Air Hockey Table

This view shows you the underside of our table. You can see that the base is two 16 x 16 plates. I used two 2 x 2 round bricks for each leg. We found 7 light gray ones, but just could NOT find an 8th and had to go with blue! Ha!

air hockey table

Fans can also try their hand at a giant air hockey table. They may even get a chance to play NHL legends in an unforgettable 2-on-2 game. Social media stars The Hockey Guys will also be on site to meet fans, sign autographs and take in everything the Legends Lodge has to offer.

Get ready for a little family competition. The Elements Cloud air hockey table, crafted from durable wood and a sleek laminate cover, conforms to regulation standards and includes the pucks and goalies you need to hold your own tournaments. Sturdy wide bases make it an attractive showpiece in the game room for fun-filled years to come. The clean lines and refined design keep this piece modern and up to date. Add the Cloud to complete your game room!

Arcade air hockey tables are the largest and most elaborate. They have the sturdiest build, the most powerful motors and the most features. Most measure between 7 and 8 feet long, have electronic scoring, sound effects and eye-catching lighting effects. This also means that arcade tables are the heaviest and most expensive of air hockey tables.

Convertible air hockey tables have a similar build quality and feature set as standard air hockey tables but allow you to play more than one game. Depending on the particular model, you may replace or flip the table over to reveal a different game. Common games included in convertible air hockey tables are pool, table tennis and foosball.

Tabletop air hockey tables are the smallest of the air hockey types and the best for kids, budget-conscious consumers or those with limited space. Many can be stored in a closet or under a bed, and only pulled out when needed. As expected, most lack high-end features, like lights, a powerful blower and electronic scoring.

Most air hockey tables must be connected to an outlet at all times to function. However, some kids and tabletop models use batteries. While convenient, these will have the least powerful blowers and the slowest table action.

Air hockey tables may either have electronic or manual scoring systems. Most people prefer an electronic scoring system simply because it automates the process, making them the most convenient. Manual scoring systems are often in the abacus style or may be a slider that you move from number to number.

Flashing lights add to the excitement of an air hockey match. Depending on the model, the lights may be incorporated into the rails, in an overhead arch, in the pushers and the puck or some combination of these. The lights may also be multi-colored and react to where the puck hits.

Small tabletop air hockey tables run between $50-$100. Standard tables start around $100, and convertible models start around $250. As you get into premium options, convertible and arcade air hockey tables can all cost well into the thousands of dollars.

A. No. Air hockey tables are relatively easy to maintain. They simply require cleaning the blower and intake vent once in a while, as well as wiping down the playing surface with glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol. To increase the speed of the puck, you may also want to polish the playing surface periodically.

A professional air hockey setup is usually available only in arcades due to the sophisticated systems that are required to operate it. Our goal was to build a DIY air hockey table, bringing this gaming experience at home.

By using commonly available materials we have succeeded in making a cost effective and easy to build air hockey table. Our project uses the power of modern technologies such as lasercutting and 3d printing to make a customized and easily scalable system letting one build the game according to their preferences.

There is no better joy than seeing the puck gliding smoothly on the cushion of air and dropping into the goal. Follow on to build your very own air hockey game and we can ensure you that it will lead to hours of fun!

To conceptualize the air hockey table, we first designed it on fusion 360. We customized our playfield to a reasonable size making it easy to setup yet keep the fun factor of the game. Here are few features of our diy system:

The play-field needed to have a grid of 1mm holes. This would be a tedious job if done manually thus we decided to use the power of laser-cutting. The following list are several parts that were laser-cut for the air hockey game. The file attached below contains the 2d drawings of all the parts for laser-cutting.

The frame of the air hockey table is made of 1" by 4" pine wood. The inner dimension of the frame or the playfield size is 80cm by 50cm. Using a circular saw and a guide, we cut down four pieces of wood, two strips of length 80cm and two of length 54cm (as the width strips will overlap the length strips). Once done lightly sand the edges to make the surface smooth and even.

The width of the goal in a table is officially 3 times the diameter of the puck. Thus on the two width pieces we marked a rectangle of length 15cm by 1cm a centimeter below the top surface making sure the goal was centered. Then we bored out two holes to allow the jigsaw to fit through and finally cut along the line. One could also use an oscillating cutter like Fein to produce very neat cuts. File the edges to remove any remaining material.

Simply apply a generous amount of glue to the wooden blocks and place the acrylic sheet. Once done rest some weight along the edges, like the tools lying around, till the glue cures. Then with a spirit level ensure that throughout the table the surface if flat and leveled.

Now that the bottom panel is ready one can flip the air hockey frame. Apply glue on all the wooden blocks and place the bottom panel. For precaution we decided to drive in few screws to make the joint even stronger. Then using a glue gun seal any gaps between the panel and the frame.

The two LED strips situated on the two edges of the table are connected in series using four wires (+12v, red, green, blue) to essentially form a long LED strip. Solder wires on one end of one strip then pass it through the hole in the acrylic panel and take it out from the other hole on the opposite side. Solder this end of the wire to the second LED strip. This is then connected to the controller box using jumper connectors. The controller box is then secured to the bottom wood panel using screws.

Our air hockey table requires power in two places apart from the blower itself which will have its own power source. One for the scoring system and the other for the lighting system, both can be run off 12v DC. To achieve this we created a simple power distribution system, which takes in the 12v power input from the adaptor and splits it into two. One that will power the Arduino and the other that will power the led strips. We used male and female power jacks to make the power distribution system. Follow the wiring diagram attached above to make your own.

The air hockey table is ready. Attach the blower from the side and turn on the power. The puck should start floating around and from there it is game on. Enjoy slamming the puck into the goal and keep track of the score on the counter.

Although in the beginning we were hesitant and skeptical whether our homemade blower powered air hockey table would work, the results have exceeded our expectations. It was a super fun project to build and it is even more fun to play with.

After having played with this setup for several weeks we are happy to say that the parts hold up and that the design has past the test. We hope you feel inspired to make your very own low cost air hockey table, as we can ensure there will be no regrets!

Air hockey is a Pong-like tabletop sport where two opposing players try to score goals against each other on a low-friction table[1] using two hand-held discs ("mallets") and a lightweight plastic puck.

The air hockey table has raised edges that allow the puck to reflect off horizontally, and a very smooth, slippery surface that further reduces friction by suspending the puck on a thin cushion of air ejected from tiny vent holes built inside the surface. This causes the puck to hover and move easily across the table with little loss of velocity, which simulates the lubricated sliding of an ice hockey puck across a well polished rink, hence the name of the game.

A typical air hockey table consists of a large smooth playing surface designed to minimize friction, a surrounding rail to prevent the puck and strikers (paddles) from leaving the table, and slots in the rail at either end of the table that serve as goals. On the ends of the table behind and below the goals, there is usually a puck return. Additionally, tables will typically have some sort of machinery that produces a cushion of air on the playing surface through tiny holes, with the purpose of reducing friction and increasing play speed. In some tables, the machinery is eschewed in favor of a slick table surface, usually plastic, in the interest of saving money in both manufacturing and maintenance costs. Note that these tables are technically not air hockey tables, since no air is involved; however, they are still generally understood to be as such due to the basic similarity of gameplay. There also exist pucks that use a battery and fan to generate their own air cushion, but as they are prone to breakage, they are commonly marketed only as toys.

The only tables that are approved for play and sanctioned by the USAA (United States Air Hockey Association) and the AHPA (Air Hockey Players Association) for tournament play are 8-foot tables. Approved tables include all Gold Standard Games 8-foot tables; some 8-foot tables from Dynamo; and the original 8-foot commercial Brunswick tables. Other full-size novelty-type tables with flashing lights on the field of play, painted rails, and/or smaller pucks are not approved for tournament play but can be used to learn the game. There are also tables for air hockey having a size of 1.5, 2, or 2.5 feet. They are called a mini air hockey. This is due to the small dimensions of the table, bits, washers. 041b061a72