Making a 3D printed bracket to the focus motor

[Astrofriend]

My 3D printer is working hard. I'm now making the third vesion of my bracket that shall hold my focus motor in place. Narrow space around it and complicated geometry. This is how far I have come:

http://www.astrofriend.eu/3d-printing/focus-motor-bracket/01-focus-motor-bracket.html

If I'm lucky maybe I had it completed tomorrow.

/Lars

[tooth_dr]

Hi Lars.

Very interesting as I’m about to do the same!

Would you mind sharing the pictures here on the forum?  

 

Thanks

Adam. 

[Astrofriend]

Hi Adam,

What kind of focuser do you have ?

My plan is to have the TSL file for download when I feel it's good enough. I updated today and yesterday with more photos and text.

Now I have to order the timing belt and adapt the dimensions of the bracket to the length of the belt.

Lars

[tooth_dr]

5 hours ago, Astrofriend said:

Hi Adam,

What kind of focuser do you have ?

My plan is to have the TSL file for download when I feel it's good enough. I updated today and yesterday with more photos and text.

Now I have to order the timing belt and adapt the dimensions of the bracket to the length of the belt.

Lars

I was just figured it was more in keeping with the ethos of the forum to share all our images here. Then they will always be available for others to see just in case your links go dead.

[Len1257]

Your 3D printer model should take into account the difference in stiffness between the steel and plastic materials. Maybe build in some linking fillets and webs instead of making it thicker. I rarely go thicker than 6mm. Most of the interior will be infill (use Gyroid for mechanical strength) anyway. Depends on the forces being applied of course. Fasteners can be problematic too. While I use tapped or threaded holes all the while for box lids, PCB mounts etc they are not the best solution in plastic for mechanical strength. I would build in some hex recesses for steel nuts. Some folks just melt nuts in but I find they tend to drift and difficult to keep straight.  I use Tinkercad for all my 3D builds. Dead easy to use once you get the hang of subtractive construction.

[Astrofriend]

@ Adam:

Many years ago I posted my photos on different forums, not only astronomy. But photos without text is not very interesting, and make a copy of my homepage to a forum will not work. It's not possible to edit the text after a couples of days if I find something wrong with it or have to updated it. That was the main reason to spend all this time on my homepage. But I will not live forever, but then maybe the information is too old to have any value.

 

Yes there are so many things to think about and take care about in the construction. Gyroid is the fill I use most and maybe the best. Anyway, I have exiting times here for the moment, so much I can do.

 

BR
Lars

[Astrofriend]

Here comes more pictures, it's now the version 3 I'm working on. It took much longer time, 6 days with work until late night, but now the printer is working on it. It's all the small details that take so much time and the lack of experience of CAD drawing. Very often it complain of broken lines and it's hard to find when the structure is complex.

Look at page 4 to 6 for the last details:
http://www.astrofriend.eu/3d-printing/focus-motor-bracket/01-focus-motor-bracket.html

When this bracket is finished I start drawing tube rings to the guider camera and lens.

/Lars

[tooth_dr]

On 10/01/2021 at 16:47, Astrofriend said:

Here comes more pictures, it's now the version 3 I'm working on. It took much longer time, 6 days with work until late night, but now the printer is working on it. It's all the small details that take so much time and the lack of experience of CAD drawing. Very often it complain of broken lines and it's hard to find when the structure is complex.

Look at page 4 to 6 for the last details:
http://www.astrofriend.eu/3d-printing/focus-motor-bracket/01-focus-motor-bracket.html

When this bracket is finished I start drawing tube rings to the guider camera and lens.

/Lars

IKEA tape measure  Swede to the core

Edited January 13, 2021 by tooth_dr

[Astrofriend]

What could a man do without the IKEA tape. You could get them all over the world. Now I'm almost finished with the two pulleys, I have got the timing belt, the focus motor bracket is ready for a test drive, I'm printing the last part of the brackets to the guide camera and lens now. Tomorrow some test and after that a test outdoors.

/Lars

[Astrofriend]

Ikea tape doesn't solve all problem. I had developed a new version, 4.1. This construction is much more stifer. Now the backlash should be much less compare to earlier version.

The last changes, page 8:
http://www.astrofriend.eu/3d-printing/focus-motor-bracket/08-focus-motor-bracket.html

It needs some practice to work with 3Dprinted plastic, later all this supports to get it strong enough will be there from the start.

/Lars