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Fusion 360 Parameter Lookup Sheet

A handy reference for Fusion 360 parameter functions

Fusion 360 has an incredibly useful facility whereby you can make a model dimensions fully flexible through not entering fixed dimensions but instead make them a calculation. The calculation will be dependent on other attributes of the model in conjunction with mathematical functions.

Clough42 quite often uses this facility in his designs and there are some good tutorials in the Autodesk resources.

I had two problems in a recent model. The first one was where I had a dimension that I wanted to convert into a plain value rather than being associated with mm. This would allow it to be used in an equation. The second problem was needing to round a calculation result down to the nearest whole number.

The answer to the first problem was simple and obvious – divide the value in units by one unit. So something 200mm long becomes just plain old 200 when divided by 1mm. I was a bit red faced on that one.

On the second problem I searched everywhere in the Autodesk forums and found people mentioning ‘floor’ ‘ceil’ and ’round’ but it took a lot of searching to find a tabulated reference for the workings of the Parameter functions.

Having found the lookup details on the Autodesk site I have transcribed this into Woody speak which you can download as a pdf below and I have also added it to my Workshop Spreadsheet and there is a link to the latest version also below.

Fusion-360-Parameter-Lookup-SheetDownload
My-Engineering-Spreadsheets-0523-1Download

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Sindoh DP200 conversion to Open Material

At last a solution for alternative filaments

My Sindoh DP300 has given me reliable, good quality 3D prints since I purchased it in 2017. The DP200 was probably one of the best printers around at that time and had a reputation for simple out of the box operation for those with little or no 3D printing experience (aka me). As a result of this I recommended it to friends and family and collectively we have a number of DP200s in service.

The only frustration we have had since then is the inability to use 3rd party filaments. My understanding is that being an early machine, Sindoh was cautious about the prospect of owners trying to use more advanced filaments and potentially damaging the extruder nozzle. This would have opened the floodgates for warranty claims. Sindoh’s solution to block the use of third party filaments was to issue each reel of their own branded filament with a small PCB personality card. This needed to be mounted in the filament cassette and verified that the filament was legit. The PCB module also recorded the consumption of filament from the reel. I can understand why Sindoh opted for this approach. We did not have an issue with this. Sindoh filament was not dramatically different in price and was readily available and always delivered good quality prints.

As time has progressed, Sindoh has relaxed this restriction on their later models allowing third party filaments to be used. This left the DP200 a little isolated and totally dependent on sourcing the Sindoh filament. During lockdown there was a heavy demand on filament from all sources and like others, their filament went up in price. It also became very difficult to source. This problem has continued albeit not quite as extreme, but it has certainly become difficult to source at a realistic price. As mentioned we have a number of DP200s within family and friends so this has been a continuing frustration.

Out of idle curiosity, I recently emailed a query about this to the Sindoh support team. In my experience they had always been very efficient in responding to cries for help. To my surprise there was a message in my inbox next day with two firmware updates for the DP200 to allow Open Material operation.

On completion of the update process we now have our DP200s able to take filament from the internal cassette or from an external feed box without the need for the chip card. The upgrade was well documented and easy to do. We are very grateful to Sindoh for this support.

There are disclaimers associated with this upgrade. Sindoh is rightly cautious about offering this as a general release. The upgrade infringes the DP200 warranty and use of anything other than PLA and ABS is clearly not recommended. Sindoh also request that the upgrade is not made freely available as a download so I’m sorry that I cannot offer it via my blog. I get the impression that each and every request for the upgrade seems to be treated on its own merits by Sindoh.

From our point of view we are more than pleased to be able to source third party filament for use in our DP200s. I got the impression that my DP200 had perhaps gone into a big sulk when my Qidi ifast arrived. Hopefully the workshop karma will now return.

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Joining PLA filament

A simple but easy way

I found a simple solution to joining PLA on a YouTube video that seems to work and does not need any after cleaning. It appealed to my lazy approach to find simple solutions to problems.

Buy some 1/16″ bore / 1/8″ outside diameter (1.6mm x 3.2mm) silicon tubing from Amazon. This is sold in 10 feet lengths. Note it must be silicon so it does not melt with heat.

Cut off a 1″ / 25mm length of the tubing. Cut the ends of the filament square. Insert the ends of the filament into the tube so they butt into each other. It helps to stretch the tubing so when it is released it puts pressure on the two filament ends.

Use a soldering iron or similar hot device, heat the tube in the area of the join for a minute or so. Once it has melted, roll the warm joint gently between your fingers and then leave to cool. Once cool slide the tubing off the filament or if mid reel then slit it and remove it.

You will have a joint that is hardly visible and which does not need any further processing such as rubbing down.

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Illuminated Optical Centre Punch

A variation of a recently published design

There was a feature in a recent engineering forum by Nell’s Mechanical Man Cave regarding a 3D printed Optical Centre Punch.   The design had an angled magnified side window allowing the viewing of the punch point.  This conveniently allowed viewing of the point without having to swap out the viewer lens.

The author was offering a free download of the STL files for the punch body and also two versions of a base print.   I made contact and received the print files and duly printed out the body and base models.

To get a better understanding I suggest you view the YouTube post on the following link :

My immediate impression of the design was positive with the only drawback being the limited light available inside the punch body when trying to align the punch point.

I started a dialogue with Neil and suggested to him that the addition of LED lighting inside the punch body might solve this problem.  Neil was positive and supportive of the suggestion and the result is detailed below.

I re-modelled the punch in Fusion 360 and after some experimentation decided to mount two white light LEDs inside the dome of the body with the associated battery and switch mounted in the top surface of the body under a removeable cap.  Here are a couple of visual views out of Fusion.

You can download my full write up and updated STL files from the following ZIP file link.

optical-centre-punch-STL-and-PDFDownload

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Ubiquitous Dishwasher Tablets and their uses

Worth a mention but not engineering (sorry….).

We are still in France so engineering activity is minimal other than time on Fusion 360 which sadly included creating a layout plan for a small tiling job we had to do. (Must recommend this to Autodesk ….).

Some years ago we installed a Jacuzzi spa. This contains two large filter cartridges. These need regular cleaning. You can buy the branded proprietary cleaning agent either as a powder or a spray on fluid. Both work well but are expensive. The powder is used as an overnight soak. The problem with cleaning spa filters is if the cleaner is the wrong compound you cannot get rid of the soap content and the spa becomes a huge bubble bath when you turn the pumps on. There is a similar problem if you rinse your swimming costume afterwards in the shower. The soap residue in the material leads to spa froth when you next use the spa. You can of course go ‘au nature’ but that’s another story.

After some research we found a source of bio dishwasher tablets. Four of these dissolved in a large container will clean the spa filters overnight. The tablets do not appear to damage the filter material fibres and rinse well to not leave a contaminating soapy content. Needless to say they are much cheaper than the proprietary cleaning chemicals.

This got me thinking. How many other such filters are there in the house which could also benefit from a clean and reuse rather than dump and replace ? A vacuum cleaner is another which depending on the model could contain three or four filters. Cooker extracts are a possible target although many now have a stainless steel filter which can be cleaned in the dishwasher. HEPA filters in 3D printer enclosures ? (not tried this)

Finally, same theme, it’s Saturday night and you have had maybe a nice steak or fish cooked in your griddle pan. It’s late and you want to crash out and clean up in the morning. You know how horrible that pan is going to be to clean tomorrow but bed calls. Just part crumble a dishwasher tablet into the pan and add some hot water. Tomorrow morning you will be able to just wipe it clean.

These tips brought to you by Woody’s Workshop, a Yorkshire born engineer always looking for a lazy, low cost way to solve a problem. (Smiley face)

Don’t worry I’m just going stir crazy and need to get back home and into the workshop.

BTW – Did you see that Clough42 got the YT 100k subscribers award. Well deserved. Congratulations James.

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