3d design – ei8htohms

printrbot GO – Frankenstein switch

Let me just be up front and say that this little mod does not warrant an entire blog post. The good news is that you're not paying by the word, so drop a complaint in the box on your way out if you must. So it seemed clear that a modern PC power switch was looking more and more out of place on my steampunk monstrosity and someone on PrintrbotTalk forums suggested a knife switch might be the way to go. Although I really liked the idea of finding a genuine antique knife switch, they were Read more [...]

actual useful things

No, I have not given up on or completed my printrbot GO build, I've just been too distracted by making stuff to focus on it too much lately. I did purchase the printrboard LCD panel upgrade when it was briefly available and I've been working intermittently on adding that my GO, but that will get its own post (or most of one anyway) once I get that installed. I've also promised myself that the LCD panel will by the final major upgrade/mod before I tear it apart and stain it. As much as I am now Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (6)

Don't just jump in here, start from Part 1! Now it's time for the big finish. For our final decorative flourish, we're going to put a large rounded corner on each of the three surfaces with screw holes in them, with the radius of the corner determined by how close the screw hole is to the edge. To do this we'll need to learn a little about rotate_extrude however, one of the niftier if also more confusing OpenSCAD functions I've had the pleasure of using. And by the way, if you know a little something Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (5)

Don't just jump in here, start from Part 1! So we've basically got fillet edges on our piece now, but you'll notice that the actual corners are sharp and not so great looking. To make the corners look consistent with the edges, we'll need to subtract the exterior of one quarter of a sphere from the corner in the same way we subtracted the exterior of one quarter of a cylinder to get the fillet edge. The code to do such a thing looks like this: difference () { translate([-pad, -pad, -pad]) Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (4)

Don't just jump in here, start from Part 1! So now that we have some screw holes in our protector, it's time to make it pretty. As with many things in life, the last few steps that take the design from functional to aesthetically pleasing are a lot more work than the ones preceding them, but perhaps more fun to see come to life also. A fillet is essentially a curved edge. As far as OpenSCAD is concerned, it's helpful to think of creating this curved edge by subtracting from our object one Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (3)

Don't just jump in here, start from Part 1! So far we've got a single object in place with two tweakable variables and a little bit of basic OpenSCAD code under our belt. It's time now to learn some new commands and a very handy new concept: the module. We'll use rotate, union and a module call to add screw holes with head recesses to our drawing. The first thing we'll want to do is define a few new variables related to our screw dimensions and placement. Not knowing what kind of screws Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (2)

Don't just jump in here, start from Part 1! By the way, if you're already convinced and serious about learning OpenSCAD, just Google "OpenSCAD tutorial" and you'll find some great options out there. This is as much an exercise for me in "learning by teaching" as anything else. That said, anyone still left in the room can join me in making a "corner protector" (I seem to sometimes call it a "corner support" without rhyme or reason). So to start making our corner protector, open OpenSCAD Read more [...]

corner protectors in OpenSCAD (1)

I keep calling these GO corners because my plan is to print them out and attach them to the corners to make the Printrbot GO a little more travel sturdy. The truth of the matter is though, not even having the kit in my hands, much less the assembled bot, I have no idea if they'll fit. Not knowing the size that will be aesthetically pleasing relative to the overall size of the "suitcase", the thickness that will be required to protect any switches or protrusions, how far from the edge the screws Read more [...]