Panels

The designs are all 2d vector-based drawings, made in Inkscape.
The font is Mil Spec MS33558 and is commonly used on front panels for its readability in stressful situations.
Before cutting the precious acrylic, first some test cuts on cardboard.

The panels are made from 4mm white acrylic that is painted matte black. By engraving it with a laser cutter, the paint is removed and the white lettering will appear.

I made some samples with speed and laser power to check what method works best.

• engraving directly on the paint (left image, bottom - lots of residu)
• engraving on masking tape (left image, top - somewhat burned)
• engraving on dish soap per this tip from Trotec (right image, excellent!!!)

Dish soap it is…

The bottom panel is closed and will not contain any puzzle. It is a standard part of the frame that can house the power supply.

The top panel is made from 4mm clear acrylic that is painted black.
The painting of this panel is interesting, because parts have to remain transparent, parts have to be yellow, parts have to be black.

1. mask acrylic where display will be (see-through part)
2. apply yellow paint
3. mask yellow paint where yellow must be visible
4. laser cut lines and remove excess masking tape
5. apply matte black paint

Finally, remove all masking tape.

The top panel will hold the controller with a big red button to start the game.

The front panel is created from 4mm white acrylic that I painted matte black.

This panel will hold the Master Mind and Simon Says puzzles.
It will also have a data port that will directly attach to the internal RS485 communication bus.

The front panel is created from 4mm white acrylic that I painted matte black.

This panel will hold the Digital Safe and some to-be-determined puzzle.

The back panel is created from 5mm left-over wewd that I painted matte black.

This is a blank panel for now. More puzzles can be added in future spirals.

The left panel is created from 5mm left-over wewd that I painted matte black.

This is a blank panel for now. More puzzles can be added in future spirals.

4 x white acrylic sheet 280x280 mm 1 x clear acrylic sheet 280x280 mm 1 x spray can matte black paint 20 x M3 bolts 12mm + washers + nuts