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: Software

General-purpose computers doing something specific

  • Dummy 9 mm Luger Cartridge: 100 μm Layers

    As you might expect, changing the layer thickness to 0.1 mm = 100 μm dramatically improves the appearance of the dummy 9 mm Luger bullet on the left, compared to the 0.25 mm = 250 μm layers on the right:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger cartridges - 0.1 mm layer - overview
    Dummy 9 mm Luger cartridges – 0.1 mm layer – overview

    The inside edge of the translucent skirt around the quartet measured 90 to 110 μm, so the layer height is spot on:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets - 0.1 mm layer - overhead on platform
    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets – 0.1 mm layer – overhead on platform

    That required no adjustments to the M2 at all; It Just Works. Admittedly, that’s with a custom platform and firm supports replacing the springs, plus better Z-axis homing, but the overall structure was fine to start with.

    I used the same Slic3r settings as before, with the only change being the layer thickness. Letting it pick the layer width might produce better results, but a 0.35 mm nozzle won’t go much narrower than 0.40 mm anyway.

    A closer look at the bullet show the thinner layers provide a better rendition of the stretched sphere forming the nose; it’s less pointy than the one assembled from thicker layers:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets - 0.1 mm layer - side
    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets – 0.1 mm layer – side

    The nose closes better with thinner layers:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets - 0.1 mm layer - nose
    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets – 0.1 mm layer – nose

    None of that really matters for this application, but it’s a useful data point.

    The downside is that printing with thinner layers requires more time: a single bullet (of 16) requires 2.2 minutes at 250 μm and (of 4) 9 minutes at 100 μm. The simple ratio of layer thicknesses predicts a factor of 2.5, not 4, but the skirt requires a larger fraction of the total time. The estimated time for a 4×4 array at 100 μm comes out at 5.2 minutes each, a factor of 2.4, which is close enough.

    Although 100 μm certainly looks better, it doesn’t really improve anything for most of the blocky stuff I make…

  • Dummy 9 mm Luger Cartridge

    An interesting project requires a handful of 9 mm Luger (aka 9 mm NATO) dummy cartridges with real brass. You can buy exact form / fit / weight dummies or plastic training rounds, but these will suit my simple needs:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger cartridges
    Dummy 9 mm Luger cartridges

    That’s a snap cap on the left and a real 9 mm Luger cartridge on the right. The holes in the dummy brass indicate that they are absolutely, positively, unquestionably not loaded cartridges.

    Start by drilling a 1/8 inch hole in the side of each unfired, primerless case:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger - drilling case
    Dummy 9 mm Luger – drilling case

    I set up the chuck on the rotary table, thinking I might drill three holes in each cartridge, but came to my senses. It’s lined up by eye, flush with the end of the jaws, and the hole is just above the inside of the base.

    The solid model has the same overall length and proportion as a 115 grain FMJ bullet, but doesn’t match the proper ogive or base diameter. Basically, I stretched a 9 mm sphere and stuck it atop a slightly tapered base cylinder:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullet - solid model
    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullet – solid model

    For reasons I don’t profess to understand, the sphere has a slightly different diameter at its equator than the top of the cylinder, even though they’re both the same BulletOD diameter with the same number of faces. Fortunately, that didn’t affect the final results.

    Print up a handful of the things:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets - on platform
    Dummy 9 mm Luger bullets – on platform

    The shadow from the flash makes the bases look slightly fatter than they really are.

    Using a thinner layer would look better in this orientation. They’d definitely look better if they were split, printed with the long axis parallel to the plate, and glued together, as the grain would run lengthwise; I’m not sure there’s enough room for alignment pins, though.

    At this diameter and number of faces, the M2 produces almost perfectly accurate dimensions, so the bullets press-fit just like you’d expect. They’re twisted into a dab of urethane glue inside the brass that foams just enough to hold them place.

    Rather than use a real seating die, I deployed a closed chuck on the drill press. The trick is to set the depth stop to produce slightly too-long cartridges, then shim the platform without changing the stop and seat the bullet to the proper depth:

    Dummy 9 mm Luger - seating bullet
    Dummy 9 mm Luger – seating bullet

    The OAL tolerance for various 9 mm Luger cartridges seems to range from 1.08 inch to 1.17 inch, so anything in that range should be fine. I used 1.10 inch.

    These are not intended for firing. You could fire them with just a primer (in a non-drilled case) and (maybe) not melt or shatter the plastic, but they’re slightly larger than the nominal 8.82 mm land diameter and won’t obturate or spin-stabilize worth diddly: expect short range and keyholing.

    The sectional density is a whopping 0.008, should you keep track of such things: 0.47 gram = 7.2 grain. Note that the US small arms definition of sectional density has units of pound/inch2, not the pound/foot2 you’ll find right next to values computed using inches; the magic number 1/7000 just converts from grains to pounds. In the rest of the (metric) world, it’s entirely different.

    The OpenSCAD source code:

    // Dummy 9mm Luger bullet
    // Ed Nisley KE4ZNU November 2013
    
    //----------------------
    // Dimensions
    
    BulletOD = 9.05;			// main diameter
    BulletBaseOD = 8.8;			//  ... easy insertion
    
    BulletOAL = 14.0;			// overall length
    BaseLength = 8.0;			// cylindrical base length
    
    NoseLength = BulletOAL - BaseLength;
    
    NumSides = 8*4;
    
    //----------------------
    // Useful routines
    
    module ShowPegGrid(Space = 10.0,Size = 1.0) {
    
      Range = floor(50 / Space);
    
    	for (x=[-Range:Range])
    	  for (y=[-Range:Range])
    		translate([x*Space,y*Space,Size/2])
    		  %cube(Size,center=true);
    }
    
    //-------------------
    // Build it...
    
    ShowPegGrid();
    
    color("Orange")
    cylinder(r1=BulletBaseOD/2,r2=BulletOD/2,h=BaseLength,$fn=NumSides);
    
    color("DarkOrange")
    translate([0,0,BaseLength])
    	resize([0,0,2*NoseLength])
    		sphere(BulletOD/2,$fn=NumSides);
    
  • HP Scope Probe Flange Repair

    Quite some time ago I manage to break the finger flange on one of my scope probes and, what with it being made of an un-glueable engineering plastic, a simple repair job failed quickly. It’s entirely round and a perfect lathe project, but … this is easier:

    HP Scope Probe Flange Repair
    HP Scope Probe Flange Repair

    You can see remnants of that failed repair just below the fracture:

    HP scope probe flanges - repair disk
    HP scope probe flanges – repair disk

    Some epoxy around the rim of the flange, plus filling the missing sector, looks about as grubby as you’d expect:

    HP Scope Probes - rear
    HP Scope Probes – rear

    That’s a tiny zit at about 1 o’clock which came off with fingernail pressure.

    From the business end, it actually looks pretty snappy:

    HP Scope Probes - front
    HP Scope Probes – front

    I’m mildly tempted to preemptively reinforce the other probes…

    The OpenSCAD source code joins two parts with coincident faces, but it worked out OK for once:

    // Tek Scope Probe Flange
    // Ed Nisley KE4ZNU November 2013
    
    //- Extrusion parameters must match reality!
    //  Print with 2 shells and 3 solid layers
    
    ThreadThick = 0.25;
    ThreadWidth = 0.40;
    
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    
    Protrusion = 0.1;			// make holes end cleanly
    
    function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);
    
    //----------------------
    // Dimensions
    
    FlangeOD = 16.0;
    FlangeID = 8.75;
    FlangeThick = IntegerMultiple(1.25,ThreadThick);
    
    DiskOD = FlangeOD + 4*ThreadWidth;
    DiskThick = FlangeThick + 4*ThreadThick;
    
    NumSides = 8*4;
    
    //----------------------
    // Useful routines
    
    module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) {			// based on nophead's polyholes
    
      Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
    
      FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
    
      cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,
               h=Height,
    	   $fn=Sides);
    }
    
    module ShowPegGrid(Space = 10.0,Size = 1.0) {
    
      Range = floor(50 / Space);
    
    	for (x=[-Range:Range])
    	  for (y=[-Range:Range])
    		translate([x*Space,y*Space,Size/2])
    		  %cube(Size,center=true);
    
    }
    
    //----------------------
    // Build it
    
    ShowPegGrid();
    
    	difference() {
    		union() {
    			translate([0,0,2*ThreadThick])
    				cylinder(r=DiskOD/2,h=DiskThick,$fn=NumSides);			// main repair part
    			cylinder(r1=(DiskOD - 2*ThreadWidth)/2,r2=DiskOD/2,h=2*ThreadThick,$fn=NumSides);
    		}
    		translate([0,0,(DiskThick - FlangeThick)])				// flange clearance
    			PolyCyl(FlangeOD,2*FlangeThick,NumSides);
    		translate([0,0,-DiskThick/2])
    			PolyCyl(FlangeID,2*DiskThick,NumSides);
    	}
    
  • Improved Alignment Pin Hole for Split 3D Prints

    I’ve been working on an object (more on this later) that requires precise alignment of two parts that capture a nut deep inside. This calls for alignment pins, similar to the ones I used for, say, the Triple-Cylinder Thing:

    Cylinder Thing - rotated
    Cylinder Thing – rotated

    The general idea is to design holes that fit the pins, then locate them at the parting line of the model, where they’re subtracted from the solid and appear in exactly the proper places when the model splits for printing:

    Cylinder Thing - alignment pegs
    Cylinder Thing – alignment pegs

    You slather solvent glue on both halves, jam pins into the holes, slap the parts together, and clamp until cured. Works fine, I use pins all over the place.

    The gotcha of using just a (polygonal) cylinder as the hole: if you glue one end of the pin at a time, a small rim of dissolved plastic may form around the pin at the surface. That can bond the two halves together or prevent them from joining properly after being disassembled.

    Sooo, here’s a new alignment pin hole with a gutter around the pin on both surfaces to capture the glop:

    Alignment pin hole - overview
    Alignment pin hole – overview

    Remember, that’s the negative volume that will hold the pin, not the pin itself!

    Here’s how it works in real plastic, with a 1.75 mm peg glued into one hole with a bit of crud in the gutter:

    Alignment Hole and Pin
    Alignment Hole and Pin

    The secret to making the gutter work: offset the second layer by half the thread width, so that it’s reasonably well supported on the first layer. If you don’t do that, the inner layers simply drop down through the hole and fill the gutter. Even doing that, notice the distortion of the first few layers inside the hole.

    The OpenSCAD source code looks about like you’d expect:

    //-- Locating pin hole with glue recess
    
    module LocatingPin(Dia=PinOD,Len=5.00) {
    
    	translate([0,0,-ThreadThick])
    		PolyCyl((Dia + 2*ThreadWidth),2*ThreadThick,4);
    
    	translate([0,0,-2*ThreadThick])
    		PolyCyl((Dia + 1*ThreadWidth),4*ThreadThick,4);
    
    	translate([0,0,-(Len/2 + ThreadThick)])
    		PolyCyl(Dia,(Len + 2*ThreadThick),4);
    }
    

    Ideally, the pin length should extend at least two diameters into each side of the object, but you can feed in whatever you need to make it come out right.

    The PolyCyl() routine produces a low-vertex-count polygon that circumscribes the nominal diameter, which is what you need for vertical holes in 3D printed objects:

    module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) {			// based on nophead's polyholes
    
      Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
    
      FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
    
      cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,
               h=Height,
    	   $fn=Sides);
    }
    

    Tip o’ the cycling helmet to nophead for figuring out the polyhole idea and explaining why they’re needed…

  • Plant Stand Feet

    The houseplants have migrated indoors after spending a summer charging up in the sun on the patio, which means it’s time to replace the silicone rubber feet on the bottom of the plant shelves. This year, I printed a set of feet to fit the hex-head adjustable feet:

    Plant Stand Foot - installed
    Plant Stand Foot – installed

    The pencil-stem plant on the left, for whatever it’s worth, is a perfectly healthy Rhipsalis that greatly enjoyed the summer sun.

    The feet print upside-down to give the surface around the hex a smooth finish. I used Slic3r’s Hilbert Curve for pattern a bit more interesting than the usual parallel lines:

    Plant Shelf Foot - as built
    Plant Shelf Foot – as built

    The Hilbert curve doesn’t fit neatly into a non-rectangular shape, but it’s close enough.

    The solid model includes the support structure:

    Plant Shelf Foot - solid model - bottom
    Plant Shelf Foot – solid model – bottom

    Which pops out cleanly:

    Plant Shelf Foot - support material detail
    Plant Shelf Foot – support material detail

    Yes, that’s a shred of red filament embedded on the left side. Cleanliness is next to impossible…

    The fuzzy felt feet come from a 6 mm thick slab of the stuff:

    Plant Shelf Foot - cutting felt plugs
    Plant Shelf Foot – cutting felt plugs

    The round socket wall leaves about 2 mm of felt showing at the bottom; it’s not very compressible and that should suffice to keep the plastic off the table.

    The OpenSCAD source code:

    // Feet for a wire-shelf plant stand
    // Ed Nisley KE4ZNU October 2013
    
    Layout = "Build";			// Show Build
    
    Support = true;
    
    //- Extrusion parameters must match reality!
    //  Print with 2 shells and 3 solid layers
    
    ThreadThick = 0.25;
    ThreadWidth = 0.40;
    
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    
    Protrusion = 0.1;			// make holes end cleanly
    
    //----------------------
    // Dimensions
    
    StandFootOD = 18.0;			// hex across flats
    StandFootDepth = 5.0;		//  ... socket depth
    
    FeltPadOD = 25.0;			// felt foot diameter
    FeltPadDepth = 4.0;			//  ... depth
    
    FootBaseThick = 6*ThreadThick;	// between foot and pad
    FootWall = 4*ThreadWidth;		// around exterior
    
    FootOD = 2*FootWall + max(StandFootOD,FeltPadOD);
    echo(str("Foot OD: ",FootOD));
    
    FootTall = StandFootDepth + FootBaseThick + FeltPadDepth;
    echo(str(" ... height: "),FootTall);
    
    NumSides = 8*4;
    
    //----------------------
    // Useful routines
    
    module FootPad() {
    
    	difference() {
    
    		cylinder(r=FootOD/2,h=FootTall,$fn=NumSides);
    
    		translate([0,0,FeltPadDepth + FootBaseThick])
    			PolyCyl(StandFootOD,2*StandFootDepth,6);
    
    		translate([0,0,-Protrusion])
    			PolyCyl(FeltPadOD,(FeltPadDepth + Protrusion),NumSides);
    
    	}
    }
    
    // Locating pin hole with glue recess
    
    module LocatingPin() {
    
    	translate([0,0,-ThreadThick])
    		PolyCyl((PinOD + 2*ThreadWidth),2*ThreadThick,4);
    	translate([0,0,-(PinLength/2 + ThreadThick)])
    		PolyCyl(PinOD,(PinLength + 2*ThreadThick),4);
    
    }
    
    module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) {			// based on nophead's polyholes
    
      Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
    
      FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
    
      cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,
               h=Height,
    	   $fn=Sides);
    }
    
    module ShowPegGrid(Space = 10.0,Size = 1.0) {
    
      Range = floor(50 / Space);
    
    	for (x=[-Range:Range])
    	  for (y=[-Range:Range])
    		translate([x*Space,y*Space,Size/2])
    		  %cube(Size,center=true);
    
    }
    
    //-------------------
    // Build it...
    
    ShowPegGrid();
    
    if (Layout == "Show")
    	FootPad();
    
    if (Layout == "Build") {
    	translate([0,0,FootTall])
    		rotate([180,0,0])
    			FootPad();
    	if (Support)
    		color("Yellow")
    			for (Seg=[0:5]) {
    				rotate(30 + 360*Seg/6)
    				translate([0,0,(StandFootDepth - ThreadThick)/2])
    					cube([(StandFootOD - 3*ThreadWidth),
    						  2*ThreadWidth,
    						  (StandFootDepth - ThreadThick)],
    						  center=true);
    				}
    }
    
  • Makergear M2: Reverse-engineering the X-min Wire Cover

    The Makergear M2 comes with a plastic block that covers the X-min switch wiring and anchors the end of the filament guide. Because the guide wasn’t anchored to the block, bumping the guide tended to bend the filament where it exited the block. To prevent that, I hot-melt-glued the guide to the block, which really wasn’t particularly elegant. This picture shows the X-min switch relocated to contact the platform, with the slightly out of focus blob anchoring the guide off to the right:

    M2 - Z-min switch at rear X gantry
    M2 – Z-min switch at rear X gantry

    Makergear provides STL files of the M2’s printable bits, including several versions of the wire cover block. This corresponds to the one on my M2, although the rounded edges don’t come through in the plastic very welll:

    Stock M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide - solid model
    Stock M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide – solid model

    Because STL files aren’t editable, I reverse-engineered the dimensions into an OpenSCAD model that I could use as the basis for a different guide. This is just the basic wire cover, minus the filament guide extension, plus a flat end that wraps around the edge of the chassis:

    M2 Wire Cover - reverse engineered
    M2 Wire Cover – reverse engineered

    The trick is to import the STL into OpenSCAD, then build a model that matches the key dimensions. Fortunately, Makergear used hard metric sizes for everything, so most of the numbers came out as integers or single-place decimals:

    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide - overlay reverse engineered
    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide – overlay reverse engineered

    The shimmer indicates coincident surfaces; that’s ordinarily a Very Bad Thing, but in this case it shows that the dimensions match. The top of the holes have neat hexagonal patterns where my straight-sided PolyHoles extend through their chamfered circular holes:

    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide - overlay - hole detail
    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide – overlay – hole detail

    Unlike my from-scratch OpenSCAD models, this one bristles with magic numbers that describe the dimensions of the M2 STL model. The basic shape comes from an extruded polygon matching the outside walls, another extruded polygon knocking out the wire channel, then cubes lopping off the top surfaces:

    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide - overlay - F12 view
    M2 Wire Cover Filament Guide – overlay – F12 view

    The end result of all that thrashing around has a certain Soviet Concrete look to it:

    M2 Wire Cover - OpenSCAD solid model
    M2 Wire Cover – OpenSCAD solid model

    This version lacks the filament guide; I wanted to make sure all the protrusions and channels fit, which they sort of did:

    M2 reverse engineered wire cover - installed
    M2 reverse engineered wire cover – installed

    The next version will have slightly more clearance on the side and slightly less on the top; that’s easy to do now that I have an editable OpenSCAD model.

    The OpenSCAD source code:

    // Improved M2 filament guide and X-min switch wire guide
    // Ed Nisley KE4ZNU - Oct 2013
    
    function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);
    
    Protrusion = 0.1;
    
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    
    //- Sizes
    
    PlateMinThick = 8.0;				// basic thickness excluding wire guides
    PlateLength = 5.0;					// from side of frame beyond top wire guide
    
    TopGuideLength = 7.0;				// protrusion from plate
    
    PlateThick = PlateMinThick + TopGuideLength;
    
    echo(str("Total thickness: ",PlateThick));
    
    //- Adjust hole diameter to make the size come out right
    
    module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) {			// based on nophead's polyholes
    
      Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
    
      FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
    
      cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,h=Height,$fn=Sides);
    }
    
    //- Put peg grid on build surface
    
    module ShowPegGrid(Space = 10.0,Size = 1.0) {
    
      RangeX = floor(100 / Space);
      RangeY = floor(125 / Space);
    
    	for (x=[-RangeX:RangeX])
    	  for (y=[-RangeY:RangeY])
    		translate([x*Space,y*Space,Size/2])
    		  %cube(Size,center=true);
    
    }
    
    //- Define basic block shape
    //  Mostly reverse engineered from
    //    https://github.com/MakerGear/M2/blob/master/Printed%20Parts/STL/M2%20X%20Endstop%20Wire%20Cover%20with%20Filament%20Guide.stl
    //	Hence all the magic numbers...
    
    module BaseBlock() {
    
    SideGuideLength = 4.0;				// protrusion = even with frame interior
    ChannelDepth = 4.5;					// wiring channel
    FrameOffset = 28;
    
    	translate([18,FrameOffset,0]) {			// align neatly for later processing
    
    		if (true)
    			color("Green",0.3)
    				translate([-18,22,15])
    					rotate([-90,0,-90])
    						import("/mnt/bulkdata/Project Files/Thing-O-Matic/M2 Parts/Filament Guide/M2+X+Endstop+Wire+Cover+with+Filament+Guide.stl",
    								convexity=10);
    
    		difference() {
    			linear_extrude(height=PlateThick,convexity=5)		// main block
    				polygon(points=[[0,0],[0,22],[12,22],[12,7.5],[22,7.5],
    								[22,-(PlateLength + FrameOffset)],[-18,-(PlateLength + FrameOffset)],
    								[-18,0]
    						]);
    
    			for (i=[-1,0])
    				translate([17,((i*15.0)+ 1.05),-Protrusion])
    					rotate(180/6) {
    						PolyCyl(3.1,(PlateMinThick + 2*Protrusion),6);		// screw holes
    						PolyCyl(5.7,(3.0 + Protrusion),6);					//  ... countersink
    					}
    
    			translate([0,0,(PlateMinThick - ChannelDepth)])		// wire channel
    				linear_extrude(height=15,convexity=5)
    					polygon(points=[[2,-5],[2,19],[10,19],[10,-22],[-15,-22],[-15,-5]
    							]);
    
    			translate([-10,14,PlateMinThick])				// M2 frame
    				rotate(-90)
    					cube([42,35,10],center=false);
    
    			translate([-5,5,(PlateMinThick + SideGuideLength)])	// shorten side guide
    				cube([20,20,10],center="false");
    
    		}
    	}
    
    }
    
    //- Build it
    
    ShowPegGrid();
    
    BaseBlock();
    
  • Makergear M2: Relocating the Z-Min Switch

    Fairly obviously, taping the Z-min switch to the back of the X gantry isn’t a long-term solution. There’s just enough clearance between the extruder and the X gantry for the switch, so I made a small block with clearance holes for the screws holding the X axis linear slide rail in place and tapping holes for the M2.5×0.45 screws in the switch:

    Z-min Front Mount Switch Block - solid model
    Z-min Front Mount Switch Block – solid model

    Not much to it, is there? That printed just fine with the taped-in-place switch and exactly fit the screws; the rail screws dropped right through the holes and the switch screws tapped their way in.

    The stock M2 cable reaches to the front of the X gantry, but only with the switch mounted to the left side:

    M2 Z-min switch - left gantry
    M2 Z-min switch – left gantry

    Those are 25 mm M3 screws shortened to about 19 mm; the one on the right looks a bit short to me, too.

    Unfortunately, that spot on the gantry is the only place you can pick up the M2 with one hand: it balances perfectly when you (well, I) put four fingers between the five leftmost rail screws. It’s a beast to carry any other way, so that switch had to move.

    So I spliced in a snippet of six conductor cable, just so I could match the original color code, replaced the red through-hold LED with a blue SMD LED, and moved it to the middle of the gantry:

    M2 Z-min switch - center gantry
    M2 Z-min switch – center gantry

    The view from below shows a sticky clamp holding a bight of the original cable and a small clamp (bent & drilled from a steel strap) holding the new cable in place:

    M2 Z-min switch - center gantry - bottom view
    M2 Z-min switch – center gantry – bottom view

    It’s once again possible to grab the printer and lug it away…

    The first test piece was Madscifi’s classic Tiny Toy Dump Truck, because I needed a show-n-tell tchotchke for a Squidwrench meeting:

    M2 Z-min switch - center gantry - in action
    M2 Z-min switch – center gantry – in action

    Yes, that dangling switch lever looks precarious, but it can’t touch the platform because the nozzle is below it.

    With the switch in place, I melted a blob of solder atop the brass tubing on the platform, popped it off, and removed the residue with a razor scraper.

    Before doing the truck, however, I had to recalibrate the Z switch and make the homing sequence do a different dance:

    • Home Y and leave the platform at the rear
    • Home X and move it to the far right to clear the platform
    • Home Z against the platform glass

    The complete start.gcode sequence (which isn’t really a separate file in Slic3r, but the notation helps keep things straight):

    ;-- Slic3r Start G-Code for M2 starts --
    ;  Ed Nisley KE4NZU - 7 Oct 2013
    ; Z-min switch at platform, must move nozzle to X=130 to clear platform
    M140 S[first_layer_bed_temperature]	; start bed heating
    G90				; absolute coordinates
    G21				; millimeters
    M83				; relative extrusion distance
    M84				; disable stepper current
    ;G4 S3			; allow Z stage to freefall to the floor
    G28 Y0			; home Y to be sure of clearing probe point in X
    G92 Y-127 		; set origin to 0 = center of plate
    G28 X0			; home X
    G92 X-95		; set origin to 0 = center of plate
    G1 X130 F30000	; move off platform to right side
    G28 Z0			; home Z
    G92 Z-4.55		; set origin to measured z offset
    G0 Z10 F2000    ; get nozzle clearance
    G0 X0 Y-124 Z3.0 F20000     ; set up for priming
    M190 S[first_layer_bed_temperature]	; wait for bed to finish heating
    M109 S[first_layer_temperature]	; set extruder temperature and wait
    G1 Z0.0 F2000	; plug extruder on plate
    G1 E10 F300		; prime to get pressure
    G1 Z5 F2000		; rise above blob
    G1 X5 Y-123 F30000	; move away from blob
    G1 Z0.0 F2000		; dab nozzle to remove outer snot
    G4 P1			; pause to clear
    G1 Z0.5 F2000		; clear bed for travel
    ;-- Slic3r Start G-Code ends --
    

    The G92 Z-4.55 instruction sets the Z position (without moving the stage) to the measured difference between the switch trip point and the nozzle tip.

    Finding that value is a two-step process:

    • Manually home Z against the platform (with the nozzle off to the right!)
    • Issue G92 Z0 to define the switch trip point as Z=0.0
    • Move the Z stage downward by a known distance so it clears the nozzle
    • Move the nozzle over the platform
    • Measure the distance between nozzle and platform (perhaps with a tapered gauge)
    • Subtract that measurement from the distance you moved the nozzle

    For example, I lowered the platform by 7.0 mm and measured 2.6 mm between the nozzle and the platform, so the G92 value = -7.0 + 2.6 = -4.4. Put that in the start.gcode G92 instruction: G92 Z-4.4.

    That’ll get you in the ballpark, so print a thinwall open box and measure its top-to-bottom height at the corners. The second box came out about 4.85 mm tall, which means the nozzle was 0.15 mm too close to the platform: subtract 0.15 from the G92 setting: -4.4 – 0.15 = -4.55.

    The next thinwall box came out exactly 5.0 mm tall.

    Then I could print that truck, which came out just fine, apart from the usual slight drooping where the filament must bridge the left side of the dump box:

    M2 Tiny Toy Dump Truck test piece
    M2 Tiny Toy Dump Truck test piece

    After breaking one errant strand from the left side of the hinge, everything moved smoothly.

    I must tinker up some G-Code to measure the switch closure point along the length of the platform, which would detect front-to-back tilt.

    The OpenSCAD source code for the switch mounting block:

    // Block to mount M2 Z-min switch on X gantry
    // Ed Nisley KE4ZNU - Oct 2013
    
    //- Extrusion parameters - must match reality!
    
    ThreadThick = 0.25;
    ThreadWidth = 0.40;
    
    function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);
    
    Protrusion = 0.1;
    
    HoleWindage = 0.2;
    
    //- Sizes
    
    SwitchScrewOD = 2.05;					// microswitch screw tapping
    SwitchScrewOC = 9.5;					//  ... on-center spacing
    
    GantryScrewOD = 3.0;					// X rail screw clearance
    GantryScrewOC = 25.0;					//  ... on-center spacing along X
    GantryScrewOffset = 12.0;				//  ... Y offset from gantry front
    
    BlockSize = [1.5*GantryScrewOC,17.0,5.0];			// XYZ dimensions as mounted
    
    SwitchScrewLength = BlockSize[1] - 5*ThreadWidth;	// net length of switch screws
    echo ("Max switch screw length: ",SwitchScrewLength + 5.0);		// ... allow switch thickness
    
    //- Adjust hole diameter to make the size come out right
    
    module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) {			// based on nophead's polyholes
    
      Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);
    
      FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);
    
      cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,h=Height,$fn=Sides);
    }
    
    //- Put peg grid on build surface
    
    module ShowPegGrid(Space = 10.0,Size = 1.0) {
    
      RangeX = floor(100 / Space);
      RangeY = floor(125 / Space);
    
    	for (x=[-RangeX:RangeX])
    	  for (y=[-RangeY:RangeY])
    		translate([x*Space,y*Space,Size/2])
    		  %cube(Size,center=true);
    
    }
    
    //- Build it
    
    ShowPegGrid();
    
    difference() {
    	translate([-BlockSize[0]/2,-GantryScrewOffset,0])
    		cube(BlockSize,center=false);
    	for (i=[-1,1]) {
    		translate([i*GantryScrewOC/2,0,-Protrusion])
    			rotate(-90)
    				PolyCyl(GantryScrewOD,(BlockSize[2] + 2*Protrusion));
    		translate([i*SwitchScrewOC/2,-(GantryScrewOffset + Protrusion),BlockSize[2]/2])
    			rotate([-90,0,0])
    				rotate(90)
    					PolyCyl(SwitchScrewOD,(SwitchScrewLength + Protrusion));
    	}
    }