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.
cardboard test cuts

test assembly

Material

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.

Engraving painted acrylic

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…

Frontpanel testing

Bottom

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.

Top

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.
paint order

  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.

top panel design

Puzzles

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

Front

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

Puzzles

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.
front panel design
front panel assembled

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

Puzzles

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

right panel design
right panel assembled

Back

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.
back panel design

Left

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.
left panel design

Bill of Materials

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