Thumbwheel-controlled twin potentiometer assembly

thingiverse

I required precise control over resistance for a gadget I'm constructing, As the gadget is handheld and I needed roughly 0-20kOhm range, I devised this thumbwheel assembly that employs two standard 10kOhm pots, in my case uxcell a14052600ux1117 (https://www.amazon.com/a14052600ux1117-Horizontal-Trimmer-Resistor-Potentiometer/dp/B00SWK15KE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523490950&sr=8-1&keywords=uxcell+a14052600ux1117). Note that this is designed to fit into a housing, so there is minimal structure. The pots are utilized as bearings and a small piece of aluminum sheet metal serves as an axle. Mine was about 1mm thick, which will fit fairly snugly into the slot on the pot. I applied a dab of glue below each pot and also where the axle passes through the wheel to stabilize everything while I was testing it. Since the pots face each other, they will rotate in opposite directions as the wheel is turned. The pots are connected in series, but each is wired differently so opposite turn directions behave similarly. In my build, red represents phase, black represents neutral and green connects the pots. I placed no restrictions on this project - you are welcome to use, share, modify etc. as you like.