Since my first guide “How to make illuminated buttons” I’ve built quite some controllers with illuminated buttons and I found some improvements I want to share today. The original technique had some downfalls. First of all, the latex from the gloves wears quite quickly, it’s not really reliable for everyday use. It also only holds to the casing and it can come loose if someone presses the buttons too strong. Another problem when building it is to find the correct placing of the holes and the keeping the rubber buttons at the correct distance.
My actual technique addresses these two concerns by:
- Using white balloons instead of latex gloves. They are much more durable, but you’ll need brighter leds as they are more opaque.
- Putting the balloons into a sandwich between a piece of wood and the casing
Here’s some pictures:
[ >>> ]