Production Ultra Slim Fans, Capacitive Touch Buttons for PCs

[VELKASE Michael]

FANS- production stage
All current offerings on the market for slim 80 mm fans use cheap sleeve bearings which are less than ideal for longevity, and variable voltage which is less than ideal for speed control. These fans use ball bearings to improve durability and are PWM controlled to give you better control over the fan speed. They are only 10 mm thick, making them ideal for compact enclosures.

Spoiler: Specifications

Motor control: PWM
Speed: 3800 RPM
Air flow: 27.95 CFM
Static Pressure: 3.08 mmH2O
Noise level: 36.0 dB-A
Dimensions: 80 x 80 x 10.5 mm

Spoiler: Pictures

These are currently in production. They will become available soon for $9.95 per unit. Please contact me if you're interested in buying in bulk.

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TOUCH BUTTONS- prototyping stage
Whether you're a case designer or an owner of an enthusiast designed case, power button choice has probably crossed your mind. The reasonably priced options are currently limited to mechanical switches, but that may change soon. I have a working prototype of a capacitive sensor that works with PCs. If enough people are interested, I can put more time into developing a custom printed circuit board that could be used to replace ordinary push buttons.

It can be used in two ways:
-attach sensor to an appropriately sized button and inserted into a 16mm / 18mm / 22mm opening just like a Vandal Resistant Switch
-attach sensor to the front or top panel of your case and be activated whenever you touch the case

Here's a 16 mm button example. Note that during production, they can be made in any color.

Spoiler: Pictures

Would any of you would be interested in slim fans or capacitive touch buttons for your next project? Let me know

 

[K888D]

Interesting idea, making it compatible with 16mm holes will help adoption. In order to be competitive it would need to be priced around equivalent Vandal switches and even lower than that for case makers who may buy in bulk.

 

[owliwar]

I really like this ideia. would be possible for it to be a capacitive 'ring?' rather than a button?
maybe its very speciific to acrylic cases but if we could match the interior of the button to the color of the panel, with a metalic ring outside of it that would be awesome.

but on a simple request, being flat would already be really nice.
and in black.

 

[ignsvn]

Here's a 16 mm button example:

I'm going to hell for this..

Just kidding. Keep up the good work!

 

[VELKASE Michael]

I really like this ideia. would be possible for it to be a capacitive 'ring?' rather than a button?
maybe its very speciific to acrylic cases but if we could match the interior of the button to the color of the panel, with a metalic ring outside of it that would be awesome.

but on a simple request, being flat would already be really nice.
and in black.

The capacitive touch board behind it can be attached to a button of any color and shape. Making it black and flat won't be a problem. It may even be possible to add a logo to the front.

As for the capacitive ring idea, it would be best to have the case manufacturer create the button according to the board dimensions to ensure that the colors match. At this moment, I can't think of a way to create the metal ring aside from simply machining it out of a solid piece of metal but the idea will work. The capacitive touch boards could be sold with or without a button.

 

[VELKASE Michael]

Interesting idea, making it compatible with 16mm holes will help adoption. In order to be competitive it would need to be priced around equivalent Vandal switches and even lower than that for case makers who may buy in bulk.

I can try to price them around $10 for single unit orders. The cheapest Vandal Resistant switches sell for around $7 in the US (unless if ordered from overseas with long wait time). I am not sure about bulk pricing as my current method of making these work requires soldering manually and 3D printing, so price wouldn't scale well with quantity.

It may be possible to offer the PCB by itself and let case designers decide what part of the case to put it behind and how to label it.

 

[T.Bull]

Would it be possible to connect a LED to see if the "button" is "pressed".
It could be usefull in situations where a force shutdown is required and the button has to be pressed longer than just a tap.

 

[VELKASE Michael]

Would it be possible to connect a LED to see if the "button" is "pressed".
It could be usefull in situations where a force shutdown is required and the button has to be pressed longer than just a tap.

I can try to incorporate that into the next prototype.

 

[T.Bull]

I can try to incorporate that into the next prototype.

I think th easiest way to do it is to couple it parallel over the motherboard pins

And by the way, how do you power the circuit? My best gues is that you would need some sort of active component to make this.

 

[VELKASE Michael]

I think th easiest way to do it is to couple it parallel over the motherboard pins

And by the way, how do you power the circuit? My best gues is that you would need some sort of active component to make this.

There would need to be an LED with a low forward voltage in series with a resistor. The circuit is getting power from the 5 V pin of a USB 2.0 header, so it does not require any external power source.

The LED color will probably have to be red, yellow, or green. The forward voltage of white and blue LEDs may be too high to be powered by the USB header.

 

[T.Bull]

I found

There would need to be an LED with a low forward voltage in series with a resistor. The circuit is getting power from the 5 V pin of a USB 2.0 header, so it does not require any external power source.

There would need to be an LED with a low forward voltage in series with a resistor. The circuit is getting power from the 5 V pin of a USB 2.0 header, so it does not require any external power source.

The LED color will probably have to be red, yellow, or green. The forward voltage of white and blue LEDs may be too high to be powered by the USB header.

I found a data sheet for a white led where the Vf is a bit over 3V at 10mA which should be enough. So all single colours should be possible.
rgb could be a bit more difficult though.

 

[Kmpkt]

How is what you're doing different from one of these?

https://www.bulgin.com/products/switches/touch-switches/piezo-switches-mpz-series-group.html

 

[VELKASE Michael]

How is what you're doing different from one of these?

https://www.bulgin.com/products/switches/touch-switches/piezo-switches-mpz-series-group.html

Great question. The main differences are actuation force, physical appearance, and price.

Piezo buttons require an actuation force between 300-500 g, whereas the capacitive one does not require any. Piezo switches also require a particular assembly, so they cannot be hidden behind a panel like a capacitive sensor can be.

Currently, anyone wanting to buy a Piezo switch for their PC has to pay upwards of $50
https://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/mpz-series/70522

If there are any reasonably priced Piezo switches that work with PCs, I would definitely be interested in seeing them.

 

[VELKASE Michael]

RGB, huh?
Hold my beer

 

[Kmpkt]

Great question. The main differences are actuation force, physical appearance, and price.

Awesome and thanks for the clarification.

 

[macbosco]

It's already be done. It's fairly cheap.

 

[VELKASE Michael]

It's already be done. It's fairly cheap.

This product would have a value proposition for the typical user at a price point around $10. For someone without soldering skills, and optionally CAD skills and access to a 3D printer, it would be much easier to buy a functional button assembly than to do the research on what soldering tools to get, what CAD program to use to model a button, where to get a part 3D printed, learn how to use soldering tools safely, etc.

 

[Qualla]

I would be greatly interested! Just a few days ago I did some research on how to do it with an arduino. But a ready to use product would be a great alternative!
What makes you think, that the USB-Header won't be able to deliver enough power for a blue or white LED? Don't USB devices usually consume a lot more power?

 

[T.Bull]

I would be greatly interested! Just a few days ago I did some research on how to do it with an arduino. But a ready to use product would be a great alternative!
What makes you think, that the USB-Header won't be able to deliver enough power for a blue or white LED? Don't USB devices usually consume a lot more power?

A usb outlet on a pc is usually regulated to 5V/500 mA which would be more than enough to power a capacitive sensor.
But are thes always on?
As far as i know they turn of when the computer turns of but i am not aware if there is a work araound, do you know that @VELKASE Michael ?

 

[VELKASE Michael]

A usb outlet on a pc is usually regulated to 5V/500 mA which would be more than enough to power a capacitive sensor.
But are thes always on?
As far as i know they turn of when the computer turns of but i am not aware if there is a work araound, do you know that @VELKASE Michael ?

Most, if not all modern motherboards have an option to keep USB on while the computer is off. If you can charge your phone through a front panel USB port while the computer is off, then this button will work for you. Gigabyte calls this feature "On/ Off Charge"; I don't remember what other vendors call it.