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Mechanical Rook Box
🕑 Added 2020-02-13 13:57:53 +0000 UTCHey, wonderful people! Did I mention that planetary gears are cool? Back when I was first working with them it occurred to me that you could make an interesting aperture-style opening box by having planetary gears rotate parts in unison. As you've probably seen from the pictures, it worked out!
Ten individual cogs rotate between the box body and an outer ring, and each is fixed to a blade-style segment in the box lid. Pull one of the segments outwards and they all move outwards together, bound together by the gear assembly in the base!
I know, I know, I should have cleaned my printer bed properly, clearly I'd printed something in blue immediately before this :P You can see, though, that the inner ring of the planetary gears isn't actually fixed to the box body, but rotates against it. This lets the cogs that control the lid rotate around a fixed point. Without that, the cogs would need to shift around the ring, and that's not going to work for the rest of the design.
Of course, being a print-in-place design with moving parts we have to consider tolerances. I find that the cogs are tight after printing, and need a little loosening to move freely before the box works properly. Just in case you feel like testing out the gears without committing to the entire print, I've included a test print model in the same directory - it's just the full design with everything above the gears chopped off.
This is another one that's been a bit of a journey! So many versions, so much learning about gears getting out of sync with each other, components inadvertently causing too much friction, parts preventing each other moving... some things can be worked out digitally, but the realities of how printed objects functions aren't always apparent until the thing is rendered in plastic :)
Creative Printer supporters, you'll find this in dropbox under Mechanical Rook Box!
(oh, and take note that the dropbox link has been updated!)
Have fun! :D
Comments
Clockspring3D
Hmm, that's a tricky question. It would be looser, which usually wouldn't matter too much, but this one has some tricky friction considerations because of those long rotating parts. It's possible that the extra movement could cause things to jam sideways instead of turning around. How big were you planning to scale it up?
Clockspring3D
That's great! Slowing it down is a really good approach - this is probably the trickiest of my prints because of that detachment risk!
If I wanted to print a larger version, can I just scale it on the Slicer, or would the tolerances be no longer correct?
I just finished printing this model on my PRUSA MK3S, and after a few minutes of fiddling it works perfectly. Great model thanks, I printed both test models first, and slowed the print down to 65% to avoid any strong motions on the y axis that might lead to bed detachement
Perfect, thank you! Good that i started with your toughest model to print:D I even disabled "ensure vertical shell thickness" because the solid infill causes extreme wobbling.
Clockspring3D
This is by far my toughest model to print! From memory I had to use a raft to get things working on my own MK3S - that back-and-forth movement is tough to contend with, even at low speeds. Let me see what I can do about a step file - I'll message you directly :)
Great design! Unfortunately 3 attempts to print failed so far. Everything is fine until the "leaves" start to close the gap in the middle. It's the same problem Paul Alvarez described. I'm using a MK3s also and the bed leveling should be fine. On the last attempt i also lowered the print speed when it gets to the tricky area, but it failed too. 2 of the 10 pillars startet to come lose. Even with low print speeds the nozzle is touching the parts slightly. The large lever causes the part to come loose. I would like to try a raft on the next print, but i'm nut sure if it will hold. Can you maybe provide a step file so i could add supports in the middle of the pillars with could be broken away afterwards? I can't add those in Prusaslicer so i would go for fusion 360.
Clockspring3D
Fantastic! :D I'm glad you got it sorted!
Todd Coello
I got it. It works. Lowered the bed a little bit. Works great. I have a flsun qq-s pro on the way I can't wait to use that for some of your prints
Clockspring3D
Hmm, I double-checked and the test model does seem identical the the full one (as it should - it's just a chopped-off version!). However, maybe it's worth just double-checking the preview in your slicer to make sure they're both looking the same, perhaps by comparing screenshots of each at the same Z height? How's the rest of the model looking? Usually the issue with printing this thing is instability at the top, not issues with the bottom! :) Oh, actually, another thing that's a possible influence would be warping, since that bottom layer has to stay stuck down for so long - is there any sign of that? Warping of the outside bottom would make it really difficult for the cogs to turn effectively!
Todd Coello
I've made the test gears and they work unbelievably. I've tried the full print twice and no luck. I'm not sure it almost seems like the bottom on the full model is tighter. Idk any suggestions would be great.
Clockspring3D
Thank you! 😁
amazing design
Clockspring3D
Howdy! Can you tell what went so horribly wrong? Bed adhesion is the obvious culprit - if anything comes loose then it's disaster time. Nailing bed adhesion is a whole art form in itself, but the obvious first port of call would be to check bed level (though I would imagine the MK3S would cater for any issues anyway). Next option would be to add a raft so that the print sticks to that instead.
I got very close to getting a complete print but woke up to a spaghetti monster :) Do you have any recommended settings to print this? Do you use supports at all? I am using a Prusa MK3S if that makes a difference.
Joel Telling
GOOD LORD that looks amazing!
Clockspring3D
I can scale it up and adjust the clearances! :D How big were you thinking?
Holy smokes. This is so awesome! It would be cool to print this big and make it a waste basket. Will it scale properly?
Clockspring3D
Haha, thank you so much! As always, your enthusiasm is amazing! 😁
Anton Maree
WOW! Just WOW!!! The design and engineering behind this is just amazing, and the vision to see this through from idea to final product is simply mind-boggling. This is the reason why your designs are pure MAGIC. Your are a true 3D printing magician. I am definitely printing this ASAP!!!!
Clockspring3D
Thank you! I can't wait to see your print! :D
This is simply an awesomely engineered box. Can’t wait to print it.
