This is a machine-tool related list. Many of us have 3D printers too. So if you have both additive and subtractive tools available and want to make a harmonic drive may be the best option is to make a hybrid design with some parts of the drive made with different techniques.
Metal really is the best material for anything that needs to flex because metal can be made so thin and is still strong when thin. 3D printed plastic must be about the worst material for this. So I ask, Would it be possible to design an easy to make flex gear? I think so. Most of the flex cup is made on a lathe then you mill the teeth on the outside. I think it could be machined from a short section of large-diameter steel tube. Then a bottom plate is press fit. Maybe I could cut the teeth first, like making a gear, then place the part in plastic holder and chuck the holder in a lathe and bore the center out until the ring is very thin. The trick is to support the ring with a 3D printed rigid backing fixture while boring it. The rest of the harmonic drive could be plastic. The big question for the group here is if the flex ring is something a normal person could make one at a time. What kind of metal is best? Is this kind of metal available in tiny quanity On Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 12:36 PM Gregg Eshelman via Emc-users < [email protected]> wrote: > Instead of a one piece flex cup, how about making a flex ring that > connects to a rigid base with teeth or pins - something that interlocks but > allows radial movement of the flex ring with respect to the base? No > constant bending back and forth to break the print layers apart. > -- Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
