Feb-Mar 2017 3D Prints

Between travel, other projects, and a wounded printer, I haven’t made a ton of prints recently. Here are the ones that bubbled to the top.

Bluetooth Antenna

I use bluetooth ear buds in my shop at nearly all times. They are comfortable and go nicely under a set of ear muffs. The bluetooth in my shop laptop has a really limited range. Sometimes the EMI from power tools causes enough problems to interrupt the music. I bought an external bluetooth dongle. It worked better, but I found that raising it up away from the laptop and monitor made it work the best.

I used a pin contour gauge to try to copy the shape of my monitor. It is a pretty complex shape and I didn’t quite get it perfect. Still, a little hot glue holds the bracket on well and zip ties keep the USB extension held high and proud. I was hoping it would look like a star wars droid antenna, but fell short. Other than the visuals, it works like a charm. Long range tunes without interruption.

Magnetic Door Holder

The weather is getting warm, but it is still nice enough to keep the doors and windows open. The wind often catches the door into my shop and slams it shut. I printed this bracket assembly and glued in magnets to hold the door open. A large machine screw holds the two pieces together and allows some pivoting between the door and bracket. I screwed it down to a mobile work bench, so the angle between it and the door can vary a few degrees.

String Trimmer Winder

I use a black n decker string trimmer for yard edging. They come with spools (AF-100) that auto-feed the right amount of string and can be exchanged quickly when one runs out. The trick is they sell for 6 bucks a piece. Not a horrible price, but considering you can reload them for pennies, I had to find an easy way to do so.

There is a base that the spool plugs into, and a winder that chucks into a drill (1/4 nut and bolt required). The base keeps the spool stable and guides the string while the winder lets you power through a whole spool in no time.