Silent modding novatouch with spray rubber?

[spiceBar]

At the beginning I left some water in the clothing iron so it threw water vapor on them while flattening them. After noticing it I just removed it and tried again but I had to do it for too long. How could you know the weight of the force you applied on the iron? Weren't you pushing with your hands?

Yes, I was pushing with my hands. When I say "5 to 10kg", it's just to give you an idea, but it does not matter.

First, you need to work on a hard surface, like a wood board. Don't use the ironing board.

Then, you need to find 3 parameters:
- The iron's temperature
- The amount of pressure needed
- The duration

The temperature is the most important and easy to find: it's as hot as you can, but not as hot as to melt the pads. For a clothing iron, this may just be the highest temperature it can do.

The amount of pressure is probably just how hard you can press without being too tired at the end of the process (I had to repeat the ironing step 22 times, as I was ironing the pads 4 by 4). You also need to flatten the pads evenly: to achieve that, I had to press with various angles and change them all the time to make sure that every side of the pads was getting compressed for long enough.

The duration is how long you need to press on the pads with the iron in order to get them really thin, at 1/5 of their original width or even a little less. In my case, I pressed for 20-30 seconds, but maybe a shorter time would have worked if my iron had been hotter. However, if your iron is not hot enough, using a long time (say one minute or more) will not compensate. The pads will get back some of their thickness after some time, which is apparently happening in your case.

It sounds complicated, but you just keep your goal in mind and that should be enough: do whatever to flatten them to 1/5-1/6 of their original width, approximately.

It should not be necessary to press too hard on them or for too long: if so, the iron is not hot enough.

Use non-ironed pads as a reference and check them against every batch you have flattened.

Alright I didn't know that doing it on the ironing table was not the way to go. I didn't do it on a hard surface I'm afraid. However I'm going to try the industrial method because the only hard wood surface I have at my place is my flatmate's table and he might not be happy if I iron on it.  )  Hopefully my girlfriend has a flat hair iron so I'll try with it. I'm looking forward to do it right this time. I'm writing on the NT, the sound is nice but it is all linear now . I think I'll take some time to do it over the next weekend.


Thanks for the info Spice.

Well... You can't apply much pressure on the pads if they are on a soft surface like an ironing table...

If you don't have any flat surface that is able to withstand the temperature, maybe you can do it on the floor.

[Ngt]

At the beginning I left some water in the clothing iron so it threw water vapor on them while flattening them. After noticing it I just removed it and tried again but I had to do it for too long. How could you know the weight of the force you applied on the iron? Weren't you pushing with your hands?

Yes, I was pushing with my hands. When I say "5 to 10kg", it's just to give you an idea, but it does not matter.

First, you need to work on a hard surface, like a wood board. Don't use the ironing board.

Then, you need to find 3 parameters:
- The iron's temperature
- The amount of pressure needed
- The duration

The temperature is the most important and easy to find: it's as hot as you can, but not as hot as to melt the pads. For a clothing iron, this may just be the highest temperature it can do.

The amount of pressure is probably just how hard you can press without being too tired at the end of the process (I had to repeat the ironing step 22 times, as I was ironing the pads 4 by 4). You also need to flatten the pads evenly: to achieve that, I had to press with various angles and change them all the time to make sure that every side of the pads was getting compressed for long enough.

The duration is how long you need to press on the pads with the iron in order to get them really thin, at 1/5 of their original width or even a little less. In my case, I pressed for 20-30 seconds, but maybe a shorter time would have worked if my iron had been hotter. However, if your iron is not hot enough, using a long time (say one minute or more) will not compensate. The pads will get back some of their thickness after some time, which is apparently happening in your case.

It sounds complicated, but you just keep your goal in mind and that should be enough: do whatever to flatten them to 1/5-1/6 of their original width, approximately.

It should not be necessary to press too hard on them or for too long: if so, the iron is not hot enough.

Use non-ironed pads as a reference and check them against every batch you have flattened.

Alright I didn't know that doing it on the ironing table was not the way to go. I didn't do it on a hard surface I'm afraid. However I'm going to try the industrial method because the only hard wood surface I have at my place is my flatmate's table and he might not be happy if I iron on it.  )  Hopefully my girlfriend has a flat hair iron so I'll try with it. I'm looking forward to do it right this time. I'm writing on the NT, the sound is nice but it is all linear now . I think I'll take some time to do it over the next weekend.


Thanks for the info Spice.

Well... You can't apply much pressure on the pads if they are on a soft surface like an ironing table...

If you don't have any flat surface that is able to withstand the temperature, maybe you can do it on the floor.

Well I think I'll just try the industrial method. I don't want to risk marking the floor especially since I'm renting this place but thanks for the input.

[nubbinator]

Has anyone tried silencing with liquid latex?  Or would that not hold up well enough?

[spiceBar]

Has anyone tried silencing with liquid latex?  Or would that not hold up well enough?

Someone talked about this idea once, but I have not heard of anyone actually trying it.

[lwls]

Has anyone tried silencing with liquid latex?  Or would that not hold up well enough?

The process wouldn't be as streamlined as flattening pads, but it would probably work - just a bit tedious.
Oobly has done it with MX switches.
The right amount would also probably be a hard thing to get right...

[BrewCaps]

What about plastidip?

[nubbinator]

Plastidip rubs off so quickly it's not even funny.  I did a board in Plastidip and regretted it almost immediately.  I'm wondering if liquid latex would do the same thing or if it would be better.

[Snowdog993]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

[Ngt]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

go ahead try it and tell us!

[Ngt]

In the end I tried to iron on the floor as you suggest Spicebar and it seems that it makes wonders. Here is a picture of the result:



I cannot say if it is really 1/5 of the original size but it is definitely at least 1/3 or 1/4. It made it quick to see if it doesn't mark the floor and apparently it doesn't. The only problem is that I didn't clean the floor properly hence there were some little impurities which got in the way of the ironing process. The landing pad has some little bumps at different places. Next time I'll try to move the force applied on the iron so it doesn't reproduce.


EDIT: I put it at max temperature for 40s. It was stuck a bit on the folded paper sheet but it was easy to pick it up so I guess it is around the right temperature for it. I'm looking forward to do it properly this time. I feel that it is going to be just wonderful after that.

[spiceBar]

In the end I tried to iron on the floor as you suggest Spicebar and it seems that it makes wonders. Here is a picture of the result:

Show Image

I cannot say if it is really 1/5 of the original size but it is definitely at least 1/3 or 1/4. It made it quick to see if it doesn't mark the floor and apparently it doesn't. The only problem is that I didn't clean the floor properly hence there were some little impurities which got in the way of the ironing process. The landing pad has some little bumps at different places. Next time I'll try to move the force applied on the iron so it doesn't reproduce.


EDIT: I put it at max temperature for 40s. It was stuck a bit on the folded paper sheet but it was easy to pick it up so I guess it is around the right temperature for it. I'm looking forward to do it properly this time. I feel that it is going to be just wonderful after that.

You're almost there. It should probably be a little thinner than on your picture, but from where I stand it's difficult to tell. :)

As I understand the picture was before your edit? Then after re-doing it you must be very close now. Yes, the pads sticking just a little bit to the paper is a good sign.

[Ngt]

In the end I tried to iron on the floor as you suggest Spicebar and it seems that it makes wonders. Here is a picture of the result:

Show Image

I cannot say if it is really 1/5 of the original size but it is definitely at least 1/3 or 1/4. It made it quick to see if it doesn't mark the floor and apparently it doesn't. The only problem is that I didn't clean the floor properly hence there were some little impurities which got in the way of the ironing process. The landing pad has some little bumps at different places. Next time I'll try to move the force applied on the iron so it doesn't reproduce.


EDIT: I put it at max temperature for 40s. It was stuck a bit on the folded paper sheet but it was easy to pick it up so I guess it is around the right temperature for it. I'm looking forward to do it properly this time. I feel that it is going to be just wonderful after that.

You're almost there. It should probably be a little thinner than on your picture, but from where I stand it's difficult to tell. :)

As I understand the picture was before your edit? Then after re-doing it you must be very close now. Yes, the pads sticking just a little bit to the paper is a good sign.

I edited to tell a bit more about my process as I forgot to do it when I first wrote the post. So the picture you see has been done at max temperature for 40s. I don't know if I need to be even lower than that. I think I'll try with a 40s one, put it back in the keyboard to see the result and I'll adjust from there. I'm afraid that if I go lower than that, it might be too much.

[spiceBar]

In the end I tried to iron on the floor as you suggest Spicebar and it seems that it makes wonders. Here is a picture of the result:

Show Image

I cannot say if it is really 1/5 of the original size but it is definitely at least 1/3 or 1/4. It made it quick to see if it doesn't mark the floor and apparently it doesn't. The only problem is that I didn't clean the floor properly hence there were some little impurities which got in the way of the ironing process. The landing pad has some little bumps at different places. Next time I'll try to move the force applied on the iron so it doesn't reproduce.


EDIT: I put it at max temperature for 40s. It was stuck a bit on the folded paper sheet but it was easy to pick it up so I guess it is around the right temperature for it. I'm looking forward to do it properly this time. I feel that it is going to be just wonderful after that.

You're almost there. It should probably be a little thinner than on your picture, but from where I stand it's difficult to tell. :)

As I understand the picture was before your edit? Then after re-doing it you must be very close now. Yes, the pads sticking just a little bit to the paper is a good sign.

I edited to tell a bit more about my process as I forgot to do it when I first wrote the post. So the picture you see has been done at max temperature for 40s. I don't know if I need to be even lower than that. I think I'll try with a 40s one, put it back in the keyboard to see the result and I'll adjust from there. I'm afraid that if I go lower than that, it might be too much.

It will not be too thin. I think you need to make them a little bit thinner and it will be perfect.

But you are right, the best way to know is to try them inside the switches. That's how I would do it.

[Ngt]

In the end I tried to iron on the floor as you suggest Spicebar and it seems that it makes wonders. Here is a picture of the result:

Show Image

I cannot say if it is really 1/5 of the original size but it is definitely at least 1/3 or 1/4. It made it quick to see if it doesn't mark the floor and apparently it doesn't. The only problem is that I didn't clean the floor properly hence there were some little impurities which got in the way of the ironing process. The landing pad has some little bumps at different places. Next time I'll try to move the force applied on the iron so it doesn't reproduce.


EDIT: I put it at max temperature for 40s. It was stuck a bit on the folded paper sheet but it was easy to pick it up so I guess it is around the right temperature for it. I'm looking forward to do it properly this time. I feel that it is going to be just wonderful after that.

You're almost there. It should probably be a little thinner than on your picture, but from where I stand it's difficult to tell. :)

As I understand the picture was before your edit? Then after re-doing it you must be very close now. Yes, the pads sticking just a little bit to the paper is a good sign.

I edited to tell a bit more about my process as I forgot to do it when I first wrote the post. So the picture you see has been done at max temperature for 40s. I don't know if I need to be even lower than that. I think I'll try with a 40s one, put it back in the keyboard to see the result and I'll adjust from there. I'm afraid that if I go lower than that, it might be too much.

It will not be too thin. I think you need to make them a little bit thinner and it will be perfect.

But you are right, the best way to know is to try them inside the switches. That's how I would do it.

Yeah I'll try tonight. It will be a run against the clock this time. I don't want to spend as much time as I did last time, anyway I shouldn't. I figured out all the tricks now.

[Snowdog993]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

go ahead try it and tell us!

I don't want or need to "silence" a keyboard whatsoever.  If you are making "pads" you still could try making them from silicone.  What you do is put a glob of it on wax paper, and use a squeegee to make it a consistent layer.  Once it is dry you can cut out your "pads" and they would be the same thickness and consistency.  I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I didn't explain how I was thinking either.

[Ngt]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

go ahead try it and tell us!

I don't want or need to "silence" a keyboard whatsoever.  If you are making "pads" you still could try making them from silicone.  What you do is put a glob of it on wax paper, and use a squeegee to make it a consistent layer.  Once it is dry you can cut out your "pads" and they would be the same thickness and consistency.  I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I didn't explain how I was thinking either.

Don't worry no hard feeling. I already bought the landing pads and I already half way through so I won't change the method for now. Where would buy such silicone?

[Snowdog993]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

go ahead try it and tell us!

I don't want or need to "silence" a keyboard whatsoever.  If you are making "pads" you still could try making them from silicone.  What you do is put a glob of it on wax paper, and use a squeegee to make it a consistent layer.  Once it is dry you can cut out your "pads" and they would be the same thickness and consistency.  I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I didn't explain how I was thinking either.

Don't worry no hard feeling. I already bought the landing pads and I already half way through so I won't change the method for now. Where would buy such silicone?

I suppose you could go to any hardware store that has it.  It's just silicone!

[Ngt]

How about just plain old silicone rubber?  Make sure it's dry.  Would that work?

go ahead try it and tell us!

I don't want or need to "silence" a keyboard whatsoever.  If you are making "pads" you still could try making them from silicone.  What you do is put a glob of it on wax paper, and use a squeegee to make it a consistent layer.  Once it is dry you can cut out your "pads" and they would be the same thickness and consistency.  I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I didn't explain how I was thinking either.

Don't worry no hard feeling. I already bought the landing pads and I already half way through so I won't change the method for now. Where would buy such silicone?

I suppose you could go to any hardware store that has it.  It's just silicone!

Fair enough I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. 

[Snowdog993]

I suppose you could go to any hardware store that has it.  It's just silicone!

Fair enough I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. 

You must wait until it dries completely.  It takes well over 24 hours for that to happen.  Don't expect it to dry in an hour or so.  It is very very very sticky when it is wet.  Not a good thing.  Once it is dry, you can do anything you like with it, including fabricating any size, shape, etc with it.

[Ngt]

I finally did the mod again. I lost to much time trying different ironing time in the end I did it approximately (50s + 10s if I felt they needed it). The tactility is back but I wonder if there is a little difference with the stock Novatouch. I let 2 keys without the pads and I feel like when I use them that they are a bit snappier than the one with the pads. I wonder if I screwed up again or if it had to be a little difference no matter what.

I suppose you could go to any hardware store that has it.  It's just silicone!

Fair enough I'll keep that in mind. Thank you. 

You must wait until it dries completely.  It takes well over 24 hours for that to happen.  Don't expect it to dry in an hour or so.  It is very very very sticky when it is wet.  Not a good thing.  Once it is dry, you can do anything you like with it, including fabricating any size, shape, etc with it.

Cool good to know!