Before I go trying to rework one of the existing fidget toy toggle switches (or button if that is possible) I was wondering if anyone else had made something like that. I guess even a basic sliding switch would work. My idea is I wanted to add some small LED lights to one of my jeep duck projects. I would probably have to make it have a top and bottom shell to be able to access installing the LEDs, the batteries, and the switch (and be able to change them if needed).
Before I go further, the switch is the first problem. If there is no easy way to turn them on/off, then I’ll ditch the idea. There is not a lot of room to work with for the parts. the body is about 43mm deep by 36mm wide, by 19mm tall. I think the head can store the batteries (it has the same interior area as your standard finger light).
LEDs would be in the front top half. the switch would be on the side, or on the back area. I do most of my work in blender, and I think I am pretty proficient, so I feel this is possible…
Someone tell me I am crazy so I don’t go down a rabbit hole on this…
It might be overkill but the Maker’s Supply rechargable power kit has an integrated button and a fairly compact battery. With a ZH to SH wire you could use this to power an LED.
Some slide switches have holes in the slide/tab to add a push/pull actuator if you don’t want the full footprint of the switch. Another way to do it is with a push/pull device with a rectangular hole where the slide switch doesn’t need to have a hole in the slide/tab.
If you don’t mind using a magnet to actuate, there are latching reed switches that you can just wave a magnet over to cause them to change state so nothing at all has to penetrate the outer surface.
The button on that would be perfect. Maybe I need to take a quick trip to my electronics store and see if they have something… Its a bit out of the way, and I was hoping to just print something similar to these little finger light things, but I should look at the Maker’s Supply for more than just Filament…
I was hoping for a friction locking switch idea, where the pressure of the contact would hold it. I have some small magnets, but not that small. I think I am trying to over engineer something that I could probably find in an electronics store…
Honestly, I was trying to have this as ‘printed’ as possible, with only the wires, and the LEDs being the only added parts. But I think even in PETG, that might wear out to quickly.
I’m not exactly sure what the question is, are you just looking for switch recommendations? There’s hundreds of types and styles. They’re very easy to wire. You could even create your own model for the switch and just use the contacts from a manufactured one.
There’s a couple types on maker’s supply, including a bare locking button switch like you described. But I believe it also requires their power distribution board to function as there’s only the single SH1.0 connection on it. You can find a ton online that are just a simple wired connection in & out for cheaper.
