Thread: Fabricating buttons on a bezel.. need help

i'd start at www.alumilite.com and look into water-clear casting plastics and associated dyes. That covers getting a transmissive plastic part. Now, masking... as i mentioned, half baked so we should probably rethink that... or at least test it. I was thinking if you could just get the tiniest bit of solvent under the mask, then it would pop off, despite being coated in paint. Obviously, the least possible amount of paint to do the job is ideal here. Well.. i'll keep pondering it.

Originally Posted by gps

I knew someone must have tried doing something like this here... I love this site

I am eagerly waiting for you to post pics of lasered bezel... I hope I'll find it in your thread

Now.. I have to search for someone to do something like that for me (believe me... its gonna be real hard finding someone like that in india)... or maybe figure a way out to do something like that myself!

BTW how much did it cost?

-GPS

to tell you the truth the guy that is doing the work for me is a pain in the ***..it's been taking months for him to get me what i had gotten. As far as cost i'm guessing its going to be around $100-$120 if he ever produces the buttons. i have another idea if i can't get this done by him. They'll be backlit buttons but not tactile. let me know if you're interested in that and i'll write up how i plan on doing it and maybe it'll be up your alley

i found a quick write up that i did a while back:
Soft touch switches?

that is going to be my back up plan if these things aren't here in a week or two.

the guy just got back to me and though he sent it to me, i guess that was the hold up... since he didn't i asked him if he was willing to take on another project. i'll get back to you if he can help you out

@hybrid
Hmmm... etching is what I require.
Etching reminds me of PCBs. They were much easier
I used to print (laser printer) PCB layouts on a piece of paper, and then used iron to transfer mask from paper to PCB (similar to a rub-on transfer, just a bit warmer). This (I hope so) can allow me to easily get black-figures-on-white-background, but there are few issues:

1. I would prefer white over black, but can live with it...
2. There will be no protection for images as such.
3. I am not sure how well will laser toner stick to the surface.

Is there something which can be used to cover the print to provide it better stability like some transparent paint or something? This seems to be going somewhere...

transparency is not a problem. I have a source for white and clear epoxies. Will get it on weekend probably.

@scott
I require the tactile feel (like the rest of the buttons on the car), so currently, I am not considering capacitive/proximity/touch switches. Thanks for the suggestion though....
And for the professional help... let me fail first... I am not giving up anytime soon. I hope you dont mind if I knock your door little later (although I hope i wouldn't need to)

do you have any pictures of the kind of icons or text you want on these buttons and the size? I'm thinking about different masking methods for white over black but it would help to know those things.

oh yeah, i think it was already mentioned here but; when i was brainstorming i originally purchased a remote off of ebay for the sole purpose of hacking itup and using the buttons from that. they usually can be backlit and if youcut carefully enough you can graph the actual button cutouts from the remote into a panel for your controls. also...check out my old install (link in my sig) you can see my solution for textile control interface too

seems like this weekend is going to office... release time bugs...

I have decided to use (pin/blade)-hand-art combinations first on the bezel. I will be using pin or blade (possibly warmed up) to cut images in black painted bezels. once images are cut, I'll tape from front (for even surface), and then, fill it (from backside) with white epoxy. I dont expect it to give real good results, but if it comes out ok, I'll be happy. (I am such a loser )

I am not sure how this will come out.. and my job is not willing to leave me some free time! I am trying to start experimenting asap.. but I think its gonna take some time

BTW, can someone a little more experienced here can generate some ideas for perfecting the PCB etching method for use in etching epoxy? Chemical etching I think will provide a cleaner result.

For printing PCBs, I've been using laser-toner-transfer-to-copper-surface method (some electronics guys must be knowing that) but problems I am facing:
1. Laser toner wont stick to sanded epoxy (tried!)
2. Laser toner wouldn't stick to painted epoxy!! (tried!)
3. Even if it somehow sticks, what to use for etching?? I think Xylene will be able to dissolve epoxy, but I believe it will also wipe away toner!! (I dont have Xylene at the moment)

@gohybrid
I am attaching pics of controls on my car... The pics were primarily taken for illustrating backlighting, and backlit icons, and I dont have anything better than my phone camera at the moment. I want to achieve similar backlighting in my project.

Little off topic here... have anyone of you tried acetone in fuel? Someone suggested it to me, and I am not really sure. Since its off-topic, please pm me if willing to comment.

Thanks
-GPS