Hi, new to all of this and was directed here by staff over the phone.
I’ve recently bought a mechanical keyboard which comes with a series of knobs for volume control, etc. I’d love to replace the knobs to make it a little easier to remember what I’ve bound each to, but it looks like a proprietary design - the shaft is about 3mm and its enclosed in a plastic housing. Another owner has provided a CAD model of the knob module which might help visualise: https://grabcad.com/library/skyloong-hot-swappable-knob-module-1
Are there any knobs that will fit out of the box, or any adapters I can use to make a standard 6mm shaft knob fit?
Thanks!
Considering the proprietary design with a 3mm shaft enclosed in plastic housing, finding an off-the-shelf knob might prove challenging. However, one potential solution could be using 3D printing technology to fabricate a custom connector that bridges the gap between the 3mm shaft and available 6mm knobs. Some of these 6mm knob options even include set screws for secure attachment.
Although this approach may seem a bit unorthodox, it could offer a feasible solution to achieve the adaptability you seek.
Hey Christopher,
Welcome to the forums!
It looks like @Cheese71011 is absolutely right with this one, from what I can see with the Cad model, its also shrouded which would make it difficult to use any adapter (Not that I have been able to find one sold). The only way of getting it adapted to 6mm or changing out the knob would be to 3D print something for it and the 6mm knob would stick up above the housing pretty far if that was the way you wanted to do it.
You could just use the Cad file and design a custom knob for it to be printed. I am sure that would ultimately be the best alternative.
Cheers,
Blayden
Thanks both! I think I will end up just printing an entirely new knob. Gives me more options for customisation as well.
Are there any 3D printers who would be able to produce something in aluminium? A quick Google says that some places offer it, but not sure what unit costs would be or if there are any reputable companies I should approach.
I’ve only ever dabbled with plastic 3D printing, so I can’t help you with that one.
Good luck though, would be cool to see how it turns out when you find somewhere that can do it.
Hey Christopher,
It is becoming a more common thing to have metal SLS printing done, however it is still very cost prohibitive and may have a higher cost than you would expect, even for smaller parts like a knob.
Alternatively you could send a CAD file to a machine shop and get it done with a metal lathe/CNC machine, it would still fit the parameters of what you need, but will be less costly than metal 3d printed items.
Cheers,
Blayden
I’ll take a look, I’ve found a local place that does aluminium CNC fab and 3D printing so might be able to get both parts of the knob in the same place. Thanks everyone!
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