You’ve worked for months to get your prototype functioning. It’s time to take that ugly (but functional!) works-like prototype and create a real consumer product. Right now, you may be focused on the general shape, smoothing out the curves and accommodating the awkward PCB shape (darn those electrical engineers!), but soon you’ll feel the need for control—controls, that is, and buttons that look better than the DigiKey panel mount you’ve been using.

Intro to Button Design

(For toggle design, you’ll want to go down the hall to Mrs. Wilkes’ sewing class.)

As always, first things first: How will this be used? Where is it on the machine? Will the user be pressing the button with their thumb or finger?

And what about the indicated use: Is this a simple “press and do” button, or does it indicate an up-down level, like volume?

Buttons are a chance for both comfortable ergonomics and increased intuition in your product design. Large buttons surrounded by smaller ones indicate relative importance. A volume rocker button indicates a level going up and down. A single big red button says, “PANIC.”

Buttons communicate function in ways that transcend language

On a (literally) deeper level, you’ll need to think about the interior of the case, too. Your button may look pretty on the outside, but on the inside, you’ll need to align it with the PCB-mounted or panel-mounted electronic switch (being sure to check tolerances) and think about depth of throw and potential force. And then there’s the internal wiring—be careful that the wires are out of the way inside.

So much to think about! Let’s dive right in.

Integrating Springs: Cantilever Design

For most external buttons, the design will call for some type of mechanical spring to augment the one on the electronics component, and one of the most common ways to do this is with a plastic cantilever. The cantilever spring is a small finger of plastic that extends from the main body, flexing with each press, and pulling the button back to its rest position afterwards. There are two things to consider in cantilever design: strength and fatigue.

This is (roughly) what the drawings should look like:

In designing a cantilever button spring, first determine the depth of “throw”—that is, how much flex you’ll need from the button.

That press depth becomes the desired maximum deflection, d. How hard the user presses is the required force, F. Look up your material properties to determine the modulus of elasticity, E.

With these factors determined, you can play with the other geometry as required for the length (L), width (or base, b), and thickness (or height, h), to balance out this equation:

(rectangular cross-section only)

To do this a bit faster, download our cantilever button spring design calculator here.

Overall, longer is better to reduce fatigue, the second part of the design to check. You don’t want a single-use button, and if your plastic cantilever-beam-cum-spring is bent too far, it’s going to snap more quickly than an office worker with a red Swingline stapler. You may remember from your Strength of Materials 101 class that the stress on a cantilever beam is highest at the origin, or in this case, where the material thickens stepwise.

The stress (??) at a cantilever beam origin can be calculated as:

Maximum stress for your material will tell you how far it can go before breaking, but for a spring like this, it’s important to stay well below that in the elastic region of the stress-strain diagram. This will vary widely from material to material, but as a general rule, you’ll want to ensure that your maximum stress is no more than 20 MPa for the toughest printed materials.

Because a printed spring like this requires high elasticity, the best materials for this kind of design are ABS, ABS-like and Nylon (see below for more information on each material).

Download our cantilever button spring design calculator here.

Mounting and Alternative Springs

Buttons with integrated springs can either be mounted with a sliding mount, where the button is suspended between the two springs in the case, and the springs slide against their mounts, or by fixing the end of the cantilever to the housing with screws or heat stakes. Of course, when prototyping with 3D printing, you have options you won’t have with an injection molded design—essentially, any shape can be made without worrying about molding angles—so you can actually have the button printed as part of the case. Printing magic, baby!

A cantilever-spring button mounted with a screw mount; image from our Neato robotic vacuum teardown

As an alternative to these unified designs, a rubber backing piece can be used as a spring. Typically, this is used in places where the plastic springs are impractical, due to button spacing, or when a large number of buttons is in a pad, like on a remote control.

A sheet with a series of rounded bumps can be printed, using the rubber-like material, and used as a backing spring for an entire control panel of buttons, freeing the shapes of the buttons from any required spring mounts.

Rubber backing provides another spring material; image from our Nintendo controller teardown

Of course, in looking for springs, a regular coil spring can be used beneath the button. This is ideal for situations with very deep press, such as a blender control panel. Long or deep-throw buttons like this indicate very deliberate action and keep the user from accidentally activating the switch.

Compression coil springs found underneath push buttons; image from our Logitech gameboard teardown

Types of Buttons and Sample Designs

Volume Rocker

Great for volume buttons (or any level that increases and decreases in opposition), this two-point button is a standard for most tablets and phones. Using a two-cantilever sliding design allows for each cantilever to act as a fulcrum, while the other side acts as a spring.

Two-point rocking buttons are a standard on phone designs; image from our Kindle Fire teardown

Directional Pads

A staple of video game controls, the D-pad also commonly shows up in TV remotes and other consumer electronics. It clearly contrasts two different dimensions, keeping users from trying to move a character up-left and back-right simultaneously, or a channel higher and lower at the same time (unless two siblings are fighting between “Game of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead”. May we never face such a dilemma.).

The best design for this situation is a more complicated variation of the sliding cantilever, with a single plastic spring extending from each pad into a sliding mount. Alternatively, with a slightly softer feel, a rubber pad can be placed under all four with similar effect.

Directional pads incorporate multi-dimensional duality into the design

Panel Switch

When you really have to use the off-the-shelf part, I suggest hiding a panel mount switch in a recessed area of the electronics enclosure, to retain a sleek, consumer-oriented feel.

Panel-mounts can be used, but be careful of the wire routing; image from our hoverboard teardown

Thumb Buttons

In places where the hand is fixed in relation to the device, like in an ergonomic mouse, a thumb button will often take more of a beating with hard stress presses. The thumb button is an opportunity for better ergonomics, recessing the button into a thumb-shaped indentation and providing a larger button area. Mechanically, the strength of a screw-mounted cantilever gives the solidity this type of button requires, and multiple attachment points can be used for a more solid press.

The logitech gaming mouse (full product teardown here) has a side thumb button for specialized ergonomics.

Triggers

Another game controller standard, the trigger button should be easily felt and have a long throw. This unusual button is often hidden away out of sight, so it needs to be simple to identify by touch. The long throw can be accomplished with a rotating mount and either a torsion spring or coil spring for return.

Triggers can mount on a hinge for a long throw; image from our Nintendo controller teardown

Aesthetics of Design

Buttons are often, well, button-shaped, like their clothes-fastening cousins. Explore further, and use the control as an opportunity for an exclamation point in the design. Try using a contrasting color for the button: a bright silver in an otherwise black enclosure, or bright green in an orange case. Experiment!

More unusually, you can also use the button as a window into the design with translucent materials. This can allow the buttons to glow, for easy use of the device in the dark (like a light pipe), or it can simply allow some of the electronics to be seen in designs showing off their technical aspects. Try the transparent material for prototyping and an acrylic or polycarbonate in production.

Figure 12: A translucent button can be backlit to add some excitement to the case design; image from our Roomba teardown

Prototyping Your Design

For incorporated springs, there are three strong material options for prototyping: ABS, Nylon, and ABS-like.

ABS is actual ABS material, but extruded into thin threads, then printed in fused layers. Because the tightest resolution is the thickness of these thin threads, the material is somewhat coarse, and is best for thicker cantilever springs.

Nylon is somewhat finer, and is suitable for medium thickness springs.

ABS-like is the best choice for any cantilever spring, but more expensive, and so is best saved for late-stage prototypes where a more polished appearance is valued.

Figure 13: Beautiful, ultrafine resolution pieces in Polyjet ABS-like material

When testing, keep in mind that materials behave differently when a different manufacturing process is used, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) or selective laser sintering (SLS). A 3D-printed spring won’t have quite the toughness of your final design, so it can’t be used for fatigue limit testing.

The elasticity and strength will vary, as well, so be sure to look at the material data sheets. However, as a first approximation, the printed buttons and mounts are ideal. Also, if you compare the modulus of elasticity of the printed material to your final manufactured material, you can use that to scale the equations above and determine how much force will be needed for your final button to activate.

Final Thoughts

At the triple intersection between aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality, button controls provide an amazing opportunity to creatively showcase great industrial design. Take the opportunity in your next product design to experiment with unusual shapes, colors, and even textures.

Industrial design is about interaction, the relationship between human and machine, and for many products, that interaction is most intimate where the user reaches out to touch the design: the buttons.

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Start-up company Pentatonic is aiming to “radically transform consumption culture” with a range of furniture and products created from food, electrical, plastic and textile waste.

The company, led by Jamie Hall and Johann Boedecker, is working with an adapted injection-moulding process to transform waste materials into homeware.

It will launch its first collection of customisable flat-packed furniture – all made entirely from recycled materials – during this year’s London Design Festival.

When it comes to making the furniture, the type of rubbish used is determined by its properties. Typical examples include smartphones, cans and cigarette butts.

“Subject to what product, finish or performance we are looking for, we select trash based upon its properties and application possibilities, and then apply this technology using a number of precision manufacturing processes,” the studio told Dezeen.

With plastic, the waste is washed and sorted before being shredded into pellets, to create a new material ready to be formed into furniture.

Chairs and tables are also designed to be assembled without the need for tools – instead, the components themselves aid the construction of each piece. This means waste is minimised, and no toxic glues or resins are nececssary.

Through their new venture, Hall and Boedecker hope to “reshape the furniture industry”, by showing how products can be produced from recycled materials on a large scale.

“People are more aware and informed than ever regarding the health of our planet, and the role we can all play to find a solution,” Hall told Dezeen. “There’s definitely a growing realisation that great products do not need to come at the cost of sustainability.”

“We are seeing every day that the establishment aren’t going to solve our problems for us any time soon, we need to take matters into our own hands and think more carefully about our purchase decisions.”

The company are introducing a “circular economy” system. Customers can sell back pieces of their furniture to Pentatonic, so that they can be recycled and reintroduced into the supply chain.

“We’re trying to radically transform consumption culture with Pentatonic,” said Hall. “Our circular model, whereby we buy back our products from our consumers to recycle them into new products – that’s new in a design space.”

According to the Telegraph, the company has received £4.3 million in funding ahead of its launch. Investors include Miniwiz – a Taiwan and Berlin-based studio, dedicated to finding new uses for waste and reducing the impact of materials on the environment.

Other backers include the vice president of a Chinese technology investor and a German environmental lawyer.

Pentatonic will reveal its first collection at the Design Frontiers exhibition during this year’s London Design Festival, which takes place across the capital from 16 to 24 September 2017.

Recycling is set to be a big trend during the event, as many designers are now searching for more eco-friendly production methods – using materials ranging from mushrooms to red algae powder.

Hall and Boedecker believe now is the time to show that sustainability can be used on a large scale and properly introduced into the mass markets.

“The viability of many technologies at scale had to be proven, just as wind power and solar energy became more efficient over the last few years,” they said.

“Recycling and circular manufacturing has evolved rapidly in recent years and we are now at a point where it can offer the not just comparable, but superior performance from traditional methodologies.”

The post Pentatonic turns smartphones, cans and cigarette butts into flat-pack furniture appeared first on Dezeen.

Canadian firm LGA Architectural Partners has created a neighbourhood within an old Toronto industrial building, to provide accommodation for homeless young people.

Eva’s is a nonprofit initiative that provides shelter and educational facilities for homeless youth in the city. For the latest of its three residences, LGA Architectural Partners consulted with Canadian agency ERA Architects to revamp the heritage-designated Phoenix building that was leased from the city.

Originally a 1930s waterworks warehouse, the brick structure was transformed into a fully-enclosed residential complex with white walls, polished concrete pathways and splashes of pastel colours.

The roof was replaced with sloping windows to create a light-filled interior that resembles a greenhouse.

“A portion of the budget was allocated to future-proofing the building, creating a strong foundation that can be altered by the organisation with basic construction strategies to meet changing needs over time,” said LGA.

Accommodation is divided up between a series of communal blocks, each designed to look like a typical townhouse. Each house is outfitted with a kitchen, a living area and a bathroom. All together, they provide 50 bedrooms.

“These houses face onto an internal street – which serves as a gathering place for the Eva’s community,” said the firm. “The layering of spaces builds comfort by giving the youth the choice to decide their own level of integration.”

Above the homes, but still under the building’s roof, are terraces for relaxing and socialising. Other communal spaces include a demonstration kitchen and a full-service commercial print shop.

“This is a project that’s all about doing the right thing – for the kids, the neighbourhood and the city,” said LGA co-founder Dean Goodman. “It’s architecture that results from will and collaboration – between the Eva’s community, the design and construction teams, and also the councillor and the planning department.”

Eva’s Phoenix won a Design Excellence Award earlier this year from Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and has become a model for homeless facilities across Canada.

Similar projects elsewhere include The Six in downtown LA, Richard Rogers’ prefabricated housing in London and Peter Barber’s Victorian-style hostel.

Photography is by Ben Rahn/A-Frame.

The post LGA transforms warehouse into community for homeless youths in Toronto appeared first on Dezeen.

Jun Yoshizuki of Jun’s Kitchen, his latest cooking demonstration, Tempura Udon Noodles. “The garden I went to is my uncle’s garden. He’s been sharing his vegetables with my family for decades and I am very happy to use his vegetables grown by his own hand for my video! I’ll keep harvesting vegetables from his garden for my videos from now on. Seasonal vegetables are the best! :)”..(Read…)

This bad boy, the latest from the Vietnam-based Bandit9 gearheads, is an exploration in evil! Appropriately dubbed the “Dark Side”, it’s as handsome as it is menacing.

Unlike many other bike builds, this design looks to the skies rather than the streets for inspiration. Its uniform body, a fusion of the fuel tank, seat and tail, looks more aircraft than motorcycle. The inside, however, is all bike. It sports a Revolution X 750cc liquid-cooled engine with a 60° V-twin that lowers the bike’s center of gravity for enhanced handling and responsiveness.

If you’re not spooked by its scary aesthetic, you’d better get your hands on one now because it’s only available in a very limited edition of 9!

Designer: Bandit9