3D Printing Missing Keys

Rookie (24)

08-01-2020, 03:34

My AX-200 (Yamaha YIS-503II) is missing Space, R. Shift and F1/F6 keys. A 3D model for the function keys is available on Thingiverse (thank you @Alexey).

Since I don't have a 3D printer yet (it's still in the post), I went ahead and put a rough design for the right shift key. The measurements are correct I presume, but the corners and edges still need rounding and softening. I'm posting the .stl file here in hope for someone with more experience in 3D design and printing than me to pick it up and enhance it to a satisfactory degree.

right shift key.stl

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By tech

Rookie (24)

09-01-2020, 00:20

Here is the second iteration of the design file. I think this version is printable. I'll test it once I get my SLA printer.

right shift key 02c.stl

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3650)

09-01-2020, 10:44

You need to round the edges of the top surface a bit. Also keep in mind that the resin from the SLA printer is quite fragile. And the thin part of the key that goes into the pusher may break easily. That is why I designed the 2-component key that has its inner part printed on the FDM printer. Its PLA is way more sturdy ans flexible.

By tech

Rookie (24)

09-01-2020, 15:38

Alexey wrote:

You need to round the edges of the top surface a bit.

Good; I did it in v.02d.
right shift key 02d.stl

Alexey wrote:

Also keep in mind that the resin from the SLA printer is quite fragile. And the thin part of the key that goes into the pusher may break easily. That is why I designed the 2-component key that has its inner part printed on the FDM printer. Its PLA is way more sturdy ans flexible.

I'll try with the SLA printer first; since I've ordered hardened resin. If that doesn't work, then I'll print the keycap stabilizers in PLA (or even in ABS).

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3650)

09-01-2020, 16:08

Actually there's not much stress on the stabilizers. The main stress occurs at the middle part of the key that goes into the pusher. When the key is slightly tilted, there's a risk of that thin part breaking off.

By tech

Rookie (24)

09-01-2020, 17:45

I've also designed the fixing notch and can print it it in PLA as well. But as I said, I'll try to print everything in SLA first and how see how things go

By tech

Rookie (24)

21-09-2020, 02:43

After I designed the keys several months ago, I hooked with something else. Today, I resumed working on this project and printed a prototype of the right shift and function keycaps.

The printed keys look perfect at glance, but after closer inspection, they seem to still need some fine tuning.

The F key is off-center by about 0.5mm on the y-axis and a bit shorter than the original ones (this is expected since @Alexey designed it as two-parts keycaps and I only printed the outer shell).

The right shift key needs more slope in the front side to match the other keys in row.

My AX-200 is missing 3 keycaps (F, right shift and spacebar). I'll upload the keys design to Thingiverse once I'm satisfied with the output.

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3650)

21-09-2020, 12:20

The pictures are not visible. I would advise you to put your models on Thingiverse. There everyone could see them.

Spacebar was requested by someone on the Russian forum. So, so if you make a Space, for Yamaha, that would be great.

By tech

Rookie (24)

22-09-2020, 04:00

Sorry for the broken images. The free image hosting service I used seems not allowing direct link to the images. The above post timed out and I no longer able to edit it, so here it's again with updated images links:

After I designed the keys several months ago, I hooked with something else. Today, I resumed working on this project and printed a prototype of the right shift and function keycaps.

The printed keys look perfect at glance, but after closer inspection, they seem to still need some fine tuning.

The F key is off-center by about 0.5mm on the y-axis and a bit shorter than the original ones.

The right shift key needs more slope in the front side to match the other keys in row.

My AX-200 is missing 3 keycaps (F, right shift and spacebar). Yes, I'll upload the keys design to Thingiverse once I'm satisfied with the output.

By Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3650)

22-09-2020, 16:40

Please keep in mind that the Yamaha keys in the upper row are different from the keys in the lower row. They have a slightly different angle, so you need different key designs for different rows. Also it seems that the buttons are printed with at least 103-105% scale as they look bigger than they have to be.

According to my own observations, the pin that holds the key in place will be very fragile when printed with UV-hardened resin. This part gets the most stress and will easily break off (the resin lacks flexibility once cured). That is why I've proposed to create a 2-component button that has its inner part printed with a more durable PLA.

By tech

Rookie (24)

22-09-2020, 14:34

Yes, of course each row has a different design for its keys. Based on the experience I got from the prototype, the keys hold well. I put stress on them and nothing bad happened. So, I think the SLA is good enough for this task, especially when we know these old machines are not extensively used and are mainly for display.

My printer is currently printing prototype 2 for the right shift key. I’ll post here once it’s completed.