Atomstack or Ikier Sawtooth Laser Bed Clamps
Description
Atomstack F3 Matrix - Ikier H1 Laser Bed Clamp System These 3d printed clamps are made to fit the Atomstack or Ikier laser bed. If you one of these beds, you’ll probably agree that the clamps that come with this bed are fidgety to use, have limited reach, and the wingnuts stand high above the bed. The bed is made up of two types of alternating saw tooth blades, there are sturdy L shape fixed blades and thinner “wiggle” blades. You may not know that the wiggle blades are slightly shorter than the fixed blades, so they never actually touch your workpiece. So, here’s the fix! Remove one end rail and pull out the steel rods that lock in the wiggle blades, then lift out all those blades and reinstall the end rail. You now have only stable blades that are 1 inch (25mm) apart. These clamps are made to wedge down onto those blades. There are four clamp sizes (3, 6, 8, 12mm) to accommodate different material thicknesses along with a Bed Dog which you can use for aligning pieces in a repeatable position. The dog has no hold-down lip but slots in both directions. A 90-degree corner square is also included. The slots are slightly tapered so they should slide on the blades easily at first but get tighter as you press down to hold your piece down. They are designed to fit tight but will loosen up a bit after a few uses. The lips overlap the workpiece by about 3/8” (9.5mm) and they only rise ~1/8” (3mm) above the workpiece so they don’t interfere with a typical focus height. You can run your laser right over them. Since they are plastic (I used PLA) they may wear a bit over time, but they use only pennies worth of filament and are easy to print. Print at least four of each size using a different color to easily identify the sizes. Print the clamps with the lip standing up and the Bed Dogs standing up. Use additional thickness (1.2mm) on walls, top & bottom for durability. Infill should be only 10% cubic to allow for some flexing. To remove, just pull up or use the removal tool. Print the tool flat with 100% infill for strength and add supports for tongs. To use the tool, just slide the tongs completely under the clamp and keep pushing or lift the heal of the handle, the clamp will pop right up. Don’t pry it up until it’s released. A file for a neat storage tray is also included. If you are using the rubber feet that came with the bed, the blade bars flex a bit when you push the clamps down because of the clearance under the bed. If you put a spacer under the center of the bed it will reduce the flexing which will make the clamps easier to push down. The clearance is about 8.5mm so any wood about that thickness or less will do the trick, but I also included a 3d print file for a spacer which you can use. Print the three sections and connect them together running from front to back of the bed. If the bed rocks after you insert the spacer, it’s not because the spacer is too thick. It’s because your bed has a belly in the center which can easily happen with this bed since the metal is soft and can easily deform. Turn the bed over and try to press the belly out of the center. Once the spacer is in place, it will support the bed and keep it from deforming again. You may want to print 2 bars for better support. Lastly, you don’t have to throw away those wiggle blades, you can still insert them back into their slots if you feel the need, they just won’t be locked in. These clamps will still fit between the fixed and wiggle blades. The original bed clamps can still be used too, but I bet you won’t. With this system I think this bed is now far superior to a honeycomb. It’s also a lot easier to clean, which is a big advantage this bed has over the honeycomb. Enjoy your new easier to use laser bed.
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