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Full 16x16+X BLM with silicone buttons, matching case. Interested?


latigid on
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Wow.  Out of left field..  Do you have an exploded view of the assembly?  I'm curious how this will fit toghether

 

 

I don't have an exploded view yet but perhaps I can explain in words. This assumes an enclosure from Protocase Designer.

 

Front panel is 3.2 mm aluminium (8 gauge in the US). There are 15 mm M3 studs running along the top and bottom edges and an M2 thread in the middle. I haven't yet specified the extra north-south studs as it messes with the symmetry :).

 

Next is a 3 mm acrylic spacer which extends from the left edge to the sliders. It provides a semi-rigid support to keep the buttons in place, especially the extra ones that need to be cut into 1x4 pieces.

 

Then the button pads. They have a 1.75 mm skirt and the buttons themselves are 10mm on top. This gives about 4 mm clearance over the top panel, more or less the same as ADAfruit's UNTZrument.

 

Then the PCB (1.6 mm). Note that the sliders are 7 mm tall from the top face of the PCB. The back of the 3.2 mm panel must be milled out ~2.2 mm leaving 1 mm panel space to fit them under.

 

The studs would pass through the PCB and be fastened with washers/nuts on the other side. The M2 screw right in the middle is important as it provides an opposing anchoring force.

 

If more stability is needed there are four M2.5 (?) holes for each set of 16 pads. I hope the PCB+spacer+panel will keep everything rigid though, especially if it's all flush. (-1 point for JBweld, the glue would get in the way here)

 

Then either a standard Core8 or a mini one as a piggyback module.

 

Wire to the DIN 8 and you're done!

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I'd like to chime in with a case design idea for this.

 

Two "U" shaped plates, one for the top and another for the bottom. This style of case would only require 6-8 bends in two sheets of metal and they look really good.

 

The Erika Synths LXR case is made this way.

 

http://www.sonic-potions.com/MetalEnclosureErica

 

I'm in BTW ;)

Edited by Rowan
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Also a possibility. Just a question: is your idea motivated by aesthetics or price? From what I've seen of Monomes and the like, the flat surface is not very ergonomic, hence my idea of a slope. It can possibly be made flatter but I have to check the PCB first. Also remember that we're already talking 30 cm+ for to the back of the case, bigger than say your Novation controllers. Didn't you already put four together? How is that to play?

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I'm motivated by both price and asthectic. I really like the simplicity if this style of case and a byproduct of this simplicity should be reduced manufacturing costs.

I understand your view on a sloped front panel but my view is that this should be added as an option. This could easily be archived by designing the case to it flat as standard and have the option to attach something to the rear underside to give the case a slope. The advantage of this approach is that the angle for the front panel could be adjusted from 0 deg to what ever the user wants.

I am using 4 x Launchpad Mini's at the moment and they are working well. The footprint of my mounting solution is 375 x 375mm so it's comperable in size to your design.

By using blind studs on the front half of a U case female>female threaded spaces could be attached then the PCB attached with male>female threaded spaces (male end going through PCBS into female>female spaced attached to front) Then the back panel has holes for screws to then be fixed to the female end of the male>female spacer. By mounting the PCB this way the whole unit would be VERY strong and size wouldn't be a problem.

Edited by Rowan
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Let's keep up the discussion, I have an opinion but it's not meant to trump anyone else's. 

 

 

I understand your view on a sloped front panel but my view is that this should be added as an option. This could easily be archived by designing the case to it flat as standard and have the option to attach something to the rear underside to give the case a slope. The advantage of this approach is that the angle for the front panel could be adjusted from 0 deg to what ever the user wants.

 

For me this would look a bit tacky and lose stability. Maybe wooden end cheeks could be added but here I think a sloping sheet music stand would be the best option.

 

vivotti-black-color-flat-panel-desk-orch

 

 

By using blind studs on the front half of a U case female>female threaded spaces could be attached then the PCB attached with male>female threaded spaces (male end going through PCBS into female>female spaced attached to front) Then the back panel has holes for screws to then be fixed to the female end of the male>female spacer. By mounting the PCB this way the whole unit would be VERY strong and size wouldn't be a problem.

 

I'm trying to picture this, but if I've got it right you suggest standoffs on the rear of the panel. If you read up a few posts my idea is to use long studs (threaded rod) on the rear of the panel, through an acrylic spacer and then through the PCB and tightened on the back. This comprises a lot of material to avoid flexing and the threads are smaller in diameter compared with standoffs. I've kept in the other mounting holes on the PCB (2.8 mm), so if more strength is needed they could act as fixing points on the back. But in this case you couldn't go through the spacer as there's not enough material left for the grid shape after the hole has been cut out.

 

In terms of flat or sloped, we have to consider what else goes inside. Will everyone buy a miniCore board? Or do some prefer to use their old Core8s? What if others would like to develop a BLM-specific instrument e.g. with a Core32 inside? 

 

Again, I need to check the full PCB dimensions but a square case will have wasted space at the bottom of the BLM. In this situation what is preferred? A flatter part at the front or a uniformly thicker case? This is my main motivation for a sloping box.

 

 

I really like the simplicity if this style of case and a byproduct of this simplicity should be reduced manufacturing costs.

 

 

You're dead right, U-shaped cases are much cheaper than the "Consolet" style from Protocase.

 

EDIT: but in fact the "sloped top" style is the same price as the U-shape. The "consolet" has an extra flat part on the top and a removable rear panel. So there's already savings available.

Edited by latigid on
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  • 1 month later...

Hi latigid on...

 

do you plan to create a kind of batchorder or do you make the PCBs and the rest has everyone to collect for themself?

If it would be a batch with all needed parts a would be very interessted in too.

The last days I read an article about a new PC-keyboard from Cherry for gamers with fullcolor illuminated keys. It would be nice if there would be any way to get on those keys because no silicon pad with these conductive coating but a real mechanical key designed to stand for millions of keypresses. Does anyone of have good contacts to Cherry or there manifacturers? ;-)

 

Best Regards

MaG2k

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Hello,

I could do a big order from Mouser but being in CH everyone would have to pay extra VAT... there could be a possibility to go to the post if I'm visiting DE. It makes the most sense to bulk order LEDs and the silicone buttons. I have one extra set of 300 blue and 300 green LEDs that I can already let go for cheaper and there's discounts for over 99 pieces of the pads from adafruit. You need 18 sheets per BLM, plus 1/16. I could also provide some of these single buttons to save buying an extra sheet. The other components are readily available from Mouser but it's less effort from my side if everybody orders from them, plus the cost savings are insignificant.

As for an update the basic concept is working well with a few tweaks. I am waiting for the case to be made, after that I will start to collect orders in the next few weeks.

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Can I just say that the implementation of the BLM works impressively well with the SEQ -- hats off to TK. It's really nice to scroll through the tracks and have every one update on the BLM. I can imagine the new step recording will also be great; hold any button and a MIDI key to quickly enter a pattern. Things really start to get wild when messing with the length and direction parameters :).

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hey latigid on....realy great job. Its looking realy nice.

 

Are you making a list of all parts needed in best case with articlenumber from mouser?

were i can get the PCB and the Case? Can you make a kind of small Bulk for Case and PCB???

 

Regards

MaG2k

Edited by MaG2k
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Thanks! For sure, I have all of the part numbers from Mouser which I will compile for you later. Let me get my case first, but after I've checked I can run a bulk order. For around 5 cases the cost will be less than $300 and closer to $260 for 10 pieces, this includes shipping direct to you. I will see if they are able to run it through their UK branch, then perhaps extra VAT can be avoided for EU folk.

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PCB: around $75 Silicone pads: $4 to $4.50 from ADAfruit. If there's enough interest I could ask for a bigger discount. Flikto.de has them for 5.20€ with free shipping after 50€. I designed the front panel for an M2 grub screw, not the sort of thing you normally buy so I could also provide these. And white square LEDs for the sliders as you have to buy 100 at a time from eBay.

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hi latigid on,

and the case you build...is it a full metall case or only the frontpanel? or do you plan an acrylic case?

I designed an 5mm acrylic case for my SEQ V4 so that it would be a good alternative to full metall but acrylic is not that durable in case off crashing to the ground as metal. so please give a little more details about your case!

 

But by the Way...i am in! ;-)

 

Best regards

MaG2k

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Good to have you on board! 

 

Check the first page for a case design. It's 3.18 mm aluminium for the whole thing. I've changed the design to a flatter (25.4 mm front / 50.8 mm back) slope and simplified it to be cheaper. I opted for a dark grey powdercoat as I think it will last better. I'll post pics when I get it from the supplier.

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