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This Section of
our Web Site showcases 3D printed projects we have completed
using the Wanhao I3 Plus 3D printer. Included are Robot components,
household inventions, Astronomical projects and other science
projects. Ive used 2D and 3D CAD programs for many decades as
part of my job as a Sr. Design Engineer, and recently with our
new 3D printers, we can realize many designs that were only concepts
or ideas in the past. I am currently using Solid Works for all
3D designs. Currently PLA thermosplastics used in our prints.
We are currently testing other types of thermoplastics for use.
The author with one of two Wanhao I3 Plus Mark II printers!
Click thumbnails to open more on each project:
For Telescopes,
Astroimaging, General Optics, Photographic
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Observatory
Photographic Clamp
For
taking photos of inside the Observatory
The problem with taking
pictures of yourself with the telescope is that no one is around
to hold the camera at the right spot!
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Grating
Offset Device
for
use at the Telescope to image
Spectra
This adapter allows
an offset of the camera to center up the spectral image while
offseting a sharp source star to one side.
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Right
Ascension and Declination
Setting
circles
This huge project is
one of the most complex yet, and adds functional setting circles
to our telescope up in Happy Jack.
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Plossl
Eyepiece Cap
When the rubber eyecap
fell apart from our extreme UV here in Payson, I made this replacement
- and it works fantastic.
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Guide
Scope Screw Caps
These are used as cap
ends for the six adust screws for our guide scope mount on the
side of our Astrograph Telescopes.
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1.25"
Cap Plug for Telescopes
This is my own design
on a plug that goes in the focuser, barlows and accessories to
keep out dust. It replaces the eyepiece and plugs the hole. The
standard molded caps that Ive seen are very thin walled and difficult
to pull out. Here, Ive given it a good wall thickness, and added
a strong center post with a pull indentation for easy grip. Works
great!
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2.00"
Cap Plug for Telescopes
The cap plug above was
so useful, we scaled the design up to this size, to fit our standard
2" focusers. Very beefy, holds well and fits superbly.
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2"
Extension Tube for
Telescopes
This allows us to extend
the magnification of barlow lenses and increase projection distance
for astro imageing. Very beefy knurl on this one!
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Lens
Cap for 17mm
Canon
Lens
The lens cap that came
with my very expensive 17- 40mm Canon L lens was so bad, it fell
off as soon as you put it on! This fixes that problem, and totally
protects the huge front lens surface.
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1.25"
Extension Tube
for
Telescopes
My first attempt at
knurling the ring at the top worked great here, and the extension
tube fits all my occulars and focuser mounts very nicely.
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1.25"
Telescope Eyepiece Cap
Here is a replacement
cap for our 1.25" eyepieces used on our telescopes. I carefully
measured one existing cap and recreated the design to print as
many as I need for all my eyepieces.
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2"
Telescope Eyepiece Cap
The same idea as above,
but for use on our 2" OD telescope accessories. The caps
fit very well and can now be printed up as needed.
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Tracker
Mount Encoder Disk
For over a decade I
have used robotic tracking systems I have designed to enable
me to take images and photographs of the night sky in a way that
others were not able to do. Recently, the home made optical shaft
encoder on the robotic barn door tracking mount fell apart, and
was replaced with this new solid encoder wheel. It now tracks
superbly.
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35mm
Slide Holder for
Home
Made Slide Copier
We have thousands of
35mm slides, and now we can digitize them for saving the rapidly
fading ektachromes. Many requre a lot of photoshop work to fix
the degrading appearance. This holds the slides securely in a
home brew slide holder for my macro lens.
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High
Powered Hand Magnifier Glass
Previously mounted on
a plastic stick, this handy glass achieves 5x magnification in
a very stylish package!
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For Microscopy
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Paleo
Tranfer Funnel
This is to move microscopic
specimens from the viewing tray to the storage bottle safely.
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Microscope
Forceps
The need for a set of
rugged plastic forceps for collecting microscope specimens from
the field brought up the need for these. This is the final iteration,
which has nice grips and is perfect for reaching in to the lake
or pond to collect underwater plant specimens.
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Microscope
Dark Field Condenser
Adapter
The new dark field adapter
I bought for our high powered trinocular microsope had to be
adapted to fit, since it was made for another model. This would
normally have to be done on a lathe and milling machine in a
machine shop. But the 3D printer had one done in an hour and
a half!
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Monster
Sized Forceps
Here is a large 9.5
inch long version of the Forceps. It is used for reaching deeply
into ponds and lakes for sample aquisition.
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For Paleontology
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Fossil
Box 4
Latest rev on improving
the printability of this essential fossil storage utility.
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Fossil
Display Box
A new display box for
our microfossil collections. A clear lexan lid both secures and
protects the tiny fossils within.
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Paleo
Writing Tools
Desk
Pen and Pencil holder
Creating something new
that you simply cannot buy in stores is always fun, here a desk
pencil holder for the Fossil slueth to document their adventures!
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Microfossil
Storage Box
Storage of fosssils
so small you can hardly see them with the naked eye is a real
problem. This is the prototype for such a box, and separates
the fossils into small partitions, carfuly seals them under glass,
then locks shut.
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Dino
"Poof" Hanger
No Paleontologists shower
is complete without this handy accessory.
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For Robots
and Robotics
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Sonar
Housing for
Cheap
Chinese Sonar
These sonars are only
$4 on Amazon, have a short 2 foot range but work fine for close
up local measurements on the robot. Unfortunately there is no
standard for housing sonars, so each one will be a different
size and hole pattern for different manufacturers!
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Sonar
Housing for Expensive
American
made Sonar
The best sonar I have
found is sold by an American company, is expensive and will pick
up a broom handle at 6 feet. Its awesome. Here is the sonar housing
for this one. It pivots on the holes in the flat.
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Geobot
Speaker Grill
This is a speaker grill,
designed explicitly for our new Geobot outdoor robot. The 3 inch
speaker will be used by the robot to generate not only synthesized
sounds, but speech as well.
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For the Workshop
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Tap
Holder and Organizer
Keeping all my taps
in one place and in order is a must to be an efficient robot
builder!
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Benchtop
Tool Holder
The first in a series
of unique tool holders, to organize and protect my countless
mini tools for telescope, and robot building.
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For Home,
Kitchen, Bath, etc.
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Banana
Hook for the Kitchen
A crucial item for any
kitchen to keep those delicate bananas - the Runners friend -
away from harm.
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Key
hook extender
When
three is not enough...
Three hooks on the hall
way key holder was simply not enough.
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Triloibite
Drink Coasters
For
home and as Gifts
We all need coasters
for preserving the furniture with hot and cold drinks. These
are paleo themed.
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Sponge
Holder 2
An
improved carrier made for Xmas
Gifts
for relatives
Although it took 8 hours
of printing for each one, we printed dozens of these for personalized
gifts for our 2019 holiday season.
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Vases
for Plants and decor
Some experiments in
vase making with Solidworks yeiled some pretty interesting items.
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Copper
Tea Bowl Project
For storage
and access to our tea collection in the kitchen.
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Cat
Litter Scoop Project
Lets enter the 21st
century with a new Cat Litter Scoop design that is strong and
works great.
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Gold
Soap DIsh for Bathroom
This project started
out as an experiment and was never intended to result in a useful
item. I was learning the shell command in Solid Works and came
up with this hollowed out oval disk, which looked just like -
A soap dish! So it became so. Now this was printed with the CCE
Gold filament, and what a wild ride that was...
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Moon
and Stars themed
Sponge
Holders
A unique accessory for
the astronomers kitchen - a moon and stars themed sponge holder.
Constructed of three different components - the base, and front
and back side sections. Besides holding the wet sponge upright
to dry, the base is pan shaped with six sided ribbing on the
bottom to help air circulate under for quick drying. We made
two of these, one red for the house and one blue for the Cabin.
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Astronomy Themed
Glow in the Dark Phone Holder Project
This project was to
create a form fit basket at the top of the stairwell to hold
the cell phone during charging and to keep it from falling down
two stories to the concrete floor. Constructed from both 3D printed
and machined Lexan components, this phone holder also has stars
on top and features glow in the dark parts for easy location
at night. Side clips keep it secured on the stair shelf well,
and there is even a notch for the charging cord to pass through.
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Star
Shaver Holder
Just the thing for that
star gazers bathroom, a golden star with a set of rails to hold
that shaving handle safely and dry!
6/4/19
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Bath
Roll Holder Project
For Cabin in
Happy Jack
Designed for a remodeling
project for our bathroom in Happy Jack. Now very color coordinated!
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Saturn
Toothpaste Key
Solves the problem of
the astronomer getting the last drop of toothpaste out.
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Tub
Ring
Recently, when we had
to tear our wall apart in the bath and replace the leaking faucets,
the metal finish rings that came with the faucets were way too
thick to fit because of the thick ceramic tile. I designed some
astro-themed tub rings, printed them to fit, and sprayed them
bright silver. They have a ring of stars around each faucet.
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The
Ultimate Big Bath
Soap
and wash dish
The need for a way to
organize several bars of soap, body wash, etc. in the shower
was essential. This is my stylized design for this task.
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Mini
- Standard Sized Ultimate
Soap
Dish
The small, sink sized
version of the Giant Soap dish.
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Bathroom
Towel Ring
A big 3 part project
including the twisted ring, base, and mounting plate. This is
to replace the broken ring currently in the downstairs bathroom.
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For the Observatories
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Heavy
Duty Hooks for Hanging
in
the Observatory
Solves a big problem
for space. Instead of having the accesories used at the telescope
laying around on all the tables, we now can hang them up.
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For Jeeps
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A
new knob for the Jeep air conditioner
to
replace the broken one
Replacement parts are
a major advantage of having a 3D printer!
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Misc.
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Mickey
Mouse Coasters
This one was for Dawn
my wife. I made two of them, one in PLA and the other with PET-G
for hot beverages.
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Pumpkin
Necklace Project
For a Halloween trip
to a Disney land event.
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