I have been on the lookout for a good universal mounting system for my MPCNC, and was also contemplating designing one, though my design skills are pretty rudimentary. On 12/30/15, user HicWic uploaded a new universal mount to thingiverse. Check it out: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1234989.
I printed the main receiver, and then used the models provided to make compatible versions of my DW660 mount, laser mount, foam cutter mount, and pen holder. I printed everything in PLA, since I get the best dimensional accuracy with it over ABS. Unfortunately, this mounting system requires VERY close tolerances (a good thing from a tool rigidity point of view) that my 3d printer just could not turn out. I kept the PLA version of the receiver, but reprinted everything else in ABS. With some judicious use of a swiss file and some acetone, I now have some very nice, smooth-fitting, mounts for all my tools.
I will upload my mounts to thingiverse pretty soon, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who had been wishing for a universal mounting system. With a little manual adjusting (or maybe a really really accurate printer), this is a pretty good system.
Thurmond Moore over on the Openbuilds forum has built a foam cutter that uses a MIG welding tip (http://openbuilds.com/threads/brushless-motor-foam-cutter-and-cutting-sheet-foam.5862/). I just ran to Lowes and purchased a card of 10 Blue Hawk brand 0.035" tips and I’m going to use it on your QC version of the foam cutter. I think they should be perfect for this application and we can size the hole to simply thread these in just like we did with the inflation needle. FAR, far easier than boring out a carriage bolt!
I’ve also printed the QC receiver and pen holder to check the fit… mine slip together surprising well with no adjustment at all. If I torque on it and twist it around I feel just the slightest bit of slop but I don’t think at this point it’s enough to worry about. I’m gonna get started printing as soon as I finish this post! – David
I got my QR foam cutter printed. It’s a tad loose and slides into the receiver easily. I think once I put the locking screws in to hold it in place it’ll be fine. I’ll probably adjust the size of the guide needle hole to acommodate the MIG welding tip (1/4"-20 thread I think) eventually but for now I’m thinking a brass insert (the kind you put into MDF to give it some threads) might work. I have some around here somewhere… – David
Looking good, David! I thought I had replied to your earlier post about the mig tips, but I don’t see it. Anyway, I ordered a set of .035 tips from amazon and will give them a try. Are you still using music wire for the needle?
I started playing with these tips this morning… I think they’ll be fine though I’m scrambling a bit to find the quickest/easiest way to mount it on the new QR foam cutter platform.
I have discovered that the 0.035" hole through the tip… isn’t. It’s a hole sized for 0.035" mig-wire… about 0.042" AFAICT So just for grins I ran out and bought a card of 0.025" tips to play with as well… I figured I can always bore/ream out material if necessary. Also, the 1/4"x 20 threads… aren’t. It appears the threads are metric… M6 x 1. I was just contemplating ordering a M6 x 1 tap set for threading the plastic on future foam cutter platforms but I could probably just as easily start a 1/4" x 20 tap for a thread or three and then start the tip’s threads and tighten it up. The taps might be a good thing to have though eventually so will probably order a set off of ebay or amazon…
I’m still using the 0.025" music-wire because I have it, it’s high-quality, and it’s straight. But I have also used 0.025" MIG-wire in the past… I’ve usually “twist-straightened” it for needle and push-rod use and it does fine. I started using the music-wire almost exclusively during foam cutter development because I wanted to use what most people will have access to and be willing to buy… a spool of MIG-wire is a bit expensive to buy for just a couple of feet of wire. – David
