Is it possible to 3D print new controller buttons?

[zeello]

I bought an as-is OLED Vita to try taking it apart and add padding to the start/select buttons. (Something which I and others have done for the L/R buttons and which works very well.) However I haven't had much luck so far, the start/select buttons unlike the L/R do not have a lot of travel so there isn't a lot of room for padding, and the buttons just end up getting jammed.

I plan to try again later, but is there a way to just 3D print new start/select buttons? I would rather my OLED model have spherical start/select buttons like the slim Vita does, rather than being flush with the bezel. I suppose this question doesn't pertain to Vita specifically since it's just a 3D printing question. (as one could hypothetically 3D print buttons for *any* system) But I know next to nothing about 3D printing. Except that I obviously shouldn't need to own one. I might need ro learn the software to "create" the buttons on the computer, before ordering to have then printed and shipped to me
Is that correct? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

[zeello]

Update: The buttons are attached to a rubber thing. Probably not a good idea to tear them off. Maybe I'd have better luck gluing something on top to achieve the same effect. (A Lego piece..?)

Edit: I got it. I'll use the rubber pads from the bottom of a DSi XL. (Other DS/3DS models might work) I looked at a spare DSi XL I had lying around and the pads are just about the right size.



My plan is remove them from a DSi XL (preferably one in black) and glue them to the Vita's start/select buttons. I'll probably have to use a knife to slice them thinner but that shouldn't be too hard since they're rubber.

 

[The_Dizzy_Vizzy]

Very, VERY impressive!!! Noting like the satisfaction of successfully working on your own Vita (which I am doing as well as I am waiting for a battery to ship). Keep it up and keep us in the loop!

- Dizzy

 

[TheStonedModder]

I bought an as-is OLED Vita to try taking it apart and add padding to the start/select buttons. (Something which I and others have done for the L/R buttons and which works very well.) However I haven't had much luck so far, the start/select buttons unlike the L/R do not have a lot of travel so there isn't a lot of room for padding, and the buttons just end up getting jammed.

I plan to try again later, but is there a way to just 3D print new start/select buttons? I would rather my OLED model have spherical start/select buttons like the slim Vita does, rather than being flush with the bezel. I suppose this question doesn't pertain to Vita specifically since it's just a 3D printing question. (as one could hypothetically 3D print buttons for *any* system) But I know next to nothing about 3D printing. Except that I obviously shouldn't need to own one. I might need ro learn the software to "create" the buttons on the computer, before ordering to have then printed and shipped to me
Is that correct? Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Tinkercad and freecad are what most people default too. I use Fusion360 myself tho.

These are absolutely printable. However due to the sizing resin printing might be a bit better suited.

But a fine tuned FDM printer should at least give you a nice prototype(unless maybe you use a 0.2 nozzle) . If you make the file I'm happy to do a test print and mail you the result if you're in the states.

 

[xtreme1]

Update: The buttons are attached to a rubber thing. Probably not a good idea to tear them off. Maybe I'd have better luck gluing something on top to achieve the same effect. (A Lego piece..?)

Edit: I got it. I'll use the rubber pads from the bottom of a DSi XL. (Other DS/3DS models might work) I looked at a spare DSi XL I had lying around and the pads are just about the right size.

View attachment 418876

My plan is remove them from a DSi XL (preferably one in black) and glue them to the Vita's start/select buttons. I'll probably have to use a knife to slice them thinner but that shouldn't be too hard since they're rubber.

I couldn't find anyone else talking about this, and hadn't heard of anyone else doing something like this. How'd it end up working out for you?

 

[zeello]

It didn't really go anywhere. In time I got over it. It's funny you should ask this now though, as just a couple days I unhacked/reset my oled vita. There are just so many nagging issues with the design of the system from the so-so start/select buttons to the fact it requires the grip strength of ten men to pull out the charging cable. (in addition to the fact I already played all 9 or so decent games that exist for it which I guess is an even bigger factor than those other things) If the slim model had a good screen I would switch to that, but I think instead I'll just pull out from the Vita ecosystem altogether. It was fun while it was fun.

 

[LoggerMan]

It didn't really go anywhere. In time I got over it. It's funny you should ask this now though, as just a couple days I unhacked/reset my oled vita. There are just so many nagging issues with the design of the system from the so-so start/select buttons to the fact it requires the grip strength of ten men to pull out the charging cable. (in addition to the fact I already played all 9 or so decent games that exist for it which I guess is an even bigger factor than those other things) If the slim model had a good screen I would switch to that, but I think instead I'll just pull out from the Vita ecosystem altogether. It was fun while it was fun.

Just as well, or else you'd have dozens of people over the next 10 years asking "STL?"

 

[TheStonedModder]

Just as well, or else you'd have dozens of people over the next 10 years asking "STL?"

That’s when you upload it to cults 3d for like $5 to download