Hi, I am building a tap-tempo device where you tap at specified intervals and it sets a pulse. The electronics are all worked out, but I'm having trouble finding a good switch that feels natural and soft. Does anyone have any suggestions. I wanted to make it similar to a drum pad, so it would be a rubber square about 1.5"x1" and then under it a button that will take anything from a soft to a hard tap from anywhere on the pad. The only buttons I've ever installed have just been, drill a hold and stick it in, so I'm wondering how this square button style can be executed as well as a good part reference.

Thanks.
Dan

 

If the actual force of the tap does not matter, then a microswitch under a diaphragm would probably do. one with a lever can be loaded to operate with little force applied.

If you need intensity, then a piezo force sensor is the way to go.

 

hey thanks for the reply. I figured something like a cover would work, however I searched diaphragm on Mouser and couldn't find anything. Do the switch diaphragms go by a different name?

 

Any membrane stretched over a frame will do. "Diaphragm" is kind of a generic term. Heavy plastic film, goatskin, Naugahide, anything like that.

 

http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/3221-1-5-Inch-Force-Sensing-Resistor-FSR-.aspx

http://www.interlinkelectronics.com/force_sensors/technologies/fsr.html

 

Hey, thanks for the suggestions, I ended up using a Piezo sensor from radio shack. You can tap on it and it will generate a voltage and act as a switch. They're pretty cool and they're about an inch across so good surface area.

 

You might want to use a Zener diode to limit the output voltage of the piezo sensor; it might produce a high enough voltage to zap the input of whatever you're feeding if you tap it hard enough.