DDRTapePad - Cheap, light, easy to build homemade DDR

DDRTapePad - My homemade DDR pad design that is very cheap, thin (1/4"), light , firm, sensitive, slide-free, and easy to build. It's mostly made of tape.

http://imgur.com/a/0Qg9O

Key Features
* Under $70 $96 total for 2 pads, see below for details
* NO soldering, welding, or sawing.
* 1/4" thick. This is not a typo, it's a quarter of an inch thick.
* Very solid on carpet or hard floors.
* Very sensitive, it is nearly impossible to touch a panel without triggering it.
* The only tools needed are scissors, pliers, a ruler, and an exacto knife.
* Top surface is flat and waterproof (arrows are not recessed but I have an idea for that)
* Button foot prints are as large as you want to make them
* Makes almost no noise if playing in socks.
* Build time is 3-6 hours depending on how much of a perfectionist you are.
* It's not pretty, but it could be with some effort.

COST BREAKDOWN

Unfortunately nothing can be purchased in a small enough quantity so you end up with lots of extra supplies. The DuraLar plastic in particular is not very cost efficient because you have to buy so much and it is expensive.

Here are the minimum amounts I can find for each component:

3/16" Hardboard - $13.44 from Home Depot for a 4x8' which is enough for 2 pads. I have never seen 4x4' in stock anywhere but that would be better for one pad. Home Depot will cut the larger one down for free. Or make 2 pads on one large piece, that would be pretty awesome actually.

DuraLar 5mil, 40" wide - $18.95 on Amazon for 12 feet, which is enough for 4 pads. Perhaps an art or framing store would sell it by the foot.

Mueller Prewrap - $4.00 on Amazon for a roll, enough for at least 4 pads, maybe more

Nashua Cold Weather Foil Tape - $7.88 at HomeDepot for a roll of 1.875" width, enough for 7 pads. You can use other widths but they are more expensive and force you to buy even more of it, but the plus side is you have fewer strips to cut and lay down.

JVCC CFL-5CA Copper Foil Tape with conductive adhesive, 1/4" - $17.65 on Amazon for a roll, enough for 3 pads.

ScotchBlue Painter's Tape 1" - $3.93 at HomeDepot for a roll, enough for 12 or more pads.

A controller - price depends on the system you want to use it with. You can get a cheap PC USB gamepad for under $10 on Amazon, though the contacts may not be easy to tape to. For the easiest build, most soft DDR pads have wide flat contacts that work well with the copper tape. Amazon has several for under $15.

I would assume everyone already has masking tape and double-sided scotch tape and very little of those are required so they are not worth pricing separately.

So to build one pad, assuming you use a DDR soft pad for the controller at $15, would cost $81. But for $15 more (for another controller) you could build 2 pads.

Hey, that's kind of a neat idea.
This could be really handy for people that find metal pads too expensive or can't get one shipped to their place, as this pad uses hardboard and seems to be durable enough.

Thanks. Hardboard is amazingly strong for its weight and thickness. And it lasts a very long time. I've actually had this piece for several years and I have used it for several different pad design attempts. You can see the remnants of that in the first photo.

wow that's awesome, maybe i'll try that out later and see what I can do.

Let me know if you run into any problems.

By the way, how much was for everything?

I meant for each Item, like for the wood or the copper tape he used .

Unfortunately nothing can be purchased in a small enough quantity so you end up with lots of extra supplies. The DuraLar plastic in particular really kills the cost-efficiency.

I updated the first post with a cost breakdown.

OK, thank you so much. I will make it this September when I get money and tell you how that goes.

mind if i steal this to put into my homepad thread? pics are much appreciated

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It would probably be best to link to this thread because I will update the first post occasionally. I'm also going to update the pictures and text on imgur but unfortunately I have to delete it all in order to do that so that link will die soon.

I was thinking, "When would 8ftmetalhead notice this thread?" I was kinda surprised this wasn't posted in his thread, but whatever.

Nice job on your homemade pad.

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I would imagine if you have two separate pads that you wanted to sometimes have connected for doubles, you could use a Velcro strap type of system similar to the ones used on third party foam pads to connect the two together. Some people would probably like to have two separate pads to make storage a bit easier. I saw this thread when you first posted it but was really interested in the price point and durability. I had some thoughts about how you could simulate a recessed arrow at first but I kinda forgot what I originally thought up. It's probably the same as yours though anyway.

Also, question. If the arrows are too sensitive for some people wouldn't a little extra foam insulation or plastic around the arrows help with that or would it be too thick for the sensor to register?

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I would SO make two of these, but I should probably try to figure out how to cover the circuit board before I even start making plans.

Now, I also would like to see a video of you playing on this. Looks really, really awesome.

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Best way to protect the circuit board is to use a flat small rectangular USB joystick like the class NES usb pad so you can just mount it to the board. I used what I had available.

I'll try to do a demo video showing its response/sensitivity. I'm not a very good player (level 5/6), I just really enjoy it.


To minimize wear and tear, it is important for the top plastic layer, and all parts really, to not have to move/flex very much. If you want the arrows to be less sensitive, the solution is to use thicker foam for all of the foam lines under each arrow.. But this will cause the plastic surface to have to flex more, where the original design involves almost no flexing. Using more foam only around the arrow perimeters won't work well and will cause the top surface to have to flex a lot.

I have added 1mm dense/hard foam to the non-arrow squares on my pad to attempt to be able to feel the difference between arrow and non-arrow with my feet. It didn't work particularly well, I really can't feel it much through my socks.

How does this build hold up under fast songs? Anyone have videos of this? It has been a while since this was posted, how are the pads doing?

6 Month old thread bump.

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It is useless to make another thread though.

Damn I didn't realize this thread before, too bad I'd rather have an arcade styled pad.

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I will be making this same build, but using Lexan (polycarbonate) because it is a stronger material. I will also be testing a few designs with no foam so i don't have to worry about repairing the foam.