Real PDP-1 switches closeup

[Bill E]

I forgot to post this, here is a closeup of the switches on the PDP-1 at CHM. As you can see, some cosmetic tweaks are needed for the pidp-1. I thought someone had posted 3D printable equivalents, but I can't find the post now.

Also, I used the actual resistor and capacitor values the PDP-1 uses for the music filters to compute the alpha for my digital filters. I'll update after I test.

Bill

[R Clark]

My son made some for me. Then painted the indented tip.

[Matthias Barthel]

Looks very authentic. Are they 3d printed?

Matthias 

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[R Clark]

Yes. It was easy to make a sketch, rotate it.  And it looks like this:

[Bill E]

Can you post the stl, stp, or 3mf file? That would be great.

Bill

[R Clark]

I got a hold of my son.  This is what he used for my knobs.  Hope it works for you.

[Bill E]

Loads fine, thanks. I'll print some today.

Bill

[Glenn Babecki]

Do they just slip over the existing switches and hold firmly, or does the installation require some form of glue?

On Sat, Jan 3, 2026, 2:41 PM Bill E <wjegr...@gmail.com> wrote:

Loads fine, thanks. I'll print some today.

Bill

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[R Clark]

The fit was/is 'snug'. I needed no glue which is what I wanted.   YMMV of course depending on printer, I suspect, with such small parts.

[Glenn Babecki]

Thanks for the answer. I was hoping for a snug push-on fit, but as you say the printer and filament tolerances come into play.

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[Bill E]

At rbc's suggestion, this is just a cross-post of the standalone comment I made.

With many thanks to rbclar...@gmail.com (and his son), I printed up the switch covers, looks almost authentic. If I were truly obsessed, I'd turn some out of aluminum, but too much work.

Bill

[The Oracle]

Printing a few switch covers tonight :)

[Bill E]

That's a lot of switches!

Just being sure it was clear, only the bottom row has the different switch style, 8 needed.

My only issue with the printed ones is that I haven't found a silver filament that actually looks metallic.

Now if someone with a cnc setup would make up these in real aluminum, live would be good. :)

Bill

[The Oracle]

I upscaled them a little bit to make them even more realistic and yes, it is a lot. I'm assembling some kits for clients.

I look at micro center this weekend for the best aluminum color match.  

- Lynn

[Bryce Jeannotte]

Try Polymaker Silver Silk filament. I find it looks very much like aluminum.

[Bill E]

On Friday, January 9, 2026 at 7:06:33 PM UTC-5 lfma...@gmail.com wrote:

I upscaled them a little bit to make them even more realistic and yes, it is a lot. I'm assembling some kits for clients.

How much did you scale them? I might reprint mine using the filament mentioned. I wish I could find a good silver petg filament, but apparently pla is what there is. I switched to all petg quite a while back and love it. 

Bill

[The Oracle]

I'm still testing what looks the best right now, I'm at 120% or .80" of the original .STL. The Micro Center had several colors, I'll try and have ordered Panchroma™ Silk PLA (Formerly PolyLite™ Silk) directly from Polymaker:)