Jury Rig replacement for lost wacom pen side switches.

[Fingus]

I originally posted this up on conceptart.org but I figure I'll repost it here since we're all sailing in the starving student/artist boat. Original post is here (http://tinyurl.com/y4d4vnb). I had to change the post a bit because of the 8 image limit on this forum (wtf?).

I recently lost the side switch for my wacom pen. Boo hoo.

I can only assume that this is a common problem, but I expect that some people will share my pain in going to the wacom website to order a replacement and finding that you can't order the side switch separately unless you live in europe. The only way to get a spare switch is to buy the whole set of accessories for 20+ bucks. First of all I'm a broke as shit student and don't want to spend more money than I have to, secondly I don't need all that crap. So I cooked together this little jury rig to make my own side switch. I originally planned to make one in super sculpy but I discovered that a q-tip is a perfect fit.

In advance I apologize for the horribly messy living room, I am an artist/nerd after all.

Step 1: Your weapon of choice

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oOjr39VI/AAAAAAAAAJc/gK6X094136U/s800/02.jpg
You will need:

1 Q-tip
1 Roll of tape
1 Knife (or other precision cutting appliance)



Step 2: Cut the kids in half

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oPlE5xDI/AAAAAAAAAJg/5_LwT6xR9C4/s800/03.jpg
Get your trusty knife and start cutting! Chop the head off and throw that sucker away.


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oQ7nPx1I/AAAAAAAAAJk/c4Jc4GR1uwI/s800/04.jpg
As you can see the rod of the q-tip fits snugly into the slot. The thickness might vary depending on the brand of q-tip so if it's too thin you can try to wrap the rod in tape, if it's too thick then you'll have to buy some thinner q-tips or practice your precision ninja skills and shave off the sides a bit. Not that you don't really need to use q-tips, cocktail sticks, rolled up pieces of tape, etc are all good substitutes as you only need something that can fit in the hole and push the buttons on the inside. No fancy science with electric responses or surface reactions is involved, it's purely mechanical. Just be sure that you don't get any junk or residue tumbling around inside the pen.


http://lh3.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oUHSopsI/AAAAAAAAAJs/QKM1HaCemiQ/s800/05.jpg
You should cut two small nubbins about 4mm long, and one big one that is roughly 2cm long.


http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oS1SqdOI/AAAAAAAAAJo/mdvLAXg80MA/s800/06.jpg
As you can see they sit in there all nice and cozy.


http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oVMU5gbI/AAAAAAAAAJw/rrQ135Ykqbw/s800/07.jpg
Put the long guy across them like this. I originally only had the two small nubbins but I discovered it was hard to find the buttons by feel so I added the rod across. This might make the construction less stable and prone to fall apart, I need to use it a bit more and I'll report back here if I have problems and then try to update the design.


Step 3: Stick it together with tape, the tape of love.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_NLW67UPno5w/S76oYKg3yqI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/N9Sy_DgX2S8/s800/08.jpg
This step is easy, just wrap the sucker in tape. Make sure that it's not so loose that the rod and nubbins move around too much and fall out, but at the same time be careful not to make it too tight or you'll end up constantly pressing the buttons or at least get an overly sensitive switch.

Step 4: ????


Step 5: PROFIT!


btw: This is the first time I use Picasa as an image host for forums. Please tell me if it's fudged up.

[dabu]

that is awesome. Great post.

[DrEvizan]

well done...

...but can it cut through a safe?

[Fingus]

I decided to update this thread because I recently lost the nib of my pen and I didn't have any replacements handy. I discovered after a little googling that there isn't any special technology in the nibs, they're just pieces of plastic.
With that in mind I did some experimenting to see what I could use to make my own nib. I tried cocktail sticks and toothpicks, but the breakthrough came when I found a roll of nylon wire for a Weed Whacker (http://onkeir.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/weedwhacker.jpg) in my dad's workshop.

http://imgur.com/mJMN2.jpg

It turns out that these are a perfect fit inside the pen! And it works too! The tablet registers the pen and the pressure sensitivity works excellently.
It's not a perfect fix though. The surface of the wire I used is a little slippery so it tends to slide out of the pen if I'm not careful. And because it's slightly bent it sometimes interferes with the signal until I straighten it out again.

But all in all it's a very adequate replacement until you can get a hold of a proper nib again. I might experiment with making my own felt nibs as those things wear down real fast.

[dabu]

lets see it in action.

[A_GAME]

This thread has my attention. I would like to see the results too. I have an ailing stylus as well!