Design for Gikfun 12mmx12mm pushbutton wall pass-through

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GameMaker
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2021 5:22 pm

Design for Gikfun 12mmx12mm pushbutton wall pass-through

Post by GameMaker »

Hello friends,

I'm designing and building a custom alarm clock for my son. Arduino inside, with a speaker and DS3231 timing chip with battery backup.

I need buttons on the outside to set time, alarm, etc. I'm using these buttons, which will be along the side of the case.

So I need a way to place the body on the inside, but have the hat stick through the case - and there needs to be a 'backboard' so that when you press the button, it stays in place and registers a press, rather than just sliding into the case.

The trick is, there are some protrusions on the top of the body, so there needs to be a recess in the wall, so you can place the button against it, then slide it down into place.

After a few iterations, I came up with this design.

View from the inside - showing the 'backstop' as well as the pockets that let the button slide down into place:
2021-11-24 09_31_35-FreeCAD 0.19.jpg
2021-11-24 09_31_35-FreeCAD 0.19.jpg (35.71 KiB) Viewed 3275 times
From the outside, we need a recess for the button, as well as some room for the hat to 'snap on' to the button switch itself:
2021-11-24 09_34_40-FreeCAD 0.19.jpg
2021-11-24 09_34_40-FreeCAD 0.19.jpg (32.7 KiB) Viewed 3275 times
Tried it last night, and works like a charm. Here are some tech drawings I made in case anyone wants to use in their designs:
12mmButtonHolderPassthrough.pdf
(271.85 KiB) Downloaded 84 times
I'm a fairly new maker, very new to FreeCAD, grateful for all constructive critique / suggestions.

[EDIT]: Uploading model:
ButtonHolderTest.FCStd
(118.67 KiB) Downloaded 55 times
Best,
Aaron
Last edited by GameMaker on Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
chrisb
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Re: Design for Gikfun 12mmx12mm pushbutton wall pass-through

Post by chrisb »

GameMaker wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 6:15 pm I'm a fairly new maker, very new to FreeCAD, grateful for all constructive critique / suggestions.
For that you should upload the model.
A Sketcher Lecture with in-depth information is available in English, auf Deutsch, en français, en español.
GameMaker
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2021 5:22 pm

Re: Design for Gikfun 12mmx12mm pushbutton wall pass-through

Post by GameMaker »

Gaah - of course, sorry. First post ever. :)

Edited and added model. Thanks!
chrisb
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Posts: 53930
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:14 am

Re: Design for Gikfun 12mmx12mm pushbutton wall pass-through

Post by chrisb »

I'm a Sketcher guy, so looking especially at sketches: I like that you didn't make your sketches too complicated! Some points you can improve:

Sketch: Look at the document in my footer on how to center rectangles using diagonal points. (In 0.20 you can create them already centered.)

Other sketches: better use Sketch as external reference, not the pad. See topological naming problem.

Sketch008: prefer geometric constraints over dimensions; here: use equality.
A Sketcher Lecture with in-depth information is available in English, auf Deutsch, en français, en español.
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