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This is cool. I really like the wooden box. As it happens I am currently working on a 3d-printable keyboard switch design and just tonight put together a "macr
by jstanley 6y ago
This is cool. I really like the wooden box.
As it happens I am currently working on a 3d-printable keyboard switch design and just tonight put together a "macro keypad" of sorts using 3d printed switches for the first time.
The 3d-printable switches use nothing but 3d printed PETG parts (no exotic flexibles etc. required) and copper wire. Here's a slow-mo video showing how they work, in case anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peXFqVMugO4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peXFqVMugO4
The tricky part was getting the switch to activate at ~50% of the stroke without using flexible contacts, because you need the contact points to stay still while the rest of the moving part keeps moving down. Originally I was using copper tape on a thin piece of plastic so that it could flex, but I found that the copper tape was splitting apart after a few thousand presses. Using a "leaf spring" with a copper wire through it seems to work much better.
By the way, if you like making stuff, I would highly recommend buying a 3d printer instead of getting parts made by Shapeways. You can get a Creality Ender 3 on eBay "refurbished" for under £200 and a brand new one is not much over £200, and they're not that hard to learn how to use. The big benefit is not just the cost saving compared to getting stuff printed by Shapeways, but that the "edit-compile-test" cycle becomes so much shorter. You can easily go through multiple iterations of a (small) part in a single evening. Having a 3d printer on your desk is life-changing.
- StavrosK 6y agoI have used an early version of James' switch and was kind of amazed that a 3D printed switch worked so well, I really like that project. Also, agreed, owning a 3D printer is life-changing, and you'll discover that you can print all kinds of useful things that you never really imagined before, just because you didn't have a printer.
- Shared404 6y agoI've always wanted a 3D printer, but will soon be in a situation where even if I purchase one now, I will lose access to it for two years in the near future. How fast is the tech advancing? Would it be worth waiting until after those two years?
- jstanley 6y agoThe technology will almost certainly be better in some way in 2 years' time, although the initial period of rapid improvement is basically over. Whether it's worth getting one now or waiting for 2 years depends on your cost-benefit analysis. If you don't think you'll be able to get your money's worth out of a printer before you lose access to it, then it's probably not worth getting one just yet.