Mounting a one digit 7-segment display

[dirkomatic]

Without going into too much detail (yet) as to why...  Does anyone have any ideas how I could go about mounting a one digit 7-segment LED display such as this one http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=67-1486-ND in 3/4" MDF and make it look nice?

(Picture attached as well...)

[bkenobi]

I assume you are asking about corners?  Drill a small hole, use a jig saw to cut close to your line, use a file to get right up to the edge.  Fit your part every few strokes as you file to make sure you get the right size.  When it fits, use construction adhesive to attach it to your work.  OR, cut the hole as close as possible and just use Bond-O to fill in around it (which will also mount it for you.

You might want to paint prior to installing so that you don't have to be so careful with masking.  I assume you are planning on using plexi over this?

Oh, and paint the inside of the hole so if you don't have a perfect fit, you won't really notice it once the plexi is on.


Anyone else have a better idea?

[dirkomatic]

About what I was thinking, but I'm not putting plexi over it...  These will be on a non-swappable "admin" portion of a swappable panel.  I don't really think putting plexi on a swappable panel will work that well and I want it all to be level.  I was going to either use laminate or vinyl.  I guess cutting the vinyl to fit nicely will be the trickiest part.

[SavannahLion]

Is it necessary to mount directly into the MDF? Just cheat a little bit. Go fetch yourself some Insert Caps, blanking plug, Acrylic Disk, even a Patch 'N' Guard. Anything round should work, Home Depot/Lowes/Ace Hardware probably has scads of suitable round plastic bits and bobs. If your CP is metal, you can find metal pieces there. If you want wood, creating a round disc with a table saw is trivial.

Once you decide on the size of the disc, you can modify the disc to your heart's content without fear of trashing the CP. I would op for a clear part, like Acrylic, shape it into a disc, then affix the LED display on the underside via cement then paint (or start with a tinted acrylic). Then on the CP itself, I would start by carefully counter-sinking the hole just enough for the acrylic to sit inside then follow up with a hole just big enough for the display and wiring to poke through underneath.

As far as I'm concerned. Exposed LED displays/indicators should be reserved for prototyping or for those who want an industrial look. Covering the LED, especially a display like what you want with a small bit of smoke or clear acrylic/glass looks so much more professional.

Up to you, whatever you feel fits your CP best.

[protokatie]

Exposed LED displays/indicators should be reserved for prototyping or for those who want an industrial look. Covering the LED, especially a display like what you want with a small bit of smoke or clear acrylic/glass looks so much more professional.

+1

Another way to say it is: Have you ever seen a VCR with the "smoked" plastic in front of the display missing? If not, it looks like total ass!
I have messed with several of these "digital" LEDs before, and not only does the black plastic not look very good, the LED's in the segments tend to show up almost as white when not lit. Even in a lowly lit area, the screen glare would seem to light up the unlit segments and IMHO it would just look like a hack job. SL has the right idea, but another potential idea would be to have the smoked glass but with the 7-segment LED set back by 2 or 3 inches. This would creat a niffty "depth" effect, where you are looking into the control panel to see the number. (meh just an idea...)

[dirkomatic]

Is it necessary to mount directly into the MDF? Just cheat a little bit. Go fetch yourself some Insert Caps, blanking plug, Acrylic Disk, even a Patch 'N' Guard. Anything round should work, Home Depot/Lowes/Ace Hardware probably has scads of suitable round plastic bits and bobs. If your CP is metal, you can find metal pieces there. If you want wood, creating a round disc with a table saw is trivial.

Once you decide on the size of the disc, you can modify the disc to your heart's content without fear of trashing the CP. I would op for a clear part, like Acrylic, shape it into a disc, then affix the LED display on the underside via cement then paint (or start with a tinted acrylic). Then on the CP itself, I would start by carefully counter-sinking the hole just enough for the acrylic to sit inside then follow up with a hole just big enough for the display and wiring to poke through underneath.

As far as I'm concerned. Exposed LED displays/indicators should be reserved for prototyping or for those who want an industrial look. Covering the LED, especially a display like what you want with a small bit of smoke or clear acrylic/glass looks so much more professional.

Up to you, whatever you feel fits your CP best.

This is really the idea I was looking for.  I like it.  What would be really nice is if I could find something that fits in a 1 1/8" button hole...

[drventure]

These button plugs would do the trick
http://www.happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/52621200.htm

In fact, I could easily see drilling out the top, the using a plug cutter to cut a plug in smoked lexan and epoxying it into the hole in the plug, then glueing your LED to the inside of the lexan.

That could be pretty slick looking.

[dirkomatic]

I agree...  Now I need to find someone to sell me the Happ button plugs and get the dimensions for the inside of them (probably the same as the inside of a button?).  Digikey has just about any size, but I don't want one that's ridiculously small...

[dirkomatic]

Actually, looking through the Happ catalog made me think of something which may be easier if I get the right size display.  How about getting a display that will fit in one of the rectangular Happ Buttons and insert it in there.  I could remove the microswitch and lamp and fix it so it doesn't depress...

[drventure]

Hadn't thought of that but those buttons could easily look like a small bezel with a little modification.

That could be quite sweet!

[dirkomatic]

It looks like I may be able to squeeze the one from my original post in there.  I might have to do some modification for the thickness of the display and possibly bend the pins a little.

I'm thinking of going with the red buttons/red display.  I'll get my money together and get an order in next week.  I'll let everyone know how it works out with pictures.