DEC switch handles - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

24 Aug 2007

Just a thought .. 
Wouldn't the model making fraternity have this kind of problem all the
time.?
There must be a way to make a mould using an existing part as the
template.  

Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of woodelf
Sent: 24 August 2007 20:16
To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: DEC switch handles

Dave McGuire wrote:

...
    I have an interest, but only for a handful.  Will is
right; the 
 molds will be the killer.  I worked on a commercial product a few 
 years ago that used a two-part plastic chassis that was about the size 
...
  of a small book.  The two halves were very, very
simple...no weird 
 shapes, and not difficult for mold design.  The "cheap" aluminum molds 
...
  cost us about $10,000 to have made, and the good
stainless steel ones 
 (last much
 longer) were to cost about $18,000. 
I was looking at DIY molding ... 1 ounce of plastic at most.
But you need access to a machine shop ... None around here.
See here for the book. http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/index.html

...
    Molds for small parts such as switch handles will be
cheaper, and 
 there's a side benefit to their small size: we might be able to design 
...
  one mold that can make several different types of
switch handles 
 (PDP8/e-PDP11/20 style, PDP11/45-PDP11/70 style, etc) in one shot.  
 DEC didn't use that many different styles of switch handles. 
I got drooling over things like the PDP-12. Don't forget you need
several colors. The problem is finding a place that does small runs.

...
    There's still the front-end-loaded cost of
having a mold cut, but 
 after that, the community would never again have problems getting 
 switch handles. Or you can get custom switches made ... Now what about the switches
that
go with the handles? Are they special?

...
            -Dave

 --Dave McGuire
 Port Charlotte, FL
 Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007

 .