Tag Archives: solidworks

3D Printing Projects 201502 – Rostock MAX tool-less home adjust cheapskate plates

Posted on by
Reply

IMG_5344The original home switch dog on the Rostock Max was a long screw that wobbled and interfered with the other pieces and didn’t consistently engage the limit switch. You need a screwdriver to tweak it. We replaced it with a nice engaging, consistent ledge. While we were at it we redesigned the whole cheap skate bearing block into a “banjo” complete with toothed belt clamps. The number of parts was significantly reduced as well. The best part is no tools are required to adjust the home dog location. A screw is used as a micro-adjust and the nut is trapped in a knob. The ribs of the knob are held in place with a spring printed in the housing.

The ‘banjo’ was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS on the Makerbot Replicator. Each axis is color-coded to match the belt tensioners. In this version the screws enter from the inside making the tightening clumsy as your screwdriver interferes with the rods and extruder. In a later design version the ‘banjo’ is modified to trap the nut in a hex socket and tightening is accomplished from the outside with no interference.

3D Printing Projects 201401 – Printing Machine Part

Posted on by
Reply

cpptA business acquaintance had a used but significant piece of equipment in their printing business and needed a replacement part. Using a picture with the part next to a scale the picture was imported into Design Spark Mechanical and the 2D profile was traced and then extruded to the correct depths. DS-Mechanical worked quite well for scaling, tracing, extruding, and exporting the stl file.

The part was designed in metric and printed in ABS on a Makerbot Replicator.

3D Printing Projects 201334 – Door Knob Keys reminder

Posted on by
Reply

3dkeysSomeone was using a post-it note to remind themselves not to lock the keys in their office. We came up with a catchy solution. The round ring provides just enough friction that an adhesive was not needed. No sanding either!

The part was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS.

3D Printing Projects 201333 – UNEF Threaded extension

Posted on by
Reply

MB_3420A friend of min was having trouble sourcing quickly a fitting for a faucet project. The unit had a 3/4 – 20 UNEF (extra fine) thread. We looked up the threads specs and printed a couple of trials. The threads engage nice in general. There is a little swelling at the base where the part sits on the heated bed.

The pipe was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS.

3D Printing Projects 201332 – Rostock MAX upgrades – fan plugin

Posted on by
Reply

MB_RMfanThe fans for the Rostock come with tiny micro Molex connectors. The spacing is smaller than standard 0.1 inch header spacing. Wanting a sturdy end to the power festoon to the hot end a block was developed that engaged into the top mounting ring. Besides dowels that plug into the existing top plate a round cavity allows for a commercial strain relief to bring the power wire from the stationary part. A couple of square holes allow for plugging in of the micro Molex connectors. Wire was used to make pins guided by holds printed in the block. A groove to interlock the connector orientation was printed as well.

The block was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS.  Now the fans can be plugged in and the connection of the power wire to the hot end securely fastened.

3D Printing Projects 201331 – Rostock MAX updgrades – cooling

Posted on by
3

MB_RMcoolingIn getting the parameters dialed in for printing PLA a cooling ring is envisaged to cool the extruded material as it leaves the hot end. This mounts to the bottom of the Rostock Max extrusion platform. Internal baffles and differing size exit holes work to equalize the pressure to make a 360 degree cooling zone. A 25mm fan blows air from the side and gets directed to the printing interface. Eventually a set of clips will be integrated to clip on the axles of the delta unit.

The shroud was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS.  Once the shroud was in place a connection had to be developed for powering the fan. See later post.

3D Printing Projects 201330 – Remade Golf Ball Retriever

Posted on by
1

MB_GBretriever2A friend had a couple of golf ball retrievers that had aged and deteriorated. They liked the performance but of course were broken beyond functionality. 3D printing to the rescue. As the design proceeded we realized the assembly could be printed as one pre-assembled piece. Other features included a flared pin to hold the inner ring from falling out and a hex recess for accepting a nut for the mounting MB_GBretrieverscrew. To get  a good pin some sacrificial supports were developed that were removed after printing.

The assembly was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS.  The Maker community has requested it be posted to Thingiverse. That is the plan but if you’re itching to try it you can download the .STL here. It is also the signature application for a Maker event at the Cumberland Business Incubator Labville. Read about it here.

3D Printing Projects 201323 – Keyless door entry clamp

Posted on by
Reply

doorclamp3Security is always an issue but occasionally you want to have your place of business more inviting. A simple clamp pinches the crash bar closed thereby temporarily unlocking the door. Having done this numerous times the trick to having it work the first time is to make sure the unit is not too thick and the fingers will fit between the backside of the crash bar and the window of the door. The nice bright yellow alerts someone that the clamp is on. In this case we personalized it for the venue so it doesn’t walk off.

The part was developed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS on the Makerbot in 3 hours, 5 minutes.

3D Printing Projects 201322 – WOW cookie press

Posted on by
1

TPM Technologies Cookie PressOn the heels of customized dog biscuit cutters the humans felt left out. We developed a series of cookie presses to turn a dough ball into flat form for baking. I developed them for my Mom so they are labeled as such. For other people you turn them upside down and then they are WOW presses. Various shapes impart designs into the dough. The parts were developed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS. The handles are printed separately.

3D Printing Projects 201321 – Wide Angle Lense Mount for iPad

Posted on by
Reply

makayama mountFor running Skype and having a conference with many people in the room it is handy to have a wide angle lens. The Makayama iPad attachment has a lens mounting for the back camera but not the front. The Makayama iPad accessory holds lenses over the built-in cameras of the iPad and provides attachment points for a tripod and lights and microphones. The tripod mount is the standard 1/4″-20 mount and the light and microphone attachment points mimc the “hot-shoe” style mount of most SLR’s. We wanted a “quick” clip to put the lens in place and then be able to quickly remove it. This clip holds the 37 mm wide angle lens against the iPad screen. The back of the clip engages with the bumps on the back of the Makayama unit to keep the lens in place and aligned over the iPad’s front camera. Now the wide angle can pick up everyone in the room.

The clip was designed in SolidWorks and printed in ABS. The clip has extended the capability of the lens and our Studio YouTube-Mobile unit.