Foot Switch

[bmac2]

I have (had) a foot switch that I don’t use often but I do like it if I’m using my little tankless compressor with my airbrush. The other day after using it when I unplugged the compressor it shattered like glass and the socket pulled right out of the base. When I took it apart I noticed a crack in the pedal and it snapped like a dry twig. I was thinking of gathering up the pieces and epoxying it back together but the plastic this is just too brittle to bother.

I have a spool of PETG (polyethylene terephthalate, glycol modified for the scrabble players out there) and thought it would be easier to just print a new one. It took me a while to get PETG dialed in on my machine but once I dropped the speed way down (50mm/s) and the temperatures up (nozzle 225c, bed 85c) it prints just like PLA . . . . just way slower.

Got the body printed up, I’d left the strain relief as a separate piece because I wasn’t sure exactly where I wanted it and epoxied into place before installing the switch and wiring.

Now I don’t how I managed to do it but I got the bump that hits the switch on the wrong side. Thankfully there’s a lot of room in there so I just printed another "bump" and epoxied it in place.

All buttoned up I’ve got a new foot switch that I won’t use much but hey I got a chance to play with my printer.

 

[XD351]

Nice repair !
I haven’t got around to using petg yet but give me time !

 

[Cogsy]

And it's so much prettier than the old one! I love being able to repair things that just a few years ago (for me) would have been impossible. So far, the money I've outlaid on a mill, 2 lathes, bandsaw, grinder, 3D printer, etc. has saved me at least $400 in repairs...

 

[ddmckee54]

Cogsy:

So far you bought a mill, 2 lathes, bandsaw, grinder and a 3D printer? And you've saved at least $400 in repairs? Your Return On Investment is probably a little higher than it is for the rest of us.

Don

 

[bmac2]

Cogsy, I’m not sure but I think that’s about the same return as I get on my savings, after the banks service charges.

 

[bmac2]

The place I get my filament from has 10m sample packets for $2.69 CAD. Great for when I want to try something without having to commit to buying an entire spool. PETG can get very stringy so ramp up the retraction and doesn’t work well with supports as EVERYTHING sticks. The way I work around it is to just build the supports into the model in a way that I can cut them out.

Once you get it dialed in it prints great. This is an adapter with 1mm internal and external threads I printed to use a 18650 lithium battery salvaged from an old laptop in one of those cheap LED flash lights.

As I get older especially when I try working with surface mount components I need a lot of light on a small area and those little LED flash lights eat AAA batteries for breakfast.

 

[RonW]

A 5 volt DC "Wall Wart" power supply from a surplus store or your own "junk box(s)" would work just as well and you wouldn't need the mill, 2 lathes, band saw, grinder and a 3D printer etc. and hours of frustrating entertainment to get seven LED's to show light in the right place. The charger you use for charging the lithium battery would probably do the job if asked.

 

[bmac2]

“hours?” I found the adapter on Thingiverse and thought it was a cool idea. Copy, paste, slice, print, done. Granted a flashlight can be replaced by a table lamp but when I already have supply, multimeter, scope, freq counter, function gen etc. probes running all over the bench the last thing I want is another cord tangling in there.

And hell, I’m retired. I get up, have breakfast, tsk tsk the morning traffic reports while having my morning cupa, and spend the rest of the day trying to scratch whatever itch amuses me at the time.

Cogsy has 2 lathes I only have 1. . . . . 2 bandsaws, 2 drill presses, and 2 bench grinders, but only 1 lathe.

 

[ddmckee54]

I think we're all tool junkies.

Do they have a 12 step program for that? Maybe we need to start a new forum?

Hi... My name is Don and I'm a tool junky? Nahhh… Nobody would go ever to the meetings, we're all too busy in the shop.

Seriously bmac2, that's some nice work on those threads. What did you print it with and at what settings?

Don

 

[awake]

Cogsy has 2 lathes I only have 1. . . . . 2 bandsaws, 2 drill presses, and 2 bench grinders, but only 1 lathe.

Sounds to me that you are seriously under-resourced. Time to buy a few more tools ...

 

[bmac2]

I think we're all tool junkies.

Do they have a 12 step program for that? Maybe we need to start a new forum?

Hi... My name is Don and I'm a tool junky? Nahhh… Nobody would go ever to the meetings, we're all too busy in the shop.

Seriously bmac2, that's some nice work on those threads. What did you print it with and at what settings?

Don

My printer is DIY so it came with NO manual and NO tech support. Hence I keep notes.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/3d-printer-build.30991/

I went through a good chunk of the 10m sample of PETG I bought getting things dialed in but the stuff is very durable and wear resistant. The more I read about it I’m not interested in printing with ABS so PETG is a nice compromise, It’s what plastic milk bottles are made of. Just print it HOT and SLOW.

“Threaded Flashlight Tube Extension To Fit A 18650 Battery (25mm tube)”

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2776285

Blue PETG from iPrint3D, Slicer Slic3r PE

Layer Height = 0.1mm, First = 0.15mm

Perimeters = 3, Bottom = 2, Top = 2, Infill 20%

Perimeters = 50mm/s, Small = 15mm/s

Infill = 50mm/s, Solid = 15mm/s

Nozzle First Layer = 225c, Others = 220c

Bed First Layer = 85c, Others = 80c

Fan on Min = 35%, Off For the First 2 Layers

Retraction = 5mm @ 50mm/s

Filament Used = 1.38m

Print Time = 59m 27s

 

[velocette]

bmac2 Quote "I’m not sure but I think that’s about the same return as I get on my savings, after the banks service charges."
The enjoyment and experience cogsy has gained Priceless. Nothing gained from watching a pile of dollars bills growing can come anywhere near.

Eric

 

[Quickxb]

That's a great build on the pedal, I am planning to do something sort of similar for a lift tig on/off switch. I haven't been on the forum for a really long time and didn't realise there was a 3D printer section.