Hi everybody,
Last week I worked on the structure for the next prototype.
The first model, which I finished last Monday was designed to fit the maximum printing dimensions of an Ultimaker 2 printer (with some margin). This is somewhat smaller than the current prototype and designed in only 2 parts. However, after taking my model to the printer, I realised that the real bounding box was in fact significantly smaller than the one specified. I then tried my luck on 3Dhubs.com but I received a message the next day saying that the print failed... so that was the end of that. I decided to enquire about the price of printing my model on an SLS machine (nylon powder) as I feared that I wouldn't have any better luck if I tried a different FDM printer (ABS or PLA). The quote was scary to say the least, so it was back to the drawing board (Fusion 360).
This is what it looked like:
I started from scratch but this time I designed everything to be different parts. The top, legs and spacers for the base would be 3D printed and the two flat parts for the base would be laser cut. This also meant that I could go back to the original diameter size which I hadn't been completely happy to change.
You can see it here:
The parts will press-fit together. I designed the pegs with the help of this article: http://makezine.com/2015/07/22/tips-3d-printing-press-fit-parts/ I won't know how well this will work until I receive the 3D print, but I can always redo the pegs for a tighter/looser fit.
Because of the way SLS pricing works, I had to assemble the parts in a way that they fit into the minimum volume possible. This is what the STL that I sent looks like:
While I wait for the parts to arrive, I will redesign the pads and assemble the cables. I will update on that this week.
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