OP
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Thread Starter
- #121
-
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PROJECT LOG The Beastly Junkinator
- Thread starter SussoGobbino
- Start date
OP
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Thread Starter
- #122
Painting test and button update
I got a wish to paint, so I repainted the multicard reader.
It was rat-gray, then I painted it black, but the paint got scratched and was coming off.
After a lot of manual sanding, here it is ready for a new colour!
I wanted to shoot a video of the process, but it didn't work out due to a problem. Maybe next time. For now, enjoy the result!
The paint took 10 days to dry enough to be handled, but it's still a bit sticky.
(Feline hair ruining my picture, damn you!)
And now let's get on with the power button.
As I already said, there is room for a lamp module inside, but it's 24V and incandescence, so I have to replace it.
After a while, I came up with a more radical solution, creating a new lighting system.
Let's start by taking the button apart:
I got ahold of a bit of material: a LED strip piece, and a transparent plastic cap to use as a support.
The cap will be put inside the white plastic part, so I have to give it the right diameter.
First of all, a hole in the middle:
Removing the sides...
To get the right diameter, I found a washer which perfectly fits inside.
I screwed washer and plastic on a screw, and I cut it along the edge.
Now it fits perfectly!
Next step, LEDs and resistor.
I never soldered/unsoldered such tiny components, and you need to be careful not to heat them too much, or they'll burn out.
To remove them, I bent the strip under the LED, so that when one of the contacts was unsoldered, it would pop off easily.
For the other side, I just melted the solder and gave it a tap to make it fall free.
Now they need to be fixed in place. I hot melt glued them down with contacts facing upwards, so that soldering would be easier.
Both glue and plastic are fairly transparent, so light will get through.
It's not perfectly clear, but these LEDs (3528 package) are tremendously bright, in contrast to popular belief.
Sadly, I didn't take a picutre of the wiring, but the scheme is the same as the original strip, which is all four elements in series, powered via 12V
After being sure they work (yay, I didn't burn anything!), a nice cover of hot melt glue ensures everything stays in place.
The glue and plastic in front of the LEDs reflect a bit of light, and this is the result!
On the front, everything is perfect.
Now this luminescent blob needs to be stuck inside the pushbutton, and hot melt glue helps once again.
Perfect!
After doing that, the only thing left to take care of is the cable (recovered from another PC power switch, a classic 2 poles DuPont connector).
A nice sleeving is what is needed! Brown, because green would have been invisible
See you next time
I got a wish to paint, so I repainted the multicard reader.
It was rat-gray, then I painted it black, but the paint got scratched and was coming off.
After a lot of manual sanding, here it is ready for a new colour!
I wanted to shoot a video of the process, but it didn't work out due to a problem. Maybe next time. For now, enjoy the result!
The paint took 10 days to dry enough to be handled, but it's still a bit sticky.
(Feline hair ruining my picture, damn you!)
And now let's get on with the power button.
As I already said, there is room for a lamp module inside, but it's 24V and incandescence, so I have to replace it.
After a while, I came up with a more radical solution, creating a new lighting system.
Let's start by taking the button apart:
I got ahold of a bit of material: a LED strip piece, and a transparent plastic cap to use as a support.
The cap will be put inside the white plastic part, so I have to give it the right diameter.
First of all, a hole in the middle:
Removing the sides...
To get the right diameter, I found a washer which perfectly fits inside.
I screwed washer and plastic on a screw, and I cut it along the edge.
Now it fits perfectly!
Next step, LEDs and resistor.
I never soldered/unsoldered such tiny components, and you need to be careful not to heat them too much, or they'll burn out.
To remove them, I bent the strip under the LED, so that when one of the contacts was unsoldered, it would pop off easily.
For the other side, I just melted the solder and gave it a tap to make it fall free.
Now they need to be fixed in place. I hot melt glued them down with contacts facing upwards, so that soldering would be easier.
Both glue and plastic are fairly transparent, so light will get through.
It's not perfectly clear, but these LEDs (3528 package) are tremendously bright, in contrast to popular belief.
Sadly, I didn't take a picutre of the wiring, but the scheme is the same as the original strip, which is all four elements in series, powered via 12V
After being sure they work (yay, I didn't burn anything!
), a nice cover of hot melt glue ensures everything stays in place.
The glue and plastic in front of the LEDs reflect a bit of light, and this is the result!
On the front, everything is perfect.
Now this luminescent blob needs to be stuck inside the pushbutton, and hot melt glue helps once again.
Perfect!
After doing that, the only thing left to take care of is the cable (recovered from another PC power switch, a classic 2 poles DuPont connector).
A nice sleeving is what is needed! Brown, because green would have been invisible
See you next time
- Joined
- May 22, 2011
- Location
- USA
Wow, that's awesome.
Wait! Where's the cat?! Can't finish off till next time without the cat!!! lol
Wait! Where's the cat?! Can't finish off till next time without the cat!!! lol
OP
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Thread Starter
- #124
Eheh thanks!
No cat this time, they were both busy being lazy somewhere around the house.
