Fully parametric GENTLY bending circular dust port adaptor PROTOTYPE

Description

Are you a DIYer with power tools and/or have an unusual pipe work requirement for your dust extraction? Do you need to EASILY connect two circular ports/pipes together, even if they aren't the same diameter? (or even if they are) Do you KNOW you need a bend in it? Would you like a gentle/constant arc in your bend for the best possible airflow, or to route around certain obstacles? Do you use a CAD app that can read Fusion360 files (or are you willing to sign up for a free Fusion360 account?) ...Then this may be of interest. WHY USE THIS MODEL: In-depth instructions, informative pictures, and near complete flexibility by simply adjusting a few numbers. (Well that's got to help, right?) Connect ANY circular port (regardless of any printable size) to another circular port/pipe/duct work (also regardless of size... could be the same, or entirely different). Some truly beautiful bends can be done. Nice tapered, friction fit ends, completely customizable, and capable of both firm joints and solid seal. They're configured to go around the OUTSIDE of your tool dustport AND pipe for maximum airflow... however, they can be tweaked to go INSIDE a pipe or port. Can save a LOT of time when buying new tools, or doing a complete overhaul of your dust extraction system. WHY WOULDN'T YOU USE THIS MODEL: You need to be able to use Fusion360 or similar app (Instructions are included below) You won't be able to simply download, slice and print. You need to TWEAK it to your needs first. Depending on the angle needed and orientation, printing it could need a LOT of support material. Some glitches in Fusion can make this model extremely fragile to some parametric changes. A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE BEGIN: For those who've seen my other designs. I've got the straight parametric dust port adaptor (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6445290), and a bending one (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6455859) already, you may wonder: "Why have I made this?" The straight one, can't do bends, but is the simplest to use and the most reliable model of the three. The previous "bending" one, is perhaps more accurately described as having "varying degrees of kink" (no innuendos here, I promise). The pipe hits the bend plane, and the bend shoots straight off at whatever angle is set. It's great for tool ports where a smaller adaptor is best suited, even if it increases drag a little. It's fairly robust, can do both straight and bent configurations but can be broken by making the fillet radii too large, or the other angles in the model too straight/tight. Trial and error found a few error-prone cases. So what was my goal with this one? This one.... when it works, is truly bending like the pipe joints you have in you car or home, (with gentle arcs defined by both the bend radius and of course, the bend angle). When it behaves, I believe this is perhaps my finest bending parametric adaptor to date. I also liked the idea of having the option to "go wide" in the middle, so I could possibly use this model as a precursor to building parametric manifolds/mufflers/inline filters and other elaborate pipe work. (Love to hear your potential ideas). SOME ISSUES I'VE NOTICED DURING INITIAL TESTING: Depending on your configuration, if there's a problem... it can lead to truly bizarre looking models, or just stop working entirely. So this is the most troublesome to use, but if you have errors, set a different (lower) bend angle/radius, or try to remove the fillets by deleting them from the time line, or set them to a lower radius value.. If that doesn't work, or the model stops working entirely... I have found it's best to close without saving, and reopen the file. If you do break the model and accidentally save the result, simply delete the project and re download it from here. :~) Yes, Thingiverse is my backup too! WHAT IS SO FINICKY WITH THIS THIS MODEL & HOW DO I OVERCOME THEM? 1. Now this model uses a combination of Fusion's "pipe" function, combined with multiple lofts. The bending pipe + lofts at either end... has been (in my initial testing) somewhat "delicate" when making parametric adjustments. If it breaks, I've found the model just stops properly rendering, so simply choose undo, or NOT to save, and reopen the file, and adjust the parameters from scratch. 2. Gentler angles work most reliably. Although 0.01 to 90 seems rock solid... depending on the bend radius, pipe diameter, etc. 3. If larger bend angles are needed. It's better to incrementally increase the angle to your target angle. If I jumped from 35 to (say) 145 degrees in one hit, it would sometimes misbehave. If I incrementally adjusted it in 20 degree stages, it'd work perfectly. Don't know why... I'm running an old Mac here. (So please let me know if your version of Fusion360 also has this problem). HOW DO I USE THE F3D FILE? Open the f3d file in Fusion360. While in "Design mode" Hit the FX button > user parameters... if you're not using full-screen/maximised window (or just have a low-res screen) then the FX button may well be hidden from view. In that case: Click: modify > parameters > user parameters ...and adjust/enter the values as needed. The parameter names are explained in my uploaded image. Simply enter your (carefully measured and noted) measurements for the EXTERIOR of your respective dust port/pipe. Adjust the diameters of all four points on the adaptor, and adjust the size of any fillets to taste. Then I just right click on the body name (in the browser section on the left side of the screen) then select export mesh > save that as an STL/3MF/whatever, and slice it up accordingly using your slicer software of choice. Please note: If you're a user of the original AnkerMake slicer instead of the beta AnkerMake Studio which is Prusa Slicer based, then please note you should export as STL because the AnkerMake slicer app doesn't handle 3MF files. PrusaSlicer and Cura based slicer users should be fine with 3MF files. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS? The parameters should be self-explanatory, please see the included diagram...but to ensure your success, I'll add some suggestions here and there: For the wider end of both sockets, I usually like to add between 0.3mm and 0.5mm to whatever outside diameter the pipe/port has to ensure it can work around whatever I have. Remember, you can extend the distance between the narrow and wide sections of each taper to make it gentler, or merely set a smaller difference between the diameters. For the narrower end of both sockets, I usually like the end diameter to be between 0.2mm and 0.4mm SMALLER than my measurements, to ensure a good seal, and tight friction fit. It also can clamp down on any worn/narrower parts in the future. If you're adjusting the adaptor to go INSIDE a dust port (not recommended since it restricts airflow) then the "wider" end, will need to become the narrower one, and the "narrower" end will need to be the wider one. (reverse the taper direction so it gets wider further in, this will be confusing, given the parameter names, so keep notes for clarity's sake) Remember to deduct the wall thickness TWICE from BOTH the "wider" and the "narrower" measurements of each socket. Why? The four major circular dimensions are DIAMETER measurements for the HOLE inside the adaptor (walls are not included). Conversely, the wall thickness is merely radius, so this is why the wall thickness needs to deducted twice.

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