eclipse button part question

[vertexguy]

The eclipse style buttons I got from Arcade Renovations forever ago come with a little black plastic ring that sits just above the black plastic nut.  You can see it in their photo here:



Anyone know the purpose of it?  Is it just to make the button optionally really tall above the CP surface?  Doesn't seem like it does much below the surface.

[PL1]

The eclipse style buttons I got from Arcade Renovations forever ago come with a little black plastic ring that sits just above the black plastic nut.  You can see it in their photo here:



Anyone know the purpose of it?  Is it just to make the button optionally really tall above the CP surface?  Doesn't seem like it does much below the surface.

The official reason:

The black rings sometimes supplied with Asian import buttons are not at all intended for installation above a panel.  I've seen them used this way and it looks ridiculous.  The only reason they exist is so they can be mounted to thin metal control panels, while using the shoulder to set them into place.  I.e. the rings are nothing more than spacers which allow the nut to clamp them onto the underside of the metal panel.  Without them, the nut cannot be tightened enough to make contact.  Also, using them to adapt to a larger hole is usually a non-starter, as their OD is often too close to the OD of the bezel to offer a secure mount.

A non-standard edge-case application:

If you install the ring above the control panel, the button body will fit into a smalller hole. (24mm IIRC)

Scott

[vertexguy]

Thanks Scott!  I had a feeling you would know all the details.