MadModder

That's great Joules! 

Your tries learning Morse code sounds like my many tries at learning touch typing over the years. Even Mavis Beacon flunked me. 

 

So cool, Joules!

Sorry I missed the start of this thread -- away on vacation to Quebec city, then brought daughter back to college in NYC.

So you're practicing Morse code!

I'm expecting a cat's whisker receiver next, and a looooong antenna. Quaker oats box coil, at least on this side of pond!

Oh also Fahnestock clip wiring on a wooden cigar box lid chassis!

Delayed as I was awaiting parts only for them to arrive and have an M6 x 0.75 thread.    Went to Arceuro site only to find them winding up business and none of the tooling I needed in stock 

Cromwell Tools to the rescue, so with new taps and dies on with the Morse Paddle.

Final bit of milling to do, I had intended to use a 3.5mm stereo jack as everyone else does.   However my Steam Punk-ish design called for something else.   As I had a bag full of audio leads I decided to go with a phono lead, more in keeping with the materials used.   This meant my ground screw was no longer needed, seen in the upper middle.

Finally completed paddle with phono's installed and the wood paddle fitted and trimmed ready for use, errr it still needs wiring.

Nothing fancy, No, I really mean nothing fancy.  I crimped some connectors only for them to be too large and potential for shorting or standing proud of the base.   They got cut off and the remaining crimp tinned and wire soldered direct.   The wire isn't great but it's what I had on hand.   Check for shorts, none found so paint wires in clear nail varnish to lock them in place and offer insulation round the terminals.

Last job, hook up the paddle and give it a test.   I actually shot a 17 second video, but can't figure how to get it off this iPhone and in a format that isn't stupidly large ???     It does work, and works a lot better than I can send.   Still learning Morse, do a bit every day (not on air) using a small electronic keyer that handles the paddle.   You hold the paddle to each side for continuous dit's or dah's

 

I'm pretty sure that I'm done reprinting grey parts now.  There was enough of a color difference between the 2 rolls of grey filament that I wound up reprinting almost all of the grey parts. I think that I reprinted 58 parts, there were 7 parts that wouldn't be visible so I didn't reprint them.  I wound up with 5 sets of parts that were overnight prints, and several sets that were several hour prints.  The plastic pooping robot was putting in some overtime hours.

I did a test assembly of the heart of the beast, that would be the rotating assembly.  It went fairly well, but initially there was one spot where it would start to bind up. However that has mostly gone away with me exercising it.  I suspect that there were a couple of printer boogers that I missed when cleaning up the parts.  There's only 0.5mm of clearance between the slew bearing outer race clamp and the center post of upper frame.  I kept that clearance small to minimize dirt getting into the slew bearing, that's the only bearing on this thing that isn't either shielded or sealed.  This is what the mostly assembled rotating assembly looks like.


It's only mostly assembled because it still needs to have the slip ring assembly installed right smack in the middle of this thing.  I still need to install the connectors on the slip ring wires.  The only things connected to the slip ring will be the main drive motors and their ESC's.  I'll need to tear everything apart to install the slip ring, and let me tell you that installing the slew bearing inner race clamp is a royal PAIN IN THE BUTT.  There are six M3 x 35mm button head cap screws that hold it in place, and I'm working in a 27mm diameter hole that's 25mm deep. I can see all the bolt holes, but the only one I can actually work on is the one that's directly under a 7mm notch cut in one side of the 27mm hole.  My 20/20 hindsight tells me I SHOULD have made at least 2 notches, oh well...  When I tear it apart to install the slip ring assembly I'll see if I can find, and fix, what was causing the binding.

Next on the agenda is removing all the remaining support material from the rollers, the drive sprockets, and the idler yokes.  The easiest way to do that for the rollers and sprockets will be on the lathe.  I 3D printed several jigs that will simplify the work holding, but I still expect the clean up to take a couple of days.

Don

Superb