My case for the FloppyEmu!

[olePigeon]

Once I'm done, I'll upload it to Thingiverse and you can have at it.

 

[uniserver]

WOW just 299.00 what a deal!

http://printrbot.com/product-category/3d-printers/

[attachment=0]Screen shot 2014-01-08 at 2.11.29 PM.jpg[/attachment]

i had no idea they were this affordable!

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

:O

back on track: Very nice, oP! I've seen cases where the buttons/extenders are integrated into the injection molded part, I'll be on the lookout for one. I'm assuming that you're printing this face down, so it should be a piece of cake to do the springy/buttony/thingies.

Rapid prototyping makes it easy to do low-production parts which can't be done in the real world of injection molding, no release angle/access/multi-part tooling requirements. [}] ]'>

 

[uniserver]

trash you need a 3d printer!!!!

[attachment=0]picture-27610.gif[/attachment]

 

[olePigeon]

OK, here's 3.0. I changed the size a bit. This is now approximately 1/2 scale of an Apple 3.5" floppy drive.

I just realized as I'm writing this that I forgot the door for the cable extender, but it's now too late in the day. I'll fiddle with it tomorrow morning. Anyway, you'll get the idea. I added clips to keep the board in place, and some dimple thingies so the case will latch shut. You just press gently on the inseam to release, and the top case will pop off. Theoretically. I'll try printing it out tomorrow and give it a whirl. The large squares on the bottom are the same size as the inset squares on a floppy. So any of those classic Apple rectangle feets will stick in there.

[attachment=2]case.png[/attachment]

[attachment=1]clips.png[/attachment]

[attachment=0]buttons.png[/attachment]

 

[uniserver]

LOVE IT!

 

[olePigeon]

My case is on indefinite hold until our 3D printer fixed. It won't print for longer than 10 minutes.

 

[olePigeon]

Here're the case files:

http://olepigeon.trolans.net/case.zip

If anyone has a 3D printer, give it a whirl. I'm anxious to know if the bottom part of the case lines up and clicks together with the top. I'm so close to completing this, it's absolutely frustrating that the printer has decided to stop now. Probably even more frustrating for the tech teacher who has grades do at the end of the week, and no 3D printer for the kids to use.

Argh!

While the 3D printer is down, I'll be working on the spacers for the 2.5" drives. Unfortunately, I won't be able to test them until the printer is fixed. Sigh.

 

[olePigeon]

Decided to call MakerBot instead of wait for an email (which, apparently, takes 24 hours.) They determined by the SN that we have an old plunger based extruder and are sending us a brand new spring based extruder. The old one can't maintain the tension to move the filament through, so it'll just stop and create a divot on the filament. They're sending us a new spring based extruder that should solve that problem.

Huzzah! Should be back and printing by the end of the week.

 

[uniserver]

that is good news!

I am just sitting here thinking of all the possibilities, Uses for a 3d printer!

what temperature does the plastic melt at?

i wonder if one could make the same sort of thing but with aluminum?

 

[olePigeon]

If you use a powder based printer instead of filament, you can print using all sorts of different materials from plastic, to metal, to ceramic.

 

[olePigeon]

Just installed the new extruder. Giving it a go by printing the bottom half of the case. *crosses fingers*

 

[uniserver]

[] ]'>

 

[olePigeon]

First print failed, but I forgot I had custom settings for the printer still. Reset it to default, giving another try.

 

[olePigeon]

Sigh. Still failing. Back to support.

 

[uniserver]

can you get a pie fan to cool the electronics… then send you a new power board? now that you know its not the extruder.

 

[olePigeon]

Looks to be a vibration issue. As it moves the build plate, it starts to wobble and jitter, especially when the print head is moving a lot.

The forums suggest putting felt pads under neath the build plate. I'll see how that goes.

 

[bigmessowires]

What exactly is going wrong when you try to print the case? Sounds very frustrating.

I just unpacked my Printrbot Simple and printed the 5mm calibration cube successfully. The print quality seems mostly OK, though there are a couple of spots where it messed up and left little deformities or stray bits of plastic. Unfortunately the max print area of the Printrbot Simple is a few millimeters too small to print your case model.

 

[olePigeon]

As it gets higher and higher on the build, the part where it's trying to print is moving more and more as the build plate jitters. It then just fails because it's moving so much, the plastic can't adhere to itself. It starts off printing fine, then as it gets taller, it gets brittle and eventually doesn't print anything and just leaves a blob of plastic spaghetti.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

It's cool having a two part case prototyped, but I think you might better to switch to a six part prototype of your prototype case before real frustration builds to the point of taking psychotic retributions upon school property. Been there, done that, but rarely upon the property of others. [}] ]'>

Maybe try doing dovetail joinery for the carcass sides held together with snap-on lid and bottom. :?:

@BMOW: some creative wood joinery would allow you to print a pair of ship-lapped parts that slide together, clicking into place with a latct for easy case removal. The overlapped sections bring the case down to dimensions that you can print.