Button Press

Intro

At the Aero Maker Space, we have a 2 size button press to turn any circle paper cutout into a wearable button pin! You can print out an image or simply color one yourself; either way you can get a shiny result. Once you are done your pin will be durable, water resistant, and have a shiny finish. It is incredibly easy to use, and only requires a little elbow grease to get the arm down.

Safety Information

Please be mindful when using any machine in the AMS. While the button press is rather safe there are still some precautions to take. Please keep the button press on a solid table at all times. Keep your fingers away from the button molds (the bottom circular pieces of the machine) when pressing a button to avoid hurting your fingers. Note that the press arm requires more force than you may expect. We encourage you to do a dry-run and press the lever down before butting a button in the first time; that way you know how much force you need to make the button, but not tip the device over. If you have any questions, please ask an AMS mentor. We are happy to help!

Location

The button press is usually kept on the craft station, on the left side by the peg boards and vinyl sheets. It can be moved by we ask that it is returned there immediately. There are also consumable materials for this such as the waterproof plastic top sheets & pin backs. All of these are located in the top drawer of the craft table. To make things easier, everything is sorted by size.

Materials Needed

Almost everything you need is already here in the top drawer of the craft station. Each button requires the following: -1 Pin Back -1 Metal top shell -1 Circle Cut image on paper (you can color on our white blanks or print an image to the same size) -1 Clear Circle Top piece

Instructions

First, if you are printing an image, please make sure you size it right. You can grab a blank circle & pin back to help check. The final cut circle should be the the same diameter as the plain white, while the image you want should be a similar size to the pin back. For instance, when making small buttons, you should cut your circles to about 1.7" diameter, but your final button will be about 1", so size appropriately to avoid getting your image cut off.

Once you have all your materials, look at the 2 button dies. There is 1 for each step of the process. You slide them over the handle so the button can be pressed. The left one is for the first step and the right for the second. Here is the order of operations: 1) Slide the button molds so that the left one (first press) is directly under the press handle. Make sure it is slid all the way. You can check by pressing it down. 2) Place the metal top shell into the center of the left mold. It should slot into place. On top of that, place your image. After this, place the clear top piece. 3) Use the arm to press onto the first mold. This will take a fair amount of force. If this step has been done correctly, the first 3 parts of your button should be lifted out of the first mold. It should remain that way until you press it down again later 4) Slide the button molds so that the right one (second press) is now centered over the press handle. Once again, make sure it is slid all the way. 5) Place your pin back into the into the right mold. Make sure that the hook part of the pin back faces away. 6) Use the arm to press onto the second mold. This will take a fair amount of force. If this step has been done correctly, the first 3 parts of the button should wrap around the backing, leaving you with a single, completed button. Enjoy!