My partner kept mentioning that he wanted coloured buttons for his #SteamDeck. After losing my fear of opening up the deck thanks to replacing fan & SSD an idea started forming for a surprise & #projects entry.
So - in secrecy - I designed a 3d printed box to create a 2 part silicone mold of the buttons (taken from my deck), cast them in epoxy resin, applied rub on letters & sealed those in with UV resin.
Really happy with the result, as is he 😊 And this is just v1, got some bigger plans 😁
@nilsding @cato It doesn't get hot at all, mine cures in 5h (3 according to the packaging, but it was colder than recommended which delays things). Quite thick viscosity, so I probably could have gotten away with just the press fit on the box (it is three parts put together) but still went with tape sealing around the seem. No leakage. Box is perfectly fine and will be reused.
Resin gets a bit warm, but not warm enough either (if so you have other problems)
@nilsding @cato Oh, also, to elaborate more, you just mix two parts together, no heat involved there either. The polymerization process is a chemical reaction that as far as I understand is exothermic but really mildly so. At least if you stick to the instructions, no idea what happens if you don't.
I know though that you can get quite the volatile reaction with resin, if the reaction mass is too big or the mixture is really off
Gina Häußge
Cato [MOVED]
Jyrki 
Manawyrm | Sarah