These nifty buttons come from [Marc Schömann], and they are intended to cover just about any kind of tact switches. The buttons, their cover, and the compliant bits that act as a spring can be 3D printed as a complete unit that requires no assembly, and can be used fresh off the print bed.

The design is still being developed, but those interested in playing with it can download the current model here. [Marc] printed this version in two colors, but that’s just to make how the buttons work easier to see. It also gave him an opportunity to test and tune the tool changer on his printer.

Tool changer, you say? Yes, indeed. The printer is the Blackbox, a open source, tool-changing 3D printer of [Marc]’s own design with its own Hackaday.io project page.

Embedded below is a video overview of the button design being prepped and printed on a Blackbox printer, with a tool change happening in the process. Tool changing is an attractive feature that many people including E3D have taken a swing at, and it’s always exciting to see it in action.

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Next iteration of the print-in-place buttons. This time I’m using narrow bars which are guided around the button. Unlike the last version they got no tactile feedback (which is good for micro switches). And you don’t have to press each button loosely, they work directly out of the box. It’s a compliant mechanism which acts as a spring. Such mechanism are used because they are easy to produce, consists of very few parts and oftentimes don’t require assembly. Printed in two colors for no big reason, it’s a bit easier to see …read more

Source:: Hackaday