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Notepad ++ for GCode Editing

A really useful plugin to give a colour highlighted listing

I am a great lover of Notepad ++ as a text editor. It has so many useful facilities and I particularly like it for checking Arduino code when frustration has set in ( …. so quite regularly …). The default inbuilt colour highlighting makes errors stand out as obvious clangs.

By chance I stumbled across a XML file plugin for Notepad ++ that is dedicated to its use when editing CAD/CAM GCode produced by design programs such as Fusion 360. Normally I would use GWizard Editor by CNC Workshop for editing such code as this also gives a graphical representation of the tool paths being created. The Notepad ++ plugin does not give the graphical image but there is an additional comment on the download post suggesting that this might also be available. See the following link to the post for the download and for further details.

https://zero-divide.net/?shell_id=151&article_id=4809_notepad-absolutely-free-g-code-editor-with-code-highlighting

Here is an example screenshot of the resulting code listing as created with the plugin.

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Exactly by Simon Winchester

Some engineering bedtime reading

For a recent birthday my wife bought me the above book. She had no idea if it was something that would appeal to me but figured that my engineering brain might enjoy it.

It is subtitled ‘How precision engineers created the modern world’ and I have to admit that I have been unable to put it down. It is an easy read but a thoroughly absorbing read that begins with navy cannons and ends with modern day chip processes having visited people like Rolls-Royce, Frank Whittle, Henry Ford etc.

If you love engineering I would recommend it as a read and should emphasise that I have no affiliation with Simon Winchester.

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Replacement Cowells Chuck Key (Part 2)

Sintered Tool Steel Experiment

Some while ago I posted about my experiment in reproducing a Cowells ME lathe chuck key as it seemed there were a few owners with broken teeth on their keys.

Since then I have received a number of requests for replacement keys which I have tactfully declined.  They are not the easiest of things to reproduce and a potential for broken tooling.

I use PCBWay for my production PCBs and I recently noticed that they can produce sintered 3D objects from a STL file.   They offer various materials for this process.  Out of curiosity I sent the STL file for the chuck key to them and ordered 5 pieces in sintered tool steel.  Twenty days later I received 5 chuck keys.   They look good and they match my dimensions and more to the point they work in the chuck.  I have no experience on how strong sintered tool steel might be but this video from My Tech Fun is quite impressive.

My Tech Fun

The downside of course is that they were not cheap (~£50 each, heavily thumped by courier costs) but if you have a Cowells and the frustration of a chuck key with a broken tooth maybe this is a reasonable price to pay.  Let me know quickly if you are interested in buying one otherwise I will put them on EBay.

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Fusion 360 Keyboard Shortcuts

Fusion 360 Shortcuts Lookup table and keyboard overlay

In an idle moment I have updated my collection of spreadsheets to include the Fusion 360 shortcuts listing. The workbook tab also includes an edited version of the Fusion keyboard overlay.

You can download this and other eclectic tabs as part of my Engineering Spreadsheets workbook.

My-Engineering-Spreadsheets-0723Download

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3D Printed Brass Threaded Insert Soldering Iron Stand

A simple solution for holding a soldering iron when inserting brass threaded inserts into 3D printed items

NOTE – This is a revised posting with a modified write up.

When faced with adding threaded holes into 3D models I am faced with three choices.

The easy option is to model the threads in Fusion 360.   This is fine for a ‘fit and forget’ single fastening but for repeated screw insertion and removal the modelled thread will begin to wear.

My preferred solution is to use embedded nuts in the plastic or leave an open hex cavity to fit a nut into after printing.   Some jobs do not have enough space to use the embedded nut technique so brass inserts are the next choice. Brass threaded inserts come in a number of sizes and geometries and are available from Amazon and other sources.  The inserts are melted into the printed medium with a soldering iron or other such heat source.

Having had mixed success with a handheld iron I pondered for a while with Fusion 360 whether I could make a jig to improve insertion repeatability.   This led to some internet searching and finding a couple of solutions.   The first one was via Clough42.   He showed a heavily engineered solution supplied by Naomi Wu.

Naomi’s product was impressive but seemed to be way over the top.   Next up was a site by Valera Perinski.   His site is remarkable and oozes all manner of 3D printed objects, one of which was just what I was looking for – a simple insert punch.  

https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-stand-press-2-in-1-80752

Valera’s design, while simple, looked elegantly functional. I downloaded the STLs.  Valera offers these free of charge with a comment that he would appreciate any contributions. A contribution was duly made. Thank you Valera !

My modified version of Valera’s design is shown above and is described in the attached ZIP file along with the my versions of the 3D print STLs.

insert punch v4Download

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