Push Buttons!

[wireframewolf]

So... my robot will be finished one day, and when that day comes I want to build a neat control panel to control it. I would like decent quality switches and pushbuttons for not-over-the-top prices (I'm not quite building a simpit here, but I -am- looking for things that wouldn't look out of place on an aviation control panel). Most of what I get when I type 'pushbuttons' into Google are industrial quality buttons so expensive that there are no prices until negotiated.

Also, Futurlec is out of the question for pushbuttons because I bought a few from there and they are terrible. I have one on my robot now, and it doesn't just activate when you push it. We call it 'the clit' because you sort of have to massage it to make it turn on.

So does anyone have any other sites? Problem with places like Mouser is that trying to simply browse their selection is a headache. For some reason their search engine seems pretty wacky, and you have to open a PDF for every single item, and then match it up with specifications, which may or may not be there, to figure out exactly which product in the pdf you are looking for. </rant>

[lnxfergy]

Take a look through the surplus stores if you haven't already:

http://www.allelectronics.com
http://www.mpja.com
http://www.bgmicro.com
http://www.goldmine-elec.com

-Fergs

[jes1510]

Try www.mcmaster.com (http://www.mcmaster.com)

They have a ton of industrial style switches and buttons that look pretty nice. You want to search for "pushbutton switch".

Also get a catalog from www.digikey.com (http://www.digikey.com). I'm talking about the actual print catalog you can hold in your hands. It is great to browse the sections so you can see exactly what you are looking for.

[wireframewolf]

Thanks for the replies! I see a couple buttons that look pretty useful for my purposes, so I suppose it's just a matter of which site I can lump together my component order best from.

Much appreciated.

[bodhibuilder]

Hey Wireframewolf, while i dont have ideas where you can find any good push buttons, i gotta say that your Futurlec buttons name is hilarious! when i read it i lol-ed so hard that a few people around the office turned around wondering whats going on..

[Sienna]

I like NKK pushbuttons for things like control panels. They are a bit on the 'pricey' side, at $8 or so for a illuminated pushbutton, but they look like they belong in industrial control panels. (The company I used to work for used them a lot in their products.)

And one of the really cool things, is that you can get an additional guard (clear piece of plastic that rotates out of the way) for things like "fire" buttons :D (limited to certain models, but still cool!)