Ball Plunger Spring

I found that thing few years ago, I will try to replace the locking screws with it, that would make the folding/unfolding much quicker and easier
[www.qwant.com]

Found some suppliers in France too, by searching for "Poussoirs à ressort à bille"
K0334.210

The M12 size should be good, with a ball of 8mm in the frame profile slot of 6mm.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2017 11:53AM by Emmanuel.

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06-sept-2017, end of the afternoon...

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay !
It works !!!




(Thanks David for the two M4 nylstop that I didn't had to complete this !)

And some videos to show how easy it became.
From 5min to 5sec !

[youtu.be] 1/4
[youtu.be] 2/4
[youtu.be] 3/4
[youtu.be] 4/4

That's so cool

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2017 05:21PM by Emmanuel.

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Ohhhhhh yeaaaahhhh! I am from Argentina, and I am a fan of the foldarap. The customs burocracy have delayed my built :'(. These improvement are very cool... Thanks for the entire design!!
How It works that "ball plunger spring"?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2017 08:36PM by etilico120.

Thanks

The "ball plunger spring" consist of a cylinder in which a sphere is pushed outside by a spring.



It is used in mechanisms like the folding handle of a luggage (the locking position when it is extended).

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J'ai trouvé la réponse à ma question posée dans un autre topic, excellent trouvaille Emmanuel !

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2017 04:43PM by benbois.

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BenBois
- Foldarap perso, Roxanne perso, i3 standard -

I notice in this case it rotates around the centre of the piece whereas in previous versions it hinged to the side causing the Z axis to rest higher than the pivot when folded. Did you make an intermediary design where it hinged from the side but used the ball springs?
I was working on a foldable printer design a few years back but stopped however I have revamped the idea and been inspired by your wonderful work. However I’m making it at a larger scale and was hoping to use a direct Extruder, which is throwing up an issue or two that I think would be best fixed by offsetting the hinge.
Also, how stable is this setup? Have you ever considered using more Vslot pivoted from the top of Z that can latch on to the Y to create a triangle and add stabilisation? It can then be unlatched to fold up and remain compact.

Alas for you I did not made an intermediary design, because now (center hinge) the balls fit the two positions (folded/unfolded).

And I think I see what you mean about the triangulation, as I'm considering to rebuild the Mendel sized FoldaRap, that also came in mind to add a bar.
But for the original size, the spacing between the balls and the spring force, etc. are just right

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