3 Sep
2014
3 Sep
'14
2:34 p.m.
On Wed, Sep 3, 2014 at 11:27 AM, Jack Rubin <j at ckrubin.us> wrote:
I'm in the process of reproducing... switch
levers (e.g. 8/L, 11/20).
For the switch levers, "phooky" from the NYC Resistors has done a 3D rendering
- http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:360853
Yes! We have needed this for years! (I'm not a 3D design guy so this
has been a little beyond my skill level or I would have done it a long
time ago).
Phooky has also printed up samples of these objects.
How well did they work? (I realize that FDM-printed parts wouldn't
"look as nice" - I'm curious about close enough to work without
breaking, as a stopgap)
The next step is to work on injection molding the
parts. The Resistors have an injection molding setup and phooky is planning to create a
mold using CNC equipment and his 3D renderings.
Very nice!
There are several reasons for moving from 3D printing
to injection molding for these parts. The first two, finish and mechanical strength, are
slowly being addressed by improved printers but the third reason, color matching, is the
critical difference.
Yes. Finish is entirely different for FDM vs injection molding. One
_could_ pay for a custom run of filament to match, but the resulting
part would still be striated.
I haven't fiddled with injection molding, but I look forward to the reports.
-ethan
P.S. - if this is a success, perhaps there's enough interest for
11-70/35/45/etc triangular toggles. I need a bunch for an 11/70 front
panel I got from Jay that he harvested all the toggles from before
giving me the carcass.