Category: 3d printing

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3D modeling 3d printing

Using Filaflex to improve my cooler

Introduction

A week ago I finished my audio cooler. Although I was happy with the result improvements could be made (as is always the case). Most important I didn’t particularly like the console on the side of the coolers lid. This was a 3d printed part of PLA that I glued to cooler with a superglue. This was far from ideal because of the space left between the printed console and the cooler . Another improvement could be made by the way that the speaker was fitted to the lid of the cooler. The speaker was directly attached to cooler with four screws again leaving some space between the two. I already had some FilaFlex filament but hadn’t used it yet. Because of the elastic and flexible properties of Filaflex I figured that I could both fix the issues with the console and the speaker.

Left the cooler with improved speaker and console and right "old cooler" with printed part of PLA filament.
Left the cooler with improved speaker and console and right “old cooler” with printed part of PLA filament.
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Categories
3D modeling 3d printing amplifier electronics

Making a tiny audio system for our cooler (part 2)

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago I started to make a tiny audio system for our cooler. In my previous blogpost I described all the audio components that I chose for this project. I wanted the components to be small since I didn’t want to waste too much space in the cooler. With the audio components in hand I could design other parts for the audio system. I needed an enclosure for most of the audio components and a simple console to operate the audio. The parts were 3d printed with my Hephestos 2.

The complete audio system in the lid of the cooler. Most components are placed in the 3d printed enclosure.
The complete audio system in the lid of the cooler. Most components are placed in the 3d printed enclosure.
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Categories
3D modeling 3d printing

More designing and 3D printing

Introduction

The last couple of weeks I’ve been busy mastering 3D modeling programs and bringing my creations to life with my Hephestos 3D printer. In this entry I’ll share some of my creations and how they were made. For 3D modeling I started with OpenSCAD in the beginning of this year and later started using FreeCAD. The reason for using FreeCAD is that with more complex design in OpenSCAD it is easy for me to get lost in a large script. Yes, the learning curve of FreeCAD is steep but eventually it’s easier for me to create more complex models in this program than in OpenSCAD. For simpler models I still like OpenSCAD better.

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Categories
3D modeling 3d printing electronics

Case for a FM-radio (Velleman MK194)

I have a MK194 radio kit from Velleman and turned it into a radio some  time ago. The radio looks pretty cool with all the electronic components visible but the wooden case was awful. I therefore decided to build a new case for it. Of course I want to use my Hephestos 2 printer from BQ to make this case.

First I designed a case in FreeCAD. I use FreeCAD for a couple of weeks now, together with OpenSCAD, but this is the first design with multiple parts that I create with it. After several iterations I finally decided to have a design consisting of three parts. A box, a support plate for the radio PCB and a lid. The radio fits into the support and the lid which are then screwed onto the box.

radio_case
Design for the radio case made with FreeCAD consisting of three parts (the red part just represents the MK194 PCB). I made a nice radius on the lid and the MK194 fits nicely between the support and the lid.

The box is by far the biggest 3D print that I made with the Hephestos. It took the printer almost seven! hours to print it. Luckily it came of fine the first time. Both the lid and the support plate were printed in less than an hour each.

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Categories
3d printing

Assembling a Hephestos 2 printer

Introduction

While making my projects like the Darth Vader chest box 2.0 I use the local fablab a lot, especially the laser cutter and the 3D printer. It was a bit boring to wait for the 3D print to finish (laser cutting is typically much faster) with not much else to do at the fablab. I therefore decided to buy my own 3D printer. I choose for the BQ Hephestos 2, a sturdy Prusa i3 all metal printer that comes in a kit.

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