Ball Valve Servo-driven blast gate

prusaprinters

<p>This blast gate requires 3 new parts; a new “bearing” which serves as a servo horn, an indicator (to allow the user to verify the gate is open or closed), and the servo mount, which is sized for an MG995 metal-gear servo. &nbsp;I also created a second bracket, which can span the narrower end of the Blast Gate. &nbsp;</p><p>The opposite side of the bearing set uses the indicating handle ("Arrow-lugged Lever") designed by Peter, for manual operation if the servo is powered off. &nbsp;</p><p>The servo horn needs to be fitted to the servo prior to assembly. Its opening is sized slightly smaller than the servo splines, and I used heat to warm the horn before pushing it onto the spline of the servo. Too much heat will distort the piece, so go easy. &nbsp;Then the horn/bearing can be glued in place into the rotator. &nbsp; I used CA glue. &nbsp;Do not glue the servo spline/servo-horn interface.</p><p>The indicator will be glued onto the horn but only after the servo is calibrated for open and closed positions. &nbsp;I used a servo tester to determine pw for open and closed. &nbsp;I'm using an Adafruit Metro Express microcontroller with a servo shield to control a series of gates, but an Arduino or similar would also serve.</p><p>It's probably obvious, but make sure the rotator moves freely in the case before final assembly. &nbsp;I found using small cabinet scrapers, both straight and curved, worked nicely to remove burrs and nubs. &nbsp;</p><p>I included the sketchup file for the servo mount, if someone wants to re-size for a different servo. &nbsp;It's not a complex model, but it's designed to provide sturdy mounting and ample glue surface to mount to the outside of the case.</p>