The New Hotness

Along the same lines as the MPCNC pen holder, I now have one for the 3018:

CNC3018 - Collet pen holder - assembled — CNC3018 – Collet pen holder – assembled

The body happened to be slightly longer than two LM12UU linear bearings stacked end-to-end, which I didn’t realize must be a constraint until I was pressing them into place:

CNC 3018-Pro Collet Holder - LM12UU - solid model — CNC 3018-Pro Collet Holder – LM12UU – solid model

In the unlikely event I need another one, the code will sprout a max() function in the appropriate spot.

Drilling the aluminum rod for the knurled ring produced a really nice chip:

CNC3018 - Collet pen holder - drilling knurled ring — CNC3018 – Collet pen holder – drilling knurled ring

Yeah, a good drill will produce two chips, but I’ll take what I can get.

There’s not much left of the original holder after turning it down to 8 mm so it fits inside the 12 mm rod:

CNC3018 - Collet pen holder - turning collet OD — CNC3018 – Collet pen holder – turning collet OD

Confronted by so much shiny aluminum, I realized I didn’t need an 8 mm hole through the rod, so I cut off the collet shaft and drilled out the back end to clear the flanges on the ink tubes:

CNC3018 - Collet pen holder - drilling out collet — CNC3018 – Collet pen holder – drilling out collet

I figured things would eventually go badly if I trimmed enough ink-filled crimps:

Collet holder - pen cartridge locating flanges — Collet holder – pen cartridge locating flanges

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// Collet Pen Holder in LM12UU linear bearings for CNC3018
	// Ed Nisley KE4ZNU – 2019-10-30

	Layout = "Build"; // [Build, Show, Base, Mount, Plate]

	/* [Hidden] */

	ThreadThick = 0.25; // [0.20, 0.25]
	ThreadWidth = 0.40; // [0.40, 0.40]

	/* [Hidden] */

	Protrusion = 0.1; // [0.01, 0.1]

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	inch = 25.4;

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	//- 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);
	}

	//- Dimensions

	PenOD = 3.5; // pen cartridge diameter

	Bearing = [12.0,21.0,30.0]; // linear bearing body

	SpringSeat = [0.56,10.0,3*ThreadThick]; // wire = ID, coil = OD, seat depth = length

	WallThick = 4.0; // minimum thickness / width

	Screw = [3.0,6.75,25.0]; // holding it all together, OD = washer

	Insert = [3.0,5.5,8.2]; // brass insert
	//Insert = [4.0,6.0,10.0];

	Clamp = [43.2,44.5,34.0]; // tool clamp ring, OD = clearance around top

	LipHeight = IntegerMultiple(2.0,ThreadThick); // above clamp for retaining

	BottomExtension = 25.0; // below clamp to reach workpiece

	MountOAL = LipHeight + Clamp[LENGTH] + BottomExtension; // total mount length
	echo(str("Mount OAL: ",MountOAL));

	Plate = [1.5PenOD,Clamp[ID] – 02*WallThick,WallThick]; // spring reaction plate

	NumScrews = 3;
	ScrewBCD = Bearing[OD] + Insert[OD] + 2*WallThick;

	echo(str("Retainer max OD: ",ScrewBCD – Screw[OD]));

	NumSides = 9*4; // cylinder facets (multiple of 3 for lathe trimming)

	// Basic mount shape

	module CNC3018Base() {

	translate([0,0,MountOAL – LipHeight])
	cylinder(d=Clamp[OD],h=LipHeight,$fn=NumSides);
	translate([0,0,MountOAL – LipHeight – Clamp[LENGTH] – Protrusion])
	cylinder(d=Clamp[ID],h=(Clamp[LENGTH] + 2*Protrusion),$fn=NumSides);
	cylinder(d1=Bearing[OD] + 2*WallThick,d2=Clamp[ID],h=BottomExtension + Protrusion,$fn=NumSides);

	}

	// Mount with holes & c

	module Mount() {

	difference() {
	CNC3018Base();

	translate([0,0,-Protrusion]) // bearing
	PolyCyl(Bearing[OD],2*MountOAL,NumSides);

	for (i=[0:NumScrews – 1]) // clamp screws
	rotate(i*360/NumScrews)
	translate([ScrewBCD/2,0,MountOAL – Clamp[LENGTH]])
	rotate(180/8)
	PolyCyl(Insert[OD],Clamp[LENGTH] + Protrusion,8);
	}

	}

	module SpringPlate() {

	difference() {
	cylinder(d=Plate[OD],h=Plate[LENGTH],$fn=NumSides);

	translate([0,0,-Protrusion])
	PolyCyl(Plate[ID],2*MountOAL,NumSides);

	translate([0,0,Plate.z – SpringSeat[LENGTH]]) // spring retaining recess
	PolyCyl(SpringSeat[OD],SpringSeat[LENGTH] + Protrusion,NumSides);

	for (i=[0:NumScrews – 1]) // clamp screws
	rotate(i*360/NumScrews)
	translate([ScrewBCD/2,0,-Protrusion])
	rotate(180/8)
	PolyCyl(Screw[ID],2*MountOAL,8);
	}

	}


	//—–
	// Build it

	if (Layout == "Base")
	CNC3018Base();

	if (Layout == "Mount")
	Mount();

	if (Layout == "Plate")
	SpringPlate();

	if (Layout == "Show") {
	Mount();
	translate([0,0,1.25*MountOAL])
	rotate([180,0,0])
	SpringPlate();
	}

	if (Layout == "Build") {

	translate([0,-0.75*Clamp[OD],MountOAL])
	rotate([180,0,0])
	Mount();
	translate([0,0.75*Plate[OD],0])
	SpringPlate();
	}

view raw CNC 3018-Pro Collet Holder – LM12UU.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The New Hotness

CNC 3018-Pro: Collet Pen Holder