Pressable fake button/keys

[davidnagel]

So... you have a bunch of keycaps, or solid resin copies of keycaps

but do you go about mounting them to a panel/surface and give them that press action WITHOUT having to adapt them much to plug into a normal keyboard to make work.

Any suggestions working

 

[Pro Mod]

Mount them individually to pieces of foam.

 

[davidnagel]

Oooh foam, thats an idea.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

I know you already have your button caps BUT when I was making my Seinfeld replica intercom I used these tactile push button switches. In my case I didn't have any space under the surface to recess them into, so they worked perfectly for my needs. They also make a nice 'click' sound when you press them.

 

[Darth Lars]

How many keys are there and what is the layout?

These days, low-profile keyboards with perfectly flat keys are common. Depending on the layout of your prop, you could perhaps get a stand-alone numeric keyboard or keypad with flat keys and just glue your keycaps onto the flat keys. Maybe you would need to cut squares to put on top to be able to it real keycaps that are hollow inside.
However... key travel is short, standard key spacing is 3/4" (sometimes a little smaller on the vertical, such in case of Apple's keyboards) and keyboards/keypads are often made of entire sheets of rubber/plastic sheet/stamped metal etc. so you would probably need to fit the entire thing into your prop.

BTW. Another hobby of mine is to collect and build computer keyboards. Most of them are of Cherry MX key switches that are now all the rage among PC computer gamers. Cherry also made a keycap-compatible switch module over membrane named Cherry MY. Those MY modules have some pins and springs that are easy to remove to get flat bases - which means that they could be glued to a flat surface, and they are just under 3/4" square. I have used those to build a few keyboard prototypes. This could be an alternative ... if your keycaps have the compatible mount - there are several cruciform mounts that look compatible but are not.
These modules are easiest to get by buying a used Cherry MY / Cherry G81 series keyboard on German eBay. Prices vary a lot but there are a few of them out there for under 10€. (I also have some spares myself I could part with, I guess)
Flat keycaps for this keycap mount (for use as adapters) do exist but they are not that easy to find and they would of course raise the keys.

 

[The14thDr]

I like MattgomeryBurns' idea of having a tactile push button underneath each key. I've used that method on a couple of my props, and the keys will only be raised a few millimetres above the surface of whatever you're mounting them on (although I have a feeling I already know which project this is for Do you still need help with that 3D model?)

Not only will your buttons look and function like real keys, they will also sound like the real deal as well.

 

[davidnagel]

I know you already have your button caps BUT when I was making my Seinfeld replica intercom I used these tactile push button switches. In my case I didn't have any space under the surface to recess them into, so they worked perfectly for my needs. They also make a nice 'click' sound when you press them.

Ooh thats interesting. I'll look into those and see how practical it is to integrate them into my "keycaps". As they are resin copies, I hadn't anticipated plugging anything else into them, so they may need some work - or the mould amended.

How many keys are there and what is the layout?

Its going to basically be the Mike Kelt TARDIS console, first seen in Doctor Who, "The Five Doctors". There are over 400 keys. Between other things, I'm slowly making a whole bunch of resin copies of an original keycap. Layout is everywhere lol, just google the console.

Again, no compatible mount (they're whole resin copies) so may need to investigate this further.

I like MattgomeryBurns' idea of having a tactile push button underneath each key. I've used that method on a couple of my props, and the keys will only be raised a few millimetres above the surface of whatever you're mounting them on (although I have a feeling I already know which project this is for Do you still need help with that 3D model?)

Yes it is. And yes I do - I'll ping you when I have everything together!