I finally got a chance to use the new cases. WOW! The improvement in diffusion of the pixels is very significant! I also like having the little rubber feet … well worth the upgrade.
But the button is too tall...
I did run across one issue. The button height makes it impossible to stack boards on top of each other. The button sticks out farther than the little feet raise the unit off the desk (or other BP).
As a result, when trying to stack multiple BP5 / BP6 units, the units either slide off each other, or if you can balance them just right, any pressure on any part of the stack results in one or more buttons being pushed (before they fall over).
So I did some brute-force (wire snips and box cutter) testing.
Old buttons have ~4.8mm height, of which ~2.8mm sticks above the new case. With a few sacrificial volunteer buttons, I found that a button having a height of ~2.8-3.0mm is low-profile enough to not interfere with stacking the units, but still extends enough to be found easily by touch and to press the switch while still being above the case’s top. 2.5mm seemed too short (imho). The button could be taller (even up to 3.6mm), but I like the 2.9mm height … it’s not obtrusive, while easily used.
Yeah, I know ... all this thought given to a button?
How much would it be (MOQ) to get some ~2.8-3.0mm height buttons (any color … silver if price doesn’t change)?
I ask because I might be willing to cover the costs to make this happen. Future folk who store many (e.g., classrooms) will then benefit, even if they never realize how good they have it.
I’m sorry I missed the first post here. Good point about stacking.
When we did the v2 case the injection molding boss mentioned that he could make our buttons for us and it was simple tooling. They are a single supplier item, and it’s always good to have alternates.
There are certain factors to consider: will it be anodized? If so, what process? It will effect the final tooling. I specified ABS plastic.
Very rough estimate is a few thousand RMB. We sent the button cap drawings to the factory, they will make a model to get an actual quote. Jin specified the height you mentioned above.
Will post this video on social media… Boss popped the existing caps under a microscope and didn’t have kind words. This defect is caused by air that gets stuck in the tooling during plastic injection, the tooling should have air vents to prevent this.
Boss said this kind of defect would make it impossible to anodize, so he doesn’t know how they managed to make the metalized version.
He also suggested some sort of soft touch “oil” treatment that is all the rage these days, evidently.
Interesting new info: the cost of one mold cycle is 1RMB, so he wants to do 8 - 20 caps in a single tooling.
