ETA Switch covers - anyone interested?

[redbaron1982]

I got a new 3d resin printer and (with my wife helped) created an almost perfect reply of an ETA switch cover.

Text is engraved and filled with black paint.

It works perfect, as good as new / original.

Is anyone interested? My idea is to sell them for a small price ($15 / ea or $120 for ten + shipping).

[RoundTwo]

Is it possible to print on the curved top section, or just the flat face?

[redbaron1982]

1 minute ago, RoundTwo said:

Is it possible to print on the curved top section, or just the flat face?

I need to convince my wife to spend some time with solidworks to see if we can get the 3d model for that.

If we can, I think from a print point of view it should work fine.

[Pinecone]

@AH-1 Cobra Pilot already is in the market making them.  Not sure what he charges.  He paints them black, then white, and laser etches the labels through the white.  I think he then clear coats them.

@redbaron1982 sorry, I got busy and never sent you the print file

[Flyler]

Removed this post as it seemed a bit like a "thread hijack" and didn't want to offend!

[redbaron1982]

55 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

@AH-1 Cobra Pilot already is in the market making them.  Not sure what he charges.  He paints them black, then white, and laser etches the labels through the white.  I think he then clear coats them.

@redbaron1982 sorry, I got busy and never sent you the print file

My approach is a bit different, taking advantage of the higher quality of resin printers.

I don't have to paint the switch covers, only the text engraving. 

I have put my version next to an original switch and is hard to tell the difference, except for the color not being exactly the same. 

When I bought some covers from cobra pilot they were $15 ea. 

[redbaron1982]

On 6/12/2024 at 6:03 PM, RoundTwo said:

Is it possible to print on the curved top section, or just the flat face?

Now I have the text on the curved top too. I think this is going to be as good as I will be able to make them. 

[redbaron1982]

Super happy how it feels and looks:

Color is not a perfect match, but is good enough to me. 

[Fly Boomer]

12 hours ago, redbaron1982 said:

Now I have the text on the curved top too. I think this is going to be as good as I will be able to make them. 

Is there a ridge on the left side of those covers (right side if the picture is oriented right side up)?

[redbaron1982]

19 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

Is there a ridge on the left side of those covers (right side if the picture is oriented right side up)?

Yes, it's a small (just a few miles) imperfection of the print. After sanding it goes away. Does pics were before sanding. 

Edited June 16, 2024 by redbaron1982

[Red Leader]

That looks like the best attempt at switch cover replacement I have ever seen! I would love a complete set, including the master (provided it can be replaced and recreated in a red resin). Do you need a specific list of what I am wanting? How do you get the old covers off?

[Pinecone]

FYI, I have a complete set of 252 switches with covers for sale.  Most are original, but 2 are AH-64 Pilot ones.

[redbaron1982]

11 hours ago, Red Leader said:

That looks like the best attempt at switch cover replacement I have ever seen! I would love a complete set, including the master (provided it can be replaced and recreated in a red resin). Do you need a specific list of what I am wanting? How do you get the old covers off?

I can do red resin, but the master switch has a different design and I don´t have any cover to recreate the 3D model. If anyone can share with me a broken master switch cover, I can create the 3D model for it.

As a result, at this point I can only do the regular ETA switches (both in white or red resin for the high boost pump).

@Red Leader I will send you a pm with the information I need to make the covers for you.

[shawnd]

@redbaron1982 that truly looks great. Any chance you can post some pictures of a stock one and yours to compare side by side after sanding? How about the ALT1 & ALT 2 switches btw?

[redbaron1982]

This is how they are looking now. I'm finishing my first batch this weekend. 

The covers I'll have are:

 * NAV LITE
 * RADIO MASTER
 * PITOT HEAT
 * ELEV TRIM 
 * BOOST PUMP
 * LDG LITE
 * RECOG LITE
 * STROBE LITE
 * PROP DE ICE

I can do Klixon too. 

What I cannot do now are the split ones, like L and R ldg lite. Basically because I don't have an original cover to copy from. 

[shawnd]

Looks great! Is the font size customizable? Don't mean to critique, just asking: I think the stock switches have text a bit smaller than what is shown above. Similarly, the second row on the top of the button seem larger than the first row? Or maybe its just the picture

[redbaron1982]

4 hours ago, shawnd said:

Looks great! Is the font size customizable? Don't mean to critique, just asking: I think the stock switches have text a bit smaller than what is shown above. Similarly, the second row on the top of the button seem larger than the first row? Or maybe its just the picture

The font size can be changed, for sure. 

The angle of the picture is what makes it look different, I measured the size of the font and is within 0.1mm of the original font size. 

[natdm]

@redbaron1982 hope you don't mind me posting here. After our chat, I wanted to mess with some ideas as well. I've ordered some more proper Klixon switches from @AH-1 Cobra Pilot but wanted to goof around with my own printer I never use.

I wanted to inset the text so it's easier to see and can be filled in, instead of some raised text I found on an online model.

Notes:

• These aren't smooth at all
• They're PETG so they're not going to last forever
• I tried glow in the dark and my childhood deceived me, I thought they'd glow easier than they do, but it takes a lot of light to make that happen. Thought it'd be neat to have red MASTER glow, and fill in the text with black paint after sanding. Probably won't be doing that.

I'm not selling anything since I wouldn't even buy these myself, just thought it might be fun to research together a bit.

[AH-1 Cobra Pilot]

I also tried glow-in-the-dark filaments.  The PLA has much, much glow than the ABS, and it is not enough to make it worthwhile.  I used the same process of painting and laser etching and the lettering is not recognizable for more than a few seconds after applying light.

[natdm]

5 minutes ago, AH-1 Cobra Pilot said:

I also tried glow-in-the-dark filaments.  The PLA has much, much glow than the ABS, and it is not enough to make it worthwhile.  I used the same process of painting and laser etching and the lettering is not recognizable for more than a few seconds after applying light.

Bummer. Maybe I should have asked first. Oh well, fun side-project. Time to turn off the Prusa for another 8 months. 

[redbaron1982]

44 minutes ago, natdm said:

Bummer. Maybe I should have asked first. Oh well, fun side-project. Time to turn off the Prusa for another 8 months. 

My design has the text engraved and filled with black paint. I found it to be the best way to have sharp and well defined text. 

I'm using a resin 3d print, the resolution is much greater. With a regular filament 3d print I agree that is not good to make the text engraved. 

I'm going to (well, my wife actually) do the Klixon. They should be ready by August. 

[Pinecone]

If you want them to glow, you need to make them out of translucent material and then put an LED to light them.