A Control Panel for the CNC Surface Grinder - Part 8
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- Опубликовано: 9 июн 2024
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Today we're working on the control panel for the surface grinder automation project. We'll select some controls, figure out how to lay them out, and then 3D print a prototype control panel. All will not go well. But we'll learn something along the way.
Tools used in this video:
*This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
TouchDRO: www.touchdro.com/touchdro-plu...
reMarkable 2 Paper Tablet (Amazon*): amzn.to/3TR3BkW
Starrett Precision Screwdriver Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/35taFJc
Wera Kraftform Screwdriver Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/2UzK6CL
Bondhus Metric Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3eqZzwb
Bondhus SAE Hex Key Set (Amazon*): amzn.to/3h9bJLZ
Hakko FX-888D Soldering Iron (*Amazon): amzn.to/3HkhaBK
Bambu Lab X1-Carbon: bit.ly/3XzuET9
Bambu Lab X1-Carbon Combo: bit.ly/3JzYQaX
Bambu Lab Filaments: bit.ly/3pusOqd
Raw Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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00:00 Intro
00:58 Where do we want the control panel on the grinder?
03:29 Controls on the bench
12:19 Sketching out some designs
14:51 Modeling the control panel in Fusion
19:10 3D Printing the Parts
20:39 Assembly
25:49 Modifying the Mounting Plate
26:32 Mill work (And a new TouchDRO)
30:07 Installation on the Grinder
33:41 Conclusion - Expressions of Disappointment
“It’s going to be a long grind”. Quite subtle James… well done.
I found it quite abrasive actually.
He needs a good dressing down for that pun.
I think it fell a bit flat ....
This is why I avoid flathead screws in my designs whenever possible. An oversize hole with a button head screw will compensate for the inevitable misalignment, and will look just as good. The only time I use flatheads is when there are actual clearance issues, and I design the connections so that other parts in the assembly can adjust to compensate for misalignment.
A flathead screw is locking down 5 of the 6 degrees of freedom at each hole, which is almost always going to overconstrain the assembly - especially when there are multiple in the same panel. A button head screw is only locking down 3 degrees of freedom, allowing much greater tolerance.
Also they are actively splitting the print, by wedge action, 10/10 will split if between lyer-lines. If I want them under the surface, It is cylindrical head in the counterbore.
I hope a new video means your health is trending in the right direction.
Take some horse dewormer and you may get better
Just as an alternate perspective. When I design control panels, green PBs are flush and red are extended. Then, in case of an issue a quick slap by your hand has a better chance to stop the machine. I obviously realize an estop is next to it. Just our company's best practice.
I have observed this on many types of industrial equipment as well. On button is normaly recessed, sometimes with additional shield around it, so it can realistically only be pressed by a deliberate action by a single finger. The stop button, on the other hand, is usually more exposed and can be pushed with any part of the body.
Probably good Idea to have the stop and e-stop buttons next to each other, so you have a better chance of hitting at least one of them in a panic move.
Maybe just add a small shield (like a sun shield type thing) around the touch screen to protect it from machine debris. Just to add a small wall between the screen and the working area of the machine.
There's something very satisfying about using dials and switches, I never knew that those classic knobs were called chicken heads!
What I love about your videos is that, even though I will probably never use 90% of your equipment, I'm still engaged in your thought processes and methodology in each situation that helps me to re-evaluate how I go through similar, yet adjacent challenges.
My favourite moment is when I think "what about...." and then James addresses that thought. Its like we're having a conversation, as in that Dr Who episode.
Nice work.. possibly a fix for multiple issues in one that I thought of.. have the selector knobs and mpg on a pendant, and screen and other buttons mounted separately. That way you can get the screen to a nice position where it is safe from grit and coolant, but still be able to use the mpg when bending down to touch off the wheel… as a side benefit the individual prints will be slightly smaller so easier to tweak printer settings.
2:14 And that's why I like physical buttons for controls (I really hate touch screen controls in cars). But touch screens have their own positives; almost infinite configurations, etc.
Touch screen controls in cars are a disaster. You must look away from the road to use them. Knobs and levers are easy to find by feel. I think these touch screens are a cheap but dangerous solution.
I print large control boxes and panels like this in ASA in the x1c. No warping, no shrinkage, very strong, and it has a much more appealing finish.
Ive also found spraying the bed plate with the fructis hair spray will eliminate any lifting and the white hazing you get on the face thats on the bed surface .
I could use ASA pretty much plus less smell.
Hairspray? Really? I tried hairspray in the beginning since I used it on my last printer but it was a complete failure. Is that brand the only one that worked for you, or could others work as well?
Also I am assuming you're talking about the textured PEI plate right?
Nice. I was thinking that ASA sounded like an option....but given that I've not actually even unwrapped the roll I have, I didn't want spout guesses like they're gospel truth...even though that seems to be the fashion! ;-D
@@nils1953 never tried any other brand. Pei textured plate, i just make a thick layer on the pei plate.
One caveat, id print my large part..notice mid way thru a corner lifting. Id start it over with hairspray, and it wouldn't lift the next time. It may be that the chamber was warmer the next run to prevent lifting.
The fact i don't get the markings on the face is enough reason to use it however.
Yeah when he said abs I was wondering why not asa
very cool. one thing to consider (if you haven't already) is to mount the HMI where you prefer up away from the debris and then just mount the jog dial in a magnetic case that you can move down to the location in front and spin accurately while watching clearance and then, when you want it out of the way, just move it up over back to the HMI box where it magnetically snaps in place. I love your quote "I will win, just not today." best of luck!
OK, one: I love that you showed the part of the build where everything isn't perfect, makes me feel ok, cause most of my projects hit this stage too :)
Two: while looking at the video, this hit me. You could consider integrating the limit switch holder into the control panel, this would give you a wiring conduit and a stabilization point for the panel using the existing mounting holes.
I just did a research project for my engineering degree that involved increasing layer adhesion on FDM parts. I used a X1-C like yours and while I didn't use ABS, I did use ASA, PC, and PAHT-CF. I achieved good results if you're interested. It's just an undergrad project so it isn't anything amazing as far as academia is concerned.
Share your results.
Please share your results!
Perhaps some PETG-CF? You get the ease of print of PETG, the stability of the added CF, and it looks pretty badass with the surface finish with the CF.
When using -CF filament, go over it with a microfiber towel when it's done printing to get all the tiny CF shards off that would normally dig into your hands while working it... If you handle a new CF part, it will feel grippy for the first few times, and that wears off quickly. What's happening is the carbon fibers sticking out are sticking into your skin and breaking off. Look at your skin under a scope or magnifier and you'll see LOTS of CF bits sticking into your hands... So, use a microfiber towel to remove the shards first rather than your hands. Who knows what the long term CF effects are.
I was going to suggest PET-CF (note the lack of 'G') that Bambu Labs do. It's pricey but it seems to print nicely. I mainly use it for things that need temperature resistance as it will take about 200°C. I've tried Eryone's PETG-CF and it's strong but it's dribbly...which may not be a problem for these parts if you can get a continuous extrusion - it's the travels that can be problematic. Perimeter required just to get rid of the blobs at the start and it MUST be dried even though it's well vacuum packed . Cheap though and looks nice.
@@Cenedd I like PET-CF as well, but it tends to be more expensive, and I’m not seeing any material properties that would seem worth the squeeze for an enclosure in this environment. But it’d also work well and look great!
No CF, not worth it. Better off just straight PC or Nylon.
@@mkosmo I'd be curious as to what PETG-CF you're using - if you're happy with it.
@XenonG The CF doesn't always seem to make that much strength difference and probably isn't necessary for a panel but it should give it a bit more stiffness that the PETG lacks. Nylon I think can warp (haven't tried it yet though) but PC might work and I think James has some. I'm again not aware of the drawbacks of it though.
I really appreciate these videos of you showing your thought process for designs.
Once you make the final enclosure you could always 3d print a splash shield that will cover the back and sides with a little overhang to help prevent grit and coolant from getting on the panel or you could get a clear plastic dust cover for. 👍👍
Got to love it. A guy who has ZERO experience with surface grinders is designing a CNC system on a manual surface grinder. Any one else see an issue here ? Perhaps he should run the manual surface grinder for a couple of years before attempting this. I have the same grinder in my shop and use it all the time. I don't have any issues with using the grinder and using the DRO to determine heights etc.
James, I don't like electronics below fluids just like you do. If I would design/build it I would keep the touchscreen at the top and connect a jog/dial unit with a cable. I would include axis selection/jogging and zero set per axis. By doing it this way you can hold the unit in your hand and look for sparks appearing. In general part zero set by jogging. More advanced settings I would acces on the touch screen above. The handheld unit can be sturdy and waterproof. Maybe a suggestion. Thank you for sharing all of your nice work! Best, Job
Well one idea that may be implemented quite easily is adding a splash screen to the 3d part at the top of the lcd panel to block splashes a little and to protect the panel. Or even just a Dado groove for an acrylic panel. Great project to watch James!
The problem with that is it cannot be added to the existing part because then you could no longer print it face down on the printer bed. So it would need to be a separate part probably mounted by bolting on and James might not like the look of those bolts on the otherwise so clean panel face.
For projects like this I've taken quite a liking to R-Type nylon rivets. They are really easy to design for (no effort needed for insert diameters etc, just 2 holes in plates), reusable and cheap. They come in a variety of sizes and I have a grab bag of them to use for this type of attachment/enclosure/general 3d printed parts that dont require high forces.
Awesome work, James!
Nice to see another shoutout for TouchDRO. I've got an adapter on all my machines, and absolutely love it.
Also nice to see the picture-in-picture of the DRO display. I do this in my videos, as well. I feel like it gives a better idea of what's actually going on, rather than just verbal explanations followed by disembodied button beeps of an off-screen display.
As someone who has done professional control panel, this is much better than a lot of what I've seen done even by professionals. The only thing I might have done differently is the position of the e-stop since if you have an emergency, you might smash it, so I wouldn't have put it in a suspended part of the panel.
Otherwise, NEVER use those cheap open selectors, as they will rust/corrode/get dirty and create issues after a few years.
For the buttons, I usually use Harmony XB from Schneider, as they have a very comprehensive range and lot of options (in this case, since you can have fluid splashing, I would have put a waterproof rubber/silicon hood on top if it was for a customer, but for pers. use, meh). Bit more expensive, but never had an issue with them.
The rubber gasket idea is great, never saw that done, and since it's a rather clean environment, should be perfectly adequate. Otherwise, maybe a secondary smaller inner-lip would probably fix that.
Hey James. Hope this non requested sugestion works but i've had very high success with my ABS and ASA prints using polymaker filaments on the P1S. First is i use the bambu ASA profile for both ASA and ABS on 0.2 mm standard quality. Second, using the bambu tetured PEI plate, I clean it with dawn dish soap and a new scotch brite pad. After that, I dry it with a paper towel and clean it again with a paper towel and 99% alcohol. Then I apply a thin coat of elmers color changing purple glue on the entire bed. At last, I change the bed temperature of the bed to 100 degrees and de-select the "keep fan always on" option on the cooling tab of the ASA profile. Hope this helps. Like i said this has worked for me and increased my success at least from 60% to 85%. Also one more thing to note, if possible print the bottom only 2 layers thick and keep the wall loops at 2. I saw that the space on the bed is pretty tight but if you can squeeze a brim, it will help a lot.
i love the chickenhead knobs!
For laser etching, I put down a piece of masking tape, laser, and fill in with a white paint marker. Wait for the paint to dry and then pick off the masking tape with an exacto blade.
Welcome back James. Hope you are on the mend now.
One thing I like to do for ABS is to print a set of, say, 30, 60, and 90 mm cubes, and measure it cold. You can figure out the XY and Z thermal shrink coefficients that way, and then enter those into most sliders (not sure if Orca supports that but it probably does.)
That’ll automatically “grow” the parts by that amount so your final parts are dimensionally accurate. I was inspired by the fact material shrink has to be taken into account when doing injection molding.
Hi, James; glad you’re feeling up to editing a video (I know how time consuming that can be).
You could add a fold-down shield. In the up position it shields from debris. In the down position it protects the knobs and display when you are moving parts onto and off the grinder.
You held up the switch and once I saw "Grayhill" I thought Geez I hope he is happy now!!! Great switch and yes $$$. I'm pretty amazed that you even attempted a part that big with ABS. (or ABS+). I typically have to pre-scale by 1.75% - 2.25% any ABS prints to account for shrinkage. By the way a drop of acetone will fix the crack from propagating,
“Chicken Head Knob” is admittedly common parlance, but I’d offer the shape is more like a Puffin. Who doesn’t love Puffins? 😊
Given your last couple of videos, I knew you had something big in store soon. James, you never disappoint! I love your work!!!
One thing I haven't seen done that you might be able to take advantage of (though probably not on a grinder) is using (tiny) servo motors for the encoders, and creating a force-feedback system based on the axis/spindle loads. It'd be more useful on a CNC conversion of a milling machine or lathe, to allow manual use while preserving the "feel" you get from the mechanical feedback on a manual machine.
Nice video and project. One thing that might help in the future if you do more HMI panels that I’ve often used while designing cab interiors is on the switches model a semi transparent clearance zone. There is some recommended ISO specs for hand and finger clearance if I recall correctly it’s 25 mm for fingers and 150 mm for hand if gripping the part such as handrails or 50 mm for something like a steering stock control.
The last equipment I saw that used open rotary switches and chicken head knobs also used vacuum tubes.
To protect screen from grit, water and key pressing, maybe a clear flip up lid.
My thought was to mount it all on a pendant, with a bracket up where a CNC control should be. It would sit there most of the time, but you could easily detach it (magnets?) and move it down when you need it front & center.
Mr James,
did you mention chicken head knobs?
Did I mention that you have the best DIY show on RUclips?
Yes you do, you explain everything to the smallest detail and the reasons behind it, you give all possible information about every detail and much more.
I love to watch your show.
For mounting the panel, what about leaving nearly everything the same as you already plan to do it but having the bottom instead connected via some Loc-Line-like hose connection for flexibility in positioning? Feed the (preferably long and uncut) electronics cable through the Loc-Line, then you have the option of moving the panel down where it is now or up where DROs are usually mounted at your leisure or anywhere in between, and now you have a movable panel! :)
If you need extra stability, probably do what Adam Savage did with his camera/lights setup and add some thick gauge aluminum armature wire in there as needed.
Welcome back, hope you are well on the mend.
Nice work James! Can’t wait to see the rest of the process.
Its such a joy to whitness such craftmanship. I really enjoy every minute of the build. I am following your channel more then 3 yrs ago, and the improvement of your skills and the complexity of your designs improved a lot. It is a mindblowing achivement.
I might have missed a previous video, but I figured I would say the motors are putting axial loading the feed handles. I wouldn't guess they were designed to "handle" lol loading in that way. You might consider updating the bearings on the handles to deal with the loading. Cool project I haven't seen the series so my suggestion might be mute. Thanks for the videos
Love these types of projects!
Nice one! As right handed, I would put the controls on the right side of the screen, keeping my hand out of the view.
Bambulab offers a PETG-CF that may be better for you. The CF makes it less flexi and PETG is more resistant to cracking than ABS. Also, it doesn't shrink like ABS.
@34:00 "It's going to be a long grind....." - Pun intended. Nice work - as always!
My advice would be mount the E-stop on the front it might seem a bit weird but being able to hit it with your leg can make all the difference
i was going to suggest putting the MPG dial on the right side to further reduce the chance of bumping it if you lean against the front of the machine. i like this idea too.
My Tormach lathe has an E-stop switch on the front and it took me sevral hours use to learn not to bump it. It's a pain to reset everything after an E-stop on that lathe.
I'm using PETG for applications like that and it never failed me. Polymaker PA6-CF is a close second - I mostly like the surface finish 😀
ABS is cheap and I am not afraid to use it. That means generous wall thickness, ribbing and inside fillets. Parts like this will be static and will not be produced in quantity, so they can be heavy. Scaling is a must... 100.4 usually makes my 300mm parts hole patterns match with lasercut sheet metal. Control panels are best match for combination of FDM and lasercutter. Big flat sections are lasercut, sides, brackets, interconnects are FDM.
James, many of your newer viewers may not be familiar with your Qidi-Tech I-Fast and ABS-capable printers. I'd love to see them back in action.
Cool project, love seeing the thought process. My 2 cents: I'd split the control panel into two parts. One for the touchscreen and one for the manual jog wheel. Touch screen could go up on an arm (more out of the way). Jog control could go on a pendant type case so it could be moved where needed. Maybe put magnets on the back of the pendant and add a few flat bits of sheet metal on the machine for landing spots. That placement of the jog wheel just looks like it's begging to be bumped by a leg or hip at the wrong time. For printing I really like the modified PLAs. PLA plus, PLA pro or whatever the brand might call them. Still prints easy but gets rid of a lot of the brittleness. And there are types made for high speed printing as well.
I use Overture PLA Pro for low heat applications that need to be durable. Excellent layer adhesion, almost zero warping and it can take a beating.
Some CNC machine pendants have an on/off switch for the rotary knob to prevent axis movement when the rotary knob gets accidentally bumped.
FWIW, I have 2 of the "gnarly" estop switches. They work fine. Just like the mid-tier one you showed only plastic.
Very nice work sir
I totally get the fondness for chicken head switches. Older style switches have a very pleasing tactile sensation. There is something about interfaces prior to the digital age that feel nice. And I’ve the solid click of a good switch. My Mom worked at a company that made Digital sound design tools but they made analog style controls that were easier for musicians to use because they just “felt” better.
I would switch from abs to ASA and use some nano polymer adhesive from vision miner. Also you should be able to print a shrinkage calibration and put your results into your filament parameters and it will automatically adjust. At least that is how it works with orca slicer which is based on the bamboo slicer.
I've often wondered if some kind of annealing process for 3d printed parts might help relieve internal stresses. Warm it up to say just below its melting temp while constraining it and holding it at that temp and lowering it down to room temp slowly...
In terms of grit, a raised hood at the top of the screen will work as a splash guard and reduce the dust from having a direct path to the screen
I’ve had good luck with the Prusa PCCF. The only snag is finding it in stock. But it has worked great for functional parts for me. I made a profile on my X1c using the Prusa PC profile in Orca slicer👍🏻
The pushbutton switches you selected are very similar to the Omron ones I bought last year from Digi-key for a project, but you no doubt paid a lot less. I wanted better specifications and quality than I could rely on from a default untrusted seller on Amazon, or Ebay.
The newer Grayhill rotary switches, such as you have, last a long time if used within specifications.
You can gently“drift” brass threaded inserts with the soldering iron to get them to line up.
Try ASA filament. It is usually used for places where UV is an issue, but it has similar properties to ABS whilst being slightly easier to print and warping less.
It's pretty difficult to get shrinkage exactly right since a part doesn't uniformly shrink. With PolyMaker ABS I'm getting just about 1% shrinkage and account for that in the slicer. Additionally whenever I print something large I preheat the chamber as hot as I reasonably can, at least 40 degrees. Hopefully those changes with possibly altered, or even added, geometry to reinforce it while printing helps. Countersunk screws is a recipe for disaster with thin walls/parts. Avoid them as much as possible or possibly counterbore for a pan head screw if you like the appearance. At best it'll deform, at worst it splits. And you already mentioned it but print hotter and slower for better adhesion.
The Cricut makes an excellent bottom labeler. Just cut out your design from the massive variety of vinyl available. Plus, it is easy to correct if you don’t like the design or if they get attached a bit skewed. Laser etching is fantastic, but there is no Undo button.
Also on those other design pushbutton switches you could just make it thicker and add dimples where the locking setscrews mate to the panel then the panel won't flex noticeably there.
I can 100% confirm that the Bambu printers are actually too fast for a lot of the engineering materials. I slowed mine down significantly for ABS, PETG, PCTG etc. because not only is the surface finish much nicer, but also the layer adhesion is what it’s supposed to be.
Regarding part shrinkage: Thats actually something I noticed with my Bambu as well. On older cartesian style printers you could get away with changing steps/mm until it more or less was accurate. On the Bambu machines the only thing you can do is find out the shrinkage and compensate the model before printing. Holes also always tend to get too small, especially when around and below 5 mm.
Orca Slicer is based on Bambu Studio with full compatibility but comes with a plethora of goodies, like being able to set the K-value and shrinkage in the filament profiles (rather than having to do those manually), while retaining the same user interface and network plugin to control the Bambu printers.
S-Polybond Glue, and that crack is gone in seconds (it comes in different kinds depending on the material, I use the acrylic one for Acrylic and ... pla and trust me it is stronger than before). It is called glue but really it is thin as water and chemically bonds the plastic. Or you can use Acetone pure or Acetone with a bit of abs dissolved in it.
An antikithra mechanism would be a good project to make on that.
An extra comment on the topics that have been already mentioned, but it's always good for engagement, isn't it. :) Firstly, eSun ABS+ is currently *really* bad at layer adhesion, like obnoxiously bad. It's nice and matt, but presence of 10% of fillers, as in MSDS, clearly took its toll.
Secondly, I would highly recommend everyone switching to shrinkage ratio/modifier in slicer, rather than adjusting model size. With a tool like Califlower from Vector3D (or free alternatives on Printables) it's very easy to get accurate value - skew correction is there as an added bonus. From that moment one just needs to select a correct filament in slicer and can completely forget about scaling models.
I'll flag that the Voron community has found that eSun's ABS+ used to be good years ago but they changed something since then, citing layer adhesion issues, with a number of people calling "trash", "do not touch with a 50ft pole", "its been a disaster", and "has layer adhesion of cheese this days". ABS+ has been banned from the Print it Forward program for Vorons for over a year, inconsistencies in how much heat tolerance across brands, eSun's ABS+ had that reputation long before that. I've found Polymaker's ABS and Sparta3D's ABS+ to be fine where ive used them.
Can echo that, eSun's ABS+ layer adhesion is actually extremely bad and playing with temperatures doesn't really help with that.
I believe I would cut a piece of silicone mat or similar, so that you could attach it at the top of the panel to lay over the controls to keep the yucky stuff off. You could just lift it up with one hand do the Tappy tap tap with the other and lay it back down
I use PETG for all my big prints, belt covers and the like. It is far more reliable than ABS👍
Have you considered adding a mechanical lockout switch for the MPG dial?
Looks really nice. As are all of your designs. I do wonder, though, if mounting the touch screen up high, and then mounting the controls on a pendant, was considered? The would keep the dirt and grit away from the electronics, plus give you the ability to control it from any vantage point.
Perfect 👏👏👏💯
7:09 And this is why i buy components from Digikey or Mouser, not Amazon. C3Controls and Automation Direct are also ok sources.
I spent too much time as a teenager trying to get, salvage, or fix those wafer style rotary switches.
If I'm putting together a panel for a machine tool, i want to have screw terminals, not solder lugs.
I'm a bit surprised you didn't use DIN or M16 connectors to bring out the wires. Glands would be another option, but bulkier.
Also, it strikes me that you could print two ABS side panels/caps and then bend an aluminum panel to go around them. That would be very simple to make. No miters, all the bends are full width and in the same direction.
I've had good luck with abs on the x1c by preheating the chamber. Keep the top and door closed with the bed at 110 C for half an hour. This allows the printer to maintain approx 50 degrees C chamber temp for the entirety of the print.
I have had great success printing some parts with ASA. It is similar to ABS in several ways and also has better UV protection. My prints have been coming out great. ASA prints with similar temperatures to ABS. The surface finish I'm getting is pretty good too. Just a suggestion. Also, you may need to over size holes that could crack under too much tension.
I suggest you try FormFutura TitanX, it worked well for me. It's a modified ABS that claims zero-warping. I indeed had no issues (though I never printed anything that big) and I like the surface finish.
Decided to take a shot with each 'chicken head.' I am plaaaaaastered.
As others have mentioned ASA is straight up a better filament then ABS. Let’s leave it to the injection molders.
Alpha rotary switches from Mouser are a great compromise.
I really enjoy you going through the process you used to make your decisions. Would putting the box in a warm oven before and after assembly help manage the warping or add to it?
You can measure your as-printed dimensions of your panel and use that to compute your shrink factor. e.g. I see my ABS printed parts consistently be 99.5% of their designed dimensions in the XY plane, and spot-on on the Z axis. Some slicers allow you to input this shrinkage factor in the filament settings (e.g. SuperSlicer), otherwise you can scale your objects on the plater in just X and Y to compensate.
I would make the next enclosure out of sheetmetal. You already invested time and money on a brake. It will also take less time and effort, considering how long it took to 3D print the enclosure.
Try ASA or PETG CF. How about a TPU gasket on the enclosure and around the display? Can't wait to see it work. Nice design.
For the material I'd recommend trying ASA, I've been printing automotive parts with it, it's similar to ABS, but with less shrinkage and warping, it's also UV resistant (there's a company in poland that makes electrical enclosures in an outdoor version out of UV resistant ASA instead of the usual ABS)
I usually scale up ABS parts by 0.5% in order to get dimensionally accurate parts
Bambu’s new ABSGF might be an option too. I have it on order but haven’t tested it yet.
I wonder about brushing/bumping the MPG with your body having it on the front side like that. You want it easy to access, but not too easy. Perhaps a software solution to lock it out or so? I'm such a klutz I would go for the panel on a monitor arm up higher.
I added a mini heater limited to 70w with a 100w light controller to my X1C. I can let it run without temp control this way and it has a thermal fuse.
ABS should be printed with 60c chamber heat if possible. Maybe your Quidi would have been the better choice for this project.
Maybe PLA matt from Bambu would be the better choice for it? Oh and esun ABS+ shrinks around 0.5%.
I recommend you try the Bambu Lab ABS-GF if you haven't already. I've had good luck with it printing larger objects such as this.
Country Fried Chicken Head Knobs are the best! lol
I bet PETG will be stiff *enough* for this, especially if you put more ribbing in it. Also has the benefit of basically being the most chemically inert filament I've used short of nylon (which is even more of a pain than ABS).
Or, you could have two panels! One out of the way with the screen, and another down where you can touch off etc. Alternatively, it looks like you have enough room to install a transparent cover that slides off to the left. Sheet of bent perspex would be ideal.
Have you tried polymaker tough PLA (not a sponsor)? It is about 2x the price of every other PLA but it isn't at all brittle. It turns white and bends like ABS but prints like PLA. It still shrinks a little (like PLA) but doesn't require a heated chamber or anything of the other fusiness of ABS. It also has a really nice matte (or maybe satin) finish I like.
We're using ClearPath SC-HP series motors for our radio telescope/satellite-dish restoration project. I've been working on the software for months, and don't have the luxury of having the entire system nestled away in my home office for quick tests...so, progress is slow :) They just released a series of EtherCAT compatible motors, and if I was doing this over again...