I redesigned a Thingiverse MPCNC drag chain and gave it several worthwhile improvements. If you intend to print your chains, check it out: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3117461
That looks great. And parametric to boot!
I will add a note, which is that if you’re planning on printing a lot of these, change the orientation to point in each direction. If there is any small amount of error in your printer, printing them in opposite orientations will cancel them out. So if you need 48 of them, print 12x in each direction. Just my $0.02.
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Printing this now, really nice model - not one break and also printing in ABS (Purple)!
Jeff
thanks for this, I’ve printed cable chain before and it was a waste of plastic since they all stuck together through lack of chamfer on the bottom layer.
Hope it goes well for you! Other cable chains I printed fell apart easier than they snapped together… These are definitely better. Also, if they fuse, the chamfer lets you snap them apart cleanly and easily with pliers.
One problem I did note is there is a bit more horizontal sag, so not sure if they will be good enough for the z axis motor where they will need to extend out horizontally in mid air…
Now I am working on this mount, but Fusion 360 is causing me a bit of grief losing references as I refine it.
A very big thank you Lindsay.
Printed two, OK, printed nine OK.
Fusion 360 hates me.
I tried to print this https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1824144 and after the second set, it seems to steer to one direction. I then tried to print it mirrored/ rotated 180/ mirrored and rotated 180, but it still steers the same direction. Hopefully this chain is more promising.
Thanks again Lindsay.
I’m afraid I could not comply with your licensing conditions I do not know what “Happy Pants” are.
I’m not very good with Fusion 360 but if anyone wants the files for the end brackets they are welcome.
The top bracket does need some engineering though.
Happy pants: obscure 80’s trend, brightly coloured baggy pants, though no so flattering. Couldn’t see any examples on Google images - possibly because no-one ever wore them again.
I had wondered if you meant fashion wear from my youth (now I’m giving my age away)
I hadn’t realized they originated a decade and a half before my birth.
now you will all be doing mental arithmetic.
Bill.
Are you talking about hammer pants?
I had to look them up Jeff, they look like Aladdin pants to me, never hear of the fellow.
Back on subject second drag chain printed twice as long as the first to go along the back.
Thanks again.
Bill.
I haven’t been able to get the Anti-sag links perfect and I ran into a problem I can’t solve:
The nobs or pins on the anti-sag links are printing as if someone had taken to them with a file at 45 degrees -making them weak and easy to pop out. I don’t understand why. Could you see how you go printing one? Thanks.
by the way, your thingiverse page declared that the drag chain designed to 3 Cat 5 cables. using Cat 5 here, imho, not good idea. because each cat5 wire is single copper fiber.
I used cable with 6 wires where each is multy-fiber 0.22mm^2
CAT-5 and CAT-6 come in either solid core or stranded wire. Patch cables will always be stranded, the rolls of in-wall stuff you get at the hardware store will always be solid core. I’ve never seen rolls of patch cable at the hardware stores. You’re right though, solid core wire will eventually work harden and break, causing all kinds of weirdness.
Thanks, actually I use multicore Cat 5, not solid core.
Also I was surprised to see that it didn’t seem to be bothered with a whopping 5 Amps running through a single wire… So good enough for my steppers I think.
Probably pretty close to the actual limit of the wire capability. They’re specced to 2 amps per wire.
it’s new to me. we has cable factory in our city, biggest in our country and they exports products to Europe. local market full of their products.
and of course they make LAN cables too. in their catalog has only LAN cables with solid wire, 23AWG