rubber and will help keep the table stable. The photo shows a leg with a screw threaded through it.

14. Attach the switch and connect the wires from the power supply to it.

15. Place the fan wires on the terminals.

16. We bring out the wires to the gate and glue them LED strip. We solder and check. Filling the solder glue gun.

17. We saw the remaining part of the 45x15mm plank into 9 pieces and fasten it from below with screws along the seams of the laminate. We also place the rubber feet on the screws from below and secure them from the inside with a nut and a locknut. This is the picture we get. The power supply wire enters the table in the lower right corner.

18. Take regular sealant (I use transparent plumbing sealant) and coat all the cracks along the edges, as well as the fans along the edge. We also glue the dangling wires and the power supply wire to the plywood with a glue gun. “Have you sealed the wheel? - Yeah, I glued it all night. The owner of the glue will come in the morning. ©Boomer"

19. It turns out like this.

20. We buy a side rail 30x15 mm 2mx2 pcs. and cut it into the required parts (strictly to the size of the plywood) and leave space for the gate. We connect the laminate and place it on the table, having previously coated the slats attached to the plywood with sealant on top (we also coat all 9 supports under the seams of the laminate). We drill holes through this whole hamburger and fasten it with screws.

21. For the beauty and strength of the side, I took two mirror-polished aluminum corners 30x15 mm, 2 meters long. We saw it.

22. Let's try it on. By the way, on the left in the photo is an excellent device for the knees - I recommend it.

23. Senior mate.

25. And glue it around the perimeter. There is a margin of 1.5 cm at the bottom, 0.5-1 cm at the top.

26. It turns out like this.

27. The plank and film will be on top with double-sided tape (it doesn’t really stick to plywood and wood, but a corner will hold it in place).

28. And we seal it from below with a furniture bracket.

29. That's it.

30. General form below.

31. Attach the metal strips to the sides.

32. The children said ready, took the table away, and demanded bats and a puck. Let me play a little.

33. Gate. We cut the plywood into several parts.

34. Connect with a clamp, drill holes and screw in screws.

35. Assembling the gate. Let's try it on the table.

36. General view with the gate.

37. Illumination of the gate from the inside in the dark.

38. A closer look at the gate design.

39. When checking the gate, when the disc hit the gate hard, it bounced off the soft wood (plank) and flew back onto the table. To eliminate the defect, glue it onto Double-sided tape the remains of the aluminum strip to the inclined rail just behind the gate.

All fans of the popular game air hockey should like this post. One craftsman decided to please his son, who loves active board games. He made an air hockey table with his own hands. Let's look at his creation.

2. We connect the laminate strips together “into a rigid hook” provided by the plates. By the way, the laminate was not chosen by chance. Before this, there were thoughts of making a base from plywood, boards, furniture board, chipboard/fibreboard/MDF. But all were rejected due to low strength, softness of the material and suspicion of damage during drilling (the holes must be small and even!).

5. I bought two 45x15 3m slats and sawed them into 4 parts (strictly according to the size of the plywood). These will be the sides of the air box.

7. Electronics. We rummage through various computer junk and find 6 fans of varying power and a power button.

8. We also take the power supply from the old scanner. PSU characteristics: 12V 1.25A.

9. We sum up the consumption of all fans 0.25+0.22+0.22+0.12+0.12+0.12=1.05A. Yeah, there’s still room for lighting the gates with LEDs – that’s good!