Planar Shock Absorber

cults3d

I engineered this shock absorber design which is rigid in its vertical orientation but permits horizontal movement. The concept centers around absorbing lateral forces produced by your printer's motion without allowing your printer to rock about, thereby maintaining print quality. The weight is supported by four stiff pillars with spherical tips and the elasticity is provided by a flexible harness surrounding the ends of the pillars, acting as a spring to deliver centering force. The spherical ends on the pillars ensure that the top and bottom surfaces remain the same distance apart when the damper moves, preventing any bounce in the vertical direction. Additionally, there's a thin pad which you can print separately with your flexible filament; it prevents base slippage and marks on your table. I'm utilizing four of these under my Flash Forge Creator Pro without experiencing any negative impact on print quality, and the bench shakes less than before. The default dimensions are 40mm square by 28mm in height. Printing larger will result in a softer mount while using two or more of them next to each other yields a stiffer mount. I wouldn't recommend printing it smaller for practical reasons. To be honest, this is an extremely challenging print but enjoyable nonetheless. You'll need a dual extruder and the ability to print flexible filament and rigid filament simultaneously; I used TPU and PLA. Start by ensuring that both models are aligned, with correct coordinates in the STLs relative to each other. However, some slicers may drop both models to the table. If so, reset the offsets to zero and group the two models together. You'll need full supports within the volume between the plates. I recommend using your rigid filament for the supports even though you're supporting flexible material as different materials make them separate easily. Alternatively, you could possibly print with flexible supports and leave them in there but I haven't tried that. One of the trickiest aspects is getting the first layers of the rigid columns sticking well to the flexible layer below them. It took some trial and error with PLA and TPU; other combinations may be easier. I recommend recording a time-lapse video and inspecting it to see if the bases stayed in place or got pulled out on another pass of the head. For me, the trick was getting the two extruders perfectly level. An ooze shield and prime pillar are essential components.