3D Printer yet?

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #199: Bicycle Wheel Spoke Protector Disc   

   https://a360.co/3ejgIr8

This is for my spare bike; an older 700C-sized "unisex step-through frame" Road/MTB made by CCM. The cheap freewheel on it crunched up the ratchet, so I'm swapping over a Shimano freewheel from the parts mule bike.

   

This actually is the better of the two spoke discs; the other literally disintegrated into powder and chips just from handling the gear cluster. I already spent more than I wanted to on the tool set to swap the freewheel over (a whopping US$17!!! ), so cost + hassle factor and drive to get one locally made me give this a try so I can put the damned thing together instead of waiting on the slow boat from China.

Designed this yesterday; on Rev1 the dish was a bit too deep so now working on Rev2. Flange at center hole under the freewheel/cluster gear is a little extra thick to allow adjustment by slicing off layers to exact shim thickness needed to allow clearance for chain without interfering with gear cluster. At Less than a buck a copy worth of filament, I can afford a 2nd attempt.

This one will test your printer tune... there is a lot of covalent area on the support region and the part is thin (1.5mm); if you are over-extruding or your layer adhesion is poor, you'll play hell separating the support without breaking the part. Probably would be better made of PETG or ABS, particularly for sun/UV resistance; but I have PLA on hand and it's what I have dialed in pretty well on my printer, so that's what I'm using.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in XINGTONG ZHI LIAN Brand Black PLA, 0.28LH, 60mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion, Supports enabled/touching buildplate otherwise all Cura defaults, infill set manually to 2mm grid, 0.8mm top/bottom, 1.2mm wall thickness, with combing & bridging mode enabled and part rotated to benefit bridging. Total time: 6.8 Hours

mnem
And yes, I will post this on Thingiverse... in .STL and nothing else. 

[beanflying]

That's a reasonable use case.

A bit more learning and a useful video later.



Same Random Ender Power Supply cover but this time never converted from an STL to a solid. Insert derive the switch (solid model) then convert it using the 'tessellate' function to turn it into a mesh. Then use the combine bodies command in the mesh workspace to cut the hole in the unmodified mesh from Creality.

It is less steps than converting the earlier option and potentially a good approach for simple mods. So what you would do is create in the solid space (or insert like I did) your cutting tools then tessellate them into mesh bodies then combine them so join, cut etc as required.

Anything beyond simple holes or additions I would still be converting the STL into a solid body first.

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #199: Bicycle Wheel Spoke Protector Disc   

   https://a360.co/3ejgIr8
(SNIP)
mnem
And yes, I will post this on Thingiverse... in .STL and nothing else. 

   

3DP Fail...?

So... Rev2 was an abject fail; decreasing the chamfer of the dish made things worse, not better. Turns out I was not reproducing the "bubble" around the center where the spokes join the hub, and that was holding the entire thing up against the back of the freewheel/clustergear. 

Frustionated, and feeling that 14 hours of print time was enough to spend on the project, I took advantage of the fact I was working with a thermoplastic and worked on Rev1 with my cheap hot air gun, then reformed it around the hub/spoke area with my hands while spinning it on the hub.

Add a 2mm spacer under the clustergear and Voilips!!! a near-perfect fit, and spin-test shows only tiniest bit of wibbly-wobbly going on. As the end-result was pretty much exactly what I had in mind when I first started, I have no interest in spending any more time on this... but I can't in good conscience put this model up for anyone else to use. 

mnem
 

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #200: Bicycle Chainring Guard   

      

https://a360.co/3wIQLYg

This is also for my spare bike; an older 700C-sized "unisex step-through frame" Road/MTB made by CCM. Hopefully, the last item I need to call it 100%. This part goes on the chainring like so; supposed to keep you from getting your legs gouged on the chainring and keep your pantsleg out of the sprocket. Like the spoke disc; a cheap plastic part if ordered from China, but a PITA and a long wait for the slow boat, or quite expensive locally. Aboot $2 worth of filament on this one; hopefully only 1 copy will be needed.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in FlashForge Brand Blue PLA, 0.28LH, 50mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion, Supports enabled/touching buildplate, infill set manually to 2mm grid, 1.2mm wall/top/bottom thickness, with combing & bridging mode enabled and part rotated to benefit bridging; otherwise all Cura defaults. Total time: 10.8 Hours

mnem
moo. or don't; it's completely up to you. 

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #200: Bicycle Chainring Guard Part 2   

      

Here's the part straight off the printer; the supports stuck better than the part due to small feet, and everything came away just this clean. The top side looks even better; while prepping it this way did add ~2.5 hours to the print, obviously it does make a big difference in the top surface.

The first pic is actually closer to the real color; it is much darker than it appears in these photos, and matches the color of the bike itself to within a shade or two.

    

Here we are with the part on the bike; even using the original screws. You'd think this was made for the bike or something. 

Designing this part was actually less hassle than the spoke protector disc; either I'm getting better at Frustion360 or the work lent itself to the way I think aboot making stuff. 

The only real hassle was figuring out what the bolt circle actually is; fortunately, there's a website right here with both the maths needed and a handy chart:   https://owlcation.com/stem/How-to-Calculate-Bolt-Circle-Diameter




This is the dream (when it works ) of 3DP fulfilled; need a part, make a part. I've spent aboot CAD$30 fixing this old bike up so it could be ridden; the repair parts made for it saved me aboot $25.

Being able to make the battery pack for the headlight (the black thing on the side of the handlebar stem) saved me another $25 over anything even remotely comparable in quality, plus it allowed me to add a switch where even on the "premium" model one had to unplug the wire every time you quit.

mnem
ride. 

[Canis Dirus Leidy]

Homemade filament made of old polycarbonate lampshades:

[mnementh]

   https://a360.co/3yoCRfS

This is probably my most time-consuming 3DP project yet; completely reworking the guts of my UltraSabers lightsaber to fix all the cut corners it came with, and upgrade to 18650 power source with BMS and charging circuit. Original Obsidian e-gyro controller only does sound and lighting effects and used 14500 cells in a battery holder. 



First up was several iterations before I came up with a workable design for the battery pack. Ultimately I went with a split assembly as this allowed me to completely encapsulate the 18650 cells & BMS PCB. Cells are staggered to allow as much room as possible for wiring from one end of the hilt to the other.



Here I've bonded the Obsidian controller PCB to the battery pack with a blob of good ol' silly-cone RTV sealant. This is roughly how it will reside in the hilt; the space behind the pack is where the LED ballast PCB and speaker go. The space forward of it are where the power switch and emitter module go.

There's a space of aboot 50mm right in the middle which is all the space available for the switch and excess wiring to scrunch up when this is assembled. This problem is a major part of why it took several days of tinkering in my off-time to get everything figured out.



In the middle of all this came some R&D work. I wanted to replace the original ballast resistors with some CC LED driver PCBs I found online; however after multiple test scenarios, they proved not durable enough mechanically or electrically for the abuse intended. I eventually abandoned this testing after smoking a couple LED emitters and half-dozen CC driver boards. I am toying with the idea of mixing up my own 3-ch CC LED driver PCB to fit in this space; I might follow through with that if I find a chipset that actually handles the abuse under testing.

When I first got my saber, I changed the color to a deep royal purple to match my generally lawful neutral alignment; getting that requires mixing red & blue at drive current levels determined by trial/error. On top of that there is another channel for "flash on clash" functionality in the sound/light controller PCB, so I use all 3 elements in this one. As I had already done the headache work with the ballast resistors, ultimately I returned to that arrangement when the CC LED drivers proved inadequate.



Here is the ballast PCB, LED emitter module and battery pack before adding the charge circuitry; I've covered the LED wires with Kapton tape to make it act as a ribbon cable, and to add a layer of protection against pinch damage. Yes, they are made of multi-strand Cat5 cable; I use what works, and it has the right mix of flex and just enough rigidity to push back into place rather than bunch up as the parts are assembled in the hilt.

One of these days I'll get this 10W LED emitter on the left working. These require a completely different emitter housing and collimator lens; also aboot 4x as much VA power source so will take a lot more finagling, and will absolutely require a working CC driver array to fit in a usable-sized hilt. Future plans...



Component density is pretty high for a fabricobbledy project. The sub-board plugs into the controller via a short pigtail of Dupont connectors...



...and the LED channels are broken out into another row of Dupont connectors facing back towards the front of the hilt. There's a Schottky diode in there so that we don't have sparks if something shorts the charge port, and the ugly soldering is to ensure the heavy resistors are anchored to multiple vias in the perfboard so they stay put under heavy impact from mock combat.

Before you ask, yes I've repaired the potting over that inductor with a fresh layer of epoxy. It's just not really visible here.



Here I've designed and printed the speaker bracket and the charge port; they go together in layer cake fashion...



...with the charge port poking up like a smokestack.



Once I add the pommel ring, it looks a lot better. The battery, speaker and charge port layer cake required an additional 3mm clearance overall; I was able to gain that by printing up the random-looking spacer ring in the first pic. Once sealed up, the entire insides of the thing becomes a resonating chamber for the little speaker; the difference in sound is amazing once you tighten the pommel ring down. In this case, that perfboard PCB actually works in my favor. 



And here's the money shot; this lightsaber has e-gyro controller with flash-on-clash, motion sound effects, fully-programmable sound library, 18650 power source with more than 2X the power density of original, and charge/BMS circuitry the original design never even thought of. As a bonus, it works perfectly with the 8.4V charger I already have for my bicycle headlight.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in XINGTONGZHILIAN Brand Black PLA, 0.16LH, 60mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion, Supports enabled/touching buildplate, infill set manually to 1mm grid, 1.2mm wall/top/bottom thickness, with combing & bridging mode enabled and part rotated to benefit bridging; otherwise all Cura defaults. Total time: Fuck if I know...

mnem
And my son is more excited aboot it than I am...

[mnementh]

   https://a360.co/37CE8El   

Today's Project: A23 Battery Holder Shell and Sleeve for Cheap RF Active Probe


Recently I purchased a cheap FET probe based on this article from ELEKTOR and  discussed here on eevBlog; all the boring details of that adventure, with pics of the final product in use are in these threads:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3621622/#msg3621622

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg3622871/#msg3622871

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hi-z-probe-for-50-ohm-spectrum-analyzer/msg3623444/#msg3623444

Thinking myself pretty clever, I contrived to design a shell for it which includes a holder for A23 car remote battery while it was on its way to me; however, testing once I had it in hand showed that the ~20mA current draw of the device does suck that battery down pretty quick. 

However, the probe is still quite usable with this battery, which is readily and cheaply available at Dollarama and Amazon, and the integrated design makes it mucho convenient for occasional use, especially with the outer sleeve to protect delicate pogo pins.

   https://www.ebay.com/itm/332393676082

I ordered from the above link for aboot $20 delivered; I bought the probe and a 300mm soldered-shield RG174 SMA cable recommended by the designer, 60dbm. The eBay listing still shows his old design, which is green PCB and does not have the gimmick cap as per the original Elektor article; this is what arrived.



I figured that since I have no intention of ever putting this away with a battery in it, a switch was just an invitation to be stoopit and do so anyways; so decided to apply KISS principle and make popping the battery in/out super-easy. I thought I was quite clever when it popped right in and held in place with the (+) peg in a cup in the battery contact exactly as intended. The 3DP part is made with a matching indentation to make this possible.

Several iterations took me to the current design which revolves around an A23 cell; as part of that I added  this delicious emerald green LED which made a very usable gas gauge with considerable difference between ~7V (the VReg's cutout voltage) and 12.5V as measured on a brammy new battery. Additional current draw was only 100uA at 12.5V applied, right down to ~40uA at 6-7V.



Adding it was dead-easy with a 0603 resistor and some creative soldering. Here you can also see how I leveraged the mass of the SMA connector to serve as anchor for the batt (-) spring.



Here I've printed up the last parts and made a battery terminal to match; you can also see the little dimple I designed into the side of the shell as a window for the LED.





And here it is in the storage sleeve.

ZIP package below includes both STL and .F3D files so you can you can conveniently print directly as-is or remix as needed.

This fits the new, blue version of this probe/PCB as shown above pretty snugly. PCB dimensions are 9mm W x 1.6mm thick exactly; approx 57mm long not including the SMA connector. I don't know if it will fit the old green version; the cutouts for that cap and diode in the battery compartment are specific to the blue one.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in FlashForge Brand Blue PLA, 0.16LH, 60mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion, Supports enabled/touching buildplate, infill set manually to 1mm grid, 1.2mm wall/top/bottom thickness, with combing & bridging mode enabled and part rotated to benefit bridging; otherwise all Cura defaults.

Protection sleeve printed with 3mm BRIM adhesion as part was printed vertical orientation; supports enabled everywhere for battery compartment.  Body takes approx 25 min, inner cover approx 10 min, protection sleeve approx 2 hours.   

mnem
 

[Kean]

ZIP package below includes both STL and .F3D files so you can you can conveniently print directly as-is or remix as needed.

Thanks for posting that.  I asked a few hours ago in the Hi-Z probe thread if you could share the files.   

I think mine may be the green version (purchased 2018), so I'll check and if needed modify and post an updated F3D (with your permission).
It won't happen in the next few days though, as I'm WFH (Sydney lockdown) and all my RF gear and 3D printers are at the office.

[mnementh]

No prob. Your request was why I posted both.

I'm still using the "Free Hobbyist License" version of Frustion360; I don't believe that allows any of the collaborative features to be turned on. Or at least, I haven't figured out how. 

mnem
 

[Kean]

I'm still using the "Free Hobbyist License" version of Frustion360; I don't believe that allows any of the collaborative features to be turned on. Or at least, I haven't figured out how. 

OK, so when you choose the share public link option there is no option to allow downloads?
(As per attached image)

[mnementh]

Confirmed. Sub only. 

mnem
*cue embarrassing "wah-wah-wahhhh...!!!" sound now...*

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #207: Tool Caddy Insert

      https://a360.co/3Az6xYf

Today's project is this little fitted insert to produce some semblance of order in my desktop tool catchall. This had a similar insert I printed aboot a year ago; it didn't self-support properly and eventually fell apart. Then I took my 6 most-used mini-drivers and put them in that bit of CNC aluminum and... well, time for a revisit.

Printing this one at 0.20LH to make the walls a little smoother; this will make it a 23 hour print. Should be done ~11AM tomorrow.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in FlashForge Brand Blue PLA, 0.20LH, 60mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion, no supports, infill set manually to 2mm grid, .8mm wall/top/bottom thickness, with combing set to ALL, bridging mode enabled and part rotated to benefit bridging; otherwise all Cura defaults. Total time: 23 Hours.

mnem
it goes 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round...

[Canis Dirus Leidy]

OK, Google. How to stop screaming? 3D printed 2.2 kW spindle mount for CNC3020 in action.

[beanflying]

OK, Google. How to stop screaming? 3D printed 2.2 kW spindle mount for CNC3020 in action.

Well sort of ok when you read down the comments it is a prototype prior to making an Aluminium one. The stupid is really there is no tool that won't deflect or twist the frame of the 3020 into a pretzel that needs more than a few hundred watts before you get to how much deflection and acceleration issues you generate on the gantry with that lump. 

[mnementh]

Yeah, this reminds me of a review I saw of a PCB CNC machine that was made out of laser-cut lauan plywood. No matter how good the software is, that was a master-class in being politic. 

I did the same "prototype it in plastic" thing on my e-Bike a few months ago:

   

I used circular pattern in frustion360 today...

mnem
*rollin'...*

[Canis Dirus Leidy]

Soldering wire dispenser with battery powered DC motor. Assembly video from author:


Thingiverse page with STL files.

[beanflying]

Not sure I am quite ready to abandon the sometimes painful STL's yet but for new designs it makes sense and it seems their days are numbered FINALLY

Fusion based but most of the points are relevant regardless of CAD package.

[xrunner]

Not sure I am quite ready to abandon the sometimes painful STL's yet but for new designs it makes sense and it seems their days are numbered FINALLY

Fusion based but most of the points are relevant regardless of CAD package.

Thanks. I had heard of 3MF but if this is "the future" fine. I just opened F360, hadn't used it in a while so it updated itself. Expected save as .stl to be gone but it's still there. Not sure why the video title had "Save as STL is gone!" maybe it was just a phrase to draw in viewers.

However, I opened a previous design of mine, saved it as .3mf, and it opened in Cura OK (set down to the lower left corner but not a problem at all). Sliced and diced same as usual. So sure, why not transition over from now on? I do sometimes hack up a model in Tinkercad from an .stl, but there are converters out there to go back and forth. Onward into the future ...

[beanflying]

Not sure I am quite ready to abandon the sometimes painful STL's yet but for new designs it makes sense and it seems their days are numbered FINALLY

Fusion based but most of the points are relevant regardless of CAD package.

Thanks. I had heard of 3MF but if this is "the future" fine. I just opened F360, hadn't used it in a while so it updated itself. Expected save as .stl to be gone but it's still there. Not sure why the video title had "Save as STL is gone!" maybe it was just a phrase to draw in viewers.

However, I opened a previous design of mine, saved it as .3mf, and it opened in Cura OK (set down to the lower left corner but not a problem at all). Sliced and diced same as usual. So sure, why not transition over from now on? I do sometimes hack up a model in Tinkercad from an .stl, but there are converters out there to go back and forth. Onward into the future ...

If you haven't used Fusion for a while then you want to look at the completely revamped Mesh space. This is a good start point https://www.eevblog.com/forum/3d-printing/3d-printer-yet/msg3604371/#msg3604371 and some discussion just after it and some examples.

[mnementh]

Meh. Sounds to me (as it is the product of a committee of 3DP corps) that is is more likely intended to ultimately serve as a container for some form of DRM once it has large adoption.

Don't care ATM... I've tried both formats and Cura doesn't seem to care either. 

mnem
still Model T stage of development...

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #217: Screen Door Striker   

   

https://a360.co/39OL5TC

Just what it says; fixing the ripped screen and found I didn't have a striker for the front screen door, so it doesn't latch tight. A little measuring showed the usual ~13mm high strikers would barely catch, so designed this to fit exactly in the existing space so it butts up against the screen-door frame for strength. Took 20 minutes to get it designed and printing, including setting up the printer which was just sitting in the corner after the move. 2.2 hours and ~61¢ worth of filament.

Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in XINGTONG ZHI LIAN Brand Black PLA, 0.20LH, 60mm/s, 200°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion/supports, otherwise all Cura defaults, infill set manually to 1mm grid, 1.2mm top/bottom, 1.2mm wall thickness. Total print time: 2.2 Hours

mnem
*currently engaged in the battle of the front screen door*

[beanflying]

Make a Coffee or open a beer and spend an hour learning some of the Basics of STLs and Meshes regardless of CAD software then some well explained how to's on the FUSION mesh space 

[mnementh]

Boring Mundane Everyday Print #222: Latch Thingum for TV Wall Mount   



Bought the cheapest TV wall mount I could find on Amazon; didn't realize the "safety lock" was a stoopit screw you're supposed to screw up under the bottom rail. Decided to make this to fit; bonus, it will make these mounts fit on the rail already mounted on the wall.

If I designed it right.

We'll see; I couldn't be arsed to model the mounting bracket this is going on, so I'm 100% flying by the seat of my pants here.

   

Got the latch part right first try; the slider rod needed to be just a bit longer. Fortunately, that part only takes aboot 20 min to print.

Together, it works exactly as expected; a little pull loop of mechanic's wire and ready to go. Parts for the 2nd TV mount printing now.


Printed on my CReality CR-6SE in XINGTONG ZHI LIAN Brand Black PLA, 0.16LH, 60mm/s, 205°C/60°C Bed, no adhesion/supports, otherwise all Cura defaults, infill set manually to 1mm grid, 1.2mm top/bottom, 1.2mm wall thickness. Print time: 1.4 Hours per set; 2.7 hours total.

mnem
Yes, the wall is olive drab. Honestly, I don't mind it.

[beanflying]

And this is in part why Makerbot / Stratysys / Thingiverse are a mob of  's Completely petty