this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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Thanks for the kind words!
And yes, I designed this in a vacuum, but it is actually a common machinists jack, it seems. Minus a few neat features I saw around the web (like a lock screw component) it's a 1:1 match for functionality.
Like you, I have a love for projects and tools that are shared across different fields. Mostly due to my ADHD, I have a slew of hobbies that focus around mechanical engineering, chemistry and biology. It's extremely cost effective to commingle different hobbies, actually. My 3D printing and CAD work is universal, my collection of chemistry glass is used for rando chemistry things as well as mycology. All of my fittings, connectors and electronic components are also universal... etc. etc.
As requested: https://www.printables.com/model/926491-anti-sag-gpu-stand-aka-machinists-jack
I feel like it's a pretty common experience for a lot of us maker types- we come up with a solution to a problem, maybe we tried searching for one and came up empty, or maybe we just thought it would be fun to make from the get-go, then sometime later we stumble upon someone selling pretty much the exact thing we made and think "huh, so thats what these things are called" maybe with a touch of disappointment that your idea wasn't as original as you thought, or maybe just intrigued because you just added another term to your vocabulary and you have a better idea what to search for next time.
Yours looks good though, It's probably unnecessary but I'd be tempted to add like a U-shaped cradle piece to the top to help keep it in place if your computer ever gets jostled for any reason, and maybe a jam nut at the bottom to make sure it stays where you set it. Again probably totally unnecessary, but I always figure that if it's worth doing it's worth overdoing.
What sort of printer and filament/resin are you using? I'd worry a bit about it warping or sagging over time from the heat inside a computer. I know some materials can handle the heat better or worse than others, but I haven't dipped my toes into 3d printing myself yet, so I may be overestimating how much of an issue it is.
And can your printer make decent screw threads, or do you have to clean them up afterwards with a tap and die or something? I'm not really up on the current state of 3d printers, but one of the first 3d printed objects I remember ever handling was back in high school 15 or so years ago. One of my teachers went to a conference where they were showing off new gadgets for computer and shop classes, and he brought back a couple 3d printed crescent wrenches for us to fondle. I remember the screws being really crunchy and they almost but didn't quite work, so in the back of my mind I've always thought of functional screw threads as something 3d printers can't quite do, so it's wild to me if we've gone from barely able to make even a coarse thread with huge tolerances work to being able to make pretty fine threads with pretty tight tolerances.
Of course back then, they hadn't even really settled on calling it "3d printing," I remember that teacher calling it a "rapid prototyping machine" when he was telling us about it, and described it as being "like a 3d printer"
In addition, I can't tell people enough that most "specialty' tools are most likely common tools from other fields, but maybe include a fancy adapter or something. And yes, I don't want to know how many times we have solved problems that were already solved. (A benefit is that we understand the true problem to its core and integrate those solutions much more efficiently into future projects.)
My "jack" is printed in PETG as it has a higher glass transition temperature (80°-85°C) than PLA. I have had PLA prints on my shelf start to sag due to age but most of that is likely negated by additives in new generations of PLA+. (or PLA Pro, or whatever buzzword is currently used.) PETG should be just fine for this. ABS would be another option, too.
I currently have a Prusa Mini that is my go to, but a large format Prusa XL with 5 separate hotends is squarely in my sights at the moment. (I have had several other printers that eventually got disassembled for parts.)
The threads on my print are super tight and no post processing was needed. It just screwed together after it was done. I did go to the trouble of designing a shoe looking adapter thing for more surface area against the card, but the weight of the card is enough to keep it from moving around. The thread angle is such that the downward pressure keeps enough friction on the threads so it's not going anywhere through any jostling. (Rough threads are a feature, in this case.)
But yeah, printers these days are much more accurate and less prone to errors. Just 10 years ago, every other print I did was a failure. Now? Failures are quite rare and that is mostly because of the tech. Now that layers are consistent enough these days, most threads I print are with 0.2mm layers which is good enough if I keep the tolerances wide enough in CAD. (My go-to is 0.25mm tolerance for fitted parts or less depending on the application.)
Yeah! I remember those wrenches quite well. Print-in-place models are somewhat mainstream now. I randomly put one on Printables and it is far more popular than I ever expected. The success rate seems quite high given the number of random printers that are out there: https://www.printables.com/model/489431-print-in-place-hinge . I only bring this up as it's a testament to how far the tech has come, and only recently.
I literally just got my first resin printer and have yet to have a failure. Getting consistent prints at 0.03mm has been a breeze and quality is limited by the model, not the printer. (Resin printer fanatics are likely to argue with me on that point.) Getting ABS plastic strength with hyper-detail is amazing! However, it's messy and smelly, so that sucks. (I am going to setup some real precision testing this evening as I have had some projects on hold for a couple of years due to FDM limitations.)