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7th January 2016, 11:16 AM #1
Switch contact coating wearing out
Hi
I have a machine that uses a flexible rubber as the medium for contacting a pair of printed circuits on the circuit board itself. The rubber has a bump that has a coating of black conductive material on the contact surface area.
Of late, this contact is getting harder and harder to make as the black conductive contact material seems to be wearing away from the rubber part. The circuit board is not worn at all and is still nice and shiny.
The machine is about five years old and gets turned on/off at least 4 times a day, so it hasn't done too badly, but as I said before, it now takes several (up to 10 or 12) presses before the switch operates.
Can anyone tell me what the black contact material is and if it is available in small quantities for repair jobs?Bob Willson
The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.
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7th January 2016 11:16 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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7th January 2016, 07:25 PM #2
It's a carbon filled conductive coating.
Rubber Keypad Repair KIT | eBay
A bit exxy for one contact though...you might have better (more cost effective) luck with some conductive paint from Jaycar.
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7th January 2016, 07:35 PM #3
Depending on your soldering skills you could solder a couple of wires to the PCB and connect a standard pushbutton.
I would also try spraying a bit of contact cleaner on the button contact surfaces.Those were the droids I was looking for.
https://autoblastgates.com.au
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8th January 2016, 08:48 AM #4
I have used a small round or square of self adhesive aluminium foil tape over the rubber pad with some success.
The 25 mm tape previously used for security monitoring of breaks in glass windows was good.
Jaycar has a 25mm tape (cat NM2862).
The problem will be with drift of the aluminium foil pad over time.
If at all possible, install a C&K style push button switch.
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10th January 2016, 09:25 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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Bob, you could also find an old infrared aircon or tv control and swap a suitable button. A mate up here fixes them all the time by stealing carbon bits from old ones as most buttons are never used.
Rgds,
Crocy.
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11th January 2016, 10:11 AM #6
Thanks crocy
A good thought but unfortunately the 'button' is a not actually a button. The shape of the contactor pad would not allow me to do this. Maybe I could harvest the carbon from the ends of old buttons and glue that to the pad instead.Bob Willson
The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.
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11th January 2016, 10:41 AM #7
I have used both the Jaycar silver paint and aluminium foil method. Both with limited success.
I would advise that you opt for the ebay repair kit. Especially considering the use it gets.
John
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12th January 2016, 12:08 AM #8
Thanks John
I have ordered some from AliExpressBob Willson
The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.
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5th June 2016, 09:46 AM #9
The glue (which is what the contact repair kit stuff is called) came, I used it and it works perfectly.All contacts have been restored to normal. Thank you all.
Last edited by Bob Willson; 5th June 2016 at 09:48 AM. Reason: Further explanation
Bob Willson
The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.
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5th June 2016, 09:05 PM #10Senior Member
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Have you tried cleaning the rubber with some paper towel dipped in metho. I do this with reasonable success on remote controls.
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6th June 2016, 12:06 AM #11
Hello dinosour
Yes, I had previously used that method. It worked for a short while then it didn't.
Using the carbon glue has made everything as good as new againBob Willson
The term 'grammar nazi' was invented to make people, who don't know their grammar, feel OK about being uneducated.
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