The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Category: Machine Shop

Mechanical widgetry

  • HQ Sixteen: Handlebar Control Button Labels

    HQ Sixteen: Handlebar Control Button Labels

    The recessed faceplate on the new handlebar control caps for Mary’s HQ Sixteen puts the label flush with the rim:

    Control Button Caps - solid model - show view assembled
    Control Button Caps – solid model – show view assembled

    The current version of the labels isn’t much to look at:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - new caps
    HQ Sixteen control caps – new caps

    The OpenSCAD code produces an SVG outline of the faceplate, surrounded by four alignment targets:

    Control Button Caps - solid model - face view
    Control Button Caps – face view

    Import the SVG into Inkscape and tart it up:

    Control Button Caps - Inkscape
    Control Button Caps – Inkscape

    The alert reader will note the labels are swapped left-for-right.

    The black characters on the left get printed on heavy white paper and laminated; feel free to add artistic embellishments. You must delete the cyan-ish shapes showing the faceplate and switch openings, which just show where the characters will end up, but you must print the four corner targets for alignment.

    The red and orange shapes on the right define the outlines for laser-cutting the laminated paper and adhesive sheet after you import the Inkscape SVG file into LightBurn. The Inkscape colors will automagically put the shapes on separate LightBurn layers, with the cyan-ish shapes going onto non-cutting Tool Layer T2.

    Set the cutting speed & feed to match your machine, lay the laminated labels on the platform, use Print and Cut to align two diagonal corner targets with the corresponding printed targets, then Fire. The. Laser.

    The orange shapes have half a millimeter inset to leave a slight non-sticky margin around the edges:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - adhesive layer
    HQ Sixteen control caps – adhesive layer

    Although those shapes have the same four targets, you align the adhesive by hand and eye. Cut them out, peel one side, stick adhesive to the label, peel the other side, stick adhesive to the faceplate, and you’re done.

    Now, to figure out the switch wiring …

  • HQ Sixteen: Handlebar Control Button Caps

    HQ Sixteen: Handlebar Control Button Caps

    Each of the HQ Sixteen’s handlebars has a cap with control buttons:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - side view
    HQ Sixteen control caps – side view

    The left cap:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - left
    HQ Sixteen control caps – left

    The right cap:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - OEM right
    HQ Sixteen control caps – OEM right

    The membrane switch overlay has textured bumps, although both of us have trouble finding them.

    The Start / Stop switch gets the most use and, as you’d expect, has become intermittent after two decades of use.

    Mary thinks a Start / Stop switch on both caps would be an improvement, letting her position quilting rulers with her right hand and run the machine with her left hand & thumb. I don’t know how the switches are wired, but the wiring suggests either simple single-bit inputs or a small matrix.

    She also finds membrane switches difficult to press, so I’m in the process of replacing the control caps with something more to her liking.

    The current concept goes a little something like this:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - new caps
    HQ Sixteen control caps – new caps

    Stipulated: my art hand is weak.

    Those are little bitty SMD switches:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - new caps overview
    HQ Sixteen control caps – new caps overview

    They’re easy to locate by touch, with a stem length chosen to “feel right” when pushed.

    They have been grievously misapplied:

    HQ Sixteen control caps - switches
    HQ Sixteen control caps – switches

    The solid model has three main pieces and a lock for the ribbon cable:

    Control Button Caps - solid model - build view
    Control Button Caps – solid model – build view

    Those pockets keep the switches oriented while the glue cures.

    Two screws through the handlebar secure each cap. Handi-Quilter drove sheet metal screws into their OEM caps, distorting them enough to jam solidly into the handlebars. I’ve been reluctant to apply enough force to loosen them, so they remain frozen in place until the current quilt is done.

    The new plugs have recesses for M3 square nuts to make them easily removable. As with the handlebar angle adapters, I’ll glue the plugs into the caps.

    A slightly exploded view shows how the pieces fit together:

    Control Button Caps - solid model - show view gapped
    Control Button Caps – solid model – show view gapped

    The switch plate sits recessed into the cap to allow room for the label (about which, more later):

    Control Button Caps - solid model - show view assembled
    Control Button Caps – solid model – show view assembled

    The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

    // Handiquilter HQ Sixteen handlebar control button caps
    // Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU
    // 2025-04-05
    include <BOSL2/std.scad>
    Layout = "Show"; // [Show,Build,Grip,Body,Face,FaceBack,Plug,CableLock]
    // Angle w.r.t. handlebar
    FaceAngle = 30; // [10:45]
    // Separation in Show display
    Gap = 5; // [0:20]
    /* [Hidden] */
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    Protrusion = 0.1;
    NumSides = 2*3*4;
    WallThick = 3.0;
    ID = 0;
    OD = 1;
    LENGTH = 2;
    Grip = [19.7,22.4,15.0]; // (7/8)*INCH = 22.2 mm + roughness, LENGTH=OEM insertion depth
    GripRadius = Grip[OD]/2;
    FoamOD = 34.0; // handlebar foam
    FoamRadius = FoamOD/2;
    SwitchBody = [6.3,6.3,4.0]; // does not include SMD leads
    SwitchStemOD = 3.5 + 2*HoleWindage;
    SwitchOC = 10.0; // center-to-center switch spacing
    LabelThick = 0.5; // laminated overlay
    FaceRim = 2.0; // rim around faceplate
    FaceThick = 2.0; // … plate thickness
    FaceDepth = FaceThick + LabelThick; // inset allowing for faceplate label
    CapOD = 38.0; // overall cap diameter
    CapTrim = FoamRadius; // flat trim on front
    CapBase = 5.0; // bottom thickness
    Cap = [FoamOD – FaceRim,CapOD,CapBase + CapOD*tan(FaceAngle)];
    echo(Cap=Cap);
    TargetSize = 4.0; // laser alignment targets
    TargetsOC = [40.0,40.0];
    Cable = [10.0,2.0,WallThick]; // aperture for cable lock
    ScrewAngles = [-45,45]; // mounting screws
    Screw = [2.0,3.0,7.0]; // OEM = sheet metal screw
    ScrewOffset = 6.0; // from top of grip tube
    SquareNut = [3.0,5.5,2.3 + 0.4]; // M3 square nut OD = side, LENGTH + inset allowance
    NutInset = GripRadius – sqrt(pow(GripRadius,2) – pow(SquareNut[OD],2)/4);
    PlugOA = [(Grip[ID] – 2*WallThick),(Grip[ID] – 1.0),(CapBase + ScrewOffset + 10.0)];
    echo(PlugOA=PlugOA);
    //———-
    // Define objects
    //—–
    // Handlebar tube
    module GripTube() {
    difference() {
    tube(3*Grip[LENGTH],GripRadius,Grip[ID]/2,anchor=TOP);
    for (a = ScrewAngles) {
    down(ScrewOffset) zrot(a-90)
    right(GripRadius)
    yrot(90) cylinder(d=Screw[OD],h=Screw[LENGTH],center=true,$fn=6);
    }
    }
    }
    //—–
    // SVG outline of faceplate for laser cuttery
    module FaceShape(Holes=true,Targets=false) {
    difference() {
    scale([1,1/cos(FaceAngle)])
    difference() {
    circle(d=(Cap[OD] – 2*FaceRim),$fn=144);
    fwd(CapTrim – FaceRim)
    square(Cap[OD],anchor=BACK);
    }
    if (Holes)
    for (i=[-1:1]) // arrange switch stem holes
    right(i*SwitchOC)
    zrot(180/8) circle(d=SwitchStemOD,$fn=32);
    }
    if (Targets)
    for (i = [-1,1], j = [-1,1])
    translate([i*TargetsOC.x/2,j*TargetsOC.y/2])
    square(2.0,center=true);
    }
    //—–
    // Faceplate backing sheet
    // Switch bodies indented into bottom, so flip to build
    module FacePlate(Thick=FaceThick,Holes=true) {
    difference() {
    linear_extrude(height=Thick,convexity=5)
    FaceShape(Holes);
    up(SwitchBody.z/4)
    for (i = [-1:1])
    right(i*SwitchOC)
    cube(SwitchBody,anchor=TOP);
    }
    }
    //—–
    // Cap body
    module CapBody() {
    $fn=48;
    up(CapBase + (Cap[OD]/2)*tan(FaceAngle)) xrot(FaceAngle)
    difference() {
    xrot(-FaceAngle)
    down(CapBase + (Cap[OD]/2)*tan(FaceAngle))
    difference() {
    cylinder(d=Cap[OD],h=Cap[LENGTH]);
    fwd(CapTrim) down(Protrusion)
    cube(2*Cap[LENGTH],anchor=BACK+BOTTOM);
    up(CapBase)
    difference() {
    cylinder(d=Cap[ID],h=Cap[LENGTH]);
    fwd(CapTrim – 2*FaceRim)
    cube(2*Cap[LENGTH],anchor=BACK+BOTTOM);
    }
    down(Protrusion)
    cylinder(d=Grip[ID],h=Cap[LENGTH]);
    }
    cube(2*Cap[OD],anchor=BOTTOM);
    down(FaceDepth)
    FacePlate(FaceDepth + Protrusion,Holes=false);
    }
    }
    //—–
    // Plug going into grip handlebar
    module CapPlug() {
    $fn=48;
    difference() {
    tube(PlugOA[LENGTH],id=PlugOA[ID],od=PlugOA[OD],anchor=BOTTOM)
    position(TOP)
    tube(CapBase,id=PlugOA[ID],od=Grip[ID],anchor=TOP);
    for (a = ScrewAngles)
    up(PlugOA.z – CapBase – ScrewOffset) zrot(a-90)
    right(PlugOA[ID]/2)
    yrot(90) {
    cube([SquareNut[OD],SquareNut[OD],SquareNut[LENGTH] + NutInset],center=true);
    zrot(180/6)
    cylinder(d=(SquareNut[ID] + 2*HoleWindage),h=PlugOA[ID],center=true,$fn=6);
    }
    }
    }
    //—–
    // Lock plate for ribbon cable
    module CableLock() {
    difference() {
    cuboid([2*Cable.x,PlugOA[ID],WallThick],rounding=WallThick/2,anchor=BOTTOM);
    for (j = [-1,1])
    back(j*Cable.y) down(Protrusion)
    cube(Cable + [0,0,2*Protrusion],anchor=BOTTOM);
    }
    }
    //———-
    // Build things
    if (Layout == "Grip") {
    color("Silver",0.5)
    GripTube();
    }
    if (Layout == "Face")
    FaceShape(Targets=true);
    if (Layout == "FaceBack")
    FacePlate();
    if (Layout == "Body")
    CapBody();
    if (Layout == "Plug")
    CapPlug();
    if (Layout == "CableLock")
    CableLock();
    if (Layout == "Show") {
    color("Green")
    up(CapBase)
    CableLock();
    color("Orange")
    down(Gap)
    down(PlugOA[LENGTH] – CapBase)
    CapPlug();
    color("Cyan",(Gap > 4)? 1.0 : 0.2)
    CapBody();
    color("White",(Gap > 4)? 1.0 : 0.5)
    up(Gap*cos(FaceAngle)) fwd(Gap*sin(FaceAngle))
    up(CapBase + (Cap[OD]/2)*tan(FaceAngle) – FaceDepth)
    back(FaceDepth*sin(FaceAngle)) xrot(FaceAngle)
    FacePlate();
    down(3*Gap) {
    color("Silver",0.5)
    GripTube();
    down(Gap)
    color("Gray",0.5)
    tube(3*Grip[LENGTH],FoamRadius,Grip[OD]/2,anchor=TOP);
    }
    }
    if (Layout == "Build") {
    right((Gap + Cap[OD])/2)
    CapBody();
    left((Gap + Cap[OD])/2)
    zrot(180) up(FaceThick) xrot(180)
    FacePlate();
    fwd(Gap + Cap[OD])
    up(PlugOA[LENGTH]) xrot(180) zrot(180)
    CapPlug();
    fwd(Cap[OD]/2)
    zrot(90)
    CableLock();
    }

  • HQ Sixteen: Bobbin Winder Split Shaft Tweak

    HQ Sixteen: Bobbin Winder Split Shaft Tweak

    The HQ Sixteen has much larger bobbins than Mary’s Kenmore and Juki sewing machines. It also came with a dedicated bobbin winder:

    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder - overview
    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder – overview

    That thing has a distinct Industrial Revolution aspect compared to the BarbieCore bobbin winder I laid hands on a while ago.

    Out of the photo on the right:

    • The thread cone and guide tower
    • The thread tension disks

    Mary had been having trouble winding the bobbins, as the tension seemed entirely too low and the thread did not lay smoothly across the bobbin, so she asked me to take a look.

    The motor shaft has an O-ring for friction drive against the large wheel driving the shaft with the bobbin on the other end. The small silver lever over on the left flips an over-center lock pressing the wheel against the O-ring and tripping the microswitch in the aluminum housing, thus turning the motor on. The bobbin fills until a small finger monitoring the thread level flips the lock back over center, the wheel disengages, the switch turns the motor off, and a spring drives the wheel against the rubber rod in the upper left.

    Which worked well, but all the bobbins had a loose-to-sloppy fit on the shaft, to the extent that the shaft really couldn’t drive them against any thread tension.

    Loosening the screw holding the drive wheel on the shaft lets it slip off and the shaft slides out to the front:

    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder - split shaft
    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder – split shaft

    The sides of the split shaft should press firmly against the bobbin core, but that just wasn’t happening.

    Measuring a dozen bobbins showed most had an ID of 6.04 mm, with a few around 6.01 mm; unsurprisingly, the latter had the best, albeit still loose, fit. Conversely, the split shaft had two isolated points 6.01 mm apart across a diameter, with the remainder around 5.95 mm. Those are not large differences, but it was obvious why the bobbins didn’t wind correctly.

    I filed some graunch off the split edges, then gently pushed the Designated Prydriver into the end of the split to spread the sides juuuust a little bit, until all the bobbins pushed on firmly and fit snugly:

    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder - split shaft test fit
    HQ Sixteen bobbin winder – split shaft test fit

    It reassembled in reverse order and we’ll see how it behaves during the next marathon bobbin-filling session.

  • Champion Hose Nozzle: Refreshed Seal Attempt

    Champion Hose Nozzle: Refreshed Seal Attempt

    The battered Champion hose nozzle came into play last fall, leaked profusely when turned off, went to a Safe Place for the winter, and recently emerged:

    Champion hose nozzle - disassembled
    Champion hose nozzle – disassembled

    The conical surface (to the right of the tip) must make perfect contact with the edge of a perfect cylindrical hole in the outer shell to shut off the water, which was obviously no longer happening.

    There is no reason why that hole should still be concentric with the outside of the shell, but centering the latter in the four-jaw chuck put the hole within about 0.2 mm of where it should be:

    Champion hose nozzle - lathe centering
    Champion hose nozzle – lathe centering

    I defined that to be Close Enough™ and made the hole smooth & concentric with a teeny boring bar and sissy cuts. A drill would likely have worked well enough, too.

    Gently filing the nastiness off the cone showed it wouldn’t suffice, so center it while noting the irregular diameter all around:

    Champion hose nozzle - lathe centering cone
    Champion hose nozzle – lathe centering cone

    A skim cut revealed the need for more attention:

    Champion hose nozzle - scarred cone
    Champion hose nozzle – scarred cone

    Another tenth of a millimeter improved its disposition:

    Champion hose nozzle - improved cone
    Champion hose nozzle – improved cone

    Gentle touchup with a fine file reserved for special occasions may have been a further improvement:

    Champion hose nozzle - finish filed
    Champion hose nozzle – finish filed

    Add a dollop of silicone grease to encourage the shell to turn much more easily on the O-ring, reassemble in reverse order, and top it off with a new hose washer.

    A quick test on a reasonably warm day showed the cone met the cylinder poorly enough to consign this nozzle to the brass recycling box.

    It was fun trying, though …

  • Inkscape: LightBurn Layer Color Palette

    Inkscape: LightBurn Layer Color Palette

    Inkscape is not a CAD program (neither is LightBurn), but for my simple needs it works well enough, with the compelling advantage that OpenSCAD can import named layers and extrude them into solid models.

    LightBurn can import Inkscape SVG images to define the patterns for laser cutting / engraving and will automatically put the vectors into layers corresponding to their colors if and only if the SVG image uses colors from the LightBurn palette. Regrettably, picking those colors from the default Inkscape palette is essentially impossible, but you can have Inkscape use a palette file that displays only the LightBurn colors corresponding to its layers.

    I conjured this GIMP / Inkscape palette file based on the table in a LightBurn forum post, plus tool layer colors from another post:

    GIMP / Inkscape Palette
    Name: LightBurn Layers
    #
      0   0   0 BLACK
    255 255 255 WHITE
      0   0   0 LBRN #0
      0   0 255 LBRN #1
    255   0   0 LBRN #2
      0 224   0 LBRN #3
    208 208   0 LBRN #4
    255 128   0 LBRN #5
      0 224 224 LBRN #6
    255   0 255 LBRN #7
    180 180 180 LBRN #8
      0   0 160 LBRN #9
    160   0   0 LBRN #10
      0 160   0 LBRN #11
    160 160   0 LBRN #12
    192 128   0 LBRN #13
      0 160 255 LBRN #14
    160   0 160 LBRN #15
    128 128 128 LBRN #16
    125 135 185 LBRN #17
    187 119 132 LBRN #18
     74 111 227 LBRN #19
    211  63 106 LBRN #20
    140 215 140 LBRN #21
    240 185 141 LBRN #22
    246 196 225 LBRN #23
    250 158 212 LBRN #24
     80  10 120 LBRN #25
    180  90   0 LBRN #26
      0  71  84 LBRN #27
    134 250 136 LBRN #28
    255 219 102 LBRN #29
    243 105  38 LBRN T1
     12 150 217 LBRN T2
    

    Plunk that file (which I named Lightburn.gpl) into /home/ed/.config/inkscape/palettes/, restart Inkscape, then select it (the Name line defines its mmm name):

    Inkscape - selecting LightBurn palette
    Inkscape – selecting LightBurn palette

    Which lays a row of the LightBurn layer colors along the the Inkscape window:

    Inkscape - LightBurn palette
    Inkscape – LightBurn palette

    The text after the RGB triplet in each file line appears as the tool tip for the color swatch:

    Inkscape - LightBurn palette tooltip
    Inkscape – LightBurn palette

    Because LightBurn uses only the vector Stroke and ignores its Fill, you (well, I) must become accustomed to Shift-clicking palette colors.

    You can fetch a similar palette file directly from the LightBurn doc, although minus the tool tips. GIMP and Inkscape have many palettes available, should you make artsy drawings where subtle color shading matters.

    I generally use only a few cheerful primary colors, because I have trouble distinguishing (heck, in some cases even seeing) the more subtle colors against LightBurn’s light (or dark) workspace background. I assign the layer cut settings using the Material Library: reds for cutting, blues for marking, and grays for engraving.

    When I need more than maybe half a dozen colors, I (eventually) realize I’m trying to be too clever and split the project into separate LightBurn files.

  • HQ Sixteen: Front Horizontal Spool Adapter

    HQ Sixteen: Front Horizontal Spool Adapter

    Mary wanted a horizontal spool adapter mounted closer to the front of her HQ Sixteen, in the M5 threaded hole where the Official Horizontal Adapter would go:

    HQ Sixteen - front spool adapter - installed
    HQ Sixteen – front spool adapter – installed

    Yes, the pin through the spool is fluorescent edge-lit orange acrylic that looks wonderful in sunlight and is much more amusing than the black rod in the adapter atop the power supply pod.

    The top of the machine case is not flat, level, or easy to model, so I deployed the contour gauge again, with some attention to keeping the edge pins parallel & snug along the machine sides:

    HQ Sixteen - machine profile measurement
    HQ Sixteen – machine profile measurement

    Tracing the edge of the pins onto paper, scanning, and feeding it into Inkscape let me lay a few curves:

    HQ Sixteen - top profile curve - Inkscape fitting
    HQ Sixteen – top profile curve – Inkscape fitting

    The laser-cut chipboard test pieces show the iterations producing closer and closer fits to the machine.

    Importing the final SVG image into OpenSCAD and extruding it produced a suitable solid model of the machine’s case:

    HQ Sixteen - machine solid model
    HQ Sixteen – machine solid model

    Subtract that shape from the bottom of the adapter to get a perfect fit atop the machine:

    HQ Sixteen - horizontal thread spool adapter - front pin - solid model - show
    HQ Sixteen – horizontal thread spool adapter – front pin – solid model – show

    Early results are encouraging, although the cheap polyester thread Mary got from a friend’s pile and is using for practice untwists itself after passing through the tension disks on its way to the needle. She’ll load much better thread for the real quilt.

    The OpenSCAD source code and SVG of the HQ Sixteen’s top profile as a GitHub Gist:

    // HQ Sixteen – horizontal thread spool adapter for front pin
    // Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU
    // 2025-04-07
    include <BOSL2/std.scad>
    Layout = "Show"; // [Show,Build,Base,Wall,Frame]
    /* [Hidden] */
    Protrusion = 0.1;
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    ID = 0;
    OD = 1;
    LENGTH = 2;
    WallThick = 8.0;
    BaseThick = 12.0;
    Washer = [5.0,10.0,1.0]; // M5 washer
    Spool = [0.25*INCH,50.0,55.0]; // maximum thread spool
    SpoolClearance = [2.0,5.0,5.0]; // spool pin pointed to +X axis
    SpoolPin = [Spool[ID],Spool[ID],Spool[LENGTH] + WallThick + SpoolClearance.x];
    BasePlate = [WallThick + SpoolClearance.x + 13.0, // X flush with side of machine
    Spool[OD]/2 + 2*SpoolClearance.y,
    BaseThick];
    BaseOffset = [-(BasePlate.x – Washer[OD]),-Washer[OD],0.0]; // left front corner w.r.t. pin
    SpoolOC = [0, // relative to left front top of Base
    BasePlate.y/2,
    SpoolClearance.z + Spool[OD]/2 + BaseThick/2];
    //———-
    // Construct the pieces
    // HQ Sixteen top frame profile
    // Aligned with hole somewhere along X=0, front edge at Y=0
    // Lengthened slightly to cut cleanly
    module MachineFrame(Length=BasePlate.y + 2*Protrusion) {
    back(BasePlate.y + Protrusion) xrot(90)
    linear_extrude(height=Length,convexity=5,center=false)
    import("HQ Sixteen – top profile curve.svg",layer="Top Profile");
    }
    // Baseplate
    // Aligned with hole one washer diameter in from corner
    module Base() {
    $fn=18;
    difference() {
    fwd(Washer[OD])
    difference() {
    right(Washer[OD])
    cuboid(BasePlate,anchor=RIGHT+FRONT+CENTER,rounding=BaseThick/2,edges=RIGHT);
    MachineFrame();
    }
    down(BasePlate.z)
    cylinder(d=SpoolPin[OD] + HoleWindage,h=2*BasePlate.z);
    up(BasePlate.z/2 – Washer[LENGTH])
    cylinder(d=Washer[OD] + HoleWindage,h=2*Washer[LENGTH]);
    }
    }
    // Wall holding spool pin
    module Wall() {
    $fn=36;
    translate(BaseOffset) {
    difference() {
    union() {
    translate(SpoolOC)
    right(WallThick)
    cylinder(SpoolClearance.x,d=Spool[OD]/2,orient=RIGHT);
    hull() {
    translate(SpoolOC)
    cylinder(WallThick,d=Spool[OD]/2,orient=RIGHT);
    up(BasePlate.z/2 – 1)
    cube([WallThick,BasePlate.y,1],center=false);
    }
    }
    translate(SpoolOC) left(Protrusion)
    cylinder(SpoolPin[LENGTH],d=SpoolPin[OD],orient=RIGHT);
    }
    }
    }
    module Adapter() {
    Base();
    Wall();
    }
    //———-
    // Show & build the results
    if (Layout == "Base")
    Base();
    if (Layout == "Wall")
    Wall();
    if (Layout == "Frame")
    MachineFrame();
    if (Layout == "Show") {
    Adapter();
    color("Gray",0.5)
    MachineFrame(60);
    color("Green",0.75)
    translate(BaseOffset)
    translate(SpoolOC)
    cylinder(SpoolPin[LENGTH],d=SpoolPin[OD],orient=RIGHT,$fn=18);
    }
    if (Layout == "Build")
    up(-BaseOffset.x)
    yrot(-90)
    Adapter();
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  • HQ Sixteen: Padded Table Shims

    HQ Sixteen: Padded Table Shims

    The HQ Sixteen has been running at higher speeds as Mary practices using its stitch regulator and the vibrations shook several of the table shims (blocks, whatever) onto the floor. I hope a layer of EVA foam provides enough compliance to keep them in place:

    HQ Sixteen - padded table shim - installed
    HQ Sixteen – padded table shim – installed

    The foam is 2 mm thick, so subtracting that from the nominal thickness makes the new blocks come out right.

    A short module extracts the footprint for export as an SVG image to laser-cut both the foam and the adhesive sheet required to stick it in place:

    module ShimPad(Thickness = PadThick) {
    
        if (Thickness)
            linear_extrude(height=Thickness)
                projection(cut=true)
                    ShimBlock();
        else
            projection(cut=true)
                ShimBlock();
    
    }
    

    It turns out linear_extrude() chokes on a zero height.

    When handed a nonzero Thickness, the code generates a simulated foam sheet:

    HQ Sixteen - table shims - solid model - padded
    HQ Sixteen – table shims – solid model – padded

    The footprint looks about like you’d expect:

    HQ Sixteen - table shims - solid model - pad outline
    HQ Sixteen – padded table shim – installed

    Import into LightBurn, duplicate it sufficiently, set the speed & power & kerf for EVA foam, then cut ’em out:

    HQ Sixteen - table shims - padding cuts
    HQ Sixteen – table shims – padding cuts

    Ditto for the adhesive, stick together, and upgrade the fleet.

    If these shake loose, snippets of adhesive film will stick them firmly to the underside of the table panels.

    Update: Yeah, they needed sticky snippets. Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on with that machine!