Stylus ideas

[comradekingu]

I like that the non-business end isn't "sharp". Pointy metal has the most likelihood of making for a problem at air-security.

 

[rygD]

I like the color for the tip you selected for your favorite.  I don't like that price tag, unfortunately, but it looks nice.  

What do you have on the back?

How does it work in the slot (or does it keep it from going in the slot, sorta like with an XStylus)?

Are you still considering getting in touch with someone to make styli, or should I start saving up for a set of darts?

 

[Grench]

I like the color for the tip you selected for your favorite.  I don't like that price tag, unfortunately, but it looks nice.  

What do you have on the back?

How does it work in the slot (or does it keep it from going in the slot, sorta like with an XStylus)?

Are you still considering getting in touch with someone to make styli, or should I start saving up for a set of darts?

Still rolling through ideas - and I have more parts on the way.

That 'favorite' above is a dart tip ($0.10), tungsten dart barrel ($35), (3) 1.5g 'add-a-gram' for M3 darts ($11), a short M3 threaded standoff ($0.10) and an M3 threaded button screw ($0.10).

The 'all standoff' version in the multi-stylus picture is all brass standoffs and probably has a net cost of about $2.50. But there is a big caveat. Since the brass is cheap stuff from China I can pretty much guarantee that it has some non insignificant lead content. Lead isn't good for something intended to be held in the fingers - let alone anyone who decides to 'smoke' the end of the stylus.

I have another set of parts on the way which should let me get away from the cheap brass parts and expensive dart parts entirely - with the exception of the dart tips which are perfect. We'll see how those work out in a week or so.

My end goal isn't to mass manufacture and sell these. If there is enough interest, I'll send the parts list to ED and/or Link and let them make a few bucks off of it.

Still in the prototyping and testing stage though.

 

[rygD]

Thanks for breaking down the prices.

As for the lead content of the cheaper one, that could be seen as a positive.   http://io9.com/5877587/the-first-artificial-sweetener-poisoned-lots-of-romans

I am looking forward to you getting the new parts.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Hey, how about not designing a Pyra specific slot for the stylus?  What I mean is what if the Pyra has a universal slot as big as can be done with a cap at the end.  This way, we can use our own and many styluses available out there.  Just throw your favorite stylus in the slot and close the cap and we are done.  With this, I can use my favorite Tegra Note 7 stylus or the abundant DS/3DS styluses or the Note 3 stylus for the Pyra (or whatever fit in that hole)

 

[Neelix]

Hey, how about not designing a Pyra specific slot for the stylus?  What I mean is what if the Pyra has a universal slot as big as can be done with a cap at the end.  This way, we can use our own and many styluses available out there.  Just throw your favorite stylus in the slot and close the cap and we are done.  With this, I can use my favorite Tegra Note 7 stylus or the abundant DS/3DS styluses or the Note 3 stylus for the Pyra (or whatever fit in that hole)

erm... How about no? Nothing worse than an ill-fitting stylus rattling around in a hole too big for it.

One of my biggest issues with the 3DS is that the metal stylus it came with isn't made to fit snugly in the hole, so it tends to rattle, and that one actually clicks into place.

- Neelix

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Well yeah, but the trade off is Pyra can carry many different type of stylus.  Anyway that was just an idea popped into my sleepy head while on the bus going home from work

 

[Neelix]

Given that I'm not likely to be using more than one type of stylus I don't see that as an advantage.

- Neelix

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

The point is it allows Pyra, not you personally, to store different types of styluses, because Pyra will be purchased and used by many people with many different stylus taste.

 

[bzar]

...by making everyone's pyra rattle like there was a broken piece of case inside it

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Heh, that can be fixed easily.  Just like Pandora battery now, just pad it with something

 

[Grench]

Here is a pair of photos. One shows what my Pandora did last weekend. The other zooms in on my current stylus.

 

[Grench]

The red  stylus shown above is composed of two 5mm outside diameter threaded hollow aluminum standoffs with threaded headless screws between the standoffs and from the front standoff and the dart tip.  The tail end is a machine screw with 6mm shoulders.

It fits -perfectly- in the Pandora's stylus slot.  The tail screw gives something to grab with your thumb to slide it out.

Total per stylus parts cost is under $5.  The key was finding the -long- 2BA threaded aluminum standoffs.  These particular ones are from the industry that has built up around homemade drones.

I have enough parts to make a few more.  If ED sees this thread and states his interest, I'll send him one for free with a complete parts manifest and a list of the suppliers I got the parts from - eliminating the tens of hours of research that went into me figuring it out.  He's welcome to do whatever he chooses with it.

If ED plans for the Pyra to use the same system & specs for the stylus slot as the Pandora, this would fit right in.  I can state that this fits the Pandora perfectly.  I have no idea if it will work in the Pyra as I don't have one yet.

I'm not planning on getting into 'the stylus business'.  I did this mostly as a personal quest to figure out what would work 'best' without having to get low volume parts machined.

As for the other ones I can make with parts on hand...

If you:

1.  Made at least one post in this thread (showed interest already) prior to this offer.

2.  Are one of the first 3 people who post AFTER this message stating interest in this offer.

3.  PM me your address details.

4.  I'll reply with my paypall email address to which you send $10 to cover my cost of supplies + defer some of the shipping costs.

5.  I send 3 people a red stylus for what is approximately the cost to me to make and mail them.

Go.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Hey, I'm interested.  

 

[rygD]

I am interested as well, but I would also still like to try to make my own.  I think you shared enough details, so I will look into that.  I do like that it is much cheaper than where you started.

I have several questions, but the biggest for me right now is how much does it weigh, or does the heft feel significantly better than the stock stylus?

 

[Grench]

I am interested as well, but I would also still like to try to make my own.  I think you shared enough details, so I will look into that.  I do like that it is much cheaper than where you started.

I have several questions, but the biggest for me right now is how much does it weigh, or does the heft feel significantly better than the stock stylus?

You're welcome to make your own.  The cost of a minimum order quantity for the parts and shipping (multiple sources) combined winds up costing right around $50 and yields enough parts to make 10 stylus.

It weighs more than the stock stylus - call it twice as much.  I have a jewler's scale somewhere and can get exact if you need.  It is no where near the heft of the titanium dart based ones.  So - no, it doesn't have a super high quality feel - that you can only get through weight.  However, it's about 50% longer than the stock stylus which means that it actually fits a grown human hand.  It can be held like a pen/pencil instead of as a crayon without any folding or expanding tricks.

2 claimed, 1 remaining.

 

[rygD]

However, it's about 50% longer than the stock stylus which means that it actually fits a grown human hand.  It can be held like a pen/pencil instead of as a crayon without any folding or expanding tricks.

That alone makes it worthwhile, imo.  The bit of added weight is a nice bonus.  I may look around a bit more for steel standoffs to help it out with that.

 

[Grench]

I held off a bit waiting to see if there would be a 3rd response. Two requested, two sent Wednesday. Let me know when they make it there and how they work out for you.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Received Grench's red stylus today and have been using it for about an hour.  Functionally, it's better than the Pandora stock stylus.  It's more precise as the tip is a little smaller and longer which doesn't block your view as much.  Also, the plastic of the tip is of better quality than that of the Pandora's stylus so I can see it won't wear off like the Pandora's does. I like its weight as it's a little heavier.  It fits into the Pandora alright, not perfect but alright.  I also like the modular aspect of it as the tip, the body, or the tail can be replaced if any of these parts somehow gets damaged.  I like the metal body as it looks more high class

Overall it's a nice little stylus.  I can see myself using it in place of the Pandora stock stylus.

Well done Grench.

 

[rygD]

I sent Grench a message earlier, but I will share this with others in case it may be of value.

The dart tip works better for me than the tips of other styli I have used for my Pandora, and I fully understand now why Grench (and now Shenmue) like it so much. I agree, it allows you to see better, and I feel as though I have much more precision and control.  To test it out I recalibrated my touch screen, using the improved thingy with more precise input data recorded (sorry, exhausted, but I am sure some of you know what I mean).  That usually takes me forever with the stock or Xstylus, and I noticed a huge improvement with poking using this one.

I was initially concerned that it locked in with a bit of the back still sticking out, but I found that you can push the stylus the rest of the way, until the screw stops it.  This is where some of the extra length is.  When it is in there it isn't coming out unless you pull it out.

It definitely has a better feel in the ways that were expected (length and weight), but I wasn't expecting it to seem that much easier to use due to a different type of tip.  This is what will be living in my Pandora from now on.