Glenn wrote:
Kerm, why not use wire glue to make the connections easier? It would seem for a project with as much going into it as that the cost of that type of glue would be minimal. It also seems like with the right application tool it could be much easier and less stressful to use to connect wires to PCBs.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/b70c/


IMO trying to use a pliable material like that is going to be far more difficult to get into the right places than gratuitous amounts of flux and a fine-point soldering iron.

Also, how well does it conduct electricity and how strong is a "super strong hold" compared to welded metal?
KermMartian wrote:
Glenn wrote:
Kerm, why not use wire glue to make the connections easier? It would seem for a project with as much going into it as that the cost of that type of glue would be minimal. It also seems like with the right application tool it could be much easier and less stressful to use to connect wires to PCBs.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/b70c/
Ooooh, that does indeed look quite useful for the stuff I'm doing. Do you have any information on its resistance per unit area, length, or volume?


I don't have any specific info, I know instructables (I think it was there, it was some site of that type) has a way to make make some and data for one wire glue. It does not conduct as well as solder but for the small distance it will be used over it should not be enough to cause trouble for low voltage/current from my reading.
Ah, fair enough. I could see where that would be very very very useful for wearable computing things like Clove 3, for example to attach conductive thread to PCBs. I was previously using tension for the connection with hot glue to hold it, I would imagine this would be a much better solution. I'm leery of using it in UC3 though; as Ult Dev'r said, I think that careful fine-tipped soldering might be better in the long run.
*bump* Renderings based on a discussion I had with a friend yesterday! The only other alternative would be to make the tracks be on the bottom of the top half rather than on the sides of the bottom half, but I'm a little vague on whether that would work well. Thoughts? As you can see, I'm planning on it being in four pieces. Note that these are just the case with no internals or buttons/

Yummy Very Happy
A recessed keyboard? That could get annoying.
Ultimate Dev'r wrote:
A recessed keyboard? That could get annoying.
Yeah, I didn't realize that until I made these renders. If I reversed the recess (ie, made the recess be on the bottom of the top instead of the top of the bottom), it might be better, but I don't think I'd have enough space for the PCBs inside the bottom half then. I'm considering having the tracks on the bottom of the top now and having both halves be the same width.
KermMartian wrote:
Ultimate Dev'r wrote:
A recessed keyboard? That could get annoying.
Yeah, I didn't realize that until I made these renders. If I reversed the recess (ie, made the recess be on the bottom of the top instead of the top of the bottom), it might be better, but I don't think I'd have enough space for the PCBs inside the bottom half then. I'm considering having the tracks on the bottom of the top now and having both halves be the same width.


As in having the LCD underneath the keyboard?
No, just switched the tracks so that the top (LCD) half is the wider piece, with flanges hanging down below, and the bottom (keyboard) half is the narrower half. The other alternative is making them equal width, putting connecting bolts in the keyboard half, and grooves or tracks in the bottom of the LCD half.
KermMartian wrote:
No, just switched the tracks so that the top (LCD) half is the wider piece, with flanges hanging down below, and the bottom (keyboard) half is the narrower half.
That'd be better of the choices. As you'd have something to grip. The render now, you'd have to work your thumbs around those flanges.
comicIDIOT wrote:
KermMartian wrote:
No, just switched the tracks so that the top (LCD) half is the wider piece, with flanges hanging down below, and the bottom (keyboard) half is the narrower half.
That'd be better of the choices. As you'd have something to grip. The render now, you'd have to work your thumbs around those flanges.
This is true. OK, I'll work on a render with that kind of design when I get a chance. The hardest part here is going to be finding a ribbon cable of an appropriate type to use, and figuring out how to use it.
Or.. be awesome and use the tracks to run a serial bus across the break, but that probably requires more controller cooperation than is really feasible when you're modifying something rather than building from scratch.
The Tari wrote:
Or.. be awesome and use the tracks to run a serial bus across the break, but that probably requires more controller cooperation than is really feasible when you're modifying something rather than building from scratch.
The main things on the bottom half are the keyboard, mediates by a microcontroller and a PLD, a 2.5mm jack, a 3.5mm jack, and a PS/2 port. For weighting reasons, I might also end up stowing the battery in that half. Only the three ports might be prohibitive of a serial connection between the two halves, and those could be moved to the top with a bit of effort. Not a bad idea there, Tari. Smile
My phone uses the style of sliding with the tracks on the bottom of the lcd part (I have a samsung rant). From what I can see on the phone, I think it would definitely be possible with your case and a lot better looking. It would be hard to get the springiness to work to make it bistable in the closed and open positions, but you're going to have the problem regardless of which method you use.
quigibo wrote:
My phone uses the style of sliding with the tracks on the bottom of the lcd part (I have a samsung rant). From what I can see on the phone, I think it would definitely be possible with your case and a lot better looking.
Yeah, I have a Samsung Messager II, which has a similar arrangement of tracks on the bottom of the LCD half.
quigibo wrote:
It would be hard to get the springiness to work to make it bistable in the closed and open positions, but you're going to have the problem regardless of which method you use.
Yeah, I was wondering about that bistability problem too. I can't find any information on how that actually works; I'd appreciate any information if you or anyone runs across such info.
There are a billion ways to achieve bistability. Here is a simple example with a spring. Something like this can fit inside of a large slider if you had one.
quigibo wrote:
There are a billion ways to achieve bistability. Here is a simple example with a spring. Something like this can fit inside of a large slider if you had one.
Ohhh, very nice! I'll look into possible ways to apply something like this. I think there might also be a way to do it rotararily. Smile
Oh, that's even easier:
quigibo wrote:
Oh, that's even easier:
Very nice! I'm thinking of how I can integrate this into my idea; I'm thinking that the wheel will be on the bottom of the LCD half, inside the case, with a pin that comes down and engages a horizontal grooze in the bottom half.

Edit: Added some keys for the fun of it. I didn't get a chance to try out the new configuration idea yet.

*bump*

Here's another exploded view, this one with keys, the beginnings of the joystick, and four guide slots on the bottom of the LCD half. I'll need a fifth slot for the pin from the bistability wheel, although I first need to figure out how I'll fit in both the inter-half ribbon cable and the wheel. I realized that space is a bit restrictive to fitting in the clickable joystick, so I may have to disassemble my little click module and just have the joystick on its own. Hopefully that's not the end of the world. Smile

  
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