Button Plunger?

Hardware
1

I thought I saw some type of button pusher where you mount it in an enclosure and it acts as a plunger to push on a surface mounted button on a circuit inside the enclosure?

I think those surface buttons are called momentary switches.

I asked at my electronics store but they seemed to think they typically come with the button. Has anyone heard of this or knows what they are called ? I cant seem to find one.

Thanks.

2

Ever heard of such a thing @BDub ?

3

Looked at the spark fun catalog but did not see anything similar.

We need someone experienced :smiley:

4

Push button caps
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/switches/accessories-caps/1115298

Push button switches
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/switches/pushbutton-switches/1114209

You can also use momentary tactile switches with a long actuator to poke up through the enclosure. Then you just oversize the hole in the enclosure a bit, design it to allow the button to stick up maybe 10 mils above the surface, and emboss an overlay to stick up like 15 mils above the surface. The overlay is typically a graphic that lays over all of the buttons, water proofing the button holes and obscuring the fact that the button is really tiny, but the embossed area is maybe 3 or 4 times the diameter of the button actuator. Basically you have to do math on all of your tolerances so that you always have a little breathing room.
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/2-1825910-7/450-1642-ND/1632528

Does this get you closer to what you were thinking of?

2 Likes
5

Hmm, it doesn’t look like it will be easy to do.

The distance between the button and the top of the tallest sensor (including mounting socket) is 29mm. Plus I would need extra length for a gap plus plastic enclosure.

I guess the choices are :

  1. Put a hole in the enclosure so the user can poke something in there to press the button.
    (Perhaps I can have a deluxe model with a toothpick sellotaped to the side :smile: )

  2. Wire a switch to mount on the enclosure instead. I really wanted to not do any soldering for these boards. A button like you get on PCs for a reset button would be ideal since you just plug its socket into the pins. I cant see anything like that though.

  3. I just thought of another idea. An angled switch :
    http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/TL1105SF160Q/EG1839-ND/13532

Then it could poke out the side and not need to clear the sensors.

6

It sounds like a perfect excuse to buy a 3D printer to me!

7

I think the 3D printer would be the wafer thin mint.

I am already knee-deep here in home reno tools, the wifes clothes / shoes
and pet toys :smiley: