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View Full Version : Need some help brainstorming this funky control box



Darkmatter73
02-07-2016, 01:59 AM
Hi all. A guy at work was wondering if I could make an activation box like this happen. He showed me a render of a saber on his phone, this is it. ( Kudos to the designer, sweet saber )
Doesn't seem too hard with a tactile switch underneath, maybe spring loaded to keep tension off the switch.
What I'm having a time with is finding something similar, any ideas on what to search for, some item or product out there to use for ideas?
Thanks for any help or search-fu I was missing.
-Darkmatter73

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af255/Darkmatter73/IMG_8970_zps63fywamr.jpg (http://s1013.photobucket.com/user/Darkmatter73/media/IMG_8970_zps63fywamr.jpg.html)

xl97
02-07-2016, 08:59 AM
maybe start looking at 'briefcases' and other such things for the same type of 'lever'..

or possibly some sort of safety switch you can use parts from:

https://www.radioshack.com/products/safety-switch?variant=5717513605

Johannes Huber
02-07-2016, 10:55 AM
Really neat design, please keep us up to date on this, it looks fantastic. One alternative you might do if you have 3d skills or know someone who does (possibly you can find the person who did the render, I work in 3d and while I can't see the underlying wireframe, they seem to know very well what they are doing: neat clean render, no "chatter", no nickeling, really nice work )and see if you can work with them to print that upper part and then modify one of the activation style 1, 2 or activation style 20 boxes that Tim has for the lower part with one of the momentary tactile switches and then have the press down area contact the switch when it is pressed down. xl97 also has a really good idea: it's great when one can find a "real" kitbash piece with the look of being used etc, it gives so much "life story" to a piece. Good luck:)

Darkmatter73
02-07-2016, 12:21 PM
Thanks guys. Yeah I may try to contact someone with 3D experience for this, as I have none.
The entire mechanism seems really straightforward, I made some progress with thumb activation, I could use one of these.
http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af255/Darkmatter73/air%20nozzle_zps0wve6sqo.jpg (http://s1013.photobucket.com/user/Darkmatter73/media/air%20nozzle_zps0wve6sqo.jpg.html)

I just need to translate this to the saber world so to speak. If I shaped this lever to my needs, I'd still need to attach it to a box of some sort. I like how on the render, the lever is molded on the sides and back for a perfect fit. There must be a way.
I will meditate on this :)
-Darkmatter73

girot
02-07-2016, 02:23 PM
start with Activation Box style 1. grind down one side to round it out. custom machine the smooth flippy-do top plate. drill the box and the flippy-do and use a pin to secure it and allow it to move. use a small spring, if needed, and go with something like the SPST Momentary tactile switch.

as for the knobby things on the side... if your cram-fu is good enough you could make those accent LEDs. if not you can just put in a couple screws right there.

powder coat as needed.

FenixFire
02-07-2016, 02:46 PM
Johannes, it's been heavily photoshopped not complete rendered by hand in Photoshop, I think they had the basic shape as the underlay. There are a lot and I mean a lot of dead giveaways visible from someone who spends hours in Photoshop and sketchbook before moving into SolidWorks or Pro/engineer.

darth_chasm
02-07-2016, 10:54 PM
Something similar to an alligator clip. Shaped actuator with torsion spring on the fulcrum/pin, tact switch underneath far end of actuator.