DIY Rotary MIDI Mixer --- Planning Stages ---

[kickore]

I'm definitely looking at getting decent buttons and pots. I'm in Australia so I'm trying to find places that will sell alps pots. RS-Online looks like they have a few different types that should do the job. As for buttons, I've chosen Omron buttons with LEDs built in (I think they're a good brand?).

There are SO many button manufactures that its hard to really determine who's of quality and who isn't. I'd personally(if you have the patience/money) order a bunch of different ones and try them out. Some will feel nice but wont play well with MIDI(unwanted double clicks and the like), others feel like crap, but have no bounce to them and thus no double clicks.

Soldering onto the components themselves isn't really a massive problem for me, I'm not planning on constantly changing the components inside. That said, I'll probably use some blank PCBs to mount everything on to cut down on cable clutter inside the case.

I did that with an analog mixer I started to build and it works much nicer. Ribbon cables are the best things for builds like this.

I used this.

As you might be able to see from that picture in my first post. without the PCBs it makes it look like a rainbow threw up inside the controller but it helps manage the connections much easier. I always have some of this on hand for just any old project as well just because A. It looks neat, and B. It keeps it neat.

As for the laser cutting, I'm in Australia but it looks like Ponoko ship out here. I'm still trying to decide what material I'll use though..

I would recommend looking for somewhere local that does laser cutting. Even if they're a bit more expensive, the shipping costs would be considerably less, I would imagine.

Aaaaand I have to find some aluminium dial caps for not too much money.

If you guys have something similar to how Amazon.com is here, I'd check that.

Aluminum D shaft Knobs on Amazon

[That8BitMan]

@DJDoubleYou, I'll take a look at the library in detail pretty soon

@kickore, those black and white ribbon cables look rather nice. It's giving me ideas.

As for the buttons, they're just acting as toggles to headphone cue on/off and filter on/off so playability isn't a priority but I get what you mean about the double clicks. I'll be going to the local electronics shop and taking a look at what they have though.

I haven't looked at places here yet for laser cutting but I'll be looking pretty soon.

I've found some caps for 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the Amazon search that look pretty nice but I haven't really chosen any yet.

[DJDoubleYou]

@kickore with al due respect, when using the Bounce2 library this really isn't a problem, even when you use clothespins wrapped up in aluminium foil to control traktor (yes I did this once ) and i can't imagine it getting crappier than that.

[That8BitMan]

So I haven't done much today but I've started designing the front panel in Illustrator and I've found a place that'll cut it for not too much money: http://thelaserco.com/laser-cutting/

They're based in Sydney so it wouldn't be hard to just take a trip up to pick it all up.

I've also updated the parts list.

[That8BitMan]

Hey guys, quick update:

I've been slowly working on the Illustrator template for laser cutting but I've been stuck with a problem; how should I attach the pieces of acrylic together? There will be 6-8 support posts (30mm M3 tapped standoffs) scattered throughout the case connecting the top and bottom sheets but I'm not sure how I should attach the sides.

I've bought a few components from Jaycar (an electronics chain in Australia):

• 4 buttons
• Heat shrink
• 1k resistors (for PWM filtering)
• 3mm LEDs

[DJDoubleYou]

Superglue.

[ErikMinekus]

Chloroform.

[That8BitMan]

Superglue.

It's so simple that I didn't even think about it haha. I'm thinking of gluing all the side panels to the bottom panel and leaving the top panel just attached using the metal standoffs. If needed, I can add some little angle braces to the front and back panels to add support when plugging and unplugging cables.

[dj wo k]

http://fr.aliexpress.com/item/EU-Plu...08.4.30.QoI5gL

[Nicky H]

You can get proper adhesive for plexi/acrylic.