Star Tech Journal

J
Willianis 4-Part Pinball Test
Pat Lawlor
Williams Electronics
Chicago, Illinois
QUESTION
Last issue, I talked about my latest pinball
design, Earthshaker!, and the reliability
factor. Also, operators wanted to know about
parts and one-of-a-kind items. All these
changes are the result of extensive testing
and, hopefully, correct decision making.
ANSWER
In answer to your question .... yes, all of the
parts that you would normally consider
"standard" ( flippers kickers, poppers etc. )
are the same parts used on our other games.
The unique parts such as the ramps and
~alif-Nev plastic surfaces are new. One of
the real reasons for the high level of confi-
dence that there will be little problem with
vibration, (see June '89 issue of S*TJ) be-
sides testing, is that Williams for the last few
years has been beefing up parts, and other-
wise changing fasteners, etc., in the pursuit
of reliability.
An example of this is the use of self locking
nuts on plastics, instead of the traditional
plastic acorn nuts that explode off on a ball
hit. Another example you could look for on
Earthshaker!is the extensive use of tee-nuts
to attach parts instead of wood screws. We
also use lock-tite on most mechanisms, if
possible. Like I said before, we don't win
them all (far from it!) but we keep on tryin'.
THE TESTING
We at the factory really do try to test our new
~ame mechanisms as much as possible
before shipping. I would like to give you a
little insight into how that's done. It's really
a four step process.
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At the very least, a problem can be dealt with
on the next game so that it won't happen
again. When you folks in the field see some-
thing not quite right we like to know about it!
(If its one of my games I want to know about
it!) We don't win them all but we keep on
hackin' at it.