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Pressure roller mod

Discussion in 'Original Phlatprinter MODIFICATIONS' started by Jnida63, Oct 30, 2009.

  1. Jnida63

    Jnida63 Member

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    Eh, kinda silly but after looking for aluminum to make one like Randy's I gave up and was able to make one out of #64 rubber bands and 4 drywall screws. Works perfect!!!

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
    Jnida63, Oct 30, 2009
    #1
  2. rjarois

    rjarois Moderator Staff Member

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    cool Jeff...the big thing is its not really a scientific big deal....its the concept that makes it work...Dennis, "dorsal" has a good idea with lead shot...the finer shot you use the more heavy you can control the weight...as with the spring mod, or in your case, you control the spring pressure....it helped my machine big time....randy.
     
    rjarois, Oct 30, 2009
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  3. Thewz

    Thewz Moderator

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    Looks really good and way to "think outside the box"....literally....but maybe you should get a bushing that fits over the roller shaft. That'll decrease the rolling resistance from the rubber bands rubbing on the shaft.

    Matthew
     
    Thewz, Oct 30, 2009
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  4. meistertek

    meistertek Member

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    Dude that's cool! Nice and simple and it gets the job done!
     
    meistertek, Oct 31, 2009
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  5. mavacpjm71

    mavacpjm71 New Member

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    Looks good. My only questions is, Does the rubber band restrict the rolling movement of the pressure roller. My guess is yes. Could this not cause a sticking action which would possibly induce a slippage or bind in the movement of the foam on the roller ?

    Interested, let me know how it works during a print job.

    -Peter
     
    mavacpjm71, Oct 31, 2009
    #5
  6. Thewz

    Thewz Moderator

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    I thought the same Peter hence my recommendation above.
     
    Thewz, Oct 31, 2009
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  7. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

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    That's a great idea!
    On my MKII right now I have two long springs that hook to the pressure roller axle on each side. The springs then go down through the cabinet and a hooked on a couple screws inside.
    It works great as well but its a real pain to access the inside of the cabinet because of the fact that you have to disconnect the springs every time you want to open the cutting surface.
    This design you have over comes that problem.
    We have been experimenting with a spring mod over the pressure roller axle like you have here but the problem that we keep running into is that to gain any kind of extra pressure besides the weight of the roller on the MKII is you have to clamp the lid down, otherwise the lid on wants to float. Especially if you are using thicker material. So with that being said and will all the test we have run, the easiest solution for us is to add weight to the roller itself and let gravity do the rest. We are doing test now to find the best weight ratio without crushing the foam. We were thinking that you could have a separate roller you could add if you would be cutting wood for instance and you do not want any skewing, it would take very little time to switch it out on the MKII.
    Mark
     
    kram242, Oct 31, 2009
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  8. 7up

    7up Moderator Staff Member

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    Jnida63, for my spring mod I used "chain lock" latches, you know those safety chains on your door, the part that mounts on the door and the chain part slides into. the slot was a perfect fit for the roller axles and they roll really smoth. They even came with mounting screws and I think I gave maybe $3 bucks each. Also the chains can be used as lid stops to take the strain off your hinges when the lid is fully open.
     
    7up, Oct 31, 2009
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  9. kyyu

    kyyu Active Member

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    7up, That sound like a interesting idea. So how did you do the spring part of it?
     
    kyyu, Oct 31, 2009
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  10. Jnida63

    Jnida63 Member

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    I looked at those latches but could not find a compression spring suitable to fit inside, I spent 4 hours from lowe to home depot to local hardware stores and gave up. I put some pex pipe over the ends that spins and take the lateral forces off the rubber bands.
    With this cheap mod I found I could add or remove the amount of rubber bands to give more or less tension as needed
     
    Jnida63, Oct 31, 2009
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  11. 7up

    7up Moderator Staff Member

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    The latches I used were open at both ends, I used a block of wood to secure the spring and the spring was for an RC truck. They come in many different tensions from soft to extra stiff.

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
    7up, Nov 1, 2009
    #11
  12. foamlvr

    foamlvr Member

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    7up, Nice drawing, and explination. That is a real easy and nice spring mod. The more I look at that drawing, the more details I see that I want to know how'd he do that. Was it done with SU7 ?
     
    foamlvr, Nov 1, 2009
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  13. 7up

    7up Moderator Staff Member

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    Thanks, yes done in SU7 in just a few minutes.
     
    7up, Nov 1, 2009
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  14. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    Jnida63, I used your idea and expanded a little. Like the others I was worried about the drag on the rubber bands... Here's my mod on your mod....

    I ran a test cut on some balsa and I no longer need my fence even at 40ipm. The quality of cut suffers at 40, so I backed down to 30 with better cut quality. No latches or weights on the lid needed. I am presently using a 2 flute end mill. I ordered one of Mark and Trish's bit kits. It was supposed to be here today, but the mail man never showed.... Through rain, sleet and snow must not include 20" of snow :D Attached files [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    rcav8r, Feb 6, 2010
    #14
  15. Jnida63

    Jnida63 Member

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    There is no drag on my rollers as the caps are not glued to the rod, so the rod stays still and the caps rotate on the rod, I use 1/4 inch axle locks from the local hobby store to keep it from floating left to right on the rod
     
    Jnida63, May 25, 2010
    #15
  16. frankrcfc

    frankrcfc New Member

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    That traction tape looks like it's giving way like mine did. Last Sunday I did the spiral wrap method with the tack spray. Works perfect and looks good, and even now. Made half dozen cuts already and have had no problem what so ever. ;)
     
    frankrcfc, May 25, 2010
    #16

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