Buttons Sticking...

[DeathMonk]

On my player 2 side the top 3 buttons stick very frequently.  I've tried taking them out and cleaning them to no avail...  They look like brand new buttons and they pretty much are--maybe 10 hours tops on them.

One thing that I found that if I loosen the nuts on them, they dont stick anymore.  They also don't stick when they're out of the holes.  I thought maybe the lexan over the holes moved and were somehow creating a horizontal pressure on the buttons making them stick, but they move in and out of the holes pretty easily..

Any ideas?

DM

[hyiu]

I think I have the same problem once with 1 of the buttons... I ended up just loosen the ring in the bottom a bit.... and its fine.... maybe the hole that I drill is not straight enough and tighten it too much stretches it a little making it stick...

anyway... since the other button is helping holding the panel / lexan....  just 1 ring a little loose is ok for me....
(its not like sooo loose that it moves when you press it... just the bottom ring is not tightened....)

maybe you can try that....
 

[RandyT]

On my player 2 side the top 3 buttons stick very frequently.  I've tried taking them out and cleaning them to no avail...  They look like brand new buttons and they pretty much are--maybe 10 hours tops on them.

One thing that I found that if I loosen the nuts on them, they dont stick anymore.  They also don't stick when they're out of the holes.  I thought maybe the lexan over the holes moved and were somehow creating a horizontal pressure on the buttons making them stick, but they move in and out of the holes pretty easily..

Any ideas?

Where did you get the buttons?  

This is just a guess, but it's possible the threaded part of the button is slightly conical.  As you tighten them it could constrict the shell more as the nut moves up.

You may also be overtightening the buttons, which might cause them to deform.

Something else to check is whether your button holes are perpendicular to the face of your panel.  If they are at an angle and you tighten then nuts down, it could force the wood into the side of the shell and deform it enough to bind.

Ok, out of guesses.

RandyT

[Santoro]

I think I have the same problem once with 1 of the buttons... I ended up just loosen the ring in the bottom a bit.... and its fine.... maybe the hole that I drill is not straight enough and tighten it too much stretches it a little making it stick...

This was happening to me also.  The holes in my plexi were not precisely lined up with the wood holes and therefore the buttons went in at a slight angle.  Rotating the button sometimes helped.  

[DeathMonk]

Hrmm...  Thanks for the suggestions guys..  I'll see what I can do.

BTW, they are happ horizontal pushbuttons..

[DougHillman]

While it may not be the root of DeathMonk's button sticking problem, one way to keep lexan alignment problems from cropping up is to drill it at the same time as you do the CP.

The best way to do this is to use 2 pieces of wood with the lexan sandwiched between them.  One piece of scrap and your actual CP.  This not only gets you exactly lined up holes, but helps keep the lexan from cracking or scarring.

[Santoro]

While it may not be the root of DeathMonk's button sticking problem, one way to keep lexan alignment problems from cropping up is to drill it at the same time as you do the CP.

The best way to do this is to use 2 pieces of wood with the lexan sandwiched between them.  One piece of scrap and your actual CP.  This not only gets you exactly lined up holes, but helps keep the lexan from cracking or scarring.

yeah, where were you six months ago?    I am going to do this next time.  Good suggestion.

[RandyT]

Here's another tip if you have a router.  This also works if you want to add a plastic overlay to a panel that has been cut already.

If you haven't already, do all the work you need to on your panel, including all the holes and the outside edge.

Leave the protective film on the Lexan, acrylic, whathaveyou.

Clamp the plastic securely to the face of the wood.  Make sure it can't move!

Flip over the panel and drill a pilot hole large enough for your router bit from the bottom side of the panel (keep them toward the center of your holes)

Place a laminate trimmer bit in your router and adjust the plunge/depth so that the bearing rides on the inside wood wall and clears the thickness of the plastic.

Place the router bit through the pilot hole, switch it on and carefuly follow the contour of the wood.

If you adjusted the depth properly, the bearing will make sure everything stays true to the wood.

Do this for every hole.

Now install about 4 buttons into the holes toward the center of the panel and tighten the nuts well.  This will hold the plastic in place for the final cut.

When you are satisfied that the buttons are holding everything in place, and they won't interfere with the path of the router, use the same bit to cut around the outside contour of the panel.

Remove the buttons and peel the protective paper from the plastic.  If all went well, you should now have a nice, clean plastic overlay that pretty exactly matches your wooden panel.

But as with everything, YMMV.  

RandyT

[OSCAR]

I agree with Randy, the best way to cut plexi is with a router.  I do it a little bit differently than Randy suggested, tho.  I try to drill plexi as little as possible...  if you are not careful, the pressure from the bit can cause it to crack because you can press a lot harder with the drill than the bit can remove material.  Plexi does not respond well to a point pressure like you can induce with a drill bit.  If you have to drill plexi, do it slow so the material is removed before you try to force the bit through it.

What I do is use a template bit, not a laminate bit.  The difference is that the bearing is above the cutter head on a template bit so you don't have to drill pilot holes.  With a template bit, I plunge directly into plexi without a pilot hole.  I've built many panels this way and have never cracked a piece of plexi.

First I drill out all the holes in the wood, then clamp or screw the plexi directly to the wood.  Then I flip the control panel over so the plexi is on the bottom.  So now the holes in the wood are the template for the plexi holes.  Pics of the results of this method can be seen on my multi-williams project page, http://www.oscarcontrols.com/sinistar.  That page also shows how I used a c'sink bit to drill countersinks into the plexi so flat head screws can be used to hold it down, because my overlay on that project actually goes on top of the plexi.  The purpose of the plexi on that cp was actually so the joystick dustcovers and tee-nuts could be recessed without anything showing from the topside for a totally clean overlay surface.

[krick]

A tip for drilling plexi courtesy of those guys who put windows in their computer cases...

Take a cheap drill bit of the desired size and drill it into concrete first to dull the tip.

Now when you drill into the plexi, it won't grab and crack the plastic, it will just get hot from friction and melt through.

[RandyT]

A tip for drilling plexi courtesy of those guys who put windows in their computer cases...

Take a cheap drill bit of the desired size and drill it into concrete first to dull the tip.

Now when you drill into the plexi, it won't grab and crack the plastic, it will just get hot from friction and melt through.

I heard something similar from the plastics fabrication guys.  They say to take a drill bit and grind off one of the flutes at the tip of the drill.  Basically sounds like anything that defeats that grabbing action as it goes through the other side will do the trick.

Lexan is a little tougher to crack, but plexi can be tricky.  Oscar's method sounds like the best approach, but if you do need to use a drill in plexi, also make sure you have a piece of "waster" underneath where you are drilling.  This will also reduce some of the flexing and possibilities of cracking.

RandyT

[Santoro]

I agree with Randy, the best way to cut plexi is with a router.  I do it a little bit differently than Randy suggested, tho.  I try to drill plexi as little as possible...  if you are not careful, the pressure from the bit can cause it to crack because you can press a lot harder with the drill than the bit can remove material.  Plexi does not respond well to a point pressure like you can induce with a drill bit.  If you have to drill plexi, do it slow so the material is removed before you try to force the bit through it.

What I do is use a template bit, not a laminate bit.  The difference is that the bearing is above the cutter head on a template bit so you don't have to drill pilot holes.  With a template bit, I plunge directly into plexi without a pilot hole.  I've built many panels this way and have never cracked a piece of plexi.

Oscar, do you generally use Lexan, or the cheaper plexi?  This thread is making me think that if I am careful I don't need to waste money on the Lexan.....  I was using it because it was much easier to work with.