Where do I get silicone button pads?
11mon 4d ago by lemmy.world/u/keepee in diy@beehaw.org
I'm building an electronic device that needs a button, and I really want it to be a silicone pad like the ones you find on midi controllers.
I had assumed it would be easy to buy one, but I haven't been able to find it. I feel like I'm googling the wrong thing. I've found some assemblies with multiple buttons, but I only want one.
Ideally, I want a a complete assembly with the circuit board and the button. Something that is ready to wire like a regular push button. Any ideas where to find one?
You don't find those because they're not discrete products. They're typically made from mats that are cut and glued to the individual PCB, i. e. the pads on a drum computer, MIDI controller etc. are not made by soldering individual button assemblies to a PCB, but rather by gluing a number of FSR mat cutouts to the PCB, which then becomes the assembly itself. Even the silicone pads are typically cast together, not as individual pads - that eases manufacturing, helps with alignment etc.
That being said, you can definitely get discrete, solderable components. Google FSR, or force sensitive resistor. Here are two companies AKAI used as suppliers in the past:
https://www.sensitronics.com/products-xactfsr-family.php
https://www.interlinkelectronics.com/force-sensing-resistor
Adafruit also sells Velostat, a pressure - sensitive sheet: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1361
This is also known as Linqstat.
You can also get a bit more creative and use an air pressure sensor in an enclosed space that you'd compress with the silicone pad, or mount a piezo sensor in a stack compressible material. Casting a single silicone pad is also incredibly easy and would probably take you around 30 minutes.
I am not aware of any commercial supplier that sells individual, velocity - sensitive buttons with silicone pads. I can imagine there are plenty of DIY projects that you could borrow ideas or implementations from. Try adding "github" to your search term and see if someone published code, schematics, models etc. in an open source repository.
Although honestly speaking, a single pad like that is quickly made in a DIY fashion. Do you have access to e. g. a 3D printer, laser cutter, maybe through a makerspace?
This is great info, thanks. I'm still surprised that no one sells individual pads. I can't be the only one that's interested in something like this. Maybe a market opportunity for someone?
I don't need it to be velocity sensitive, I just need it to be a simple momentary push button.
Like you suggested, I'll look into casting my own.
Not needing velocity sensitivity makes things easier by an order of a magnitude. If you just need a momentary switch, you can most certainly find an off-the-shelf component that will fulfill your needs. In that case, it could make sense to order a silicone matrix, treat it as donor for individual pads and cut them to size.
The only issue then would be mounting the pad to the switch, but that shouldn't be much of a challenge.
A matrix of silicone pads will cost you $1 - $2 on e. g. AliExpress, giving you plenty of individual pads to prototype.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/MIDI-Silicone-Rubber-Contacts-4x4-Keypad_62556091213.html
Casting your own button would still be an easy option though.
Edit: oh and one more thing - individual covers for push buttons absolutely exist, naturally. You might want to search for "push button cover", along with your favorite material and shape. It's the individual, velocity sensitive pad along with a silicone cover that is not a thing.
Plus, if you have access to a 3D printer, simply printing a button in a flexible material (e. g. TPU) is absolutely an option, I've done that myself.
Isn't beehaw de-federated? So this is just a post in the corpse of their DIY community on Lemmy.world that only .world users see? Just bringing it up because you're really limited on the scope of the audience if that's still the case.
Good to know, thanks. For future reference, how can I tell if a community is defederated?
Unfortunately it's just kind of a news item that comes and goes. There's no built in way that I know of to check who has blocked your own instance other than this tool. https://defed.xyz/check?name=Lemmy.world&software=lemmy%2Cmastodon%2Cmisskey%2Cmbin%2Cpleroma%2Cakkoma%2Cfriendica
Audio focused but you can write software for it: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0808-AAF
Streamer focused but programmable: https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/stream-deck-plus
X-Plane focused but made to be customized: https://xkeys.com/more/utilization/xkeypad.html