Would you trust one of these with your precious?

[vlaiv]

Apart from few superglue blemishes - it looks rather professional. It feels really solid in hand. I'm not sure how much it could hold, but I have no reservation to put smaller scopes on it.

I used couple of M5 screws and nuts and few M5 rivnuts, bunch of m5 washer,  2 springs (ones that hold my 3d printer bed - which I replaced with stronger ones) and two pieces of 6mm linear rods with 2 bushings for "sliding" action.

It will go on 3d printed Alt Az mount.

It was printed with HP PLA from Creality with 55% infill (each part in orientation that is best suited for the loads it will bear).

[Dr_Ju_ju]

 Well printed, but for longevity, I'd suggest printing in ABS, or maybe PETG...

[vlaiv]

9 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

 Well printed, but for longevity, I'd suggest printing in ABS, or maybe PETG...

I'm yet to try "advanced" materials.

I have a spool of ASA that I haven't opened yet and need to purchase other filaments to try out.

Whole odor and VACs VOCs thing got me little worried. I can actually smell HP Pla and if room is left closed (I print in small office like room) - smell can really build up.

Another thing that I'm concerned about is print surface. Currently I use glass bed (carborundum glass thing) and I've seen some accounts of PETG and ASA taking chunks of glass because they stick too well?

Looking into getting some FR4 sheets to use as print bed for those materials (I have suppliers here that sell large sheets - like 1x2 meters, and need to give them a call to see if I can order piece of such board - at least maybe a half if they don't cut to smaller size).

Edited May 6, 2023 by vlaiv
it is volatile organic compound after all :D - not sure what was A for in there

[ONIKKINEN]

Looks professional, could imagine an astro gear manufacturer stamp on the side and a 50€+ pricetag on it.

But Finnish winter eats plastic parts, especially those that are under any tension so would probably not dare use it myself. I am guessing you dont have to worry about something like that so looks good to go.

[vlaiv]

2 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

But Finnish winter eats plastic parts, especially those that are under any tension so would probably not dare use it myself. I am guessing you dont have to worry about something like that so looks good to go.

Yep, it won't get used in anywhere near as cold weather as you might experience in winter time.

[Dr_Ju_ju]

And so the expense increases....

To get away from the glass bed I'd recommend a spring steel sheet, PEI coated, and with a magnetic sheet that is adhered to the heat bet, e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284561380268?hash=item42412e13ac  

Two disadvantages, are that you lose a little in print height, and bed heating settings need readjustment, but it does make it sooo much easier with the the more trying filaments. 

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

And so the expense increases....

To get away from the glass bed I'd recommend a spring steel sheet, PEI coated, and with a magnetic sheet that is adhered to the heat bet, e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284561380268?hash=item42412e13ac  

Two disadvantages, are that you lose a little in print height, and bed heating settings need readjustment, but it does make it sooo much easier with the the more trying filaments. 

I thought about that - but what about sheet loosing magnetic properties on higher print (or rather bed) temperatures?

ASA and ABS require up to 90C bed temperature.

 

[Elp]

Looks well put together. I'd carry out some horizontal load tests on it. PLA is quite permenently elastic, any sort of pressure/tension, load or heat may warp it permenently. Although it's likely to be used at night, you only need to expose PLA to a few minutes of sunlight or close to a heater to see it warp badly (even filing it can do it). I've made light load bearing parts in PLA, clamped with 3D printed nuts and bolts but would be wary of using it to hold anything of value.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Elp

[AstroKeith]

1 hour ago, vlaiv said:

 

 

 

Apart from few superglue blemishes - it looks rather professional. It feels really solid in hand. I'm not sure how much it could hold, but I have no reservation to put smaller scopes on it.

I used couple of M5 screws and nuts and few M5 rivnuts, bunch of m5 washer,  2 springs (ones that hold my 3d printer bed - which I replaced with stronger ones) and two pieces of 6mm linear rods with 2 bushings for "sliding" action.

It will go on 3d printed Alt Az mount.

It was printed with HP PLA from Creality with 55% infill (each part in orientation that is best suited for the loads it will bear).

I've had a few items 3D printed for my workshop. Jigs etc. Mostly in PLA with similar fills.

About half have catastrophically failed after about a year or so.

[vlaiv]

7 minutes ago, AstroKeith said:

I've had a few items 3D printed for my workshop. Jigs etc. Mostly in PLA with similar fills.

About half have catastrophically failed after about a year or so.

Good to know, so definitely change of material is in order.

[Ratlet]

Looks good and like you've said you printed so the planes aren't in line with the force.

PLA isn't the ideal material as it can deform easily with heat or continuous load, but petg or asa might be a better choice.  Not massively familiar with different materials but an enclosure is pretty useful for petg and others.  The other advantage is you can fit an extractor easily enough to an enclosure.  IKEA lack tables make an excellent choice for a cheap frame.  I've had some stinky pla (esun Matt black) which I couldn't stand being in the room with whilst printing.  Smelled like burning tyres.  Bathroom extractor to the back of the enclosure and a vent would nuke that though 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

1 hour ago, vlaiv said:

sheet loosing magnetic properties on higher print (or rather bed) temperatures?

Not a problem, I print some at an initial temperature of 100C, and then drop back to 80~90C

[vlaiv]

1 hour ago, Ratlet said:

IKEA lack tables make an excellent choice for a cheap frame.

I started a build of one - but I'm mid way through it at the moment. Not sure when I'll put some effort into finishing it though.

Need to redo 12V power supply. It's there to power fan (I planned to do hepa filter + activated charcoal to recirculate air inside of enclosure) and lighting and to provide additional power for BananaPI for Klipper.

I'm not overly happy with wiring and switches (I managed to mess up wiring so only output for BananaPI is working at the moment). I'll split it into two units. Main unit that provides 12V for lot and then "breakout" box with indicator leds and switches for fan and led lighting.

 

[Ratlet]

39 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I started a build of one - but I'm mid way through it at the moment. Not sure when I'll put some effort into finishing it though.

Need to redo 12V power supply. It's there to power fan (I planned to do hepa filter + activated charcoal to recirculate air inside of enclosure) and lighting and to provide additional power for BananaPI for Klipper.

I'm not overly happy with wiring and switches (I managed to mess up wiring so only output for BananaPI is working at the moment). I'll split it into two units. Main unit that provides 12V for lot and then "breakout" box with indicator leds and switches for fan and led lighting.

 

I do like the activated charcoal recirculation idea.  I used it once for another hobby...

[Ratlet]

These would be great I think for mounting stuff to dovetails where the weight might be a little less extreme.  I'm thinking mini pc's and guidescopes. 

[skybadger]

You know you can already get them for very low prices from FLO ? Come with mounts for usb hubs and  mini pcs.

[skybadger]

But looks great, didn't say that. Nicely done. 

[vlaiv]

4 minutes ago, skybadger said:

You know you can already get them for very low prices from FLO ? Come with mounts for usb hubs and  mini pcs.

Price of this one (3d printer excluded) - is probably at least 5-10 less than brand name vixen dovetail clamp (with shipping included).

This is just one piece of larger project that I'm hoping to put together - Alt-Az mount and 80mm refractor - all 3d printed (well, most parts, not all, whatever I can source easily - I'll use, like aluminum tubing for OTA and such).

While all that is easily bought - there is some satisfaction in making it and also - if it can be made cheaper, I guess some people will benefit from that.

 

[kbrown]

My concern would be that if you tighten it in let's say cold and then it gets exposed to warmer temperatures it might warp due to the tension and plastic getting a bit softer and you suddenly loose the grip...

[Vash]

@vlaiv sorry to revive an old thread.

Did you ever test the clamp or make any different versions. Did you make any progress with your alt az mount/scope project? 

I am about to get a printer and plan to try and make a vixen clamp + alt az mount for a small refractor. 

[MartianHill]

“Would you trust one of these with your precious?”

Sorry, but no 🥴

[tomato]

It looks good and I’m sure it is well designed. I think it will be fine for the size of the intended scope but I confess I wouldn’t trust a big scope on a scaled up version. 
 

But then I’m an old school metal worker who also dug a cubic metre out for my pier foundation.

[vlaiv]

6 hours ago, Vash said:

@vlaiv sorry to revive an old thread.

Did you ever test the clamp or make any different versions. Did you make any progress with your alt az mount/scope project? 

I am about to get a printer and plan to try and make a vixen clamp + alt az mount for a small refractor. 

No problem what so ever.

I did not really test the clamp, but I did find a slight issue with it - that might or might not be issue in real use. It actually has two "issues" - none of them is real issue until it proves to be issue in use.

First is clearance of the clamping side. As designed it sits flush with rest of the clamp, and I'm afraid if I bolt down the thing to a mount - it won't move freely to perform its clamping action.

There should really be at least some designed clearance for it to move freely.

Second issue is the fact that I used springs around securing nuts instead around linear rods that act as guides:

Both springs and nut are right handed and when this is the case - they can sometimes "mesh" (spring gets caught on thread if thread is coarse enough and spring is fine enough). Ideally, you want different handedness of bolt and spring to avoid this or just put spring around smooth part and not threaded one.

Other than that, as was pointed out in this thread - this is best printed out of some other material - Namely ABS or ASA.

I've since started working with other materials and I'll probably reprint this in ASA at some point. Only drawback that I've found so far with this PLA - is creep. Other than that, it is very mechanically sound and does not deteriorate. There is small amount of creep and I had to re - tighten bolts that hold the thing together after a few months - nothing major, like quarter of the turn - but it shows that creep is there.

I would not leave scope for prolonged time sitting on the plate - but during single session - I think it will be just fine. Just take scope of the mount after the session to avoid prolonged loads on such piece. ASA / ABS don't have this issue (nor PC for that matter, but it is much harder to print - maybe only Prusa PC blend could be printed on my machine at the moment).

As far as mount goes - I managed to acquire all parts necessary. Bearings, aluminum tubing, large PTFE washers that will be used for friction adjustment, some springs and so on, and I've started design work.

Here is where I am at the moment:

Horizontal arm of T-mount:

Left side is where counterweight rod will screw in (I already designed M6 blind rivet nut place to accept M6 threaded rod) and right side is where clamp will be bolted down:

All the bearings are in assembly there and I'm just missing friction clutch part of mechanism there and attachment to vertical piece.

Similarly, I did vertical column of T-mount:

It again has 3/8 UNC (for photo tripod) blind rivet nut on the bottom side and all the bearings. I just need top piece that will hold horizontal arm (T joint) and friction clamp.

Not sure when I'll find time to finish design and start building as I started some work on printer itself.

I did Y axis linear rails mod and now want to fit cable drag chains for cable management and waiting some parts from AliExpress to do Core XZ conversion on my Ender3 (fun part is that I'm designing and printing all bits myself :D).

 

[Vash]

Thanks so much for the write up and your mount deign looks really great. 

I am planning to use ASA to make an alt az mount and clamp for an ultra light grab and go rig for a small 66mm WO refractor. 

 

In time I also plan on making a larger alt az for my larger refractor and newtonian. Luckily I have have access to large mills and lathes at work, but that is a future project for now!