Metal Replacements?? Please!!

chewymole

New member
Aug 9, 2022
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Hi,
love my cyborg!!

But the P shaped clamps keep breaking. What would it take to make me a set out of aluminum or carbon fiber?
I guess I just press to hard..
309403662_826661918364269_5198291379622110345_n.jpg
 
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Gimpenstein

Verified member
Nov 12, 2022
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Random cornfields in Iowa
Maybe it might be remedied by bolting on a metal ring instead of printing the plastic ring? I'm meaning this in production, but I guess as an aftermarket quick fix would work, but would take some DIY craftiness...
Or, printing with ABS?
I've been printing with TPU lately, and while it's a flexible, that stuff binds strong and if printed with decent infill (50%+) for a part like this would probably hold up better than PLA or ABS. Of course, flexibles are a pain to dial in...
 

Im this guy

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Nov 5, 2021
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Maybe it might be remedied by bolting on a metal ring instead of printing the plastic ring? I'm meaning this in production, but I guess as an aftermarket quick fix would work, but would take some DIY craftiness...
Or, printing with ABS?
I've been printing with TPU lately, and while it's a flexible, that stuff binds strong and if printed with decent infill (50%+) for a part like this would probably hold up better than PLA or ABS. Of course, flexibles are a pain to dial in...
We still print them on PLA, but have changed some settings. So far it`s been very good for and haven't had any brokes ones for a while.
 
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Xaos

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Mar 7, 2023
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You don't need it to be made out of metal, that would be quite expensive. If you're any good in Maya, or basically any modeling program you could model the item you need and get it over in the correct file type to who it needs to be. It would need to be the exact size though, and you are looking at an awful lot of money to have this done as a one-off. I would take the broken piece and use plastic glue to glue it back together, making it nice and strong. Send it to where it fits how you want. Then take some silicone and make a one-part cut mold (or two, but one part gives better results). Watch some videos on it). Once you've done this, I would then use a very rigid resin, something nice and strong. Smooth-on makes a solid like resin, and I've used their Onyx, and I think it was 40D before. I like the Onyx a lot, but you'll have to check what they have for smaller parts, I do know they have stuff for that specifically, and for prototyping.

You would mix the resin well and pour it into the mold you made, casting your piece. You would have a perfect replica. Now, I'm not putting this here to advise anyone to rip off Azeron or anything, but 2 part Resin is a LOT stronger than standard 3D printing material. I've read on here multiple times that people have had issues with units before with stripped screws and stuff, that would be solved by a uni-body or a near uni-body design. If I had a Cyborg unit that wasn't working I would experiment on it and see. I mean, it would be strong, but it could technically be done to the entire (or most unit and make it much stronger.

Much cheaper then having it made from metal, with a similar level of strength (or at least that you would notice anyway).
 

disconnected

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Mar 14, 2023
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ummmmmmmm what? ok new member here but I just read new member above me and what? You should not have to mold something to make your towers work. This controller is over 200 bucks and I've had mine for 3 months. 3 out of the 4 towers have the little p shaped swivel that have to be screwed down. I tightened until they stopped moving and I use 2 of them for healing. The other 2 not so much. I barely touch them and they're broke now? I can't even order the parts myself so I emailed the INFO addy. The website mentions "not over tightening the screws" - well it appears that sometimes you have to tighten them so the towers don't loosen up. This is feedback for the company, over 200 bucks... time to make parts that don't break or send extras for replacement.

We're spreading the message to other gamers about this awesome device, least make it right to where we don't have to send it back to get it fixed.
In the meantime, until the email is answered, can we put plastic glue on the pieces we have now and not void the warranty?
 

disconnected

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Mar 14, 2023
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Waiting for the email to contact Azeron but basically these P-shaped joints that sit on the rails and handle the swivel of the tower need to be reconstructed with material that is stronger than plastic. You have to tighten the screws pretty tight to keep the tower from moving. I was going to use super glue but it'll turn out to be a mess and screw up the towers. Seems like quite a lot of people have issues with these parts breaking. One person said they put a wedge inbetween the rail and the tower to hold it there, great idea for another expansion part to be a part of the product. Hope this product continues getting better than it already is

J
 

Xaos

New member
Mar 7, 2023
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Waiting for the email to contact Azeron but basically these P-shaped joints that sit on the rails and handle the swivel of the tower need to be reconstructed with material that is stronger than plastic. You have to tighten the screws pretty tight to keep the tower from moving. I was going to use super glue but it'll turn out to be a mess and screw up the towers. Seems like quite a lot of people have issues with these parts breaking. One person said they put a wedge inbetween the rail and the tower to hold it there, great idea for another expansion part to be a part of the product. Hope this product continues getting better than it already is

J
I agree with you, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to fabricate parts. At the same time, this is a device made with a 3D printer. #D printing gives startup companies a method to build things early on at an affordable rate, which is nice. Other molding methods that are stronger, like what I mentioned, end up being more expensive in the beginning (making the molds, for example, and the molds never last forever). If I were running Azeron (and I'm not :), mind you, so this is just one method that could be done). I would use 3D printing to prototype, sand down the product to get something as "perfect" as I could, and then I would make a mold of it. I'm most familiar with mold making being done in rigid or soft (think soft as latex, or silicone, and rigid like a slush mold), but the issue with molds is that they only last for so long until the detail is lost when doing it this way. I don't want to make this post too large, but I'll give you an example.

Think of your head, if you want to make a mask. Now, let's make a bust of your head! So, let's skip ahead and say we have a perfect copy of your head. We took this copy of your head from what's normally called a "Master mold". Now, depending on the material, you get about 50 to 100 pulls from a master mold. We have pull number one, Head 1. With every copy we make of your head, it loses detail, even if it's just a little bit. For something like masks, it's fine, because most of the detail is in the painting and texturing anyway. For something like this, it's more important for it to look, and be the way it's supposed to be. To avoid this, I think the best thing to do would be to have the master mold made from metal. You can take the 3D files and have them printed by a company that specializes in mold making, and they can actually make a 3D mold for each part. This would prevent detail loss, but then the issue comes down to technique when casting because this is no longer machine running, but people running. benefit to this is that it's 1. way strong, and 2. you can produce it a lot faster than a printing farm ever can. I can cast an entire sword for a client in under an hour, which is far larger than an Azeron Cyborg, and far thicker.

Printers are bound to a specific speed, and casting is restricted by the cure time and temperature basically, but if the person doesn't know what they're doing, they could easily ruin a cast. Thankfully, these are easy enough parts that casting them wouldn't be hard to do and something that could easily the teachable. This would make a much stronger product. I understand you want metal parts; I think most of us do want that, but I think most people have a misunderstanding of metal and think it's strong just because it's metal, and it's not. Metal parts on something are strong because of intelligently placed bends and folds. Some Humvee owners will buy aftermarket aluminum doors, some will buy steel doors. The original fiberglass doors are the strongest, and actually stopped (ish) bullets. A car door is a good example of intelligent bends placed to increase the strength of the metal. It could be done with the Azeron, but overall I think it would have to be redesigned from the ground up for that. It would totally be cool though! But, you have to imagine the cost of doing that from Azeron's position too.

Metal fabrication (outside of metal 3D printing, which is still very new and doesn't look great) is very, very expensive to have done, especially on the scale that Azeron is growing. I'm not saying they won't get there, and I would love to see it done! It was just very expensive. Now, to solve your current issue, hop on over to Etsy, and look at Azeron mods on there. You won't see many, one of them being these small pieces of plastic you can put under each tower. These fit perfectly and can be color matched. Azeron doesn't sell them, but I could see them being something added in the future. If you want to keep your warranty, do NOT use plastic glue. Plastic glue physically melts the plastic together, creating a very strong bond, I'm not sure if super glue would break the warranty though. I mean, a small dab of it might be fine to hold it, but I wouldn't push my luck if you want your warranty. If you don't care about your warranty, use super glue with a little baby powder to lock the glue in place instantly. You don't need much glue; one or two drops are enough. The powder causes it to harden instantly, with no more mess.

I'm still waiting on my Azeron to be delivered (says about 40 business days or so). I'm a 3D Artist/modeler, with a background in Computer Science. I have a lot of ideas for a game pad, and Azeron basically meets all of them. Except for the area of longevity/strength. But, they are a growing company, we shall see :).
 
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disconnected

New member
Mar 14, 2023
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I agree with you, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to fabricate parts. At the same time, this is a device made with a 3D printer. #D printing gives startup companies a method to build things early on at an affordable rate, which is nice. Other molding methods that are stronger, like what I mentioned, end up being more expensive in the beginning (making the molds, for example, and the molds never last forever). If I were running Azeron (and I'm not :), mind you, so this is just one method that could be done). I would use 3D printing to prototype, sand down the product to get something as "perfect" as I could, and then I would make a mold of it. I'm most familiar with mold making being done in rigid or soft (think soft as latex, or silicone, and rigid like a slush mold), but the issue with molds is that they only last for so long until the detail is lost when doing it this way. I don't want to make this post too large, but I'll give you an example.

Think of your head, if you want to make a mask. Now, let's make a bust of your head! So, let's skip ahead and say we have a perfect copy of your head. We took this copy of your head from what's normally called a "Master mold". Now, depending on the material, you get about 50 to 100 pulls from a master mold. We have pull number one, Head 1. With every copy we make of your head, it loses detail, even if it's just a little bit. For something like masks, it's fine, because most of the detail is in the painting and texturing anyway. For something like this, it's more important for it to look, and be the way it's supposed to be. To avoid this, I think the best thing to do would be to have the master mold made from metal. You can take the 3D files and have them printed by a company that specializes in mold making, and they can actually make a 3D mold for each part. This would prevent detail loss, but then the issue comes down to technique when casting because this is no longer machine running, but people running. benefit to this is that it's 1. way strong, and 2. you can produce it a lot faster than a printing farm ever can. I can cast an entire sword for a client in under an hour, which is far larger than an Azeron Cyborg, and far thicker.

Printers are bound to a specific speed, and casting is restricted by the cure time and temperature basically, but if the person doesn't know what they're doing, they could easily ruin a cast. Thankfully, these are easy enough parts that casting them wouldn't be hard to do and something that could easily the teachable. This would make a much stronger product. I understand you want metal parts; I think most of us do want that, but I think most people have a misunderstanding of metal and think it's strong just because it's metal, and it's not. Metal parts on something are strong because of intelligently placed bends and folds. Some Humvee owners will buy aftermarket aluminum doors, some will buy steel doors. The original fiberglass doors are the strongest, and actually stopped (ish) bullets. A car door is a good example of intelligent bends placed to increase the strength of the metal. It could be done with the Azeron, but overall I think it would have to be redesigned from the ground up for that. It would totally be cool though! But, you have to imagine the cost of doing that from Azeron's position too.

Metal fabrication (outside of metal 3D printing, which is still very new and doesn't look great) is very, very expensive to have done, especially on the scale that Azeron is growing. I'm not saying they won't get there, and I would love to see it done! It was just very expensive. Now, to solve your current issue, hop on over to Etsy, and look at Azeron mods on there. You won't see many, one of them being these small pieces of plastic you can put under each tower. These fit perfectly and can be color matched. Azeron doesn't sell them, but I could see them being something added in the future. If you want to keep your warranty, do NOT use plastic glue. Plastic glue physically melts the plastic together, creating a very strong bond, I'm not sure if super glue would break the warranty though. I mean, a small dab of it might be fine to hold it, but I wouldn't push my luck if you want your warranty. If you don't care about your warranty, use super glue with a little baby powder to lock the glue in place instantly. You don't need much glue; one or two drops are enough. The powder causes it to harden instantly, with no more mess.

I'm still waiting on my Azeron to be delivered (says about 40 business days or so). I'm a 3D Artist/modeler, with a background in Computer Science. I have a lot of ideas for a game pad, and Azeron basically meets all of them. Except for the area of longevity/strength. But, they are a growing company, we shall see :).
Understood now. I'm just using my G13 for now. I'm not a keyboard gamer except for typing in chat. Agree on the newness of the company, I'm sure they'll keep getting better. Probably need to work on the delivery time frame too. This controller has made me a better healer with quickness. When you get yours, just pay attention to your tower joints. I'd think this would be an ultimate controller if it was made with steel and other materials. I'd pay up to 500 for this thing if it didn't break. I think just the joints are tender pieces, the rest might be fine. So I think they should send some extra tower joints with your order or have it available in their store.
 

disconnected

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Mar 14, 2023
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ok where is the guide on how to replace these tower joints.... Mario sent out quickly and now i'm kind of stuck :)
 

Geauxst

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Mar 26, 2023
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is there a fix for this yet i have 3 out of 4 tower joins now broken i did try some glue on one tower and it seaped into the join and wont move now and the other join just broke at a spot slightly further up soon this whole keypad will be build out of glue instead of 3d printing
 

disconnected

New member
Mar 14, 2023
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is there a fix for this yet i have 3 out of 4 tower joins now broken i did try some glue on one tower and it seaped into the join and wont move now and the other join just broke at a spot slightly further up soon this whole keypad will be build out of glue instead of 3d printing
I'm looking into sending mine back and just have them fix the 3 joints because now I have a black wire that needs to be soldered and my wife says we'll prob burn the other wires with our equipment. Mine is under warranty though
 

Im this guy

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is there a fix for this yet i have 3 out of 4 tower joins now broken i did try some glue on one tower and it seaped into the join and wont move now and the other join just broke at a spot slightly further up soon this whole keypad will be build out of glue instead of 3d printing
email us on info@azeron.eu, include your order number and pictures of damaged parts.
 

chrisg

Verified member
Feb 14, 2023
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at the time of ordering replacement parts only one tower joint was broken. During the replacement process another broke before my eyes....it wasnt even super tight or anything.

Its all fixed up but I have no faith in these parts. I feel like some other alternative needs to be created.
I havent even had the unit that long.

Im all fixed now but wondering how long this will last.
 

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Uzaree

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Oct 20, 2024
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I know this is an old thread, I know the feeling. I only bought the controller because it was a new company and starting out, I purchased mine almost 2 years ago I believe. When I was setting it up I broke the ball joint when trying to adjust it. I haven’t even used it but again, I knew it was a startup company and I love the idea. It’s sat on my project bend for a u til I decided to make a couple replacements parts for aluminum. I am working on the other parts not just not finished with them.
 

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