When I set out to do this mod it’s probably the biggest ‘hobby’ project I’ve ever attempted. Not to mention its my first real 'mod'. The reason I waited to post this until it was almost finished is because I was very afraid of this becoming a disaster mod and letting everyone down who wanted to see it finished. On to the mod: My main goal of this mod was to make a keypad start my computer, and to make it look good. This might seem easy but about 15 hours of work on it later I don’t feel that way anymore. I started with the domino garage door opener keypad and a piece of smoked plexi. I was going to make a rounded rectangle of plexi and mount the keypad onto it. Then that would replace the buttons on the case. 1 Photoshop image later I dropped that idea. I’ve always wanted a keypad to slide out, but never thought I could pull it off. So I chopped an old cd-rom drive apart and took what I needed(motor mounted with tray in plastic, metal casing) in determination to at least try. Either way I was making this thing. 1st I took 2 of these power cables and put connectors on them, the first having 2 sets of wires out, the second having 1. Sharpie kept my sanity with the black and red. Ahh, the DPDT (double pole double throw) relay; it made everything possible. This $10 item is responsible for switching the current to motor back and forth, causing it to open and close. With the relay wired I soldered the output wires to the motor. After a few test runs on the spare psu, the motor consistently turned both ways! Everything laid out after I finished making the face plate. I took an old plastic cover from an ancient computer and cut it in half. The bottom half gets 2 holes for the 2 switches My ‘work desk’. In its current state. Next step was to actually mount the keypad on the cd tray and still have clearance to open/close. I dremeled and filed out a nice hole for it to just fit in. Oh, I guess I should tell you about the keypad. It’s top is cut off because it was a huge useless chunk of plastic. I was going to cover it with bondo anyway, and since bondo isn’t conductive, I didn’t need to cover it there. With that done, I cut a small metal piece off of an old floppy drive cover and used it as support to prevent the keypad from caving in when pressed. It was sealed with duct tape Now its starting to come together. This is the first layer of bondo, put on extra thick. Sanded to be as smooth as possible. Since the 1st layer of bondo came out really bubbly I did another one, with much more success. Pic was take after hour of sanding. Unfortunatly bondo is hard to work with so don't expect it to be *really* smooth. Expect bumps and small indents. This is the keypad controller box thingy. I took an old wire with the motherboard plug labeled ‘Power SW’ and put it on All wires attached and soldered. I used zip ties just for extra security. I dont want to have to take this apart because of 1 bad connection. I just tested the motor and everything works. I hate to do this but you'll have to wait till its done for a video *hides from boos* Some note worthy things are that the relay is rated for a minimum voltage of 9 volts, and im running everything off of a 9v battery. LOL, at 1st i forgot the power will be off and it took me forever to realize that i could use a battery. The tray itself is about 1 pound. Also any final pics you see of this will be in my girlfriends computer. Im building a new one soon, but not until mid April, and im ashamed of my 4 year old dell. Lastly this is my first time ever using any of this electronics stuff, and i didn't even know what a relay was before i tried this. Thats it for now. I might have an update for tomorrow or later today, but i doubt it. Im literally going right now to paint this thing. When its done you will all be the 1st to know. till next time,
I bought it with the intentions of having it replace the power/reset switch area. but it looked ugly, so i changed to this idea. [edit] im primering today but wont get in an update till tomorrow or even the next day. i need to go to best buy(40 minute drive) so im going to wait to actually paint tomorrow.[/edit]
It's looking nice so far. When I first saw the keypad in the cd tray I thought you were going to leave it like that
me too looks really nice... do you have access to changing the battery in the keypad(at least i think it should run off one...) kewl stuff...i always thought bondo was heavier , that s why at first i thought the motor wpn t have enough power. good luck with the rest of it.
What would be really sweet is if the keypad is on a swivel panel, that swivels out say when you touch the panel. ahhhh the possibilities!
looks a good mod I think i may be incorporating something along these lines in a few ideas for a case mod i have
FYI bondo over a 1/8th inch total thinkness will crack.... no matter what... just give it time... And what is so difficult about working with it? If it is applied correctly (thin layers, using the flat applicator spreader, sanding, and re coating) it should turn out fine. What grit were you using sanding it?
Is there sometype of circuit that the keypad connects to and then you there are wires comign off the box that you can hook stuff to? Its an awesome idea...but you aren't goign to leave that bondo like that.....!?!??!??!?! maybe sand the bondo some more too. otherwise looks great!!!
looks nice - looking forward to videos of it in action and painted (i'm assuming it's getting painted )
This whole thing runs off of a 9v battery. I took one of those small plug things that fit on top of the battery and used the wires out of that. If i want to change it i just need to get into the computer and take the old one out of the back, putting a new one it. That probably made no sense, so here is a pic. I started out with 100 grit, and finished off with 180. Thats what is recommended on the container. The kaypad has a phone cable coming out of it, which connects to that little box in the picture with the battery. Then there is a 2 wire output which i will use to connect to the motherboard pins.
100 grit? Go get yourself some 36 grit, and some 80 grit. It will make your life SOOO much easier. Yes 100 grit is for if you do THIN layers, but in your case, get a sanding block while your at it, You will need it to level it out. Level it with the 36 grit, smooth it out with the 80 and 120, and then finish it with 220. If you are left with stuff you cant get out, low spots, mix up a SMALL batch of bondo, apply it VERY thin, and then sand that with 100+ grit. You should have no problems this way.
Great Idea! I have looked at these keypads in the past, but never really thought about actually making one. I was looking at some nice aluminum keypads http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/catalog/v...LDCTZB2DA0TQFIAEXCFE4AVAAS2IV3?prodId=3112044 in case you might be interested, i am pretty sure there are all kinds of nice looking keypads all over the net
I have to say thanks to everyone so far! Ok, about the sanding, thanks for your tips, but in the end the dremel drum sander proved to be the easiest and quickest way to sand it down and create a dust cloud the size of my basement. I didnt get to paint today but i thought it will be best if i paint the tray 'hammered' silver. The front will be painted aluminum color but the hammered paint is good at hiding surface imperfections so its the easiest way for me to make this look a little better despite my below average bondo/sanding skills. Paint is #7213 here. BTW, thanks Vcdman for the link. I like the look of their products. Thats it for updates today. as soon as it gets above 1 degree (ferehneit) outside ill get my small eletric heater ready and get back to painting.(i will have to do painting in the basement, which is usually 40 degrees when its about 0 outside. thus i need the little space heater)
Sweet idea man!!! cant wait to see it done and dont feel bad about the electrical thing. I know way less than you but after reading everyones projects/mods I feel that i can at least get some help from fellow bit-tech brothers. One big happy family!!!! So what color is it going to be after your done sanding it??
