Have you tried with the stiffer darker blue silicon you used in the earlier grommets?
I have not. The blue stuff actually has a lower durometer than the green. So, maybe too wimpy. There are some stiffer silicones that may be OK. I need to get one into a game and see how it plays, and my only opto stick game (Joust) is down at the moment.
I like the zero-play design. I don't think that plastic actuator is going to hold up though. Just make a hole where you can glue in a metal rod.
I think you are correct. At least about the rotation rods. I think the leaf actuator rod is not subjected to much force and should be OK. I decided to fall back to the older design and use 1/4" bolts that screw in to nuts captured in the actuator body:
I'm sure some appropriately sized rods pressed into the actuator would work too. But, they need to be the right length, and I'm trying to minimize fabricated pieces.
Since I don't want to require any permanent modification of the housing, I placed an additional bearing outside the joystick frame to allow the bolt head to rotate freely:
Assembly was completed in a few minutes with a screwdriver and some pliers to tighten the nuts:
This assembly feels solid with no slop. Better than the plastic rod version. Pretty strong.
My defender needs this mod. I'm going to try it and see how it holds up.
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