Say what now?I would like to make these
That's not really how doubleshot keycaps work. It's not like after you make them, you can separate the two shots and put yours in. It's called doubleshots because of how the injection molding works. Once it's done, the caps are one piece.That is true. I am looking to make my own doubleshot keycaps. I am looking to make my own inserts to make my own legends. Then I'll do the second shot. I'm not swapping anything.
So you'd have to find a moldmaker or keycap maker to help you make tooling for custom legends. SP calls the part of the mold with the legends "inserts". You don't exactly make them in your basement. You can try asking SP.I'm currently trying it in my basement. I am interested in how they are made by someone like SP though.
The top surface of the insert needs to be the exact same shape as the keycap mold (you can see the curve on both the ones you showed). It also needs something to hold it in place when molding, preferably that it's held firmly between the front surface and back surface of the cap mold, so it's the whole thickness of the cap at at least a couple points, but with enough holes that the resin can flow everywhere. Will probably need more settling time / ultrasonic vibration / stronger vacuum to get rid of the bubbles.I baked the clay in the mould, to try to get the shape of the keycap better. But I didn't want to push it down too much as it smushed the design.
Good attempt, though.
Sorry for my misunderstanding earlier in the thread. This is looking really cool :).No problem. I saw a post you made a while ago about doubleshot manufacturing and there was a video from SP. So I'm trying to replicate quite expensive machines.
You could try making a "partial" mold that consists of just the top part of the cap. Then cut the legend out of that.I'm sort of doing that now. I'm using clay in the mould non shaped and will bake that. So then I will have the curve of the keycap. I will then try and dremel out a legend.
It almost worked.Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/0XswDCH.jpg)Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/hoQSIE8.jpg)Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/PVfOCFs.jpg)
I'm sort of doing that now. I'm using clay in the mould non shaped and will bake that. So then I will have the curve of the keycap. I will then try and dremel out a legend.
I'm sort of doing that now. I'm using clay in the mould non shaped and will bake that. So then I will have the curve of the keycap. I will then try and dremel out a legend.
Could you not, for a lack of a better term, cookie cutter out the injection shape prior to baking them? Or does that pose problems keeping the overall key shape?
Maybe you could try doing some clear top caps, and just have the insert "floating" in the clear part of the cap (so not to have to do any curve or have it flush with the top surface of the cap)I don't have any clear resin but this would work.
You could try making a "partial" mold that consists of just the top part of the cap. Then cut the legend out of that.I'm sort of doing that now. I'm using clay in the mould non shaped and will bake that. So then I will have the curve of the keycap. I will then try and dremel out a legend.
Hey dude, you're making some great progress in doubleshot home cap making.Don't worry I just slept :)
But get some rest! You said 9 hours ago that you were making the mould and now you're already posting results :o
There is still a lot of work to be done before I'd be ready to pay money for one, but it has to start somewhere and I think you're doing a great job. Keep up the good wor! :thumb:
Do you have any pictures of the inside/underside of these caps?
Remember than this of stem don't fit on Novatouch.I never thought about that.
Don't worry I just slept :)
I started this not thinking I would get anywhere so I used a mould that was broken. So the underside doesn't have a correctly formed stem. But this is the mould I am usingShow Image(http://i.imgur.com/EE3d5Cw.jpg)
I'm getting into fancy rectangular stems!
Don't worry I just slept :)
I started this not thinking I would get anywhere so I used a mould that was broken. So the underside doesn't have a correctly formed stem. But this is the mould I am usingShow Image(http://i.imgur.com/EE3d5Cw.jpg)
I'm getting into fancy rectangular stems!
Good, now I'm reassured that you are not doing this for 24h straight ;)
The reason I was asking for a picture of the underside, was because I wanted to know if the insert was still visible.
How do you hold the insert down when pouring the second shot of resin? Are you holding it down from within the stem hole?
Hi RP,Thanks that was helpful. At the moment cutting line into the insert.
So I have attached a picture of a doubleshot cap. Hopefully this explanation will help you with your molding process.
Below you can see the brown (legend) material on the underside of the cap, the idea here is for the stem side of the of the mold to PUSH against the first shot side to keep the legends in place while doing the second shot. If you aren't pushing the first shot up against the (top of the keycap) face of the mold for your second shot you will get mixed results as you have seen. If you use the stem side to PUSH it against the other side of the mold then you will at least have a better time getting the outline to come through on the top side of the keycap. Basically, make the thickness of the first shot (legend) slightly thicker then the thickness of your usual keycap, and put lines or holes in the back side of it in order for the material to flow in to the crevices properly. Hope this helps and good luck!
http://i.imgur.com/bNjWh.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/bNjWh.jpg)
So you've made a mold for the "B", and then while molding the whole cap the "B" attaches to the cap? Is that how doubbleshots always work?You put the b inside the mould. Then you inject the resin or plastic.
Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/eWKbzrl.jpg)
This was pretty much perfect. Apart from being an imperfect cast. The double shot part is very crisp
I remade the underside mould and I put a jar ontop to hold it down. This really pressed everything into placeShow Image(http://i.imgur.com/eWKbzrl.jpg)
This was pretty much perfect. Apart from being an imperfect cast. The double shot part is very crisp
Definitely look a lot cleaner
Did you do it any different this time around?
Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/eWKbzrl.jpg)
This was pretty much perfect. Apart from being an imperfect cast. The double shot part is very crisp