Hey, this is two things: 1) to introduce a tag to I.D. 3D printed object-related posts in the title for easy sorting, which is done by adding '[3DP]' to the beginning of the title. 2) To show my new design! I give you, the icon of irony: a 3D printed old-school MAG throttle! It's based directly on Brian K's idea where the snap-acting switches mount on pins, with the servo in the middle preventing the switches from moving off the pins. I'm also replacing the old servo hold-down screws with M3 machine screws, having put a recess in the front wall to put a pair of M3 nuts in Pics tomorrow of the actual object
So the two micro-switches mount inside the (in picture) left and right-side walls with the servo in the middle? Nice design, solves the age-old problem of the switches coming loose from their mountings and you suddenly not having forward... or reverse... or a particular gun firing. But that problem isn't why everyone stopped using this setup. Everyone stopped using it b/c by going electronic your water-tight box got much smaller. I think you're fixing a buggy-whip problem after the IC engine came into popularity. Not that it isn't neat! But I'd rather you save your genius (and plastic, and printer time) for current needs. Low-profile pump impellors, maybe rudder shaft mounts w/ integrated rudder servo & gears (for single, dual, and / or inline rudders!), etc. Maybe even an extra-special rudder box to run all three rudders of a V Veneto.
I have never been one to use a WT box And this plays into my plan to lower the barriers to entry with a printed ship and simple technology. The average guy (we need those guys, too) has no trouble understanding switches and poppet valves. And I've seen poppet valves fire better than twice per second, which is as fast as I intend on firing. So I am using my skills & equipment for current needs. My current needs. I'm hardly a Luddite, being an early adopter of brushless technology, lithium batteries, and now 3D printing technology. Behold below my most recent mundane use of the printer: The little cylinders on top got a little squirrelly, but they were an experiment and will in production be replaced by dowels or CF tube. The piece in the pic is also festooned with breakaway support material. I'll post more pics when I'm done cleaning it up.
Hahaha... I used M3 because I had to buy a bag of 100 for making the Rostock, and I have like 80-some-odd extra. If I sell one, though, it will come with the nuts and Allen screws installed. Coming soon is the 3DP mount for a servo plus two MAV-2/3, and a mount to hold two MAV-2's with the MPA-3 on them. Now that I think on it, it'd be easy enough to do a triple for guys still living in the dark ages using traditional methods and using a MAV-3 to fire 3 MAV-2's for triple sterns. @Jeff - don't worry, I'll show up to battles in an Amish cart @True Luddites who eschew the metric system... with minimal fettling, 4-40 nuts will fit the holes where the M3 nuts go.
Finally printed it!! Here is the vonTugboat 3DP MAG throttle... Little brass pins fit into the holes in the sides, and the snap-acting switches slide onto those, and then the servo is mounted in the middle, holding the switches on. If you need to replace a switch, you unscrew the servo, then pull the switch and slide on a new one. Easy-Peasy! YES, it actually printed those square holes in mid-air! They aren't cleaned up at all, I've really got my settings close to where I want them! The nuts and allen screws aren't in yet, my mobility isn't fully 100% yet so I couldn't run out and fetch them. These are REALLY close to fitting 4-40 nuts, I may widen them a skosh and then they can be used with either M3 or 4-40 as the user prefers. More cool 3DP things to come!! If someone wants one, they're $12+shipping, with switches on them but servo not included. Extra switches can be thrown in the box for $2.50 each. Stuff gets mailed on Saturdays, or handed over for no shipping at battles.
I need a cradle made for a single servo.. no switches... maybe a plate on top that can be adjusted back and forth a little from the base.. so a belt or gear can be tightened or loosened for use on rotate and rudders...
Is good I just had the Mendel print two more of the throttle bodies for Brian K. He saw, he had to have
a thought for you Clark, rather than bother with nuts and bolts, why not just design a U shaped piece to just drop in place of the machine screws? You'd lose the 'install at all angles' ability, but youd improve access times and reduce hardware needs.
