Ed’s Bench Magnifier

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Download the STL files for the Ed's Bench magnifier (with new battery box) here:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/lamp

Neil

 

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 10:52:33

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Bonus Content for MEW 256

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

Looks nice and pretty but what about files that the great unwashed can read????

Regards Ian.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

3D printers use STL files so no problem. If you don’t have a 3D printer then the project isn’t for you and it’s off down IKEA for you 😀

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Is there a prize for identifying the skull? The teeth remind me of my mother-in-law…

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Neil,

When I looked at the Pivot in Cura it was shown on it's side. Did you use scaffolding or did you rotate it 90 degrees about the X or Y axes?

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

Can't see anything on the picky that can't be made by conventional methods John, Even the Pozi pan head bolts look like they could be bought.

' Spose since muddle ingineering has become a "What can I spend my disposable income on" 3D printers will become the must have. Is there a universal 3D printer component manufacturing measuring system? Metric or Imperial? No doubt whichever is stated, somebody will want T'other.

Regards Ian

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Gary Wooding on 12/06/2017 11:24:19:

Neil,

When I looked at the Pivot in Cura it was shown on it's side. Did you use scaffolding or did you rotate it 90 degrees about the X or Y axes?

It all prints without support, but i rely on people choosing the best orientation for themselves.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Circlip on 12/06/2017 11:45:25:

Can't see anything on the picky that can't be made by conventional methods John, Even the Pozi pan head bolts look like they could be bought.

 

The reason I 3D printed it was (a) vastly cheaper than using up loads of aluminium section and fabricating all the joints, (b) no worries about getting all the parallelogram bits the same size and (c) a very easy way of making a body to suit both the lens and the LED lamp.

A great example of the advantage of 3D printing was making a proper battery box. I wanted to fit in a standard lithium cell, a little charger board with a micro USB socket and use the switch out of the lamp used as a donor for the LEDs. It didn't take long to design the box so the board and switch clip in place, and the cell is held in place. There's a hole for the status LEDs to shine through (glazed witha touch of clear silicone). The box clips together, taking advantage of the texture of 3D-printed items (a useful tip) and the box itself clips to the base of the lamp.

If redoing it I might 3D print all the screws, you can go down to M5 quite easily.

 

Posted by Circlip on 12/06/2017 11:45:25:

' Spose since muddle ingineering has become a "What can I spend my disposable income on" 3D printers will become the must have. Is there a universal 3D printer component manufacturing measuring system? Metric or Imperial? No doubt whichever is stated, somebody will want T'other.

 

Regards Ian

STL files just have measurements in 'units', I happened to design these in mm so if you use inches it will be rather big, the joy of 3D printing is you can scale things to whatever size you want.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 12:11:42

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Circlip on 12/06/2017 10:58:39:

Looks nice and pretty but what about files that the great unwashed can read????

Regards Ian.

That's why I posted a photo.

You can download something like Modulework's free STL Viewer to look at the files, or use Cura or similar, or even TurboCAD.

The skull is from Ultimaker's T-Rex. I have printed the full skeleton, it's about 18" long and , quite honestly, looks amazing. It's also noticeable how much better designed it is than 99% of things on Thingiverse – it actually does clip together (although the central support pillar is 15mm, too short as designed).

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For info. …

The STL files will open in the MeshLab App on iPad … but the rendering isn't quite right.

No … I don't know whose 'fault' this is.

MichaelG.

.

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

I do wish ASCII STL files would be used, much more chance of finding out where your stl reading file routine is screwing itself into knots than with binary. OK, ascii files are bigger, but more packages open them reliably.

Regards,

Richard.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Seems to work in Geomagic Design (soon to be Alibre again apparently).

I still can't work out a way to see the insides of hollow items though.

John

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You could try setting the opacity of the part to a lower level

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

May be because that's two parts in the same space, not a single part. (Bench Lamp pivot and Bench pivot 2)

Edit: no it isn't, silly me.

Renders OK in FreeCAD.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 12/06/2017 16:42:16

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Posted by JasonB on 12/06/2017 16:33:40:

You could try setting the opacity of the part to a lower level

Works for some bits but not others. The pivot above just reacts as a normal Alibre drawing and becomes semi-transparent. The arms which have holes down the middle stay completely solid. I was only trying it to see if you could see the layers for the print or any honeycomb centre filling. I don't appear to be able to edit anything either but I think that is the way Alibre imports things (perhaps).

John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Journeyman on 12/06/2017 16:23:49:

I still can't work out a way to see the insides of hollow items though.

 

Try using Cura, it has X-ray and transparent modes.

Or the STL viewer I linked to above.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 17:15:12

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 12/06/2017 15:50:48:

For info. …

The STL files will open in the MeshLab App on iPad … but the rendering isn't quite right.

No … I don't know whose 'fault' this is.

MichaelG.

.

It looks like you have some sort of smoothing switched on. By definition STL objects are composed entirely of flat triangular facets.

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 17:13:16:

It looks like you have some sort of smoothing switched on. By definition STL objects are composed entirely of flat triangular facets.

.

Indeed I did, Neil

… here's the same view, with flat rendering:

.

Mind you … MeshLab does render some curves pretty well

[ Yes, this is an STL file ]

.

MichaelG.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 17:11:51:

Posted by Journeyman on 12/06/2017 16:23:49:

I still can't work out a way to see the insides of hollow items though.

Try using Cura, it has X-ray and transparent modes.

Or the STL viewer I linked to above.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 12/06/2017 17:15:12

Ah yes, CURA makes it clear how it all works. Now all I need is a printer

John

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Never mind the desk lamp, where is the STL file to print out the "Super Adept Man" action toy

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Circlip on 12/06/2017 10:58:39:

Looks nice and pretty but what about files that the great unwashed can read????

If you (or anyone else) want a decent viewer for stl files, try the free version of 3D-Tool.

Good documentation too (something of a rarity these days). The Quick-Reference card is a work of art.

Not simply a viewer either – it also lets you take measurements and a whole boatload of other stuff. Unless I'm actually going to use the stl file for something I find it more convenient to open the stl in 3D-Tool than my CAD or 3D-Printer clients.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 13/06/2017 01:18:37

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 13/06/2017 01:14:59:

Posted by Circlip on 12/06/2017 10:58:39:

Looks nice and pretty but what about files that the great unwashed can read????

If you (or anyone else) want a decent viewer for stl files, try the free version of 3D-Tool.

Good documentation too (something of a rarity these days). The Quick-Reference card is a work of art.

Not simply a viewer either – it also lets you take measurements and a whole boatload of other stuff. Unless I'm actually going to use the stl file for something I find it more convenient to open the stl in 3D-Tool than my CAD or 3D-Printer clients.

.

I've just had a look at that Quick-Reference card, and agree it's an excellent piece of work

**LINK**

https://www.3d-tool.com/downloads/3D-Tool-Quickreference.pdf

Unfortunately for me, the program is for Windows; so I'm unlikely to use it.

**LINK**

https://www.3d-tool.com/en_free-viewer-download.htm

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

That looks useful, downloading now.

Here's the T-rex, sorry about the poor photo, but I couldn't be bothered to set up the photo booth to get a dark background!

Neil

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 13/06/2017 06:21:04:

Unfortunately for me, the program is for Windows; so I'm unlikely to use it.

Ah, sorry Michael. I did kind of make the usual assumption there didn't I?

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