Sorry guys, I somehow goofed that poll so nobody could vote. Let's try again.

Please let me know which light difussion / style you like better: the amber hollow "triangle in triangle" (TNT?) design, or the green filled Brian/Stu design ("point of light"? POL?).



The picture shows (left) my SLA prototype hollow amber buttons at (top) brightness Max and (bottom) brightness 4; then (right) Brian's filled green buttons at (top) brightness Max and (bottom) brightness 4.

On the hollow buttons, the light fill the large hollow space, but that creates a darker wall outlining the part, thus making it a light triangle in a darker triangle. The final material (polycarbonate) may pass light better, so the wall may fill more and not appear so dark.

On the filled buttons, the plastic is nearly touching the light. Though you mainly see a single point of light, this creates a cool effect kind of lighting the walls of the button because they are at an angle to the face. However, some optics make the light seem trapped within the button when viewed at an angle (especially for the top one).

Some notes:
My camera makes these look brighter than they are.
Maybe it's not fair comparing dark green to light amber.
Big thanks to Paul for loaning me a set of Brian's green buttons.

In reply to Tony's question: can I compare SLA plastic to Brian's plastic when they aren't the same?

True, the SLA and final materials are different, but it's the best comparison I have right now. Best case scenario is: the polycarbonate in the final part will allow light to flood the walls so they don't look like a darker outline, thus filling the entire button face with light. Worst case scenario is: the polycarbonate will fiercely block the light, leaving only the inner triangle of light.

Either way, it seems like you get more light with the hollow buttons. If it's the worst case and only the inner triangle lights up, it's still a bigger area of light than the filled buttons, who's light appears only the size of the LEDs themselves.

The knob is also in question; filled or hollow. I don't have an SLA MKIIa knob to preview (yet) so I can't compare. My hunch is that the light is dampened by passing through all that plastic. If the light filled the big hollow space and hit the thin walls, it may look really full.

My bottom line hunch about filled buttons is "The light illuminates the inside face of the button (the surface nearest the light). We see that lit face through a centimeter of plastic, which makes it dimmer." Look at your lit filled buttons from the side with the player on in the dark. You'll see the face of the button doesn't really seem lit. Yet, as you slowly turn the player 90 degrees to face you head on, you'll see the lit inside face come into alignment with the clear outside face, thus showing you the light. This is most notable with the top button; from where I sit in my car, the top button almost seems dark because I can't see the inside face. ::sigh:: It's hard to describe. The point is, on the hollow buttons, the outside face is lit directly instead of through a centimeter of plastic.

I'll keep trying to find a way to prototype these in the final material, but I'm sure it won't happen at a cost the project can afford. I just need to get it right the first time because modifications will be expensive.

Can you give us an idea of what the sides of the buttons look like?

--Nathan

Ok, I'll try. The new buttons will ideally look exactly the same as the current buttons; just translucent and colored. Did you mean something else by "the sides"? Did you want to see how the light looks from the side? If so, I will try to photograph that tonight.

I also took interesting comparison shots of "your actual view while driving" for both units. It's not too accurate, but I'll post it somewhere for everyone to view.

Yeah, sorry, I just assumed that the phyical shape would be basically the same as the factory buttons. I'm curious about how the lighting looks through the buttons from an angle other than head on.

--Nathan

Here is a comparison of the SLA prototype hollow orange buttons against Brian's filled green buttons, both with brightness set at 5 powered by AC. Though this is an impractical perspective, it kind of shows how the light is trapped in the filled buttons.

I just hope that the final production material has similar properties to the SLA, or all this comparison could be for nothing. I will be speaking to my molding company (did I mention that I finally chose a molding company after 3 months of searching?) this week about this situation and more.

Looks good. Yeah, would be cool if they come out that way.