Quick update: We’ve had the engineer relook at an alternate design to try to keep the paddles flush and the gaps between the paddles consistent as that was the struggle at CEDIA with the 3D prints.
The two solutions were to use the current, “lever” design:
The fulcrum design was great at making sure the paddles were flush, but the issue became that the depressing of the paddle became inconsistent as you could not press the paddle down in the red area:
We noticed a competitor used a similar design and the way they overcame it was to make their buttons rounded (think convex buttons) which forced the end user to push the button in the middle. Unfortunately, we just did not like the design of the rounded buttons.
This left us with the lever design and after some thought, the engineer said the following (yesterday):
So, yesterday, I went ahead and approved tooling with the lever design and am putting my trust in them as they’ve never let us down and he’s a great engineer. He knows what we’re trying to accomplish, so this is one of those, “I’m skeptical, but please pull it off, I trust you” type scenarios.
–
Next steps are that they will open up tooling and get some actual samples created and will test it with the official plastic (not the 3D printed stuff).
What we’ll likely do if there is still an issue that can be fixed is send out the beta samples so we can at least start testing the firmware while they fix any tooling issues, but I am crossing my fingers that there won’t be any.
@Eric_Inovelli It’s been five months since the last update. Given that the project is eight months behind the estimated schedule, I’m hoping there’s some news you can give us.
Just a quick update - we should be getting beta units within a week or two. I think they are wrapping up making them on the 8th (yes, a Saturday haha).
I will give a better update once we have the samples in hand!
Is there a formal community Beta-testing process that customers undergo to be part of the beta-testing team? How does one become part of the process and help along the development of the product?
@Eric_Inovelli usually will extend an informal invite based on what hub the user is using, the project needs, how serious they are, etc. Then the user signs an NDA and is setup on our internal systems to do beta testing. Users will usually reach out to us via PM or we will find very active members in the community and ask.
REALLY hoping this project wraps up soon - or at least that I can help with the beta testing. I need to replace two z-wave switches in my house, and I would LOVE to be able to do so by swapping a couple of 2-in-1’s for these, and then using the 2-in-1’s as the replacements for the faulty switches…
@EricM_Inovelli@Eric_Inovelli Any update on this? I love my Blue series switches but REALLY need a keypad solution to avoid marital mutiny. Thanks for any update you can provide.
I am in the same situation using the Blue switch for fan control, I had promised the wife that it is only temporary until the button controller comes and we can do something that is intuitive for our 3 fans. I need to know when (if) this is still coming. Really hoping that it is.
Given the lack of any updates or communication, and with the timeline completely shot, I’m getting close to assuming that this project is dead and that I will have to pull the trigger on other options. Very disappointing.
Apologies in the delay in getting an update out on this. Regarding the current status of our Button Dimmer switches:
We’ve had to go back to the drawing board on this one as it’s an engineering challenge to get all the different combinations along with backlit features to work. However, we have finally gotten the button look/feel to where we want it and are expecting final results on the backlight testing this week. If the results come back favorable, then we will begin final tooling (which we had to start over from the last time we tried) and that should be completed within 6-8 weeks. Best guess for production would be October.
Has the design had to change from the original goal in order to make it work? The original design was very ambitious so I don’t necessarily mind if some things have been sacrificed but I’m curious where the design currently stands.
Here are some examples of what you can do with the button controller --we still have to update the videos on the site, but overall it looks pretty much the same:
The default (what comes in the box) is the switch at the top left.
We haven’t figured out what to put in the box yet in terms of other buttons, but here’s what will be available:
2x2 button w/LED Indicator
2x2 button w/out LED Indicator (used for backlight etching)
1x2 button w/LED Indicator
1x2 button w/out LED Indicator (used for backlight etching)
1x2 button that looks like 2x 1x1 buttons w/LED Indicators on each button
1x2 button that looks like 2x 1x1 butons w/out LED Indicators on each button (used for backlight etching)
There are no 2x1 buttons anymore as we could not get that design to work.
The reason we had to go with the, “fake” 1x1 buttons is because when we had individual buttons, the surface was inconsistent and not flush when the button was depressed and then let go of. In addition, there were inconsistent gaps between everything.
Thank you very much for the update. I’m days away from redoing my second floor electrical and knowing whether I need one gang or two gang boxes for the functionality I want is very important!
