Full Tilt: 3D Printing Sparks Pinball Revolution
Flip. Flip. Clang. Tilt. Print?
Over the past two decades, the business of pinball has mostly moved from bars and pool halls to the lairs of collectors, hobbyists, and makers of all stripes. The fun factor is the same—better, even, if you're lucky enough to have your favorite table on free play. Another thing that hasn't changed is the constant abuse a pinball machine's hundreds of plastic and metal parts take every time a player releases the plunger.
Whether it's dreaming up new gimmicks or simply keeping a treasured classic machine in good working order, 3D printing is changing the way owners approach the care and feeding of their favorite games. “There's a huge community of people who like to mod their tables, and 3D printing is opening up a whole new level,” says pinball enthusiast Scott Danesi. “There's instant gratification, no shipping, and since this is pinball and things break all the time, 3D printing is extremely valuable.”
Many of the most common components in pinball, like flippers and bumpers, are identical across dozens of different machines, making their replacements cheap and plentiful. But with thousands of games out there, most manufactured decades ago, many unique parts are simply impossible to find.
Game-Saver
Enter 3D printing. Today, a cracked gear or busted bracket is just an opportunity to make something new and better. Parts suppliers, previously limited to the high ramp-up costs of the injection-molding process, can now grow new markets around very niche parts. Suddenly, no table is too old or obscure to be restored to like-new operating condition. “You will never recoup your plastic-injection tool costs if all you're going to sell is 100 pieces. For the $10,000 you might spend on a single injection mold, you can get several 3D printers.” says Terry DeZwarte, owner of Pinball Life.
Doug Barger, owner of Doug's Pinball, is so dedicated to the craft of rebuilding and restoring pinball machines that he has actually hand-carved parts when necessary, but now leans on Autodesk 123D and his 3D printer for spares and replacements. His proudest achievement of late is a replacement gear for Black Hole pinball, a part notorious for stripping and failing. “Without 3D printing, I would have had to find a replacement on eBay, and been stuck with something old and brittle,” he says. “3D printing has expanded my world for supplying needed parts.”
Extra Life
3D printing is also central to the creation of brand-new pinball machines. Several startups have entered the market in recent years, aided greatly by the fast and inexpensive turnaround 3D printing provides for both prototype and production. One example is Circus Maximus Group, who relies heavily on 3D printing in the development of Pinball Circus. The game is a pinball legend, abandoned at the prototype stage 20 years ago by Williams, then one of the world's dominant manufacturers in the space.
Circus Maximus has something the big-budget Williams lacked—the advantage of modern prototyping by means of 3D printing. “In the old days, you would send off schematics and it could take days or weeks to get prototype parts,” says Paul Kiefert, Circus Maximus partner. “Now, we can make tweaks and have multiple iterations in the same day. We wouldn't be where we are without 3D printing.”
The Open Future
Some in the industry are still reluctant to put 3D printed parts in the direct path of a whizzing steel ball, questioning their long-term durability. Not Spooky Pinball of Benton, WI, which uses ABS 3D printed parts in the playfield of America's Most Haunted. “The test game has been on location for over a year now and has never broken a single 3D printed part,” says owner Charlie Emery. “And we've put 3D printed parts in test rigs to see how much abuse they can take. With over 100,000 hits we have never broken one.”
Emery is also taking advantage of free, open digital distribution of printer-ready components, putting his money where his mouth is. For other manufacturers, spares and replacements are part of the business model. Spooky Pinball is opening its designs and files so owners can print their own repairs. “It helps people feel confident that the pieces in our game are going to be available forever, so why not do it?” he says. “It helps us sell more games, and we like the community involvement.”
Pinball hobbyists and manufacturers have only started taking full advantage of 3D printing's potential. At Pinball Life, 3D printing still accounts for just a small fraction of sales, but DeZwarte advises entrepreneurs to be aggressive about the new opportunity, rather than be left behind. “You've gotta get in the pool and see what happens,” he says. “You can't wait until you have a million customers lined up and you don't have a 3D printer.”
- See more at: http://spark.autodesk.com/blog/3D-Printing-Sparks-Pinball-Revolution#sthash.i86oSKQa.dpuf
Flip. Flip. Clang. Tilt. Print?
Over the past two decades, the business of pinball has mostly moved from bars and pool halls to the lairs of collectors, hobbyists, and makers of all stripes. The fun factor is the same—better, even, if you're lucky enough to have your favorite table on free play. Another thing that hasn't changed is the constant abuse a pinball machine's hundreds of plastic and metal parts take every time a player releases the plunger.
Whether it's dreaming up new gimmicks or simply keeping a treasured classic machine in good working order, 3D printing is changing the way owners approach the care and feeding of their favorite games. “There's a huge community of people who like to mod their tables, and 3D printing is opening up a whole new level,” says pinball enthusiast Scott Danesi. “There's instant gratification, no shipping, and since this is pinball and things break all the time, 3D printing is extremely valuable.”
Many of the most common components in pinball, like flippers and bumpers, are identical across dozens of different machines, making their replacements cheap and plentiful. But with thousands of games out there, most manufactured decades ago, many unique parts are simply impossible to find.
Game-Saver
Enter 3D printing. Today, a cracked gear or busted bracket is just an opportunity to make something new and better. Parts suppliers, previously limited to the high ramp-up costs of the injection-molding process, can now grow new markets around very niche parts. Suddenly, no table is too old or obscure to be restored to like-new operating condition. “You will never recoup your plastic-injection tool costs if all you're going to sell is 100 pieces. For the $10,000 you might spend on a single injection mold, you can get several 3D printers.” says Terry DeZwarte, owner of Pinball Life.
Doug Barger, owner of Doug's Pinball, is so dedicated to the craft of rebuilding and restoring pinball machines that he has actually hand-carved parts when necessary, but now leans on Autodesk 123D and his 3D printer for spares and replacements. His proudest achievement of late is a replacement gear for Black Hole pinball, a part notorious for stripping and failing. “Without 3D printing, I would have had to find a replacement on eBay, and been stuck with something old and brittle,” he says. “3D printing has expanded my world for supplying needed parts.”
Extra Life
3D printing is also central to the creation of brand-new pinball machines. Several startups have entered the market in recent years, aided greatly by the fast and inexpensive turnaround 3D printing provides for both prototype and production. One example is Circus Maximus Group, who relies heavily on 3D printing in the development of Pinball Circus. The game is a pinball legend, abandoned at the prototype stage 20 years ago by Williams, then one of the world's dominant manufacturers in the space.
Circus Maximus has something the big-budget Williams lacked—the advantage of modern prototyping by means of 3D printing. “In the old days, you would send off schematics and it could take days or weeks to get prototype parts,” says Paul Kiefert, Circus Maximus partner. “Now, we can make tweaks and have multiple iterations in the same day. We wouldn't be where we are without 3D printing.”
The Open Future
Some in the industry are still reluctant to put 3D printed parts in the direct path of a whizzing steel ball, questioning their long-term durability. Not Spooky Pinball of Benton, WI, which uses ABS 3D printed parts in the playfield of America's Most Haunted. “The test game has been on location for over a year now and has never broken a single 3D printed part,” says owner Charlie Emery. “And we've put 3D printed parts in test rigs to see how much abuse they can take. With over 100,000 hits we have never broken one.”
Emery is also taking advantage of free, open digital distribution of printer-ready components, putting his money where his mouth is. For other manufacturers, spares and replacements are part of the business model. Spooky Pinball is opening its designs and files so owners can print their own repairs. “It helps people feel confident that the pieces in our game are going to be available forever, so why not do it?” he says. “It helps us sell more games, and we like the community involvement.”
Pinball hobbyists and manufacturers have only started taking full advantage of 3D printing's potential. At Pinball Life, 3D printing still accounts for just a small fraction of sales, but DeZwarte advises entrepreneurs to be aggressive about the new opportunity, rather than be left behind. “You've gotta get in the pool and see what happens,” he says. “You can't wait until you have a million customers lined up and you don't have a 3D printer.”
- See more at: http://spark.autodesk.com/blog/3D-Printing-Sparks-Pinball-Revolution#sthash.i86oSKQa.dpuf
