I added pockets to remove material usage (both for cost and weight savings), this also created more uniform thickness geometry and added more surface area for debinding).

I put a chamfered stop on the rim of the bit so it wouldn’t slide too far into the receiver.

Now that I had the critical dimensions, I went to detailing the remaining features: Since I had it in hand and the part fit nicely, I figured 'why not see if the plastic piece works?' It didn't, the bit stripped out the inside pretty quickly with the large torque needed to lift the trailer. Doing this in plastic meant I had something in my hands in a couple hours at about $1 to confirm the CAD model I borrowed was designed accurately (I didn't need any calipers or to waste time reading up on 3/8' socket head geometry specifications). I then did a quick print on the Mark X7 in plastic to do a fit check, for both the bit geometry and the trailer receiver. I was able to take the female receiving portion of the 3/8' bit and incorporate it into my custom bit design. SOLIDWORKS is capable of opening pretty much any file type, even generic meshes, and allows me to use the geometry.

Here is the excerpt from Markforged that refers to this technique:Īgain to speed things up, I went to a popular open source CAD website that has shared content and found a perfect socket extension with a matching socket wrench head.

I designed it just like a socket wrench bit, so I could then simply buy a 3/8' socket extension to connect to the drill.Įxample ⅜ socket adapter from McMaster-Carr.Ĭustom bit and adapter modeled in SOLIDWORKS. Most would think creating the CAD geometry as an integrated stem to the bit, but from an engineering perspective and Metal X best practices, I decided to take a different approach. The Design Processįrom here, I needed to decide how to connect that to the drill bit. Trailer receiver for raising and lowering the pop-up roof. The basic part of the CAD model would be super simple. Upon inspection of the hand-tool geometry and how it fit in the receiver, I discovered that the receptacle that the hand crank plugs into is a non-standard 7/8' square – easy enough, right? Anyone who has ever had a pop-up camper knows how tedious it can be to raise and lower the roof.įor those that haven’t had the pleasure of completing this arduous task, there is a receptacle on the side of the camper that you plug the hand crank into and get to cranking like a kid spinning an ice cream maker – except instead of a frozen treat, the result is more standing room for your weekend.įiguring that someone would’ve already thought of a way to complete this with a hand drill, I scoured the internet for a drill bit that would do the trick, but found nothing.

Solidworks 2019 modeling ice cream