El Beast - Initial design phase, comments and critique welcomed!

Guys, has anyone got any experience or knowledge of these spindles I stumbled across?

They are 80mm body and 220v/2.2kw/400hz so should be a straight drop in/drop out replacement (ideal as it makes it relatively easy to switch to 24,000rpm spindle if needed for composites etc). The difference is that they are 1,500-12,000rpm which would be a lot more suitable RPM range for milling plastics, foams, metals etc and opens up the potential to look at thread mills, reamers and makes drilling more viable.

Only downside is they are significantly more expensive than the 24,000rpm garden variety... which makes it less appealing to take a punt!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Low-...460.0.0.rut9B3

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Guys, has anyone got any experience or knowledge of these spindles I stumbled across?

They are 80mm body and 220v/2.2kw/400hz so should be a straight drop in/drop out replacement (ideal as it makes it relatively easy to switch to 24,000rpm spindle if needed for composites etc). The difference is that they are 1,500-12,000rpm which would be a lot more suitable RPM range for milling plastics, foams, metals etc and opens up the potential to look at thread mills, reamers and makes drilling more viable.

Only downside is they are significantly more expensive than the 24,000rpm garden variety... which makes it less appealing to take a punt!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Low-...460.0.0.rut9B3

---

Good find

Managed to sneak in a little play time after work today... made the bottom plate for the Z-axis

https://i.imgur.com/PkSNzxY.jpg


Top side done:

https://i.imgur.com/3qYbzjx.jpg


Rear side - just used 3 dowel pins to locate it this time

https://i.imgur.com/0pvUyI6.jpg


Finished part:

https://i.imgur.com/vo7SdsD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9NQic7f.jpg


Next up will be the back plate, hopefully have time to do that tomorrow after work.

I also re-designed the top bearing support plate as per the advice of routercnc to allow one of the bearings to float into place. For now I've just 3D printed the bearing float plate... Thought it was interesting as I'm using my favourite material for actual functional parts - a PETG Carbon fibre infused filament which is brilliant to work with. Very stiff and strong (as the actress said to the bishop!) and very dimensionally stable too. Finishes nicely with a little light sanding too.

https://i.imgur.com/BUB0kKS.png

https://i.imgur.com/O7JCSB8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VT98DTI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2pWWiGa.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Guys, has anyone got any experience or knowledge of these spindles I stumbled across?

They are 80mm body and 220v/2.2kw/400hz so should be a straight drop in/drop out replacement (ideal as it makes it relatively easy to switch to 24,000rpm spindle if needed for composites etc). The difference is that they are 1,500-12,000rpm which would be a lot more suitable RPM range for milling plastics, foams, metals etc and opens up the potential to look at thread mills, reamers and makes drilling more viable.

Only downside is they are significantly more expensive than the 24,000rpm garden variety... which makes it less appealing to take a punt!

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Low-...460.0.0.rut9B3

---

Zeeflyboy, I'm also in search for new spindle and maybe this, permanent torque spindle, will look interesting for you too :)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High...999.262.d7v80G

p.s. great build !

Wow. Just Wow.

This is next level stuff. I have just joined this forum and hope to build a machine myself. Your work is very inspiring.
I love the way it is coming together just like the renderings and the 3d printed gaskets are the icing on the cake.

Cant wait to see it in action.

Ollie

How did you create the belt in your assembly? Fusion doesn't (yet) have the rather neat belt / chain create / mate function that you can find in the likes of Solidworks, so the only way I could see to have done it would be to model the locus of the belt and extrude it. Then use bitmap to create the text for that finishing touch! Finessing the belt length so that it ended up as a standard length must have been a bit of a fiddle and is one area where the SW belt / chain function is a real bonus.

Nice work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ollie78

Wow. Just Wow.

This is next level stuff. I have just joined this forum and hope to build a machine myself. Your work is very inspiring.
I love the way it is coming together just like the renderings and the 3d printed gaskets are the icing on the cake.

Cant wait to see it in action.

Ollie

---

Thanks, good luck with your build!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muzzer

How did you create the belt in your assembly? Fusion doesn't (yet) have the rather neat belt / chain create / mate function that you can find in the likes of Solidworks, so the only way I could see to have done it would be to model the locus of the belt and extrude it. Then use bitmap to create the text for that finishing touch! Finessing the belt length so that it ended up as a standard length must have been a bit of a fiddle and is one area where the SW belt / chain function is a real bonus.

Nice work!

---

I used a belt calculator to work out the distance between locus for a standard length belt and then did it as you suggest. A belt/chain wizard would be a welcome addition to fusion for sure - might be worth putting in feature request (if it hasn't already been submitted)... my experience has been that they are very active on implementing requests that get sufficient interest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

Thanks, good luck with your build!



I used a belt calculator to work out the distance between locus for a standard length belt and then did it as you suggest. A belt/chain wizard would be a welcome addition to fusion for sure - might be worth putting in feature request (if it hasn't already been submitted)... my experience has been that they are very active on implementing requests that get sufficient interest.

---

Seems more like an api plugin to me for the store, there's some cool plugins but can't remember if I saw a belt one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

I used a belt calculator to work out the distance between locus for a standard length belt and then did it as you suggest. A belt/chain wizard would be a welcome addition to fusion for sure - might be worth putting in feature request (if it hasn't already been submitted)... my experience has been that they are very active on implementing requests that get sufficient interest.

---

I submitted it 2 years ago but obviously they are focusing on the core functionality first. https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusio...7755765#M30496

The way Solidworks does it is really powerful and cool. Hopefully when the Fusion team turn their thoughts to it, they will make a good job of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=Xmyryo9kVlc

I added my vote and a new comment to do my bit ;)

Got the back plate for the Z-axis machined out today.

Most of the top side done, including second fixture work

https://i.imgur.com/8PQ8CRQ.jpg


Side clamps removed and attacking it with my big 10mm roughing bit (10mm Depth of cut, 1mm axial engagement, 9,600rpm, 2000mm/min)

https://i.imgur.com/XAMb2Ei.jpg


Top side machining done:

https://i.imgur.com/vlF0yKT.jpg


Again used dowels here to locate and align the work for the back side. 6mm roughing bit here hogging out the centre channel (7mm DoC, 1mm axial, 10,000rpm, 1500mm/min) followed by some tidying up and a final contour with a 3mm to get a tighter radius in the corners

https://i.imgur.com/UNqLgXV.jpg

Finished with some chamfers

https://i.imgur.com/2kjfer0.jpg


Still need to make a jig to drill the top and bottom to attach the end plates, but here's a quick semi-assembled pic:

https://i.imgur.com/6WwEW2n.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GnwK2bv.jpg

Nice work there Zeeflyboy. Starting to take shape and I really like those heavy chamfers.

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for Autodesk to implement such a feature, there are some rather basic things people have been asking for for years (lathe back chamfer on part off, stick text engraving etc) that still haven't been done.

Great work by the way, love watching this machine come together.

Got some bits and bobs done

First up - I printed a drill jig for the back plate. Just wanted to show how nice the print was after I left the filament in a food drier for 12hrs... makes the prints come out perfectly! This is printed in the CF filled filament which is perhaps a bit fo a waste but it's the most dimensionally stable and strongest stuff I have.

https://i.imgur.com/nyHaFZR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VKdf4WD.jpg


Anyhoo, also done on the 3D printer I made some sealing plugs for the front plate which allows access to the m8 bolts that fasten it to the X-axis. I need access to these as being a sealed unit there would be no way to adjust tram without first loosening these bolts... Printed in the same red semi flexible Cheetah filament as the main seals and with a fully functional m12x1.75 thread right off the printer!

https://i.imgur.com/8mDrRCC.jpg


I also made a few other parts on the printer, the drill jig for the part I'm about to show you and also the sliding bearing plate you will see in the next pics. This is the internal floating bearing for the Z-axis ball screw and due to a lack of space I had to custom make this to fit within the narrow confines of the Z-axis. It has the ability to adjust so that alignment with the ball screw is perfect.

https://i.imgur.com/cpEtSo6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1ryih6F.jpg


Drill jig (could have done this on the CNC as the part is small enough but saves fitting the vice and any zeroing errors running the part :) )... I also had some bushings lying around from previous parts so was just a case of printing the jig.

https://i.imgur.com/mrMAs39.jpg


Finished part and floating bearing plate

https://i.imgur.com/yJuZrdF.jpg


Perfect fit:

https://i.imgur.com/TrffCoQ.jpg

Beautiful!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Snapper

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for Autodesk to implement such a feature, there are some rather basic things people have been asking for for years (lathe back chamfer on part off, stick text engraving etc) that still haven't been done.

Great work by the way, love watching this machine come together.

---

Cheers.

I certainly won't be holding my breath!

Just one final update for today with an assembled shot of the v2 Z-axis so far. Coke can for scale as I find the HGR25H carriages and 25mm rails make it look smaller than it is in pics when you are used to seeing 20mm.

https://i.imgur.com/KVq8Xy5.jpg

Not quite sure what will be done next.... either the side plates or the top counter bearing plate depending on what I can find in my aluminium stock pile. I think I'll need to make an order for more plate to complete the front plate and tramming plate.

Little bit more progress made during the week.

So first up I made a little extended collar for the ballscrew bearing mount. This is just to allow the pulley base to clear the top of the bearing mount.

https://i.imgur.com/o9vxHGt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xQkVcGD.jpg


Next up I printed off a set of jigs for the sides of the Z-axis. I also made some bushings in silver steel and experimented with hardening (heated up till cherry red then quenched) to try and get some nice long lasting bushings that I can use for multiple projects... seems to have worked well.

https://i.imgur.com/mRG6k78.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vFhxaHy.jpg

Sides all drilled, tapped, deburred and quickly tickled with some sand paper to remove any high points (with the side plates mounted these edges serve as the reference edge for the carriages).

https://i.imgur.com/0QofcOa.jpg


Unfortunately my 3d printer is too small to make the side seals in once piece so I split them into two instead.

https://i.imgur.com/V4N5pgL.jpg


Next up was machining out the side plates from 5mm plate

https://i.imgur.com/wxLnT2P.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZtD23Sn.jpg


Machining the seal retaining slot on the back side. Out of interest I noticed Fusion has a new option on adaptive clearing which is "machine both ways" so I tried that out on this slot... basically it just climb mills one way then conventional mills the way back with a slightly lower axial engagement. Works nicely and means you aren't wasting time with a travel move where you have a lot of back and forth like this slot.

https://i.imgur.com/0JYx24X.jpg


Finished parts:

https://i.imgur.com/47NztPQ.jpg

Seals are a beautiful press fit into their slots:

https://i.imgur.com/UdH6QBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Hnng0ee.jpg


All seals done and fitted:

https://i.imgur.com/UyoPDFL.jpg


I think next up will be the top counter bearing plate, then I'll move on to the face plate and tramming plate.

Nice work there. That 3D printer is proving to be very handy.

Jewlery...I can't wait to see it finish!!!

Art!! , that is what it is.

So ... do you dare use it? First scratch is gonna hurt bad on something as beautiful as this.


Grtz Bert.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A320FL met Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by driftspin

So ... do you dare use it? First scratch is gonna hurt bad on something as beautiful as this.

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That's why you ALWAYS use a hammer to put it together. Pre-empt the pain..!

Wal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wal

That's why you ALWAYS use a hammer to put it together. Pre-empt the pain..!

Wal.

---

Hahaha best advice of the day ! :-)


Grtz. Bert


Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A320FL met Tapatalk

Hah thanks guys. Either going to anodise or powder coat, both should keep it looking nice through some gentle abuse!

Little micro update (been busy barbecuing today!)

3D printed a mount for the homing switch magnet and fitted. To set the activation range I just hooked the switch up to 24v and moved things around until the LED switched off at the right place.

https://i.imgur.com/qf3hZgV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ORAlUWr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VK3sCoM.jpg

More work done today... Didn't have any suitable materials for the counter bearing plate so got cracking with some of the other stuff!

First up, 6mm spacer for the ball nut mount to make it reach the front plate:

https://i.imgur.com/vl4u5cu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0vJaVUA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XjENf9X.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Gm9aicd.jpg


And then on to a big piece (so big it takes up most of my poor little X6's bed!) - the front mount plate

Externally clamped and all the interior parts done

https://i.imgur.com/PStZXgJ.jpg


external clamps removed and finished part:

https://i.imgur.com/rFPximR.jpg


Fitted along with the previously printed plugs. Other large hole will be for ball nut grease port which I'm currently working out the finer details of.

https://i.imgur.com/EP2cjwe.jpg


Full up:

https://i.imgur.com/zoTq8UZ.jpg


Full down:

https://i.imgur.com/0nuvtCl.jpg

Decided to re-vist my original plans for a belt tensioning system.

I whipped up this design

https://i.imgur.com/ZXGArBm.png


And then set about making it. The idler I made from alu tubing which I turned down and bored out for the bearing pockets.

https://i.imgur.com/pdZFrZF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SUILdza.jpg


I also needed to make the upright piece which the whole assembly rolls around. Turned this from silver steel:

https://i.imgur.com/NrbJTbU.jpg


Final part that needed turning was the little rotating piece through which the threaded rod will go... Made a small jig to make sure I drilled it centrally, which could also then be flipped and guide the tap straight through.

https://i.imgur.com/vwUnAIL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nwabCHU.jpg


I decided to try 3D printing the main parts in the CF composite material I use for functional parts and I must admit I was amazed at just how strong it's come out. I upped the infill percentage and used extra perimeters to beef up the part even more and the result feels like it could survive being run over by a truck... my backup plan was to make the frame parts from alu plate but it won't be needed.

Even more surprising is that I modelled the M6 thread in the bearing tube mating part and it printed fully functional... didn't even need to run a tap through it. That's the smallest thread I've tried printing so far and I'm suitably impressed :)


Final bunch of parts:

https://i.imgur.com/gDYZxJ9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ed7AndP.jpg


And test fitting

Untensioned:

https://i.imgur.com/qHPo4yF.jpg


Tensioned (can't fully tension for two reasons - screw thread isn't long enough, and the smaller pulley pulls in towards the bigger one without the top bearing counter plate.... but it gets the gist across):

https://i.imgur.com/0yhamwg.jpg


Pretty chuffed with that little bit of design I have to say... worked out nicely. Still need to make a knurled knob and order some m6 threaded rod to make the proper tensioner adjustment, and I also need to make the little collar that goes on the m5 standoff to help capture the rod end.

It is very OTT but you look like you are having fun so go for it!

How about 3D printing the adjuster knob - put an internal thread in it and secure with a lock/jam nut.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by routercnc

It is very OTT but you look like you are having fun so go for it!

How about 3D printing the adjuster knob - put an internal thread in it and secure with a lock/jam nut.

---

A lot of what I do in life could be described as OTT lol...

I've done 3D printed knobs before, in fact the 3D printer is rocking one. Not quite as pretty as a nice knurled alu one though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

A lot of what I do in life could be described as OTT lol...

I've done 3D printed knobs before, in fact the 3D printer is rocking one. Not quite as pretty as a nice knurled alu one though.

---

Very nice stuff, wish I had such a creative mind.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

A lot of what I do in life could be described as OTT lol...

I've done 3D printed knobs before, in fact the 3D printer is rocking one. Not quite as pretty as a nice knurled alu one though.

---

Its a very nice knurl you pulled off on the last one, how many goes did that take to get right? :encouragement:

This is all looking very nice and a really wonderful build!
Would you care to share the Fusion files of the Z-axis only perhaps...? :-)
Cheers - Ard

Zeeflyboy this Z axis is a masterpiece, what is the travel of it?

Cheers :)

It has a total travel of 178mm

AVF - not yet, but I may make files available later.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Snapper

Its a very nice knurl you pulled off on the last one, how many goes did that take to get right? :encouragement:

---

Just the one attempt actually! I did use a knurl calculator to arrive at a suitable diameter for the knob, so that probably helped a little. I'd actually like a coarser Knurl, need to buy some 1mm wheels for my knurling device.

Sorted out the ball nut greasing arrangement... So obviously I didn't fancy stripping down the whole thing every time the ball screw needed a bit of grease. I came up with this solution:

Made a small hex piece with an M6 thread on the lathe

https://i.imgur.com/QxvP3V4.jpg


3D printed a plug with m20x1 thread (to match the hole in the face plate) in my new PA-CF nylon/carbon fibre material and added a 4mm hose barb.

https://i.imgur.com/uR31hY1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bYdYmjU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/V3garys.jpg


Added a hose barb and 90 degree connector to the ball nut (locked in with hydraulic sealant to the position required) and a silicone hose to connect the two pieces. This picture gives an idea of how the arrangement works:

https://i.imgur.com/ng7OG1S.jpg


And done:

https://i.imgur.com/h0WkuIK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Tk8RAUG.jpg

Im envious!
Looks real nice

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk

Had a productive day or two... apart from some minor things left to do, the Z-axis is now completed.

First up I made the top counter bearing plate. I had planned this to be 10mm but I only had 12mm and rather than skim it down I decided to just roll with the 12mm instead so tweaked the design.

https://i.imgur.com/XhCn6sf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vjtstI7.jpg


Flipped and rear chamfer

https://i.imgur.com/BHiT6YU.jpg


I also made another knurled knob on the lathe, this time for the tension adjust. Same process as last time so I won't show it again

https://i.imgur.com/QEwNXYr.jpg


While cutting the tramming plate I had a bit of a booboo - I was trying out a full 16mm depth of cut with 0.8mm axial engagement, which was actually working ok until it turns out the stock wasn't perfectly squared up to the bed and on the far side it started taking much more than 0.8mm... caught it just as it came to a stop all gummed up. Need to give it a bath in some Lye to de-gunk it.

https://i.imgur.com/J3p8eg0.jpg

Unfortunately this mishap resulted in some machining error which I didn't pick up on until afterwards as I thought I hit feed hold in time. Thankfully nothing too serious - the holes that mount the spindle are just about 0.3mm off from the rest in X - everything else is fine so I'm not going to re-do.

So with that tramming plate done, the Z-axis is now more or less complete. I just need to shorten and tidy up the ball screw extension piece, make a small collar for the tensioner and then at some point I need to apply a finish. I'm currently leaning towards sandblasting and then anodising for a nice matt anodised finish.

Anyway, here are some assembled shots... everything is nice and smooth to turn by hand with no binding. The tramming adjustment works especially nicely now that I extended the shoulder bolt around which it pivots and the shoulder bolt that goes through the eccentric nut into the plate behind.

https://i.imgur.com/NG6kjE5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/utYZweA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uv5eBjU.jpg


And here is one for reference to the current machine. This thing is huge! Gonna need a bigger boat...

https://i.imgur.com/kkRYGl9.jpg

Honestly your work astounds me, I always enjoy every night clicking through to see if you have updated any further work! I would love to purchase the part files or supply the material and pay you to make them if and when you may consider such!

Thanks Rob

Definitely want to make sure everything works well before doing anything on the plans/files front. Might turn out as a bag of excrement!

I've been busy re-working the X-Axis design to accommodate the larger Z-axis unit and to give me 420mm on travel in much the same footprint. If I had left it as is, I would have lost an unacceptable amount of travel due to the wider Z. To do this I moved the motor to the back plate and added a belt drive setup, which actually was another motivation for the re-design as it will make it much easier to accommodate an upgrade to servos further down the line if I decide I want to go that route. The old design is very much limited to nema 23 sized motors and it seems most servos come in at nema 24 as a minimum.

I will need to extend the Main frame in width the accommodate this new design, but that should be relatively straight forward and just a case of getting some wider extrusions and doing some adjustments to the front plates.

Still needs a little fleshing out but this is the current direction. Similar setup to the Z-axis really as that seems to have worked out nicely. For reference this is now using the extended HGH25HA carriages (I have the space now with the wider Z so why not) and longer HGR20 rails, both of which I already have in hand. Still using a 20mm tooling plate to mount the rails, which then attaches to a 200x40mm extrusion, in turn sandwiched by a 12mm rear plate.

https://i.imgur.com/QVG2WGv.png

https://i.imgur.com/llaY7QZ.png

I still have an issue here though in that these pieces are too big for my current machine, so either I try to be clever and do them each in two separate operations moving them along the bed and dowel pins to relocate, or I just outsource the two big plates which is all I need get up and running, then cut the last plates when the machine is moving. Decisions decisions.

In other news I've started accumulating equipment and doing more research on LCD anodising, which is most appealing to me given the apparent success of it in the DIY setting plus the relatively low concentration of sulphuric acid required. I want to do a proper job though so I'm going a bit beyond the typical DIY lead cathodes in a bucket with a car battery type deal, but that means more expense and complication so I'm trying to do my diligent research.

I ordered this PSU which is capable of constant current (hoping to use it for other stuff too so thought might as well get a decentish one) here

And I really wanted to achieve thorough agitation but without the splatter that enthusiastic aeration brings, so I also ordered two of these corrosion resistant magnetic drive pumps. here

I intend to use both, with the 4L/min flow each I should see around 8L per minute which will cycle the bath (currently looking at about 60L) in a little under 8 minutes. They are going to pull double duty too as I will be building a couple of heat exchangers for them to pump the solution through in order to try to have some control over the temperature of the bath.

Everyone seems to say about how having a serious amount of DI water is important for really thorough rinsing, so I also ordered a 6 stage Reverse osmosis system and will be adding a DI resin filter at the end to replace the re-mineralisation stage.

Other than that from Caswell I ordered some Grey NLN and Red Bordeaux dye, plus some aluminium degreaser, aluminium oxide and smut remover, and some nickel acetate sealer.

Still got some things left to buy when some spare cash rolls round before I can get cracking with the anodising, but excited to give it a go. Needless to say there will be a few test parts first before committing any important machined parts to the process.

Hi guys,

Sorry there hasn't been any progress recently - a general mix between work ramping up for the summer, enjoying the nice weather, with a dash of laziness and a sprinkle of lack of disposable income.

Anyway, thought I'd share what little I have managed to do - the pump and agitation setup for my anodising tub. As mentioned previously I wanted something a little more reliable than bubbles and something that would reduce fumes/slpashing/condensation.

So I scrapped the two pumps I originally ordered, as after disassembling them I found that they have metal springs for the diaphragm despite being labelled as suitable for corrosives. Shame. Ended up ordering a big proper mains powered chemical pump instead which is designed specifically for this sort of stuff.

First up since the pump isn't self priming and I want to be able to put a sealed lid on the container when not in use I needed to make some bulkheads for the "tank" (the tank is a polypropylene storage container). I managed to find some fibre re-inforced polypropylene filament for the 3D printer which is perfect for making water tight sulphuric acid proof fittings.... albeit a slight PITA to print with due to warping. This is the end result, and it accepts a large Viton O-ring which then seals the fitting against the tank wall. I then 3D printed the "nut" out of ABS since it's less of a pain in the arse than the polypropylene filament and isn't exposed to the bath.

https://i.imgur.com/azNAC2P.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kVoZnie.jpg

With pump (attached by pure EPDM tubing)

https://i.imgur.com/BK7wQje.jpg


Leak tested for a few days and nothing to see. Happy times...


I had also read a paper on using eductors in anodising tubs which sounded interesting - for those that don't know they basically work on the principle of flow multiplication... a high speed jet is shot out the nozzle and induces a flow through the cone to improve mixing. I couldn't really find any decently designed ones that were small enough for my purposes so I designed some myself. Again 3D printed these from the Polypropylene with a G1/4 mounting thread. I also needed something to hold them at the right angles for a good spread and designed a block for them to screw into.

https://i.imgur.com/T11peaQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QGm7EBJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/idD928Z.jpg


And then connected them up with 12mm PVC tubing which is a tight push fit.


https://i.imgur.com/z2cDny0.jpg

To test whether this work achieved anything at all I figured it would be interesting to put some food dye into the tub and see how effectively the liquid is being circulated and mixed. Pretty happy with the result! I like the second view in the video, looks cool and you can see the eductors doing their thing quite nicely.

https://youtu.be/XsndPOM06Fs


Got a bit more work to do on getting a nice setup for the cathodes and bus bar, but shouldn't be too long now until I can try some anodising.

Nice, Ive just got my old 3D printer going for some prototypes but its a bit long in the tooth and not worth upgrading. What printer are you using? Build volume?