Comments on: LED push buttons

By: 3Djesus

3Djesus — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:00:25 +0000

just curious, this is from 2007, how come it took so long to show up here…..maybe Ted Stevens emails clogging the nets?

By: S_aver

S_aver — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:58:17 +0000

Next time you see a nice concept like this in dutch, let me know, ill translate it for you guys, could be easier to read for all english-speaking (reading) readers.
Btw, nice project.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:47:51 +0000

I think the LEDs will survive about a gazillion presses. The displacement is about a mm, or less (depends on how far you have to press the underlying buttons). This millimeter is spread over 3 cm of LED legs. I doubt it will ever break.
Nonetheless, the physics behind metal fatigue are interesting, but that isn’t what this hack is about.

By: Wwhat

Wwhat — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:25:45 +0000

@nubie

I realise that, but I just think the feeling the pins will break in the configuration the guy uses is a bit panicky, and just as wire although it’s metal is pretty bend-proof so I expect is the setup with loops combined with the short traveldistance, but I guess only trial and error can tell, and it’s dependant, how many hundred times you can press it, on the material of the pins of the LED, which I don’t think are always the exact same composition amongst various manufacturers, at least that is my impression from the LED I’ve seen, sometimes the leads seem slightly different in composition to me, but I might be imagining things.

By: nubie

nubie — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:16:19 +0000

@ Wwhat:

I did suggest finely stranded wire. It is wrapped internally, thus reducing the amount of bending any one strand endures.

Also since the wire is stranded a fatigue forming in one strand doesn’t travel to the next strand.

Also there are special wires designed for flexibility.

By: therian

therian — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:37:30 +0000

if project use some micro controller then I would go one step further to eliminate mechanical parts and use LED for output and input

By: MRE

MRE — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:37:54 +0000

there has been extensive ‘research’ on this and other methods over at midibox.org, with a variation of this method coming in over two years ago.
If I remember right, the led leads were bent out, and the led base was epoxied to the button cap, making one unit. wires connected the leads to the pcb. on a midibox, the dout is usually NOT built onto the interface panel, and all of those leds have to be individually wired to the dout board anyway, so fatigue is not much of an issue.

The button caps were taller, such that there was room to cut a notch on top to let the leads out of the sides.

anyway, if you are in need of button making ideas, there is several over there.. check it out.

By: l

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:03:04 +0000

very nice.

finally something usefull on hackaday

By: Wwhat

Wwhat — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:15:21 +0000

Funny how people are so alarmist about metal fatigue then as a solution suggest wires, and what are wires? Thin strands of.. -that’s right- metal.

Incidentally the patent office must have thousands of ways to connect those LED, which nicely gives me an excuse to share this interesting yet deceivingly simple link:
http://www.google.com/patents
Be careful though, it’s a link that can really engross some people and before you know it an hour has passed.

Oh and of course there are ready-made buttons with LED, so this projects is designed to do it on the cheap for people on a low budget, and thinking up expensive fixes is defeating the purpose.

By: dan

dan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:38:04 +0000

an alternative to this could maybe be to use the LEDs as light sensors as well as light emitters, detecting when one is covered by a finger in order to trigger a response:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/leds_as_photodiode_light_sensors

By: dan

dan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:36:04 +0000

an alternative to this could maybe be to use the LEDs as light sensors as well as light emitters, detecting when one is covered by a finger in order to trigger a response:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/leds_as_photodiode_light_sensors

By: saimhe

saimhe — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:35:03 +0000

Regarding mechanical durability, leads should be as long as possible (which means smaller deformations). Just coil the “redundant” piece in a manner of a spring.

By: dan

dan — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:34:04 +0000

an alternative to this could maybe be to use the LEDs as light sensors as well as light emitters, detecting when one is covered by a finger in order to trigger a response:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/leds_as_photodiode_light_sensors

By: jef

jef — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:30:03 +0000

Some of the translated sentences are really hilarious. There is clearly space for improvement of the translation software.

Disadvantage: low arch variants are ugly, and pretty costly.
>Disadvantage: cheap variants are very ugly and nice ones are expensive.

You must be a complete fool for something to remember!
>You must be nuts to come up with such a thing!

toetsjes pressure
>pushbuttons

Does there PROF. uit! off
>looks very professional

and legs with transparent varnish
>spraypainted with transparent varnish

Also out for a little less convenient when I dilettante
>can even be done by a less experienced do-it-your-selfer that I am

the best long-lasting I think
>it can last for a long time, I think

would be a pity if this topic depth collapses
>it would be a pity if this topic fades away (or: will get burried)

just a nice clean gatboren (= gat boren)
>just drilling a clean hole

especially for the genes that are not so handy with syringes
>especially for those that are not so handy with (paint)spraying

and you also have generous square holes drilling
>and you don’t have to drill square holes

(yes, this last one is exactly the opposite…)

By: heyallen

heyallen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:15:28 +0000

The original poster, as translated from their language even mentioned the possibility of using wires instead.

They also suggested possibly using the LED as an indicator rather than flashing with the button push.

Say, have it latch on or off, depending on the state of the function the button controls?