Illuminated tact-switches

[rhdf]

I'm looking for some decent illuminated tact-switches. Obviously it's some black magic involved in putting a led in them since they seem to cost at least 3 times as much as standard switches.

I found the MEC multimec 5G series witch have translucent white soft-feel tops as option. exactly what I want, but the price is not even close to what i really want..

So, is there anything close to them (rectangular 11x11 translucent tops) with good quality (Not wan hung loo supercheap of ebay)

[Connecteur]

The Chinese manufacturers deserve a lot better, than to be called "One hung low."
For they are the best in the world at what they do; which is to deliver a product to quality specifications, whatever that may be...
Including "cheap as possible" which is the most common specification by sellers of consumer electronics.

Don't forget that Chinese manufacturers also manufacture nearly every other quality of specification, in nearly everything else you buy.
Why do you buy it, if the quality is always "no good?"  Answer: you buy it plenty, because the quality is good, and you know it.

[rhdf]

The thing with "one hung low" from some stranger on Ebay or some  "we sell anything containing plastic and some metal"-shop is that you can get either really good and cheap parts, or it turns out they were just cheap clones (or not even clones, just looking similar).

I Know there is great stuff made in china, by companies that know that if the don't deliver what's specified, someone else gets the contract.
Then there are those (or the same) wich produces cheapest possible "version" of a part, mainly made for toys etc.

[Richard Crowley]

Panasonic makes a nice PC, surface-mount switch that is hollow in the middle for you to insert your LED of choice:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Panasonic/EVP-ADK04K/?qs=%2fha2pyFaduiittTwXz%252b4bkiT%252bCCF2OINK5dCS7rbrUfvh7MoOni9bw%3d%3d
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/315/ATV0000CE16-45412.pdf
It assumes that you are doing your own button cap on top.  I am using special-shaped chunks of translucent acrylic.

You could also consider Cherry keyboard switches which are widely available and used by the custom keyboard fanatics.
The latest model includes a place where you can insert an LED (5mm I think or maybe only 3mm?)
You can use clear, translucent key-caps so you can see the LED shine through.
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/CHERRY/MX1A-11NW/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsqIr59i2oRck%252brJF20sIm2GQvQAXuvA88%3d
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/71/mx_cat-526196.pdf

And there are those buttons made for the game console crowd.  But those are typically round and quite a bit larger.

[LabSpokane]

Is this a one-off or a production project?

Consider putting the LED adjacent to the switch, then using a light pipe to illuminate the keytop if that is truly mandatory. 

[Richard Crowley]

Then there were these things.  They were a button cap for the standard tactile switch shafts, but they had an offset light-pipe for an adjacent LED which would illuminate the top of the cap.  Alas SparkFun don't sell them anymore.  Perhaps they would reveal where they got them...

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/8807

[Richard Crowley]

And there are also the silicon rubber button caps which will take a LED underneath.  Both SparkFun and AdaFruit (and others) sell these in various shapes and sizes.  But, tactile, they are not.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/7835

[bitseeker]

That keycap with the built-in light pipe for an adjacent LED is a neat idea. First time I've seen something like that. I suppose that if the keycap is translucent and sufficiently long, mounting an LED 90-degrees shining at the side of it might get enough light through the top.

[DTJ]

The Chinese manufacturers deserve a lot better, than to be called "One hung low."

The lower quality ones are "One hung low", the guys that make the good gear are "One Slung Hi".

[C]

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/switches/tactile-switches/1114206?k=&pkeyword=&pv528=15&FV=fff40011%2Cfff8005e&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=100] [url]http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/switches/tactile-switches/1114206?k=&pkeyword=&pv528=15&FV=fff40011%2Cfff8005e&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=0&page=1&quantity=0&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=100[/url]

http://www.mouser.com/Electromechanical/Switches/Illuminated-Switches/Illuminated-Tactile-Switches/_/N-cbt5p?Ns=Pricing|0

[wraper]

TME has some manufactured by HIGHLY.

http://www.tme.eu/en/katalog/push-button-switches_100055/#id_category=100232&search=highly&s_field=niski_prog&s_order=ASC&visible_params=2%2C689%2C692%2C693%2C699%2C698%2C157%2C32%2C117%2C22%2C23%2C42%2C10%2C718%2C695%2C31%2C721%2C730%2C711%2C727%2C694%2C13%2C725%2C82%2C102&used_params=2%3A45204%3B711%3A3084%3B

[rhdf]

Those lightpipes is kind of neat, I thing I've seen them in a remote corner of mouser

It's a one of (or rather a super small run of maybe 2-3 units)
But I'm a bit picky about switches, especially stuff like build-quality and contact-bounce. The latter seems to be what separates good ones from really cheapo ones

[ebclr]

Other option

http://pt.aliexpress.com/item/50-pieces-lot-No-lock-switch-Illuminated-Tact-Switch-12-12-Small-4-Pin-button/32361720802.html?spm=2114.02010208.3.22.4KKyzg&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_8,searchweb201602_4_10037_10017_405_507_10032,searchweb201603_10&btsid=37a669bd-eab1-4b88-b5ba-0b42f1202e6c

[Kjelt]

Just go to farnell category tactile switches, filter illuminated yes and you get 143 results.
You do not specify if you want smd or not, both are available, different colours sizes.
just an example: MULTICOMP  MCML4L12RQR  Tactile Switch, Illuminated, 160 gf, 12 V, 50 mA, SMD   €0.72 a piece ex VAT.