Magnetic Stirrer 3

We finally got all the pieces in the same place, and were able to test the Magnetic Stirrer.  Looks like its working good.  The motor I picked is considerably overpowered.  I can trim the power level when I design the next generation Magnetic Stirrer.

Magnetic Stirrer 2

Back in the Metal Shop, my favorite place, I am building the mounting system for the Magnetic Stirrer.  I decided to use 0.125 Aluminum sheeting to build the frame pieces.  Its locally available at Turner Hardware.  The closest piece I could get to the size I wanted was 12" x 18", so first I had to reduce the sheet to the 8" x 8" squares I want.  Then I can mark the parts, and start cutting.

I draw lines on the part with a carbide scribe so they are durable during the cutting process.  First thing is making the holes that hold everything together during the cutting process.  The I can clamp the two pieces together so all the cuts are the same on both pieces.  Then I'll clamp the whole jig onto the Mini Mill, and make the round cuts first with an endmill.

I jam a bolt into the table, and through a T Nut to make an axis.  Then line up the part, and nibble out the circle part.  Once I found the process to do this, it makes round cuts easy, and precise.  There are some select parts I don't want to cut like this, so when I get to those parts I have to disassemble the jig, then put it back together with only the parts I want to cut.  Next is cutting the straight lines.

This is a hacksaw job, a good challenge to make straight lines.  Cut wide, and grind into tolerance, LOL!  No, I'm pretty good at making straight lines.  After this I will make the ventilation slots, and mount holes for the motor.  The bottom piece will have a clearance hole in the middle for the body of the motor, but no motor contact.  Then also on the bottom piece there is a shelf for the motor Speed Control.

I've got a little more machine work on the bottom piece, then I can do a test fit.  There is one more piece which is the shelf on top where the stir vessel is placed.  It will be 1/4" plexiglass, and I'm not sure how I want to cut it...

3D Printing

We got the 3D Printer printing last week.  Finally had some time off to work on it.  There were problems with the Extruder Head feed mechanism, too much tension.  Also the feed motor was binding.  We re-adjusted the tension on the screws that hold the feed motor to the extruder to free up its motion.  Also we disassembled the filament path into the extruder, and found some obstructions, then cleared them.  We had to coax it along a bit, but we finally made some printed pieces.

Here is a little bit of video to show the thing in action.  It takes a long time to make a part.  The large Tron took an hour , and fifteen minutes...