Toddler or Kid Button Box - Busy Board - Activity Board

Kids love pushing buttons!  So I designed a button box that keeps young kids both entertained and improves their fine motor skills and dexterity. 

The STL has no text so you can emboss or deboss whatever text you like using your slicer of choice.  I've kept the design simple with just buttons and switches that illuminate powered by 5v USB.

There are three types of switches used.  All illuminate when actioned: 

• Big arcade buttons - easy and obvious for a toddler to push

• Small push buttons - designed for small fingers but a little more dexterity required

• Large flat rocker switches - takes a little more strength to action and to learn where to push on the switch

I deliberately avoided any type of pointy toggle switch that a child could potentially fall on.

The wiring is pretty straight forward.  I wired each switch independently so if one button fails it won't affect any of the others. You should be able to follow most of it from the pictures.  I used a dab of hot glue on each button/switch internally after fitting to ensure nothing becomes loose. If you have any questions please ask!    

To avoid dead links in the future I've written descriptions of the parts I used with pictures. You should be able to find these items at aliexpress, ebay, amazon or your supplier of choice.  If you have trouble locating an item by the description alone try using google lens or similar to search.  Don't forget to choose and order different colours of each button/switch!

28mm LED 5V Illuminated Push Button Round Arcade Switch x 5

12mm 3-6V Metal Push Button Switch LED Light Momentary x 4

Heavy Duty Waterproof Marine Toggle Rocker Switch with LED 6V x 5

On Off round rocker switch 20mm x 1 for power 

Round 2 pin USB-C Connector panel mount x 1

FR4 terminal strip x 2. I used 8 pin with side holes for positive and negative rails mounted on each side of the box internally. I threaded tinned copper wire through the middle holes and soldered each connection to provide a continuous rail. There are mounting points in the box that fit these perfectly but I recommend adding a dab of hot glue to secure.

Heat set insert x 5.  M3 x L=5mm x OD=5mm (or close dimensions)

M3 x 10mm socket (hex) head screws x 5

PRINTING

Either PLA or PETG would work fine.  I used PLA with a 0.4 nozzle and .2 layer height.

I used supports only for the side power button and usb socket holes, as well as the mounting points for the bus boards.