Cessna Power Panel

Cessna Power Panel

I was able gather a few parts from Amazon and Ebay to get what's pretty close to a Cessna power panel.  Here's the inspiration (bottom lower left):

Process:

1. Get the parts:  Amazon.com  (these are the "prime" prices, so you can probably get for less in exchange for shipping patience.

On Ebay (Link):

These little buttons make excellent faux fuses.  At 10 for $2, you can add a nice touch to your panel to complete your check-lists, etc.

2. Design the Panel.  It's originally designed in Fusion360 (Link).  This design is totally parametric, so feel free to change Parameters like swToggleHoleSize (the rest will automatically resize) to adjust for your own components.

3. Then go into the Inkscape to design the labeling (SVG File Link)  I did this by exporting the sketch from Fusion360 as a dxf, then importing into Inkscape (since it has great text editing/alignment tools).  There's several layers in the SVG file including drill hole alignment cross-hairs.

4. At this point, the SVG created from Inkscape can be overlaid onto the PVC as a cut out pattern.  Drill the holes, cut the squares with a sharp utility knife.

5. White Labeling:  This can be one of the more difficult things for cockpit builders.  You can't print white with inkjet printers (it's just the absence of color on paper).  I found a great solution.  There's a label printer from DYMO Label Manager 280 (Amazon Link) for about $20 that supports a "white on clear" cartridge (Amazon Link) for another $10.  Also, this machine can be hooked up to your computer (USB) and you can print the graphics directly as rendered in Inkscape.  Print, cut close to letters, apply.

6.  Next step, wiring to an Arduino (less than $10 on Amazon) board and interacting with the switches from x-plane through USB.  There's a great x-plane plugin and Arduino library that makes this super easy -- It's called Ardsim:  http://arduino.svglobe.com/