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A (not quite) Useless Machine

clicky-machine-01

I started this project with a goal in mind: test microswitches. Specifically, test the brand of microswitch that I chose for an exhibit I worked on last year. When I was younger, my dad used to have a subscription to Consumer Reports and I remember years ago reading about how they tested things, like using a machine that opened and closed laptops repeatedly to see how many times it could be done before it broke or wore out. One of my goals is to do that sort of thing, but with things we build for exhibits. This is a start. (And yes, I’ve considered just buying/building a robot arm to do these things… I may still do that!)

Meanwhile, since I’m 3D printing again (a lot!) I figured I’d design and print the parts for this machine. Not all the parts… some parts are scrap wood, and (in a recent version) home-made recycled HDPE. The first iteration was a total hack job, and it worked. Sort of. I get in this habit of trying to do press-fit parts, but then I remember that’s a bad idea, so… upgrades happen.

clicky-machine-02

The first version used a PLA plastic arm. Eventually it started to scrape and wear away, and squeak a lot. It was annoying. (Bearings got added to a later version, along with a proper set screw.)

clicky-machine-03

One thing I found out about the cheap microswitches is that the metal arm would bend, and then stop pressing the switch. That’s no good (but good to know.) Then I found times when the switch just wouldn’t trigger the Arduino to advance. Switch failure after just a few tens of thousands of presses? Maybe.

clicky-machine-04

I also had Arduino problems! At some point the cheap eBay Arduino UNO clone from China gave up the ghost and just stopped working reliably. Then I could no longer upload code to it or connect to it at all. Replaced that too!

clicky-machine-05

I also played around with the switch angle… as demonstrated in the above and below photos. I also considered a spring-arm sort of thing the switch could ride on to allow some flex, which would be interesting, but probably less of a real-world test. Maybe.

clicky-machine-06

Here’s a video compilation of some of the testing from early on. This is when I actually thought I could just slap something together and it would work reliably. I’ve since been proven very wrong. I’ll be writing more posts about the changes this machine has gone through and where it stands today. In the meanwhile, if you check out my Instagram or Facebook account, I often post in-progress/sneak-peek photos and short videos.

Stay Tuned!

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Bolts and Such…

3D Part

I love it when a plan comes together! I also love it when you design things and then create them and they work. I like when you can design things to work with the hardware you have, or design things for specific hardware, and then order that hardware and it fits perfectly because you planned for it, and designed for it.

Spinny!

So often when building (without planning and designing) you end up grabbing whatever hardware is around and use it, and you might also grab whatever sheet material is around and use it, and you hope that the length of the hardware and the depth of the material work together, or maybe you make some deep countersink holes or make other weird decisions… When I can 3D print a part I get to choose the depth of the material, the size of the holes, etc. It’s wonderful.

Bolts!

But yeah, I really like when I can plan ahead of time for the hardware I need and then get that hardware. Also, I think I love Bolt Depot now. Prices seem good, shipping seems reasonable, and their web site is easy to use. And they package your hardware in little bags that are properly labeled and nice and clean. It’s sort of beautiful.

Spinnerator!

Oh yeah, I’ve also made good progress on my spinny button pressing thingy. And thanks to Bolt Depot I now know that I had some #8-36 bolts mixed in with my #8-32 bolts. And what!? I didn’t even know I had #8-36 bolts! Weird… Anyway, I look forward to a great hardware future.

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Kitten Safety Locks

Cabinet Lock

Our new(-ish) kitten is still getting into trouble on a daily basis, and he occasionally opens up the kitchen cabinet doors, and either crawls inside, or worse, gets into the trash can and has a good ‘ole time. Not cool, kitten! The solution was simple, those child-proof cabinet door locks. I took a quick look on Amazon and found some, but they typically come in a 12 pack or 20 pack or some other number that makes sense to put on all of your cabinets. Of course, when you’ve got a 3D printer, why bother ordering things you can just print out?

Cabinet Lock

I found Child safety lock for cabinet/cupboard on Thingiverse, printed one, and put it on the cabinet that has the trash can. Problem solved! I printed two more, one for the cabinet with the pots and pans, because who wants cat fur in their frying pan? And the third was for the cabinet where we keep the cat food. It’s probably a good idea to keep him out of that one.

Cabinet Lock

Here’s Mr. Kitten inspecting my handiwork. Or maybe he’s just trying to figure out how to get around this terrible device. This is one of those things where I probably would have enjoyed 3D modeling this part, but I was able to find one someone already created, and best of all, it was created in OpenSCAD, which was nice because I could easily alter it, and I could learn from looking at code someone else wrote. Win all around.

Cabinet Lock

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Milling (home made) HDPE

mm-helmet-cnc-20

I’m still (slowly) working through using the Little CNC Milling Machine. I (mostly) successfully milled a PCB, but before I did that I managed to grab a piece of HDPE and mill something.

CNC HDPE

I started with a vector file of one of the Milwaukee Makerspace logos, taking just the (“new style”) helmet and I brought that into MakerCAM to create the cutting paths. I created a pocket for the inside part, and used a profile for the cut to remove the part from the material. Since I was just using one bit I exported both jobs into one file so it could run it all at once, since I didn’t need to change tools.

CNC HDPE

I then used GrblController to connect to the machine and send the G-code needed to cut the part. I’m still not convinced everything is working as it should be, because either I keep doing the math wrong (possible) or the machine seems to step down farther than I expect it to. More experimentation is needed.

CNC HDPE

I secure the HDPE piece down to a piece of MDF that is attached to the bed of the machine. The bed is a piece of Aluminum and I’d rather dig into the MDF if I go too deep than carve into the Aluminum. I’m still not totally happy with what I’ve got going on with the bed, but I’ll work on that another time.

CNC HDPE

Let the milling begin! Again, it seems like the machine was going a bit deeper than I estimated. I’ll have to work on getting the speeds & feeds more dialed in, but that’s pretty much a true statement with every CNC machine & material combo, right?

CNC HDPE

Here’s our final piece. I made the pocket deep enough that you can actually see some light coming through. Nice! There’s one little bad spot around the outside cut. I should have added tabs to hold the piece down, since it shifted a little when it was finally cut all the way through and the bit took a bite out of the material.

CNC HDPE

In a way, this is an update to my original HDPE milling experiment, which is fitting, because I used a Shapeoko the first time. Now, when the Shapeoko was first presented on Kickstarter it was presented as a CNC mill that would cost around $300. Well, it ended up casting quite a bit more, but six years later we’ve got the (under) $300 CNC milling machine you can have at home. Yes, the work area is a little small, but we’re going to rectify that in the future.

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The Pencil Sharpener in the Basement

Pencil Sharpener

It seems like most of the houses I’ve lived in had this feature… you could go into the basement with a pencil and there would be a pencil sharpener attached to the wall (or a wooden post) and you could sharpen a pencil.

This “feature” was something I just expected, and when I went downstairs into my basement (where I already spend a lot of time because my workshop is down there) I realized there was no pencil sharpener! Then I thought about it, and remember that (even though we’ve lived here for over three years) there was no pencil sharpener in the basement! Well, there was, but it was a crappy electric one that fell apart and then I fixed a few years ago. Oddly enough my mind just filled in the spot that says “there is a pencil sharpener on the wall in the basement” even though there wasn’t.

So I asked people… Have you lived in a house where there’s a pencil sharpener mounted to a wall in the basement? And over 100 people on Facebook replied.

I distinctly remember the previous house we lived in had one. I didn’t take it with us because we didn’t own the house, and I just figured it was a “feature” of the house, like a stationary tub or whatever. You wouldn’t take the stationary tub when you moved, would you?

Doctor Prodoehl has a pencil case with many pencils (she prefers the Mirado Black Warrior) and she has tiny pencil sharpeners that are portable. I wanted a classic wall mounted pencil sharpener in the basement, dammit! So I ordered one…

I found the X-ACTO KS Manual Pencil Sharpener, Metal Finish for $9.99 on Amazon Prime. I had it in two days. It’s glorious.

Pencil Sharpener

Now, when I decided to mount the pencil sharpener to the wall (or a wooden post) I had some problems. I mean, where should it go? I didn’t want it in the way, but wanted it accessible. I opted for a wall near our “storage” part of the basement. Here’s where it gets tricky/weird/problematic.

First of all, the sharpener came with two screws but the base has three holes. Weird. I then drilled two holes, screwed in one screws, then the second screw, and the head snapped off the second screw. Argh! This was okay though, because I then realized the spot I had chosen didn’t even allow for a brand new pencil to be sharpened because it was too close to a shelf to get a pencil into the sharpener!

I then drilled more holes, and moved the pencil sharpener to the right a bit. Plenty of room for pencils! I also used some larger drywall screws. It’s in there good, and should remain in place… until we move, when I remove it to take it with us. Just in case.

As for that photo above, yes… you can see the word “BiBle.” on the wall. Which is pretty weird. I mean, I’ve never noticed it before, but it is in a darker corner of the basement, and I’ve never really shined a bright light on that wall, or used a camera flash on that wall. What does it mean!? Hell if I know!