Footswich tops.

Sixstring said:
It's not about absorption, the rough surface gives the JB weld something to stick to ;).
Click to expand...
Understood. But without that absorption, and with no access to water or water vapor, superglue can take a long time to cure. Sometimes hours. And if it's not completely cured it's sure to separate.

JB Weld doesn't have that problem. It cures at its own rate. But you're right. A rough surface always helps.
 
rcm78 said:
I doubt it. Any adhesive, glue, or epoxy will crack after being stepped on a bunch of times.
Click to expand...
Depends on how much play there is. If you just have to stabilize an already good press fit, it could last a long time.
 
I mean...how are the tops put on during manufacturing? :p It's unclear how they come apart and it seems like if we knew how they're made, we could maybe just redo it that way.
 
withfoam said:
I mean...how are the tops put on during manufacturing? :p It's unclear how they come apart and it seems like if we knew how they're made, we could maybe just redo it that way.
Click to expand...
They look like they’re press fit. If that’s the case, you’d need a press and tan appropriate jig to hold the shaft of the switch.
 
I'm sure this is covered with the manufacturer's warranty through Fractal. I agree with both of @OrganicZed's posts. I wouldn't screw around with super-glue or trying to fray the buttons that the tops lay on top of. This all looks very modular in parts of the unit, like the buttons. Maybe the tops may need to be sent to you to repair it; or I'm thinking worst case scenario, they can send you the entire button assembly, which it seems like it comes off with a wrench around the hexa-nut, and I bet the whole thing pops out, and you can just remove the old button assembly, and pop the new ones on. It may require solder, and also I would assume you might have to ask the Fractal tech support person if you doing this would void your warranty. Hopefully @Rex is right and you don't have to go through all of that, and new buttons they send you might be press-fit.
 
Having been in the manufacturing industry, what it looks like to me is the machine used in the manufacturing of the switch parts has fallen out of spec. It happens over time and regular, (10's of thousands of parts) QC is the only way to know when it's time to either sharpen the die that is used to cast the part(s) or make the proper adjustments in order for the part to be pressed on to the proper depth.

Looking at the the switch plunger, we can see the scar mark from the switch top pressing, about a 1/16" +/-. What we don't know is if that's the proper depth.

2nd, if the ID of the switch top or the OD of the plunger are are out of spec then they wont fit according to design. If any one of these are out of tolerance the switch top can either fall off, deform or crack in the pressing process.

I still think that a small dot of an epoxy based adhesive like JB Weld would be the easiest fix short of sending the unit to FAS to have the switch changed out.


IMG_0486.jpeg
 
Sixstring said:
Having been in the manufacturing industry, what it looks like to me is the machine used in the manufacturing of the switch parts has fallen out of spec. It happens over time and regular, (10's of thousands of parts) QC is the only way to know when it's time to either sharpen the die that is used to cast the part(s) or make the proper adjustments in order for the part to be pressed on to the proper depth.

Looking at the the switch plunger, we can see the scar mark from the switch top pressing, about a 1/16" +/-. What we don't know is if that's the proper depth.

2nd, if the ID of the switch top or the OD of the plunger are are out of spec then they wont fit according to design. If any one of these are out of tolerance the switch top can either fall off, deform or crack in the pressing process.

I still think that a small dot of an epoxy based adhesive like JB Weld would be the easiest fix short of sending the unit to FAS to have the switch changed out.


View attachment 134710
Click to expand...
I think it's more than out of spec tooling. It's a switch designed for a certain life cycle. I have several that have come apart on my FX8 and now one just popped off my FM9.
 
rcm78 said:
I think it's more than out of spec tooling. It's a switch designed for a certain life cycle. I have several that have come apart on my FX8 and now one just popped off my FM9.
Click to expand...
Yes! that could very well be as there is a lot of things with designed or engineered obsolescence as the norm which personally I think is a shame. I always look at things from an old school perspective and something like this, the part should fail as a whole and not just one piece of it.

Also I don't want anyone to think I'm pointing fingers at FAS that's not the case here.
 
Sixstring said:
Yes! that could very well be as there is a lot of things with designed or engineered obsolescence as the norm which personally I think is a shame. I always look at things from an old school perspective and something like this, the part should fail as a whole and not just one piece of it.

Also I don't want anyone to think I'm pointing fingers at FAS that's not the case here.
Click to expand...
I do take issue with the switches falling apart on pro level gear though. Someone at Fractal spec'd the switches. At least they continue to function after the tops fall off.
 
A careful dab of epoxy, and it will never fall off again.

In my experience using Fractal gear live and in the studio for many years now, I have never had a switch fall off.
That includes MFC-101, 3 AX8's, 1 FC-6, 2 FC-12's, 2 FM9's, 2 FM3's.
 
scottp said:
A careful dab of epoxy, and it will never fall off again.

In my experience using Fractal gear live and in the studio for many years now, I have never had a switch fall off.
That includes MFC-101, 3 AX8's, 1 FC-6, 2 FC-12's, 2 FM9's, 2 FM3's.
Click to expand...
With all those units, how long did you use each one? My FX8 has over 500 gigs on it. The FM9 maybe 50 so when that one lost a switch top I was pissed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom