SAFTZ Home or Business and Prevent Accidental Switching
Intro: SAFTZ Home or Business and Prevent Accidental Switching
Fail-Safe systems technology has long been the domain of corporate, military and governmental organization that demand that highly sensitive, complex, and/or dangerous operations be qualified and confirmed. The danger of triggering these processes accidentally cannot be underestimated.
The R&D team of SAFTZ has made these type of processes available to the general public.
In this effort, SAFTZ has designed several key products. We believe that switches should never be accidentally thrown.
In this walk through, you will see the process and fabrication techniques used by our team to create a working prototype of our commercial product.
The R&D team of SAFTZ has made these type of processes available to the general public.
In this effort, SAFTZ has designed several key products. We believe that switches should never be accidentally thrown.
In this walk through, you will see the process and fabrication techniques used by our team to create a working prototype of our commercial product.
STEP 1: Collecting Materials and Tools
For this project we used the following tools:
Drill
Dremel
Screwdrivers (Phillips and Standard)
Wire Cutters
Saw
X-acto Knife
Materials:
Plywood
1"x1" wood for creating border for key switch
Small piece of Plexiglas
light switch with metal shroud
PVC Pipe
Thin Metal Pipe (for using the switch)
2x Lamps
Assorted Wires and Wire Nuts
Various Screws
Drill
Dremel
Screwdrivers (Phillips and Standard)
Wire Cutters
Saw
X-acto Knife
Materials:
Plywood
1"x1" wood for creating border for key switch
Small piece of Plexiglas
light switch with metal shroud
PVC Pipe
Thin Metal Pipe (for using the switch)
2x Lamps
Assorted Wires and Wire Nuts
Various Screws
STEP 2: Standard Switch, Drill Holes
We are going to start with our standard switch first.
The first thing you want to do is to drill a hole in the board, so that you can feed wires through to the switch. You might find it useful to place the shroud on the board first, and to use a pencil to mark where you want to drill.
The hole doesn't have to be very large, just big enough the feed the wires from the lamp through for the switch.
The first thing you want to do is to drill a hole in the board, so that you can feed wires through to the switch. You might find it useful to place the shroud on the board first, and to use a pencil to mark where you want to drill.
The hole doesn't have to be very large, just big enough the feed the wires from the lamp through for the switch.
STEP 3: Wire the Switch
the first thing you will want to do, if you lamp has a standard plug, is to cut it off. You then will strip both wires at the end, so that they can be fed into the switch. The contacts are spread out, so you might find it useful to split the wires down the middle as well.
Feed the wires through the rear of the board and use a Phillips screwdriver to mount the wires to the contacts.
Feed the wires through the rear of the board and use a Phillips screwdriver to mount the wires to the contacts.
STEP 4: Mount the Switch
Now, you can mount the switch to the shroud. This also might be a good time to plug in the lamp, and make sure the switch is working properly.
STEP 5: Mount the Switch Cover
Next, mount the switch cover. You will need to use a standard screwdriver to do this.
STEP 6: Mount the PVC Pipe
Use an epoxy to mount the pvc pipe to the switch plate. Make sure you brace it until the epoxy sets. Now, lets move on to the key switch.
STEP 7: Drill Hole for Key Switch
Drill another hole on the other side of the board. You might want to use a larger diameter drill bit, or in our case, a Dremel tool. This works really well, in that it creates a lot of noise, smoke, and the smell of burnt popcorn.
Mount the switch in this hole.
Mount the switch in this hole.
STEP 8: Cut Frame for Plexiglass
Use the 1" x 1" wood to cut a frame for your plexiglass. If the plexiglass is to large, or not cut perfectly square, you can use an x-acto knife to cut it down the size.
Use the same epoxy to mount the frame to the board, around the mounted switch.
Use the same epoxy to mount the frame to the board, around the mounted switch.
STEP 9: Cut the Key Slot With a Dremel & Mount to Frame
Remove the protective plastic from the plexiglass and use a dremel tool to cut a hole in the center of the plexiglass. Make sure you test a key for the proper fit before mounting it to the frame with the epoxy.
STEP 10: Wire and Mount the Lamps
Wire the lamp to the key switch, and also the other switch, if you have done so already.
Once everything is wired up, plug it in and make sure everything works.
Once everything is wired up, plug it in and make sure everything works.
STEP 11: Enjoy Using Your SAFTZ Switches
Enjoy using your new SAFTZ switches. Now you will never have to worry about people accidentally turning the lights on or off.
You will need a car key to turn on the key switch. A small diameter metal pole to throw the regular switch. The best technique is to press the pole firmly above or below the switch to throw, and to use your wrists, in a quick flicking action.
You will need a car key to turn on the key switch. A small diameter metal pole to throw the regular switch. The best technique is to press the pole firmly above or below the switch to throw, and to use your wrists, in a quick flicking action.
5 Comments
Fred82664 15 years ago
uguy 16 years ago
Pyrowuzzup 16 years ago
GorillazMiko 16 years ago
Or is it!?
Kiteman 16 years ago
Making it easier to throw the switches makes them safer - you don't have to grope in the dark to find the key, you don't run the risk of walking into a dirty great pipe.
Key-secure switches already exist anyway - they use a slim T-shaped key that costs pennies to produce, rather than an expensive car-key.