filling keycaps with resin or something similar

[tauburn]

I had the idea of filling thin keycaps such as sp caps with bondo or something else to make them feel more solid like thick pbt or whatever. has anyone else tried this or have a better idea? this could be a great way to have pretty   looking doubleshots that dont compromise feel.

[Tym]

I had the idea of filling thin keycaps such as sp caps with bondo or something else to make them feel more solid like thick pbt or whatever. has anyone else tried this or have a better idea? this could be a great way to have pretty   looking doubleshots that dont compromise feel.

Resin would be to hard to use for the size your looking for i would imagine.

[tauburn]

I had the idea of filling thin keycaps such as sp caps with bondo or something else to make them feel more solid like thick pbt or whatever. has anyone else tried this or have a better idea? this could be a great way to have pretty   looking doubleshots that dont compromise feel.

Resin would be to hard to use for the size your looking for i would imagine.

well bondo i think would be possible to fill a ziplock bag with and cut the corner off and apply like icing. you would just have to be very careful

[nubbinator]

I doubt bondo would work with ABS, but resin should work.  The problem with that though is that you would only be able to put a tiny amount in the cap.  If you put too much in, you won't be able to use the cap.  I've got some resin at home that I could try it in a WASD cap that I have and see how it turns out.

[gigibecali]

That's a very nice idea.
A quite thin resin in order to evenly fill the cap and be used with a syringe (fill same quantity).

[The_Ed]

The Filco MajesFoam-2 comes to mind...

[E TwentyNine]

Could this be done easier with epoxy?

[tauburn]

Could this be done easier with epoxy?

i was thinking about this as well, i'm not sure which type would be best.

[Mandolin]

The thing is that the material for the filling must have some thermal expansion coef similar to the material to resist in the long run and the adhesion technique is vital (plastic bond? sanding and microretention?)...
The teeth for instance are a good example of multi layered materials working together. The external enamel has mineral content close to a 100 percent, but below it has the dentin thats has way more organic (up to 70%) material and is softer. The enamel is the strongest tissue/material our body produces, but it'll shatter rather easily if it didn't were because of the subjacent inner filling. With that said, silicone may be good enough?
My point is, it could get even better than you think for terms of sturdiness if done right....

[tauburn]

The thing is that the material for the filling must have some thermal expansion coef similar to the material to resist in the long run and the adhesion technique is vital (plastic bond? sanding and microretention?)...
The teeth for instance are a good example of multi layered materials working together. The external enamel has mineral content close to a 100 percent, but below it has the dentin thats has way more organic (up to 70%) material and is softer. The enamel is the strongest tissue/material our body produces, but it'll shatter rather easily if it didn't were because of the subjacent inner filling. With that said, silicone may be good enough?
My point is, it could get even better than you think for terms of sturdiness if done right....

hmm. silicon eh? perhaps i will try this when i get around to going to lowes/home depot. i have a lot of qfr caps that im not afraid to ruin.

[Leslieann]

I would think Epoxy would be the simplest as it lends itself to small quantities better than other things. Silicone would work, but if you are talking from a tube, rather than mixing and buying bulk, it could be too thick to get a good even amount in the bottom.

I have been having similar thoughts as I really need o-rings (or travel limiters) for my Jailhouse Blues. Long drying Epoxy and using a syringe to inject equal amounts into each key seems the best method.

You can get two part silicone that is more liquid than the tube stuff, that can work the same as epoxy, and would be removable if necessary, but epoxy is more than likely a lot cheaper. Two tubes of Gorilla Glue would probably do a whole board.

[n0rvig]

I was thinking about looking for some spray in insulating foam. But I don't have a clue what kind of thing would actually work.

[E TwentyNine]

For all these approaches I would think there'd be some personal preference involved.  How heavy do you want it and how will that affect the key behavior?

I think a liquid epoxy which would fill near the top (no lower than the stem mount) would get you a different feel than something like a putty epoxy where you could coat the whole interior of the keycap evenly right down to the bottom of the key (making sure you leave clearance for the motion of the key).

You may have to sacrifice a few keys with different methods to see what works.

[tauburn]

the ideal feel would be to emulate thick pbt i guess

[dadgh]

plug the stem and spray it with plastidip

BOOM

[Hyde]

The first thing come to mind was suguru.  The play dough looking thing that hardens lol.

[Mandolin]

The first thing come to mind was suguru.  The play dough looking thing that hardens lol.

That's what she said 

[tauburn]

The first thing come to mind was suguru.  The play dough looking thing that hardens lol.

that would probably be the easiest way to do it.

[Grim Fandango]

Just have to make sure that they are each equally heavy and the weight is evenly distributed. Would be an interesting project. I can already tell I do not have the patience.

[tauburn]

Just have to make sure that they are each equally heavy and the weight is evenly distributed. Would be an interesting project. I can already tell I do not have the patience.

unfortunately im starting to think the same, but i figure since lots of keycaps have lines of plastic inside them going half way through and meeting at the stem i could fill them flat to those lines which would easily show where i need to stop thus making each cap have mostly the same amount. but i guess it would be uneven per row hmmmm...

[Leslieann]

Thought of another option the other night.
If you have access to a 3d printer, you can make some plugs to go inside the caps. Just add a drop of glue and push it inside. This would make the cap a bit stiffer, consistent, and cheap (other than development and print time of course). Could even make a glue in plug that makes it the same as double thick.

It's certainly the most labor intensive option, but also probably the best option. I just started collecting my initial parts for one and was brainstorming things I could make with it once I finish and this was one of them.