Hi guys, how are you all doing? I was very interested in the function of the Xbox One controller, and also whether is was superior or inferior to alot of the controllers in the past with good D-pads. This is merely a quick question, whilst I was looking into it I came across the board of it and where the D-pad is located, it has a strange sticker and metal pads on top of the actual sensors on the board. Does anyone know or can tell me what is the exact name of this part? And why is this made to be like that in the first place? Is this a good thing or a bad thing in the long run?
Microswitches??? I could be very wrong but they look nothing like microswitches (not even a switch itself), they seem like metal pads or plates that has a bouncy characteristics. Knowing exactly what it is is what I'm (or we're) trying to identify. Anyone else by any chance?
I know them as 'metal dome switches'. Most of the time I've seen them in the context of (non smart-)phone keys.
Thank you rso!!! I have now successfully identified the part I was curious of! I assume the assembly is just as simple as playing them ontop of the electronic sensors of the D-pad and is held securely with Celotape??? Do you (or anyone here) believe that this makes a marginal improvement of D-pad performance?
I just discovered what the Wavebird cotroller is...it's essentially the Gamecube controller! That D-pad...very biblical but stupidly small.
Yes, the wavebird added the best feature to the Gamecube controller, the d-pad wasn't really used on the cube anyway, it's really just added buttons.
Hey guys, how you all doing? Sorry for bringing this up again, but there is something that has been bothering me for while as I couldn't quite understand. Underneath these metal dome switches is this black layer that covers the actual conductive part that will complete the circuitry when pressed, I want to know is, how does this work when it is covered by this black layer (I dont even know of its name)? The same goes for other controllers like the Xbox 360 where the rubber pads for the buttons all contain a black layer itself that presses onto the PCB to complete the circuitry, how does this work??
I don't think it's all rubber, the part that contacts the board has to be a conductor in order for it to work, the rubber is probably to reset the switch and make it last longer.
If you plug a Gamecube controller into a PS3 with a usb adapter, Up on the d-pad functions as start. So yeah, added buttons.
PCB plating is used to make those buttons, there could be a black rubbery piece on the button itself or some black stuff on the pcb itself. I think most of those black stuff is conductive. My best educated guess is that some controllers use the conductive property not only to detect a button press but also its resistance as a property to read the applied presure (like the XBox classic could measure how hard your pressed the button, for different actions or speed in game) Button we see here in this thread (I hate once you remove them and try to replace them, find the right tape ) are probably just bare metal domes which gives nice feedback. also note, I sometimes forget the right names in electronics or mix some basic principles. sorry
I was referring to the black parts as you can see here from my OP's image attachment, look at the top corner: That stuff is definitely not conductive since I've seen people having to scratch it off inorder to do some soldering work on the PCB. I am also aware of the metal domes, however they are what confuses me the most since they cover a non-conductive part. Is it a magnet or something as well on the rubber pads (black circles)?:
Im not sure, but even if you cant solder to it, it could still conduct electricity. dont have parts near by to test, but could be MS was paying the same price for these rubber pads to be made with the black dots. You should be able to meseure the conductifiy in them. I only own a few 360 controllers so my tests would not realy help with the XO.
Well I just measured the black circles on the rubber pads and they are indeed conductive! But it is definitely not a material that's solder-able, hence why it has to be scratched off. This still leaves the question of how the metal domes on the Xbox One controller are still able to conduct on a material that's not able to solder on and the fact they are both different materials to begin with.
Ok, so thats a field im no expert in, but I do know there are conductors made out of other materials than metal First hit was kinda nice https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006041519777 tells about non-metallic conductors like Polymers and Indium Tin Oxide (one post realy) but the wiki has a nice answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductor and well, solder, is mostly a metal and you like to solder metals together, there are even metals that dont like solder, or atleast the solder you try. oxidation is another reason why solder wont like to sit on it but thats something else. can also conduct, or resist I could also search for why metals dont like to "blend"/"mix" with all other metals or materials, but basicly solder is mostly made out of a metal and this black stuff isnt a metal, and its "painted" on the board. (could have a specific manufacture name for this proces) these must be very basic chemistry and electronics and while I followed these at school, I wasnt realy good at them. Still very much like it. (also I forgot Reflowing is really hot, so a turning a 360 on without heatsinks isnt reflowing, putting it in a reflow oven, that might become reflowing ....whoops).
