My A320 FCU and MCDU finished

Hello,

These are all made out of acrylic. I don’t have a resin printer, and honestly, I have better precision with my CNC.

I really went for the details here. As you can see, the upper side even has a kind of sphere like cutout, just like in the real thing.

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At the bottom, I have some cutout that fits perfectly on my push buttons.

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At the bottom, I also have some kind of rim that has 2 functions. One is to avoid the button of falling out of the panel (which even means that I don’t have to use glue, which also improves serviceability). Second is to act as a light blocker, because I hate it that too much light escapes at the sides (I’m a perfectionist :slight_smile: ).

I then spray-painted them in black, and after that I used my laser for the print. To make sure that the print is at exactly the correct position (slightest deviation can be visible on such small parts), I created some “holders” that allowed me to hold the buttons at exact locations. I can then laser 9 of them in one go. I use Inkscape to make my designs.

Aligning is the crucial part. I developped some workflow with my Snapmaker CNC/laser in which I use a “square” (not sure if that is the right word in Engish) that I position very precisely using a 1.5mm. I connect the square with one lead and the bit with the other lead of a “ohms-meter”. Then I move my head 0.1mm at a time until I hear a beep. This allows me to very precisely position the square. Then I position the laser as good as possible in the corner of the square, and then do a first callibration run with a piece that I first laser and then turn 180° and laser again. Then I can measure the difference that I can use to adjust the head in X and Y. Now I’m sure that the corner of the square is exactly at 0,0. I can then put my key cap holder in that corner, and all lasering is perfectly done. I use this same principle to print the upper and bottom part of acrylic components.

I designed my buttons and the holders in Fusion 360 (free version), which easily allowed me to create all the toolpaths for my CNC. If you’re interested, I can provide you with the f3d-files.

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