I decided to have a go at sourcing knobs again. This time I've tried to find factories or wholesellers, but it is damn hard. The problem it seems, is that I'm looking for the rarest element known to man - black knobs without a pointer and with D-shaft instead of knurled shaft.
I've been able to get in touch with a couple of vendors and one factory in the UK so far.
They produce and sell a large range of knobs, many of which are white labeled and sold by RS Components (RS Pro brand), Conrad and similar.
Unfortunately, noone stocks pointerless knobs, much less D-shaft versions.
But one thing can be learned from this - There is a series named KMR from Cliff that looks good - slightly rounded compared to what I'm looking for, but that's fine if I could get all knobs from them.
There are two problems - I can't find a small (10mm in diameter) version of the pots, and the MOQ per type is 2000. The 15mm one would cost me GBP 0.526 / each, the 25mm GBP 1.332 / each and the 30mm GBP 0.963.
I could actually see myself buying the 15mm one, if it wasn't for the fact that it differs from my other pots.
I DID find a knob on globalsources earlier, but the vendor is no longer on there:
https://www.globalsources.com/si/AS/Ningbo-Best/6008852396046/pdtl/aluminum-encoder-knob/1168713794.htm
Action Hardware
https://actionhardware.co.uk keeps popping up in my image searches, particularly two knobs:
Unfortunately, both are unavailable. They are however willing to help me do custom orders. The MOQ is 1000 and approximate prices between GBP 0.65 and GBP 1.50 /pce.
Ian at Action hardware says they stock parts similar to what I'm looking for and suggests KM-2100 and KM-2600:
CHK is CHK Electronics Ltd, https://www.chk-electronics.com/home.php, but the knobs are sooo similar to the Cliff ones that I amost think they are the same or related. On the CHK site I found these:
This knob looks perfect, so does
this, but there are no drawings to tell me the sizes. (KM-2100 is 14mm according to Ian, but KM-2500 remains a mystery)
Aliexpress
All the knobs I've found so far has been from Ali. Here is a list of what I've bought that looks good:
JU-HIVOR
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843175222.html
These are perfect - but unfortunately knurled shaft as always. I've bought 100 of these and they are my fallback solution if I can't find anything. 17mm in dia and 14 mm high. JU-HIVOR could not help me find anything.
DIKAVS
I was able to buy a nice knob here, but it is too low and now it's unavailable too.
These are the best large knobs I've found - I snagged four 32mm and one 30mm ones, the last one they had. Knurled shaft of course, and nothing has appeared since. DIKAVS never got back to me when I asked for help either.
Luyu Store
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001093464710.html
Luyu has some reeeally good looking knobs, 10.2 x 16mm. Unfortunately, they are for switches and have 3.2mm square holes. It is possible to drill an 8mm hole and 3D print a D-shaft insert which is my fallback solution for smaller pots. Luyu did not get back to me when I tried contacting them.
Best Partner Mall
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32952829517.html
These look great, but are too big for me and has that damn knurled shaft of course.
Best partner mall have a lot of great knobs and I've bought a few alternatives from them too:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000900076410.html
These are super nice! A bit costly but solid aluminum. If they had the same knobs in other sizes these would be my choice, even if they are quite expensive.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32921539254.html
Massive aluminum knobs with D-shaft. I consider using these for the main rotary encoder but it depends on what I find for the other knobs. Update: I actually bought mine from Warm Textile Home, see below
These are round shaft but that's ok for single pots. I liked that they did not look as much guitar knob.
Warm Textile Home
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32802055908.html
This is the same knob as from Best Partner Mail and the one I actually bought.
CW Switches Electric Store
This one is a bit of a mystery to me. I think it is the same knob as Best Partner Mail but I can't see that I've ordered from them.
Anyway, They have been super helpfull in finding alternatives. They say they can get me the one in the lower right corner with D-shaft. The MOQ is 500 and price $0.89 which is ok.
The same for 30 x 17, MOQ 500 and $1.68:
Then they suggested 15 x 17 D-axis:
This is a perfect one. I will ask for price and MOQ, and if it is within reach I will most likely buy it.
I have also inquired about 10 x 16, 17 x 17 and 25 x 17, but that's where the dialogue stopped.
Shenzen Hengda Electronics
While not black, this is an honorable mention: A 24mm alu knob that may be a good alternative for the waveshaper/filter knobs. I have 10 of them.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003184444519.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001039507025.html
I reached out to Shenzen and they asked me for pics and details about what I need, but so far they haven't gotten back to me again.
Changshenghong
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32873353173.html
Changshenghong has two sizes of pots that will go nicely with the ones above, though the 34mm one is a bit tall. Also, they are hideously expensive so I haven't bought any. I have not yet contacted Changshenghong ab out other variations.
HIFIw / HIFIvv / Hifi amplifier spare parts center
While not the same as the other knobs, they have some good looking knobs that MAY go well with my other guitar-ish knob:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32620216429.html
I've ordered a couple of these, possibly for the waveshape/filter knobs
SENGTERBELLE HIFI Audio World
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32819963066.html
These look like smaller versions of the one above. They may be too small for me but I wanted to check them out anyway.
Other producers
Mentor
https://www.mentor.de.com/bauelemente/en/portfolio-2/portfolio-knobs/
Mentor have a few series of good looking knobs. Some are available at Elfa and other vendors, even without pointer:
https://www.elfadistrelec.no/en/rotary-knob-without-line-aluminium-o30mm-mentor-513-61/p/11077374
https://www.elfadistrelec.no/en/rotary-knob-aluminium-o24mm-without-indication-line-mentor-508-61/p/11077363?trackQuery=&pos=25&origPos=25&origPageSize=50
They seem to be set-screw/round shaft versions.
DuPPa
Not sure how I stumbled upon this, but I found and ordered some cool variations of the guitar knob, this one fits an encoder with transparent shaft and RGB led:
https://www.duppa.net/shop/aluminum-black-knob-with-ring/
I hoped these would look better in real life but they are, especially the gray ones, a bit scruffy. Not TOO bad though. Since the center cap is black I think I would go with the all black ones, so lets see how it compares to the other black guitar-knob-ish ones I have coming.
I did however try the gray one on a black background, and the result is pretty good, better than expected. The pics do not do it justice though
DIY
I posted a question about knobs on the Synth DIY list on facebook, and a friendly soul pointed out that I could have them CNC milled. He payed around 3 euros for the small ones, 4.5 for the middle and 5.5 for the big (in Sweden):
Final notes
Here's a quick comparison of some of the knobs
They all go fairly well with the black knobs. As long as there is some distance between the matte black ones and the guitar-ish ones they go together very well. I still lean towards the grey sandblasted one for waveshape etc as it is exactly the same as the black ones. We'll see.
I did another test on the 17x14mm black caps to see if I could get a tighter fit on a 6mm D-shaft (I have tried drilling a 6mm hole earlier and it slides on but there is no friction. This time I drilled one with a 5.7mm and one with 5.9mm drill bits. The 5.7mm does not work. The 5.9mm can be pressed on but it's too tight and I broke the cap when trying to pull it off. I think my conclusion has to be that it's not viable, which means that I either have to drill a larger hole (8mm) and add an insert, or just have a D-shaped insert, but in that case the small D-shape must create all the friction and I don't think it will work very well. All in all, If I can use the 15x17mm instead, I think that's the better option.
PPS: There are various inserts available but hard to find something usefull. Search for knob spring, d-shaft inserts, barrel spring, d-shaft knob adapter
https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/retainer-d-shaped-and-flat-springs-for-radio-knobs.643669/
https://www.allelectronics.com/item/spr-14/metal-insert-for-1/4-half-moon-shaft/1.html
Another idea: Buy something like these and cut of the top: https://sharvielectronics.com/product/potentiometer-knob-3mm-d-shaft/
UPDATE:
I tried spraying the 3D-printed insert with rubber spray and it works great! The knob sits firm but is still possible to remove. I will leave it on for some days and then try removing it again.
The grip was actually so good that it pulled the insert out of the cap (it had not been glued). This also showed that the rubber spray leaked through the 3D print. After letting it dry i put the cap back on and now it sits firmly again.
I also tried spraying the outside of another cap. It adds a good grip but also removes the nice aluminum finish, and as far as I know it's not particularly durable, so I don't think I'll do it. It's nice to fall back to though, should the pots be too slippery. I did a black spray and was not very light handed so the finish was not the best, but I am sure it can be improved. I could also try transparent spray but that was sold out.
