12vdc Cigarette Lighter Plug to Bolt Tap Adapter

cults3d

When I was growing up, my dad brought home a set of Craftsman battery powered yard tools (weedeater, hedge trimmer, blower) that he had purchased for himself when they first came out. Back then, battery powered tools were still a relatively new innovation and these used an external battery pack instead of the integrated batteries we see in most modern tools today. The pack was a sturdy hard case with a handle, a shoulder strap, a charging jack and a cigarette lighter socket into which you would plug the power tools. They built things to last back then, and my dad's purchases are still going strong even though he has passed away. I decided to take one of the battery packs out of retirement after replacing the internal battery (a standard 12 sealed lead acid battery) and use it for other projects around my workshop. I wanted a way to easily tap into this power source for uses where there wasn't a cigarette lighter plug available, without having to modify the case. This adapter plugs directly into any standard cigarette lighter socket and brings out the voltage to two 1/4" bolts that you can use with bare wire leads, clips or spade/lug connectors. I've had these adapters in my inventory for years now, so I don't have exact specs on them, but I think the threads are pretty common to this kind of plug. You should be able to use this adapter with just about any cigarette lighter plug that has a screw-on end. There are two versions available: v2 has a red insert on one side to differentiate the polarity of the two taps, while v1 does not. Use whichever version suits your needs best. To assemble the adapter, you will need 2x 1-1/4" bolts; 4x 1/4" nuts; 2x 1/4" washers; and 4x 1/4" washers (optional). Press the bolts through the holes from the bottom of the adapter, followed by a washer and an nut. If you plan on using spade/lug connectors or bare wires to connect to the taps, I'd suggest adding two more washers on top of the first nut before securing it with another nut. However, if you are only clipping onto the taps, just add another nut without any additional washers. Next, solder the wires to the lighter end first and then run both wires through the adapter and out one side. Twist the wires together as you screw the two halves of the adapter together to keep them from twisting off the connections. Once the pieces are securely fastened, pull one wire through to the other side and make your connections to the bolts. I am extremely proud of this design. Not only was it my first real model using FreeCAD - which I'm still learning - but it's also my very first attempt at designing printed screw threads. True to form, I didn't start with something simple where you just look up standard threads on a chart and plug in values. No, I had to tackle something that required measuring non-standard threads myself. Having only made two small adjustments to get the design right, I'm extremely happy with the results.