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A project log for Interact

Physically interacting with the world can be extremely difficult for some. This project aims to make it a little easier.

mike-turveyMike Turvey 08/03/2020 at 19:384 Comments

Somehow several pictures from my last log entry didn't show up after I posted it.  I don't see a way to edit it right now, so I'm posting them here.

This is the button, once assembled:

For assembling the cap, first the cap insert goes in the cap:

Next, the Cap holder clips in:

The switch is mounted in the base with the wire soldered on, and then the piece above is screwed down (I'll post more pics later of this part of construction-- I don't have any right now).  The cap insert is what pushes on the microswitch's button.  And the cap holder is the piece that keeps the cap from pulling up/ falling off.    

Discussions

Sophi Kravitz wrote 08/03/2020 at 20:17 point

that looks great!

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Simon Merrett wrote 08/03/2020 at 20:03 point

Looks fantastic when finished. Are the single and double lines printed on top of the three-armed "cap insert" important for identifying orientation during assembly?

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Mike Turvey wrote 08/04/2020 at 06:05 point

Good eye!  The one thick and two thin lines indicate that the thickness of round center of that cap insert is 1.2mm.  I'll post some more pictures, but the initial reason for having a cap insert at all was to allow adjustment of the "height" of the button in relation to the microswitch without having to re-print an entire switch.  Instead, the idea is that you can have inserts of a bunch of different sizes/ thicknesses, so if tolerances are off, you can just swap out a different insert.  And since the inserts are so small and quick to print, it's no big deal to change them up.

Of course, if you're going to have a bunch of different sized inserts, it would be a pain if you had to get out calipers to try and find the right sized one.  So, I came up with those lines as an easy way to identify what size a given insert was.  

In practice, I've found that I really don't need different sizes-- pretty much every switch I've made uses a 0.6mm insert.  But, the inserts still provide a lot of value in keeping a tight precision on the height, as well as providing a key role in the overall feel of the switch.

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Simon Merrett wrote 08/04/2020 at 08:11 point

Thanks, that makes sense. Their three legs made me wonder if they were part of the pivoting mechanism (as we had discussed CNC touch probes of similar concept) so good to clarify that they're spacers with a neat labelling system. 

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