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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: Sweet_Serendipity on Fri, 30 October 2020, 18:52:29

Title: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Fri, 30 October 2020, 18:52:29
So I've been lurking around in the Interest Checks and Group Buy sections and didn't know about this forum until now!  Anyway, I would like to share my experiment on making your own silicone dampener for a keyboard case.  Here's a link to the tutorial -->
t=1s

And here's a sound test -->
t=21s

Let me know what you guys think!  :D
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: diamondogs on Fri, 30 October 2020, 19:17:40
Why didn't I think of that! Great job   :thumb:
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: fpazos on Fri, 30 October 2020, 20:25:41
That's cool

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 7 mediante Tapatalk

Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: hanya on Fri, 30 October 2020, 21:45:16
You should make whole case with silicone.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: zammykoo on Sat, 31 October 2020, 07:36:59
I had a similar thought to try something like this the other day. Nice to know that it works!
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Sat, 31 October 2020, 11:35:56
Why didn't I think of that! Great job   :thumb:

I had a similar thought to try something like this the other day. Nice to know that it works!

That's cool

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 7 mediante Tapatalk



Thank you, everyone!  ;D
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Sat, 31 October 2020, 11:38:04
You should make whole case with silicone.

That sounds kinda cool lol I might have to try that  :D
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: LONGZILLA on Sat, 31 October 2020, 14:10:49
Blown away by the results and quality of your video, I can’t wait to try it.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Sun, 01 November 2020, 10:56:12
Blown away by the results and quality of your video, I can’t wait to try it.

Thank you so much, and good luck with your project!  Let me know how it goes!
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: LONGZILLA on Sun, 01 November 2020, 13:29:48
What silicone mold kit did you use?  There’s so many to choose from  :eek:
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Findecanor on Sun, 01 November 2020, 14:27:59
You should make whole case with silicone.
There is an idea that I have been meaning to try where instead of having a keyboard "sandwich" be suspended on stand-offs or via a plate's edges, each switch's central "centre pin" would transfer its energy into a bump in a silicone "core" directly. I'm curious to what the sound profile of such a keyboard would be.

I've been thinking that perhaps for a very small keyboard with low-profile switches (think split 40% ergo with Kailh Choc), the PCB might provide enough rigidity alone so that the silicone core would be all that would be needed as both damper, feet and low case walls. This could also be a cost-effective way to make it a tented case.

One issue with this idea though is that a flexible case would not protect the components against blunt force — which a rigid case would. So perhaps some rigid part might need to be part of it anyway. Those horrible rolled-up silicone keyboards tend to have a box around the controller for this purpose.

I also think that maybe it would need to be co-moulded (double-shot) with two types of silicone: one shot with a harder type for feet and case sides, and another shot with a softer silicone for internal damping. Perhaps rigid parts could be laid into the casting in-between shots of silicone.
Both types of silicone would need to flow well, which means that you'd need two types of silicone: not just the same type with/without "thixotropic" additive — because that would make it thicker and more difficult to pour.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Mon, 02 November 2020, 18:45:01
What silicone mold kit did you use?  There’s so many to choose from  :eek:

I bought this one --> https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=EEISslcF-Jk&event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbENJYm5WYVV3ODdaaUNQVXlKMlotMER4bkNSd3xBQ3Jtc0ttSnZHQWNKZkVHNF85YmI4bUs4SE9ES0hEQ1ZtNGxSY1U4ejN0Yld2MmczZ09jWjJKMmNuTVlMSzctNFlPcVE3UWxrc0lWS1I5WFdiRGI1T0R3NGpNLU1SaHZKeGZycnNUQ29xejlIanY1OW5KclRVaw%3D%3D&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMiraclekoo-Silicone-Making-Rubber-Liquid%2Fdp%2FB07XHNDNJD%2Fref%3Dsr_1_5%3Fcrid%3DBCS634N1DK9%26dchild%3D1%26keywords%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%2Bmold%2Bmaking%2Bkit%26qid%3D1599963239%26sprefix%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%252Caps%252C149%26sr%3D8-5

I only used about half of it in the end  :)
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: zammykoo on Mon, 02 November 2020, 20:01:49
What silicone mold kit did you use?  There’s so many to choose from  :eek:

I bought this one --> https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=EEISslcF-Jk&event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbENJYm5WYVV3ODdaaUNQVXlKMlotMER4bkNSd3xBQ3Jtc0ttSnZHQWNKZkVHNF85YmI4bUs4SE9ES0hEQ1ZtNGxSY1U4ejN0Yld2MmczZ09jWjJKMmNuTVlMSzctNFlPcVE3UWxrc0lWS1I5WFdiRGI1T0R3NGpNLU1SaHZKeGZycnNUQ29xejlIanY1OW5KclRVaw%3D%3D&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMiraclekoo-Silicone-Making-Rubber-Liquid%2Fdp%2FB07XHNDNJD%2Fref%3Dsr_1_5%3Fcrid%3DBCS634N1DK9%26dchild%3D1%26keywords%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%2Bmold%2Bmaking%2Bkit%26qid%3D1599963239%26sprefix%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%252Caps%252C149%26sr%3D8-5

I only used about half of it in the end  :)

How did you know how much you needed to pour and mix? Does yours have a gap between the silicone and pcb, or does it touch?
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: ddrfraser1 on Mon, 02 November 2020, 20:13:57
This is awesome. Will definitely try. Thanks!  :thumb:
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Mon, 02 November 2020, 20:19:45
What silicone mold kit did you use?  There’s so many to choose from  :eek:

I bought this one --> https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=EEISslcF-Jk&event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbENJYm5WYVV3ODdaaUNQVXlKMlotMER4bkNSd3xBQ3Jtc0ttSnZHQWNKZkVHNF85YmI4bUs4SE9ES0hEQ1ZtNGxSY1U4ejN0Yld2MmczZ09jWjJKMmNuTVlMSzctNFlPcVE3UWxrc0lWS1I5WFdiRGI1T0R3NGpNLU1SaHZKeGZycnNUQ29xejlIanY1OW5KclRVaw%3D%3D&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMiraclekoo-Silicone-Making-Rubber-Liquid%2Fdp%2FB07XHNDNJD%2Fref%3Dsr_1_5%3Fcrid%3DBCS634N1DK9%26dchild%3D1%26keywords%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%2Bmold%2Bmaking%2Bkit%26qid%3D1599963239%26sprefix%3Dmiraclekoo%2Bsilicone%252Caps%252C149%26sr%3D8-5

I only used about half of it in the end  :)

How did you know how much you needed to pour and mix? Does yours have a gap between the silicone and pcb, or does it touch?

I honestly just guesstimated and mixed about half of each bottle, and added a bit more.  I intended for the dampener to touch the PCB slightly.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Mon, 02 November 2020, 20:20:22
This is awesome. Will definitely try. Thanks!  :thumb:

Thanks for the compliment, good luck with your project!  Let me know how it goes!  ;D
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: diamondogs on Fri, 06 November 2020, 14:52:56
I think I'm actually going to try this. What kind of silicone did you used for the dampener? And how long would you say it takes to fully set?
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Sweet_Serendipity on Sun, 06 December 2020, 16:24:18
I think I'm actually going to try this. What kind of silicone did you used for the dampener? And how long would you say it takes to fully set?
Hey, sorry for the late reply!  I just used a generic silicone mold kit, which you can find in the video description :)  I would say it takes about 5 hours to fully cure.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: moxie keyboards on Tue, 22 December 2020, 17:11:20
Very cool, will be trying this.
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: idealape on Wed, 06 January 2021, 05:59:35
Let me know what you guys think!  :D
Awesome! I did this too couple of months ago with my Keychron K6, just didn't get to finishing a video about it yet :P
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: diamondogs on Fri, 29 January 2021, 08:35:14
Glad to see your DIY solution to dampening the case is getting popular among the keyboard community!  :thumb:
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: Bitdrive on Mon, 01 February 2021, 18:08:05
Yoo what, this is actually genius , I doubt I’ll try it but still what a great idea
Title: Re: DIY Custom Silicone Dampener
Post by: estux on Sat, 16 October 2021, 03:59:09
I had this idea today and I came looking if someone else already did it, nice to see the results before trying!!

Thanks for posting it!