Anet A8 3D Printer.

[bigegg]

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You are a star. Its not quite what I need however. Imagine the centre area filled in with a box that is52mm BUT is only 10mm deep....THEN another box 51mm square but is back up to 20mm deep.

Essentially creating a 1mm slot that is 52mm square and 10mm deep I then tap in the die rule (basically glorified stanley blades) to form a square with the cutting edges outwards. This will them go into a press to cut out a perfect 2 inch square. in the roofing felt

The 3 D print is really a holder for the cutting blades.

where do you get your die blades from?
i used to get offcuts of 2.5mm (?) to make marking knives, but the bucketfull i had is now used up.

could do with a few more meter lengths (or just 100mm off cuts), but dont know where to source them.
ta!

 

[ukracer]

@ukracer do you mean something like this

spot on..

 

[ukracer]

where do you get your die blades from?
i used to get offcuts of 2.5mm (?) to make marking knives, but the bucketfull i had is now used up.

could do with a few more meter lengths (or just 100mm off cuts), but dont know where to source them.
ta!

Mate they are damn expensive..I paid 27 notes for 4 x 2 inch strips. Only got telephone number so will grab the paper work when my son comes back.

 

[DAPPH]

@ Racer , how many will you be pressing out ? If it is going to be hundreds , I would have cut right across the wood block using a hacksaw or coping saw blade to give four full cuts right across to all four sides & used some oak or beech instead of soft wood
or even some 2 inch or so thick Delrin cut to size .

Just had the thought that a block of steel or aluminium or Delrin or even oak or beech , with three screws & flat washers on each side to retain the blades might be a lot better , you could also put a spindle in the middle and then use it in a drill press or pillar drill to get the up and down cutting pressure so long as you have a thinnish soft plywood backing pad.
I don't have the mill to get the block done or I'd run one off for you …. perhaps some engineer on here can help you .

Can send you a slightly over size block of Black 2 inch thick Delrin FOC if needed , it could have shoulders milled on it to so the blades sit on them and then use the screws & washers to hold them in place .

 

[DAPPH]

Even funnier just had this thought

Print a block yourself with a lip to sit the blades on and use self tappers & washers to hold the blades to the sides at he same height all round no need to faff about with slots for the blades .
or
Print two blocks , one slightly bigger than the other to give you the mounting lip so all blades are the same height , screw one on top of the other & again use self tappers & washers to hold the blades in place .

 

[ukracer]

@ Racer , how many will you be pressing out ? If it is going to be hundreds , I would have cut right across the wood block using a hacksaw or coping saw blade to give four full cuts right across to all four sides & used some oak or beech instead of soft wood
or even some 2 inch or so thick Delrin cut to size .

Just had the thought that a block of steel or aluminium or Delrin or even oak or beech , with three screws & flat washers on each side to retain the blades might be a lot better , you could also put a spindle in the middle and then use it in a drill press or pillar drill to get the up and down cutting pressure so long as you have a thinnish soft plywood backing pad.
I don't have the mill to get the block done or I'd run one off for you …. perhaps some engineer on here can help you .

Can send you a slightly over size block of Black 2 inch thick Delrin FOC if needed , it could have shoulders milled on it to so the blades sit on them and then use the screws & washers to hold them in place .

HI lads. just so you dont think I am ignoring some oif your help...

I am having to carry on manually to be able to ensure I keep the contract/job in future but its proving harder than anticipated. Well not so much harder but more time consuming but more I dont have much time to do 4000...lol

The idea of the printed block is purely to prove the concept. I think I can speed up the process vastly on the large square using a cold laminator controlled by CNC motor...bnut again its time and its once again a weekend. lol Whats wrose is I think I am going to have to purchase from a guy who owes me 40K and I said I would not buy his products in future (but needs must I suppose.) again introducing this method might speed things up with putting it all together will take time...time I need to cut out the squares manaully. ;lol
I am only stopped now so I can get my wife some food sorted and set the 3D printer printing.

Dapph I now have a real milling machine but I have not even had time to switch it on since I got it moved into place...so I was thinking along the same lines. I was thinking of using a block of aluminium with the 2 inch sqare slow but 3D printing can carry on while I work.....as the miling machine is now behind a load of stuff I had to move to set up a work area...lol

Quite funny really but thats how life is just now. Monday I had to unexpectedly have my Cat put to sleep and we are preparing ourselves for the dog to go as he is going of his back legs and will have to make a decision any time soon.
I neighbour collapsed in a Taxi on the way back from the doctors and they turned of the life support machine on Thursday so "what is the meaning of life" is forefront in my mind . especially given the stuff we cant talk about on here.

ANyway..just blowing of steam. Thanbks for all your assistance and I might get the mods to move these messages to the projects forum one day.....might entertain a few people .

 

[DAPPH]

Life's like that Racer ..

I must confess once I started three lists & prioritised everything every now & then …. " Urgent" , " Not so urgent" and " If time " , I got far more done when putting in the infra structure , building & setting up my small mammal farm as well as bespoke making all the fixtures , fittings feeders & drinker etc.

Having everything set up on a flip over jig so everything is eminently repeatable will save you a lot of time . Thinking slightly differently have a hollow square with the lip for the blades set inside a block of alu . That way you will be able to clear the small square of felt out quickly & easily after each pressing from above by pushing it down & out and not cut yourself or blunt the blades as your liable to do if removing it from below the blades cutting edge with a pointed lever .

 

[DAPPH]

Another way is to make a square male punch with a concave cutting edge ( like a mortice chisel for a drill stand so the corners cut the start of the hole before the rest of the block follows through . That could be used in conjunction with an anchored tot eh drill table bridge made of ply with a reinforced female plate square hole to match the male . any cut outs fall free of the bridge and can be raked off the table .

If the centre hole could have been round it's not so hard to make a cutter that runs off the drill press and self cleans of the cut outs .

 

[ukracer]

Try this one, as before rename file with extension .f3d

Its printed out just perfect but sadly my printer thinks a 1mm slot is not that big. its only a few thousands gap. I think I am going to need a 2mm or even 2.5mm gap to get the tolerance.

 

[carbon]

As the file is a f3d file all the steps to construct it are included. Edit sketch 5 and change the dimensions, re-centre it and finish the sketch to complete the process.

 

[ukracer]

As the file is a f3d file all the steps to construct it are included. Edit sketch 5 and change the dimensions, re-centre it and finish the sketch to complete the process.

I will give that a try thanks again..

 

[ukracer]

I will give that a try thanks again..

This could be a long night..fusion 360 is so intuitive I cant even exit the damn program...lol

 

[ukracer]

This could be a long night..fusion 360 is so intuitive I cant even exit the damn program...lol

It was a long night.. Which has run into long days and nights.
Still can't fathom it out. Fusion programmers must be totally cuckoo.... I don't suppose anyone knows of a god basic video that can show me how to resize the center part to 50mm that I can actually understand. Lol

 

[ukracer]

Oh on top of all this brain fade my Anet A8 has decided to throw a tantrum and suggests the firmware is possibly corrupt

"Your printer's firmware reported an error. Due to that OctoPrint will disconnect. Reported error: Printer set into dry run mode until restart!"

Especially as a restart does not solve the problem

 

[snoozer]

I used onshape for my Prusa designes before I sold the piece of Kwap, I found it quite easy to learn for an old Duffa.
Try a Firmware reflash on the Anet

 

[ukracer]

I used onshape for my Prusa designes before I sold the piece of Kwap, I found it quite easy to learn for an old Duffa.
Try a Firmware reflash on the Anet

I have been around computers and technology for years but sadly either age has got to me but I can't for the life of me do something simple like venturing a shape after resizing it..........and as for firmware on an Anet A8 it's a black art from what I have read and watched.
Much of my problem is trying to hit a deadline whilst at the same time trying to improve the process and speed and simplicity. (mainly because it's hard on your hands and shoulders)

Once I am over this weekend I will have time to study what I am failing to grasp..lol

 

[ukracer]

I will give that a try thanks again..

I failed. I simply cant understand the youtube videos.

I managed to resize the center box but not realign it! I can find out how to resize and move a sketch. Or rescale a 3 D object but not a skecth within a 3D object.

I dont suppose any one knows of simple...very very simple tutorials on the basics?

Oh I attach my effort as Box 3

In case any one was wondering what its taken me this long to reply its 1. Because I try not to be beaten. and 2. My printer stopped working. I thought it was a firmware issue but after a quick check I cound a defective thermistor. SO its all up and running now and currently running a test print out of ABS and I will then run a calibration to cube to see if that assists me..lol

 

[bigegg]

this bloke is brilliant for fusion tutorials:

 

[ukracer]

this bloke is brilliant for fusion tutorials:

Cheers mate. I just printed out a 20mm calibration cube and it came out at 20.09 so I can't see it being that far out.
BUT it's a 23 hour print for my box with slots in so I need to make sure it adheres to the bed well... Lol

 

[ukracer]

this bloke is brilliant for fusion tutorials:

I know a lot more now but he has not yet covered resizing a sketch within a 3D model... Lol